Movie Review: THAT AWKWARD MOMENT

THAT AWKWARD MOMENT
Director: Tom Gormican
Starring: Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Imogen Poots, Mackenzie Davis, Jessica Lucas

Thank God I enjoy these three actors because these types of "bromance" movies can be a bit much. Mikey (Jordan) is probably the most successful one of our guys. He works as a full time doctor and seemed to have it all. He got married at a really young age, and now his wife Vera (Lucas) wants a divorce and is sleeping with her lawyer. His two best friends Jason (Efron) and Daniel (Teller) are still living the single life and are excited to have their bro back. It is time for the boys to be boys again. All three seem to have successful jobs as Jason and Daniel both work as illustrators for book jackets. In the evening they typically spend the night with their other friend Chelsea (Davis) at the local bar or club hitting on a variety of girls looking for a little action or potential girlfriend. In the mornings, they get coffee and breakfast and discuss the previous evening's shenanigans. One of Jason's latest hook-ups asks the "So...?" question wondering where their relationship is going. He does not even realize they were in a relationship. The guys decide to set some rules for their "bro-code" where they decide to just spend some time enjoying the single life.

For these three good looking young men, that plan lasts about two hot seconds. Jason's one-night stand with Ellie (Poots) turns into a romance after some awkward encounters later on. Daniel and Chelsea decide to take their friendship to the next level after spending many nights where she gets other girls to notice him. Mikey decides to try to make it work with Vera by adding some romance back into their relationship. All three of these new relationships are kept secret as no one wants to admit to breaking their pact.

Zac Efron has been making a variety of edgier and more adult films with a wide variety of characters as he desperately tries to shed his High School Musical/Disney image. He was completely miscast in The Lucky One while Parkland and The Paperboy did not leave lasting impressions on anyone. Efron acts as producer here as well and has finally found a project that fits where he is at as an actor. The role actually fits in his age bracket and seems suitable for his image. Miles Teller had a great 2013 with indie hit The Spectacular Now and has a few more big hits coming this year. Michael B. Jordan gave one of my favorite performances of last year in the heavy hitting Fruitvale Station. I will watch him in anything. All three of them are very different actors and types so at first it may seem like an odd combination for three best friends, but the combination works quite well. They have great chemistry together and each of their roles are suited to them.

I do not think the script is as original and funny as it wants to be. There is some good back and forth banter between the guys as they are always trying to top each other with one-liners and witty quips knocking the other one's manhood or guilty pleasures. Even though it has it's funny moments, the majority of it is quite predictable. I know I should not be expecting plot twists or anything like that, but even some of the predicaments and dialogue is standard for these types of movies. Of course the Efron character is going to make some bone-headed choices. You know he will try some elaborate scheme to woo the girl. I do give it some credit for not giving in and making it a total gross-out comedy. The film focuses on the ups and downs in the relationships that these guys have. Yes, there are penis jokes but it is not as obnoxious and forced as some other comedies are these days. That type of humor does come with single straight guys in their twenties so some of it is a bit expected.

That Awkward Moment feels like a mix of American Pie meets "Sex and the City" and is probably catered toward young men in their early twenties as its core audience. I am not that demographic anymore, so I do not think I enjoyed it as much as some of the other audiences members I saw it with did. There were a few times where the audience was just rolling with laughter. It is probably funnier if you are currently living the same life these characters are, which I am not. That is not to say it is a dumb movie. Despite the film being on the predictable side, it is mildly entertaining due to Efron, Jordan, and Teller. All three feel suited to their characters quite well. Sure these guys may make stupid decisions from time to time, but they are all seem real and genuine to what guys in their twenties are probably like these days. Imogen Poots and Mackenzie Davis are charming as well and should not go unnoticed despite it being a "guys" movie. This ensemble gives the movie more life and energy than the fairly average script has in store.

RATING: *** (3 out of 5 stars)

Movie Review: EVIL DEAD

EVIL DEAD
Director: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore



If you have seen enough horror films, you are well aware of the old plot where five friends go to an abandoned cabin in the woods and all hell breaks loose. With the rise in popularity of zombies, it was about time for a remake of the classic low budget horror fest known as The Evil Dead. Do not be confused as this one drops the "The" and is just Evil Dead. Mia (Levy) is battling a cocaine addiction and her friends Olivia (Lucas) and Eric (Pucci) take her to a cabin in an intervention type escape from her every day life. Low and behold her brother David (Fernandez) and his girlfriend Natalie (Blackmore) arrive as a surprise to Mia. Mia and David do not have the best relationship so that adds some tension to the mix. Oh yes, let us not forget about their dog. Did I mention that they are in the middle of the woods with nothing around?



Late one dark evening, the dog starts sniffing around the carpet in the middle of the room. The guys pull up the rug to find a bloody cellar door. Naturally, they open it and the wafting smell overpowers the room. Eric and David go into the cellar to find numerous dead cat carcasses hanging from the ceiling among other treasures. Eric picks up a package that appears to be wrapped in a black trash bag with barbed wire over it. Inside contains a book covered in human flesh. Upon opening it, Eric reads many messages in red warning him not to continue reading. A plea to not awaken the evil that surrounds them. We wouldn't have a movie if he actually listened and took those to heart. He reads the incantations out loud not knowing he is summoning the demons. Mia struggles with her addiction and her withdrawals send her into a panic attack out into the woods to escape. That demon comes out, rapes, and possesses Mia in a twisted way in an ode to the original film. The possessed Mia makes her way back to the cabin and infects the others.



The tagline on the poster reads "The most terrifying film you will ever experience." I beg to differ. I suppose if gallons upon gallons of blood terrify you, then sure, you will find this movie to be the most terrifying film you will ever experience. We are in a phase with horror movies where torture porn and buckets of blood seem to be a standard. It seems to be the new craze with the likes of the Saw and Hostel movies reaching popularity. Evil Dead may just take the cake on being the most gruesome film I have ever experienced, yet somehow I was bored.



I sat throughout the film being torn and conflicted. I wanted to like it and I felt like I should be raving about it, but I just could not get into it. It has been a few years since I saw the original which I cannot decide if that is a good thing or not. If a horror movie is remade, I want to try to enjoy it on its own merit. One of the main things the movie does have going for it is that it is not a direct remake of the original. The main theme and framework is there, but the characters are different and there are a few twists thrown in. The original film had a ridiculously small budget that provided some good camp and cheese to the special effects. This one has been given money to spend on the make-up and blood effects. Original director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell are two of the producers of the film and specifically chose Fede Alvarez to direct it. Instead of playing into the recipe that has made the original the success and cult following it has, they turned to the modern age of horror films and fit the Evil Dead concept into this era. I can get behind that but I still wanted more. When you have a story that is already far-fetched, you can really play into the dark comedy in the dialogue and in the way people are killed. There were moments of hilarious one-liners and times when the deaths were even more ridiculous and over the top. I loved those moments and wanted the film to continue in that direction. I suppose you could say that each death is over the top in nature but I wanted each one dialed up to 11 or even 12. Limbs are dismembered left and right and a tongue is slit in half, but I still wanted more creativity behind each one.

RATING: * (1 out of 5 stars)