Amira Nasir

To be honest, I clicked this on Netflx because of Adam Brody. But my oh my, was I surprised by a great movie. The movie starts out dull, showing a normal guy who seems to be scraping by life with the little that he has. Those peeing scenes are both disgusting and insightful of Brody's character. Speaking of which, I loved how the other characters were just there and not overly planned out except for the goth receptionist and to a certain extent, the Nancy Drew-ish, Caroline. They seem more like a cookie cut versions of their type of characters if you know what I mean. And yes, by that logic Brody's character should be termed generic too. However the direction of the film has made it possible that Abe(Brody) is in fact, a complex character. Traumatized by loosing his friend/ crush Gracie, and not being able to uphold his glorious kid detective reputation after her kidnapping. He lost a lot to be honest, as a kid which led him to grow up in a fumble of greyness, stuck in the past and not really living in the present. The mystery, the dry humours and finale were all directed excellently. Lastly, just when you thought you knew everything about the story as it comes to the end, Brody's last scene really brought a haunting reminder to the viewers of the horrendous crime that took place. Bravo, to the team who made this movie and thank you for the entertainment.

Sometimes when I randomly pick a rom-com movie to watch, I'll go like "Have I watched this before?" especially when Hugh Grant is in it. The reason being that he almost always plays the same type of character. Forgive me for my lack of experience in film, but as a lover of rom-coms, this movie just doesn't hit it solely for the how I felt Hugh Grant's usual charming self didn't quite fit the role of Keith, the washed-up writer. The other supporting characters were endearing. I mean it was the only thing that helped me through the movie. Just my humble two cents here.

The one thing that consistently bothered me during the whole movie was, who did her make up(especially her brows) when she was out cold in the hospital? I know this seems shallow but it gave me an inkling of how the whole movie was gonna play through. There were many loose ends and questionable scenes in the movie like who the hell was Mr Khan? How could she have just accepted the lack of communication with the outside world? And what about the car keys she finally got? Not gonna use them huh? How could the battery of her phone lasted that freaking long?? And lastly, the detective. Why oh why didnt he call for back up once he confirmed that it was a fake Russel residence that he had come to?? I was disappointed since the cast and premise of the movie looked good. The plot and direction though.. needs major improvement. But anyhoo.. hopefully the maker of the movie will step up their game in the future.

Just watched it again for the second time, and boy, did it got me better than the first time. The slow nonsensical pace of the movie was perfect. There was no obvious stereotype characters such as overly played humour. It was just a blend of random bits of teenhood with a dark cloud hanging above it. Which frames, what the movie was heading for in such a beautiful yet simple way. Furthermore, I just love the intimate camera angles in the movie. Because it allows us not to just watch Greg and all his troubles, but to be with him every step of the way.