Searching (2018)
John Chou and Debra Messing star in this 'Unfriended' knockoff about a man looking for his missing daughter. David (Chou) traces his missing daughter's last digital steps. The mother, Pamela, died and David has weaponised disappointment. The daughter, Margot, has a secret life and David thought their family was relatively happy: he was wrong.
David's emotions are so heavily invested in Margot. He's barely functional and this is a movie about lost opportunities and extreme distress. Times have never been more challenging for David. Margot cancelled her piano lessons 6 months ago and skips class and he doesn't know her friends. Her social media is private and she does not seem to have any friends.
I haven't seen something this lame since the Teri Hatcher/Charlize Theron catfight in '2 Days In The Valley'. David uncovers lies and he needs a serious reassessment. Is he using a Windows 98 PC? There are no damaging long term consequences to anything in this film. This was not ambitious or visionary. David's increasingly gormless.
David is disenchanted and there is exposition and wild accusations and the daughter may have been riddled with a misguided sense of entitlment. David has displeasure and there is no declaration of intent and this film has a concealed plemic edge. Margot was recalcitrant and there is unquestioning comfort with tech. David looks up yahoo mail and he hacks her social media. This had a loosely structured narrative shape.
There is artifice and this tries to be basically serious. David seems friendless and yells. Damning things are uncovered and this film does not make a positive contribution to society. There is no fascinating speculation and the plot is not effectively reduced down to ideas about loss. Willing participants must accept the consequences of their actions.
This was not extraordinary, engrossing or strangely moving. David wants to know what she did with her piano money. Various traumas are uncovered and the mystery is not tantalising. Some ghastly teens whine. Online is a indecently immoral environment. There is uninteresting muttering in shadows and a Bieber joke.
The plot is insufficently developed. People hide so many of their motivations and this was wonky. He strives, others scheme. One is not scared or nervous. This was not chillingly relevant . David stares at Facebook, not Twitter. He stares at YouCast and David is not calmingly serene. This is a crazy hell. Margot was left out and ungenerous remarks are made. Margot fared more and more ominiously. She's 15?!? This was not a heartbreaking crisis. There is a still simmering crisis and this was innocuous. Where is South Bay? This is set in Santa Cruz. Reddit is visited and there is an abhorrent 'twist'.
Best Lines:
“Healthy and organic jar of orgeno.”
“Ground investigation.”
“Define friends.”
“Did people invite her to things?”
“I'm in regular.”
“Look into her behaviour also.”
“Terrifying development.”
“Angry neighbour starts banging on the door.”
“Nobody was actually her friend.”
“What is the tumblr?!?”
“Acting like a total different person.”
~
The Other Lamb (2020)
Women live in a cult. There is only 1 man in this cult, the women are all his wives and daughters. What is with all the threads strung through the trees? There's a hut and so much mumbling. This was painfully unimaginative. There are sheep, sheep, sheep. What happened to the geese? Nobody notices the cult burning the body of a dead member? Where did the dog come from? The idiot bimbo rebels. The plot is oddly like that of season 2 'Helix'. The ending is wack. This was filmed in Ireland but takes place in the USA.
Best Lines:
“Broken place made by broken people.”
“SHE'S IMPURE! SHE'S IMPURE!”
“His attention is like the sun.”
“Still a favoured wife.”
“Cursed wife.”
“Born wrong.”
“Only 1 ram in the flock.”