There’s said to be a fine line between horror and comedy. Certainly, these must be the hardest of art’s genres to master. It’s a high bar to leap when a viewer’s enjoyment is determined by the manifestation of a tangibly physical response to what they are watching. You’ll get no such twinge in a viewing of Cobweb, the first horror to spawn from the comically-oriented Point Grey Pictures. As producers, Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg may be well versed in the elicitation of laughter but screams? Not so much apparently. Rogan and Goldberg have a dozen horrid comedies in their filmography and can now add a laughable horror to the roster. It would seem it really is a fine line.
Blue Beetle deserves better than a lacklustre release at the arse end of a dying franchise. This hugely likeable super romp will play to the dust balls. A minimalist promotional programme from Warner Bros. says it all. Flash bombed and word on the streets has it that audiences just don’t care anymore. All executive eyes are instead on next year’s James Gunn franchise reboot. Expect, maybe they should care about this little try hard. Forget the wider world for one moment and embrace Blue Beetle as the most heartfelt, charming and unselfconsciously funny film the DCEU has produced in…well, perhaps ever. Sure, the bar’s low but don’t let that put you off either.
The intensity of your love for Theater Camp – and you will love it – is likely to depend on the degree to which you are immersed in the chorus line. The Broadway inoculated may, for instance, find themselves with a mouthful of glitter. They can admire the craft no less. Adoration must, however, grow exponentially with increasing involvement. A lowly film critic can but imagine the viewing joy felt by the graduates of actual, real world theatre camps. The in-jokes run riot. That’s no bad thing. Think of Theater Camp as your initiation. By the final note, all outsiders are welcome.
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