Searching

Plot: 16 year old Margot (Michelle La) disappears on the way on a Thursday night after studying with kids from school. Her Dad David (John Cho) isn't too worried at first, but no one can find her. He calls the police and Detective Vick (Debra Messing) volunteers to work on the case.David pokes around her computer looking a Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and a YouTube knockoff. It looks like a murder by a vagrant, but just as they are putting all behind them, one of the YouTube friend's turns out to have a fake photo, and the movie goes down a rabbit hole that leads to a roller coaster ending. Didn't see that coming. [imdb]    [photos]

Review: This film is emotional and gripping even though it is primarily told in video chats, text messages, and cutting & pasting text. The technique is refreshingly different, but it worked great her.

Like a good mystery, you learn more and more, and then everything you thought you knew gets turned upside down. And it has an emotional roller-coaster as well. I really like how I gradually was aware that something was wrong.

The writing and directing is the real star of the movie. That is what makes it different and suspenseful. Director Chaganty says the editing was also critical, the way the test appears and the timing were critical.

Cast: John Cho, Michelle La, Debra Messing

Written and directed by: Aneesh Chaganty, this is his first movie.

Editted by: Nick Johnson, Will Merrick

The Music: A pretty piano heavy soundtrack by Torin Borrowdale

The Visuals: It is mostly computer screens, but there is some interest stuff, for example the screen gets pixelly when they want you to realize you are looking at a computer.  

Rating: 4.0 stars: .

More: There have been computer-only movies before such as the horror movie Unfriended.

Big time spoilers: When it comes down to it, this is a worst-case cyber-bullying story, where a quiet pretty girl is stalked by a nerdy, quiet boy, but when they meet IRL everything goes wrong and there is a fatal accident. Like idiots they cover up the accident, and draw in an ex-con to confess, but he might talk, so now it's a murder.

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This is the official poster with all the floating windows.
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Brooks Levitate 2

My original pair of Brooks Levitate shoes was getting old and too soft in the forefoot. I was happy with them, so I bought a second pair and this one is the third. There are approximately 650 miles on my old shoes. The new model is out: the Levitate 2.

Brooks promotes Levitates as having high energy return, and Popular Science did a nice review of shoe resilience and how much energy return can help a running. I know when I got my first pair of (high energy return) Adidas Boost, I thought it helped my running by 10-15 seconds a mile. PopSci also talks about the polyurethane foam midsole which is covered with shiny metallic paint.

The Levitate is stiffer than the Adidas Boost shoes that my local Dick's Sporting Good's carries. For my aging feet, the stiffer shoe provides support in the forefoot, and that helps to avoid discomfort in my big toe. I suspect that higher end Adidas shoes have more support, but I haven't have not had a chance to try them out.

Brooks has re-done the upper: all knitted fabric with a knitted cuff around the ankle. I like the cuff because it is comfortable. I got this blue/red/black design that my wife liked. I can't get over the unusual color pallet, maybe it is edgy, but I think it misses the mark. I may put black laces on it.

My Levitate 2's in size 11 weighs 363 grams, which is 5 grams lighter than my Levitate 1 shoe in the same size, that is one percent lighter. This is about 24 g  heavier than my other running Brooks shoes.

Although Levitate is promoted for energy return, I wear them because they make my feet feel better.