#danewing

Love and Monsters is like Zombieland crossed with How to Train Your Dragon. You could do far worse than a movie that pleasantly reminds you of two other good ones. You might even like this creature adventure film better.

Seven years after a wave of uncontrolled mutations caused all cold-blooded animals to grow to enormous size, humanity survives by living underground. Joel Dawson (Dylan O’Brien) has reconnected with his girlfriend Aimee (Jessica Henwick) via radio. Tired of being alone and feeling like the rest of his bunker won’t miss him if he’s gone, he decides to take a chance and go find her.

The setup might make it seem like Joel has serious self-esteem issues but that’s not the case. The bunker really won’t miss him - he’s that much of a screwup. Though well-intentioned, Joel is no good in a fight. Against a three-eyed amphibian the size of a swimming pool, he’s useless. Who knows? With all the time he’s spent listening to stories about the monsters and no delusions about his survival skills, he might even have a chance. Things are already looking up when he befriends an exceptional dog named “Boy”.

This film's running time is just about perfect. We see a lot of Joel barely managing enormous jaws. Just as the laughs start to wane, he hits a growth spurt and becomes world-savvy enough to stand a chance. The balance is roughly 50/50. Until we get to that point, there are several endearing encounters to keep you invested. It’s either lessons similar to the rules of Zombieland, moments of bonding between him, his dog, or other hardened survivors he meets along the way (Michael Rooker and Ariana Greenblatt have small but memorable roles), or a pause that allows him to reminisce about the world that’s lost.

In terms of monsters, this film knows what it’s doing. There’s a wide variety of creatures ranging from the disgusting to the creepy, to the comical. All of them look spectacular - that $30 million budget was working overtime - and the designs are memorable. Their introductions are also well done. Director Michael Matthews knows how and when to whet your appetite before the big reveal.

Aside from a side plot involving a robot that belonged in a different movie, the only major flaw in Love and Monsters comes towards the end when an unnecessary villain comes in. On the one hand, it caps off the lingering questions you might’ve had about Joel and Aimee, and appropriately concludes the heroic journey Joel has embarked upon. On the other, this movie could’ve thought of something more clever or more original.

Although it’s reminiscent of other movies, if you were only mildly enamored by Zombieland (perhaps you thought that extended Bill Murray gag wasn't as funny as everyone else), this could be the one you’ve been waiting for; a mash-up of wildly different genres that works. Love and Monsters is fun, imaginative, and with a fair share of surprises along the way. (October 22, 2021)

Reporters covering the AI companionship space tend to focus on the chat. It's the easy part to describe. But the more interesting story right now is happening on video, and SweetDream sits near the center of it. At sweetdream.ai, video calls are available with select characters, and the people using them describe a shift that's hard to capture in a feature list.

The mechanics are straightforward enough on paper. You build an AI girlfriend exactly how you want her, choosing appearance, personality and voice, and the platform's chat keeps track of your history so conversations build over time. From there you can send voice messages, take real-time phone calls, and, with the right character, move to a video call where she actually appears and responds. The continuity is the point. Nothing feels disconnected.