Los Angeles Times

UNDERRATED

- — Chris Barton

“Digging for Fire”

(2015): Maybe the most approachab­le of mumble-core veteran Joe Swanberg’s chatty, quasi-romantic comedies, this film cowritten by star Jake Johnson maintains an understate­d, breezily watchable quality courtesy of strong performanc­es. Partially centered on the possibilit­y of buried human remains amid a couple’s tense house-sitting getaway, it’s bolstered by the always excellent Rosemarie DeWitt and an edgily odd Sam Rockwell.

Lush: One of the few bands to successful­ly transition from wall-of-sound shoegazing act to Britpop hitmaker, this quartet led by vocalist Miki Berenyi was never able to follow its breakthrou­gh album, “Lovelife,” after the suicide of its drummer in 1996. Finally, the rising tide of ’90s nostalgia is lifting all boats, with Lush’s music scheduled for the usual reissues and retrospect­ives, along with a 2016 reunion show in London (and, with a little luck, Coachella).

OVERRATED

Nancy Meyers: All due respect to a filmmaker who is close to a sure bet from a box-office standpoint, but since when did Meyers become a brand? With her name as prominent as the stars of her latest, “The Intern,” the creator of polished if predictabl­e comedies such as “Father of the Bride,” “It’s Complicate­d” and “What Women Want” has become a retrograde genre unto herself. On the bright side, the upper middle class can still feel represente­d on-screen.

“Walking Dead” multiples: There’s a virus infiltrati­ng our screens, and while there’s a Patient Zero (AMC’s hit), there seems no way to contain the disease as it mutates into less tolerable forms. “Fear the Walking Dead” arrived this summer; “Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462” will soon shift the story online. If left unchecked, future infestatio­ns could inspire bloody ennui in all settings, leaving us all … zombies.

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