Underrated/Overrated

UNDERRATED

“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, the movie is 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 bona-fide Britpop hitmaker, this British quartet led by vocalist Miki Berenyi was never able to follow its breakthrough album, “Lovelife,” after the suicide of the band’s 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.

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

chris.barton@latimes.com