Kill Someone and Your Name is "Mud"

Ah, the life of a hobo...

The Story:

Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) are two 14 year olds living near the Mississippi River in Arkansas.  They discover a boat suspended in the trees on an island and are going to make it their boat.  Until it turns out it's already been claimed by a drifter named Mud (Matthew McConaughey) who enlists the duo in helping him fix the boat so he can escape some bounty hunters with the love of his life (Reese Witherspoon).

Hmm.

I'm not sure what to think about this one.

It's not bad, per se.

It's also not great.

I've heard critics rave that it was the best Matthew McConaughey performance in years, until his next one comes out.  The problem with that theory, is that I've almost always enjoyed his movies, so he's always had a good performance.  Sometimes he's the best part of some movies.

I'm not sure if that's the case here, he certainly does a good job, but so does the entire cast.

The problem, it is a slow paced movie that builds towards the end.

And when movies clock in over 2 hours... most people don't want to invest that much time in them.

This one, I did watch through the whole film, and while tempted to speed it up, I let it run.  I did tinker with a  few things while watching, but this is a movie you don't have to have your eyes on the screen at all times to know what's going on.

Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, I don't know if this, or Take Shelter would be considered his "big breakthrough" film.  Certainly I heard more about that one, but having watched the last half of that movie...

I absolutely hated it.  Terrible ending.

So naturally, I wasn't in any hurry to jump into this one.

Thankfully, this was much better.

I'll give Nichols credit, he can assemble a great cast from top to bottom.

The main problem, he's got a lot of great actors, all with 5 minutes of screen time.

Reese Witherspoon?  Ladies, if you were hoping for a romantic entanglement between the two, you're going to be disappointed.  The part could have, and likely should have, been played by any female actress.  Give an unknown or lesser-known a shot.

Michael Shannon, Nichols' go to guy... if he had more than 5 minutes on-screen, that's being generous.

Thankfully, Sam Shepard fares better as the mysterious stranger who loves Mud like a son, and has to make some tough love decisions.

Really, the movie is a tour-de-force for the 2 kids who do a great job being at the center of the movie.  This is their "Stand by Me" moment, and if they want to stick around in Hollywood, their feet are firmly in the door at this point.

So there you go.

It's a drama, and unless you're a Drama named "Shawshank Redemption" you'll likely only get so much praise around these parts. ;)

I will give kudos for the 3rd Act creating a genuine "Jump Moment" normally reserved for horror movies. 

Wasn't expecting it, well done.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nope, not a high demand for dramas, especially really long ones.

I "Flipped" For This Under the Radar Little Movie

He said. She said.

The Story:

The story takes place during the end of the 50s and beginning of the 60s.  Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe) and his family move into town, across from Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll) and her family.  Juli is smitten with Bryce from the moment they set eyes on one another, Bryce doesn't feel the same.  The movie then shifts forward in their lives recounting various meetings between the two from each others point of view and perspective, providing narration on what they were feeling at the time, and what they were thinking.  Will Bryce come around to have feelings for Juli, or will Juli realize that Bryce isn't worth her time?

So if you say "coming of age" movie and "directed by Rob Reiner", what will you be expecting?  Most people will automatically think of Stand By Me, and rightfully so.  It's a classic in cinema.

However, I think Reiner's career as a director keeps him firmly in my Top 10, maybe Top 5 directors of all time.  Lofty praise to be sure, but the guy has delivered many competent films.  Were they all blockbusters?  Nope, but even Spielberg has his flops over his career.

Reiner's misses are often not failures...they're just not as good as the rest of his canon.  However, when you set the bar high with movies including The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men and Misery it's easy to fall a little short over the years.

Apparently he made this one back in  2010, and like his 2012 film, The Magic of Belle Isle, it flew under the radar.

But neither film should have done so.  Both were very good, and well worth the time of watching.  Again, great coming of age movies that can be enjoyed by the entire family.

The actors all do a great job, especially the kids who have to carry the majority of the movie.  The parents are a mix of good character actors.  Aidan Quinn is Juli's dad, and he brings his usual touch to a role that provides a bit of meat to their family backstory as the film moves along.

Across the street, Anthony Edwards and Rebecca De Mornay (!!) are Bryce's parents.  Hats off to Mr. Edwards for being a completely unlikable dad in this film, playing about as against type as he can get from his days on E.R.

Quietly working behind the scenes to help Bryce understand his feelings and brokering peace between the kids is John Mahoney doing terrific work as the grandfather.

It's a sweet little movie with a great 60s soundtrack to enhance what's happening onscreen.

Very enjoyable little film.

Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Again, while not on the same tier as Reiner's best films, it falls into the next level of films, very good, but not great, but definitely not bad.  I could let it play again and be content!  If I find it for a decent price, I'd snatch it up.