Wow! Such a good movie.

the audience applauded

Purely Joyful Movie!

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

This movie starts out bad, real bad. The set-up is way too heavy-handed. I didn't believe the sheriff was so afraid of Blackway. It almost gets to be a joke. I didn't believe that nobody in the whole town would stand up to this violent thug and bully. But about 45 minutes in, the movie hooked me and the suspense was almost unbearable. Once the three main characters were all in, I was right there with them. The violent scene in the motel was good, I thought. Well worked out and choreographed. But I wanted the tall guy to take the shotgun with him. The movie is beautifully shot and the scenery is gorgeous. Reminds me of "Wind River" which looked good, too. The character "Blackway" seems almost too violent to believe. You'd think he'd be in prison or in the ground by this point in his life. He really needs to be killed. Halfway in, I feared him and also hated him. And I feared for the three people who were trying to defend decency. So the character worked well. Overall, almost a good movie.

My sister told me she'd run across thing scrolling through Netflix. I watched it first, so at least one of us was spared.It's beyond me how such a piece of hot garbage has this stellar of a cast. I was optimistic just based on the cast list and had to read over other reviews after watching it because I was sure I'd missed something. Nope.Girl is being harassed by a guy who saw her where she waitresses. She turns him down, so he stalks her, like you do. Also decapitates her cat (why?). Two complete strangers join her to track him down (why?), and he's apparently ex law enforcement who just decided he'd rather be in the drug/sex trafficking trade (again...why?). They find him. They kill him. The end.The story line is so straightforward that it ends up being boring and predictable. Throw zero character development and a complete lack of onscreen chemistry between the actors into the mix, and this is easily the worst film I've seen in recent memory.

An old man without a plan, a young woman without a plan, and a young man without a plan go into the woods unjustifiably confident of meting out justice to a psychopathic maniac. It's a formula movie that for some reason does not stick to the formula. We all recognize the set up (innocent woman terrorized), we all know what is coming (this one's got gumption and fights back) and we're all rooting for the payoff (cocky bad guy gets humbled) but in this movie, the payoff is so low key as to be almost non-existent. There's lots of driving in trucks through the woods, lots of old men telling tales about bad things that happened long ago and a lot of Anthony Hopkins standing around looking morose. Other than that, not much. It ends abruptly, and seriously looks like they cut the final 10 minutes from the story. A disappointing script for all involved, especially Hopkins and Liota. Their talents are not apparent here at all.

I don't get the bad reviews...it's a good plot, survival of the fittest. I think it's a film worth seeing just because of the plot. It felt like something real that actually happens. Sometimes you can't count on the authorities to help you because they just don't care and this film portraits that. It's not the best film of your life but it's better than a lot of films nowadays. At least I didn't fall asleep like I did on Avengers or was it Captain America? Maybe it was Spider man or Iron man, not sure they all look the same. (PS: I never payed for these films, always got free tickets).