A waste of 90 minutes of my life

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I found the movie thought provoking. I didn't enjoy his relationships that didn't work. Yet one lady encouraged him to be more and another one encouraged him to be himself, despite his success in a position with her dad. What I enjoyed was that it made me think about the importance of doing what we desire, rather than what we're good at or what we're successful at. I also didn't mind that there were lots of close ups of Mr Beautiful. I didn't find it too much since he was easy on the eyes. I also thought they did a nice job of transitioning the main character's image from a student to a businessman. I didn't think it was a great movie but it does have an important message. It was timely for me. The movie kept my attention and got the point across.

People (myself included) often hear the word "existentialist" and start thinking about dark, brooding, nihilistic philosophies amounting to something like "life sucks and then you die." Sure, that's a rich tradition amongst existentialists, but there's another side of the coin.The core theme of existentialism is the idea that we exist in an unfathomable universe without any predetermined right/wrong, and it is up to each of us to determine for ourselves what right/wrong is. That's what "Brightest Star" tackles in the guise of a romance about a guy trying to win back his ex-soulmate. It uses a poignant, recurring metaphor of the stars. The guy goes through life believing that "the brightest star" will one day appear and show him exactly what to do. But for some reason that star eludes him.If you go into this expecting a standard romcom, you'll phase out by the 2nd act. If you're looking for a tidy Hollywood story with an eventful plot and bang finish, you'll end up hurling your popcorn at the screen. But if you're up for a challenging look at "finding your way" in love, life and logic, then this film delivers.Some films are like freight trains, picking up momentum toward a singular destination. Other films take a deliberately wandering approach, with frequent jumps in the timeline, or episodic events that seem unrelated to each other. "Brightest Star" falls squarely into the 2nd category with the likes of other fragmented, soul-searching films like "(500) Days of Summer", "Forrest Gump" and even "Citizen Kane".This is quite a bold directorial debut from Maggie Kelly, certainly not designed to be a crowd pleaser, but for those of you who stray off the beaten path into unwritten territory (like the main character who, if you notice, doesn't even have a name) then this film is for you.

I found the movie awesome to watch. Unlike the previous review of it, I am struck by Chris Lowell's face and thought that it was used well.I say this because I found Chris well able to convey strong emotion just by looks in his eyes and the expression on his face. His eyes and face said it all and there was no need for dialog. I get why the film maker just had a lot of shots of his face. Those pictures were worth a thousand words. Yes, Chris Lowell has a pretty face, but if you look past the face to see what was beneath, you get the pain his character is in. I was deeply touched by his portrayal because it captured the deeper heart level of what was going on internally for the character. I think he carried the film and hope to see him much much more.

There is one thing about this flick that ruined the whole movie for me! Why? Oh, Why? Did Maggie Kiley use so many close-ups of Chris Lowell's face? It's like every 8 minutes --- close-up. Does Ms Kiley have a 'thing' for Lowell's face? Am I the only one to notice this weird obsession from start to finish?Actually the plot gets difficult to follow because Lowell's face is constantly taking over the story. I get the message - he's young, confused, thinks he's in love, and like most people finding direction and focus in ones life is not easy. This would have been a superb story had Maggie Kiley stuck with the conscience direction of 'the boy'. Instead she plastered his face on screen at every chance. It got on my nerve's!So to sum up this review - if you want a shallow story floating around a guy's pretty face - this is the flick for you!