Dreadfully Boring

Absolutely brilliant

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Enroute Air Canada is airing this movie. I managed to watch the first hour and looked forward to my return trip to re watch from beginning to end. What a great movie. Considering that the two main characters carried the whole movie along with beautiful visual scenery, it was quite remarkable. Enjoyed it thoroughly, but then I am a huge fan and champion of all things of Canadian. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys good acting, great humour and an ending that is up for debate these days. And appreciates Canadian film and Canadian actors.Why you have to have ten lines review, I will never know. Sometimes a short review that gets to the point is far more effective than a long drawn out review that peoples eyes just glaze and gloss over. All in all....a good movie. p.s. why can I not find the soundtrack list anywhere? any help there?

With Orphan Black being one of my favorite shows, naturally I would want to see Tatiana Maslany be in something else between the seasons. And while she does guest star on other shows, unfortunately those are shows I'm just not into. So finding out she is in a movie is quite a treat. Though I can't say the movie itself is one.Characters & StoryDylan (Tatiana Maslany) is an eccentric girl who is very outgoing and has dreams of becoming a professional writer. Dr. Cas Pepper (Richard Dreyfuss) is a widow, very straight laced and plain, and just wants to spend the rest of his life in some peace. So, how do these two meet? Well, in Dylan's pursuit of understanding suffering, she decides to observe the patients at the hospital where Dr. Pepper works at. Then, with her seeing him intently writing something, thinking he is a fellow writer, she decides to force her way into his life, without an invitation, and as many times as he tries pushing her out, or outright abandoning her, something keeps bringing these two opposites together. Leading to, eventually, Dr. Pepper giving up on trying to live the rest of his life in peace, and just learning to deal with, accept, and eventually come to love this odd young lady who has somehow found a place within his heart.PraiseWhen the film has perhaps 20 to 30 minutes left and the manic personality of Dylan and depressive personality of Cas start to get balanced out, the movie becomes slightly OK. For with them both revealing what the near future holds for them, you begin to actually get a sense that the characters are finally getting developed. We see Dylan's fears for her future and the lack of hope Cas has in his, and after their friendship and interactions stop seeming so forced, you finally get some sense that these two could actually intermingle without Cas trying to abandon Dylan the first chance he gets.CriticismBut until that point in the movie where both characters seem to become human, Dylan presents herself as a highly annoying character and Cas' personality is seemingly made to compensate her nature by coming off as boring as possible. Now, as for how annoying Dylan is? Well, with her being a 20 something year old who lounges around a hospital to try to vicariously suffer; someone who never shuts up, or says anything intriguing; and also pretty much forces her way into Cas' life, but seems ready to abandon it when she realizes what he can't give her is fun and games anymore, it makes the majority of the time we spend with Dylan to be a test of patience. Though what makes things worse is that you don't really get any real sort of back story when it comes to Dylan to even really understand her.A problem Cas also has for his back story also is ignored. But it is a bigger tragedy for Cas' character since we are introduced to his former wife and with him being a doctor it really seems like he could have been given some depth. As opposed to what the film decides to waste time on which is us thinking Cas may have accidentally murdered Dylan's boyfriend. Much less the constant back and forth of Cas not wanting Dylan around him and then him allowing her to return with him seemingly regretting the decision as soon as it is made.Overall: Skip ItThough the last half hour or so of the film was far better than what preceded it, unfortunately it isn't a complete 180 degree turn which makes the film worth watching. If anything: the climax of the film leads to a rushed development of the characters, which feels sort of shallow. For after us seeing Cas push away Dylan constantly, him suddenly feeling for the girl, and acting like a father figure because she faced disappointment just seemed a bit weird. If just because they waited so long to turn him into such a figure that it felt a little too little too late. Hence the "Skip It" label for the film tries to do a last minute save, but it is so below average throughout that to recommend this for anything besides background noise for a nap would mean I was getting paid to write this.

"A journey is a person in itself; no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find that after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." John Steinbeck The concept of a road movie featuring a mis-matched duo who don't get along, directed by Brandon from Beverly Hills 90210, sounds like a horrendous straight-to-TV movie. The reality is that this might just be this year's Little Miss Sunshine. It is a surprisingly sweet movie, tinged with darkness and light in equal measure. The plot centres around Dr Cas Pepper (Dr Pepper!!!), who at the start of the film is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and decides, rather than spend his few remaining days in a hospital bed hooked up to machines, he is going to go out on his own terms. At the same time Dylan, played by Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany, literally barges her way into the Doctor's life and the unlikely duo begin their journey "out west" where, along the way, Dylan plans to help Cas with his suicide note.The storyline is nothing new, however, what sets this apart is the two magnificent leads. Richard Dreyfuss delivers his best performance in decades, sidestepping what could have been a clichéd grumpy old man performance into a fully developed character that demands both sympathy and respect. Tatiana Maslany is practically incandescent, bringing Dylan to life with charisma and sadness that contradicts her front of being a fee spirit. Her obvious lies and exaggerations do not convey an irritating Zooey Deschanel level of kooky, but instead make the viewer pity the girl who is obviously inventing a life better than the one she currently occupies.Jason Priestley seems a bizarre choice for someone who is known primarily as a teen heart throb and has only previously directed television episodes. However, he displays a wonderful eye for both characters and visuals. The scenery, as the duo take their cross country trip through the various landscapes of Canada, is as beautiful as anything a Planet Earth documentary could show. For a film that is primarily just two people in a car talking, he avoids any gimmicky shots and shows a confidence in his two leads to hold the audience's attention. Priestley has shown hidden depth as an actor before in both Tombstone and the criminally underrated Love and Death on Long Island, which was sadly eclipsed by the similar Gods and Monsters. He is just as surprising as a director and one gets the feeling that his accomplishments behind the camera will soon outstrip his achievements in front of it.The film is laced with wonderful moments of humour and heartbreaking moments of tenderness that never leaves the viewer feeling emotionally manipulated. It is rare that comedy-dramas deliver on both fronts but this one does wonderfully. The unlikely trio of Dreyfuss, Maslany and Priestley has delivered a beautiful film that will hopefully find a deserved audience and, if nothing else, should see a rise in the sale of orange VW Beatles. You may leave the cinema with a tear in your eye but you will have a smile on your face. - See more at:www.followingthenerd.com

Just saw it at the Dublin Film Festival and it's an absolutely great movie. The acting of both leads is perfect. You never stop believing them. And you go with them through the whole journey (both the literal road journey and the bigger metaphorical one). The movie is actually surprisingly light and funny (considering the story). Even though it touches rather serious topics of life and death, it manages to do so very gently and inoffensively and with a good deal of humour. It kind of focuses more on them learning from each other how to live then on him dying. So the overall feeling is surprisingly optimistic. And, since it's a road movie, you'll get some beautiful wide-screen shots of Canadian landscape to enjoy as well.