From my favorite movies..

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

"Loves Her Gun" might be the most criminally underrated movie of 2013. It takes the viewer in the mind of its main character in a way that few movies do. You feel her desire to escape everything and anything, you feel her paranoia, and you feel her attraction to violence.That might make it sound like a downer, but it's not. It's a mercifully short and fast-paced movie with a sense of humor. The movie's light tone not only makes its dark subject matter more palatable, it also makes the main character's flaws seem all the more tragic. She's not reacting to a world that is harsh by nature, but to a series of unfortunate circumstances that she's not mentally equipped to deal with, and her innocuous surroundings only make that more clear. In many ways, it plays like a Hitchcock film - or, perhaps more accurately, like a film by one of Hitchcock's more subtle French imitators, Chabrol and Truffaut. In any case, the film does an amazing job of keeping you engaged and squirming in your seat, even when nothing strange seems to be happening. Many movies these days are shot in Austin, but they often are merely set in suburban houses and bars. This movie, however, really has a sense of place. You really get a feel for the outdoor dive bars, the humid air, the health food stores, and the bicycle cabs.I saw this movie half a year ago, and it has stayed in my memory more than many others have. I really don't know why this movie wasn't bigger. My best guess is that it was too cinematic and intense for indie audiences expecting a light mumblecore, and too subtle for thriller/horror audiences, who were probably expecting a cheesy bloodbath. I suspect that it just didn't connect with the small, niche audiences who tend to expect very specific things from movies, and often don't have the patience for subtle, intelligent, visually compelling movies that tell good stories.

If you are of a certain age, it may be difficult to watch Geoff Marslett's "Loves Her Gun" without thinking of "Death Wish." No, this isn't another one of those films about a gun-toting vigilante who goes gunning for thugs and creeps who are turning the city into a vortex of fear and paranoia. Actually, it comes off more or less the way "Death Wish" might have played out in real life. That classic Charles Bronson film was mounted on the idea of one man avenging his family after a vicious attack by walking down dark alleys at night looking for the human scum. This one is more about the reality that follows a person who has been the victim of violent crime. The vigilante route is tempted but never exacted."Loves Her Gun" opens with a beautiful young woman named Allie (Trieste Kelly Dunn) who lives a sheltered life in a her Brooklyn neighborhood. Her life is so uneventful that she feels comfortable walking home at 1:30 in the morning by herself without an escort. Without warning, she is attacked by two men wearing animal masks. They steal her purse and, for no other reason, beat her senseless. The only words exchanged come from one of the criminals who informs his victim that the only reason he doesn't rape her is that he's not in the mood. The police aren't any help. Sarah becomes paranoid and decides to move far away, to Austin Texas where, naturally, she buys a gun.What is so original about "Loves Her Gun" is the way in which director Geoff Marslett fixes the film so firmly in Allie's point of view. In a lesser film, it might have become some boring potboiler in which the police refuse to help and the muggers come gunning for our hero. None of that. What's interesting is that even though the story moves Allie 1700 miles from Brooklyn, New York to Austin, Texas, the defenselessness and paranoia still reside. She locks doors at night, she's leery of strangers. She sticks close to friends. We are there with her. We feel her closed in world, and we become as suspicious as she does of anyone or anything that looks out of place.This is not an action film, filled with heavy plot elements. It is about a specific person whose life is rocked by random events. The fascination comes from the performance of newcomer Trieste Kelly Dunn. She's beautiful, but she's not far from anyone you've ever met. Allie leads an unfocused, directionless life and must come to terms with the implications of a terrible ordeal. We see the stages of her trauma from strong-hearted victim to emotional train-wreck to a woman putting the pieces back together. What comes of her journey is not as sour and down-beat as you might think. In fact, it ends of a rather positive note. Unlike "Death Wish," this is a movie about a very specific person and the very specific event that turns her life around.***1/2 (of four)

This a fantastic film that should definitely not be missed. From start to finish, I was glued to the screen, as the story was quite well done. And for an indie film you'd be worried that the acting is sub-par but it's not. The main character here does a stellar job of bringing you into the movie.Indie films can be a hit or a miss, this one is a hit all the way! It's gems like this that are reasons to pay attention to the world of indie film. Also, the Director Geoff Marslett does a fantastic job of relaying his interpretation of how this story should be played out. He is one to watch!! He was also responsible for the fantastic film Mars.See this movie!