Pretty Good

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Wow! What a pleasant surprise! Don't let the neo-Nazi/Hitler/racist premise scare you off from enjoying a well-written and entertaining character study -- a really solid little piece of cinema. Great performances all around: Jeremy Renner's star is guaranteed to continue rising, as evident in his work as the troubled but likable Ned -- and even Gabrielle Union (who I usually find rather flat, predictable and ultimately uninteresting despite her prettiness) succeeds here as well. Union, thanks to the tight script and adept directing, perhaps puts in the best work of her career. And I agree with another reviewer's observation: there's great chemistry between the two leads, empowering the notion of their characters' profoundly unlikely romance. Overall, the film is at times dark, humorous, genuinely touching and never heavy-handed or unforgivably false. I consider Neo Ned a more insightful, true and telling treatise on racism in America than 2009's laughable and embarrassing The Blind Side. I highly recommend Neo Ned!

I was really impressed with this movie; particularly the performance of Jeremy Renner. It's an incredibly sad and strikingly true story that broke my heart, but I absolutely loved it. Ned has a sad innocence juxtaposed with his explosive but upbeat personality that is mesmerizing. There are a lot of incredible stories out there about unlikely heroes from broken backgrounds and Ned is a classic example. Worn down by the system and never shown a normal example of a family or life, Ned's violent tendencies are truly a product of his reaction to a destructive universe. At the end when his mother speaks of his 'heart of gold', you realize that she isn't mistaken. He isn't exactly a hero, but did the best he could with his given situation and history.I was fascinated and impressed with both Renner and Union, as they both had tragic histories and longed for something happy.. Awesome, awesome, awesome... if you can handle it. This movie is definitely for people who don't mind a bittersweet story. Beautifully acted and directed.

Heard of Neo Ned? Not too many have. I, in fact, discovered it last night while I was working the closing shift at the movie theater in my town. As it turns out, the producer of the film is from here and decided to offer a free showing with a Q&A at the end. My opinion: this movie should not have been free. In fact, I wouldn't have minded paying $10.00+ to view it. I would even dare to say that it far surpassed every other film in our theater, and possibly every film that we've had for the last six months. So, to shorten and conclude my rant: It was amazing.Neo Ned is a story about love, or as a previous audience member mentioned "anti-hate". Ned is a neo-Nazi who grew up in an array of torn homes and who witnessed his father's arrest, which tore him away from his son for many years. As an adult, he ends up in a psych ward, only to meet a black woman, whom he falls in love with.This is certainly not your traditional love story. In all actuality, it quite possibly breaks many, if not all, of the rules of tradition. But who really cares? Overall, the writing, directing, and acting were superb. Hollywood: stop giving us your half-baked movies and start putting real movies with real stories in our theaters. Neo Ned would be a great way to start.

I saw this movie at the San Diego Film Festival. It was absolutely incredible. Neo Ned is a romance-drama-comedy wrapped up all in one. It offers unique ideas on racism, love and making choices that are revealed through the talented actors in this film. Jeremy Renner and Gabrielle Union put their heart and souls into this film and their breath taking on-screen chemistry is captured. This is a movie that can be appreciated by people of all shapes and sizes (except children, there is profanity). The director, Van Fischer, did an awesome job with this film. His plot style is disarrayed characters who wind up in odd situations, a dynamic duo that results in entertainment. During the film festival he answered questions from the audience. We shall be expecting to see more of his movie magic soon. He did a lot with his budget that was so small. I give it five stars(*****)! I also recommend getting familiar with the independent film festivals.. you might just find a diamond in the rough!