Brilliant and touching

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a film about a writer, who has written a novel, that is made into a movie, in which his imaginary characters are "real" people, who are portrayed by actors, who appear on a talk show, hosted by the actual writer of the novel and the film, where they sometimes comment on the real/fictional characters they are playing.And this actually WORKS! It all makes sense because the author has a problem with reality; therefore, he reworks it through his fiction.Judas, his main character, is an underground hero, so much so that a movie is being made of his life. Lask interacts with his characters, as do the actors hired to portray them. The cerebral journey blurs the line between creator and creation, as well as reality and revised reality.If this sounds pretentious, it's not. Though the movie elevates Judas to the level of iconic legend, it does so with a wink. He and his quirky friends may be the subject of "talk show" interest, but the mundaneness and normalcy of their story is apparent. Thoroughly postmodern, the tale has simple heart at its core: since our lives rarely are what we wish them to be, sometimes we need to sustain our illusions in order to get by.For those who enjoy the intellectualism, imagery and melancholy of works such as "The Royal Tenenbaums" or "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," this is a film worth checking out.

I saw On The Road With Judas in Phoenix a few weeks ago and have been transfixed on this film ever since. Everything about it is completely mesmerizing... The multiple planes of reality are constantly toying with the viewers perception of what is happening on screen, what is implied as "reality" and the meta-reality of the film's world...Definitely warrants multiple views.I happened to catch this while the filmmakers/distributors were touring it around the country this Fall and fell in love! It is definitely a challenging film, and I can see why it hasn't gotten a very wide release, even despite the great cast, many of which are well-known actors (I LOVE Kevin Corrigan!), however, if you liked Eternal Sunshine, even Synecdoche, NY, you should certainly check this one out, the non-linear, meta-narrative is prevalent! If nothing else, this movie has the timeless appeal of a classic con-man story. The two kleptomaniac main characters are excellent in their extra-curricular pursuits of collegiate artifacts ranging fro faculty Apple computers to rare art pieces adorning scholastic hallways…They are hilariously casual in their thievery!Highly recommend you seek this one out, it's on Netflix… I picked up a copy of the DVD at the screening and have already revisited it a number of times and it just keeps getting better. There should be more films like this out there!

I've been flying a lot lately, which means I've been watching a lot of saccharine movies or action flicks where censors have cut out the compelling bits. Everyone of them ends with a clear good guys/good girls get what they want (or at least get revenge) ending. Frankly, I'm sick of it.So, it was refreshing to see JJ Lask's film On the Road with Judas, a film that squishes time and the viewer's perception of reality. What extrudes are overlapping story lines that meet on a promotional interview of the film-- the "real" characters interact with the "actor" versions of themselves in a cheesy talk show. The story clips pieces from the "real" past together with the movie---so don't be surprised when you find yourself thinking, "But, uh, I thought he was..." I feel like if I say much more about the plot, I'll give a "spoiler," though, I'm not sure if even *I* know what the spoiler is.Look, I don't live in LA, and I'm not obsessed with IMDb like the folks I met recently in LA, so maybe this review won't help you judge why this movie is worth trekking to the next film festival or tiny showing it is at. All I can say is that I really enjoyed the movie--and I loved how people were normal, life was complex, and how a sense of low-key humor slithered it's way through the film. Take a chance and see it.*This movie was viewed at SIFF, the Seattle International Film Festival (North America's largest film festival), at the Northwest Film Forum.

Just watched a Sundance showing with an appreciative audience, On Jan 23rd in Park City. The theater was crowded with a 20 something crowd eager for something different. What they got was a confusing but compelling work which blends documentary style with dramatic insight. Touching, funny and twisted themes will keep the audience puzzled but engaged. The author and director JJ Lask has taken his well received book and created a screen play that works well in the Sundance arena but may be difficult to sell to a broader audience. Great performances, original writing and editing make this otherwise hard to watch film worth the effort. The score was dense with original and contemporary work.