Reviews

Saw this at SXSW and I must admit it was very well done. This won the Audience Award for the Midnighters at the festival and it is wholeheartedly deserved. The film is a hybrid genre film with a constantly shifting tone of hilarity, drama, thrills, and extremely dark themes.

The story follows everyman Craig (Pat Healy, who should finally get some deserved recognition for his extremely demanding role in this) who is down on his luck after having a really bad day. He hits the local bar on the way home from work and sees an old high school buddy (Ethan Embry, in an against-type role that completely works) and the two meet up with a strange couple that wants to have a drink with them (David Koechner and Sara Paxton, who are both deliciously hilarious and mysterious). The four then have what can only be described as a truly horrific night and that is all I really want to say about it because the less you know the better. The concept of the film is laid out easily and quickly, which is developed fully throughout the film as the stakes are raised higher and higher with every passing minute.

I must say that I was very happy to see the movie take so many risks. The content of the film is definitely not for the faint at heart, but if you like envelope-pushing pieces than this is the film for you. Im sure this will divide audiences, but the theater I was in had a great energy and made the film really fun to watch. The director EL Katz introduced the film and told the audience that "it is okay to laugh." After seeing the film, I understand why he said that. There are so many uncomfortable, cringe-inducing moments in the film that the only thing to do is either to curl up in the fetal position or laugh your head off. I had no clue where it was going and the final image in the film will go down as a classic final shot. It is perfection.

People will be definitely talking about this one. It is highly entertaining, the performances are excellent, the writing is tight, and the content of the film is entirely original and unpredictable. I actually saw it twice during SXSW and it was even better a second time. Tons of twists and turns, so please DO NOT spoil it for yourself. Go into it with little knowledge and enjoy the twisted mayhem.

I saw this film a couple days ago at SXSW and it is still difficult to put into words how I feel about it. This is a truly special film and was definitely the big WOW moment of the entire festival. The film won the Grand Jury and Audience Award for Narrative feature and it deserves the accolades 100%. The acting in this film is so honest and real that I felt like I was watching a documentary at times. This is easily a star making role for Brie Larson, John Gallager Jr., and Kaitlyn Dever. All are young stars on the rise and I hope this film helps progress their careers in the right direction, because they all deserve it.

The film tells the story of Grace (Larson) and her coworkers as they work at a dysfunctional foster care facility. There are many characters in the film, specifically the kids in the foster care, and each and every character with a speaking role is a completely fleshed out, multi- dimensional character. It was easy to connect with every character since you really felt for their difficult life situation and it was riveting to see these characters interact with each other in a realistic way.

I don't want to say too much about the film, but there are some very moving scenes that definitely made me tear up. This is a very emotional film and you could feel the passion that was put into it by the cast and filmmakers. I believe wholeheartedly that this movie deserves Oscar buzz, specifically in Screenplay and some of the acting categories. The audience reaction as the credits rolled was one of the warmest receptions at SXSW that I experienced this year and multiple people gave it a standing ovation.

I cannot wait to see this film again, definitely the best of the festival and one of the best first features by a director that I've ever seen. This is going to be a very important film in 2013 and I cannot wait to see what is in store for the film, the director, and these talented young rising actors. You will be a better person for seeing this film. Just see it.