My Favorite Movies

Nothing I can say could really describe this movie or really do justice to how different, yet enjoyable, this movie is. It's a blast and one of the few art type films that I would recommend to almost anyone. There are so many different layers to this movie, that I don't even want to call them layers. No matter which way you look you can pull meaning out of something.

I don't like to call movies "brilliant", but this is one of the few I will and not feel guilty about throwing around the word.

That, and for those of us in Saint Louis it is nice to see a movie that somewhat features the city (including Imos! kinda)

Without a doubt a must see for ANY Back to the Future fans. Cameos and lots of hidden references.

Not only is this probably the most stunning movie I've ever seen in regards to its cinematography and visuals..It sacrifices nothing to be the beautiful movie it is. Relevant, relatable characters and an emotionally moving story make this movie all those superlatives I don't like to use when referring to a movie; epic, classic, must see, breathtaking... you get the point.

Usually the novelty of a movie will wear off, especially for a movie like this, and you'll temper slightly your enthusiasm for a movie after a few days go by. In this case I firmly believe I'll find this movie a year from now, as fondly as I do right now having just watched it.

A suitcase and a bowling ball bag along with a cast of off kilter characters including an aspring actor, a lolita and her jealous boyfriend, an FBI agent, a hooker, a cowboy, (what's a cowboy without) an indian, and others.. All meshed together in a small desert town out in "The Big Empty".

I'm still not sure if I've got a complete handle on the movie and I've seen it quite a few times. That aside, I'm all about the quirky films that don't sacrifice plot or character development just to be different. This movie is different, but not just to be different.. amazingly it all fits within the context of the film.

If you watch the deleted scenes and alternate scenes on the DVD it can clear a bit up, personally I like the extra mystery so I can fill in my own blanks. It can leave you in just enough fog to let your imagination run where it likes.

Also, I'd have to say Cowboy (Sean Bean) is probably my favorite character I've come across in any movie.

Wow.. My top movies of the past year

5) Four Last Songs
4) King of California
3) Into the Wild
2) Juno
1) Across the Universe

Dark, quirky, sometimes disturbing, sometimes funny, and sadly sometimes too true.. Have to go in with an open mind and it'd be a mistake to write it off as a teen movie.. extra half star for giving me the shivers twice..

If you had told me beforehand I'd include it in the same sentence as 'The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys' or 'The Chumscrubber', I'd have laughed and said that was unlikely. But this deserves to be on that short list of dark, quirky, and emotionally moving independent films.

The movie surrounds Finn (Yelchin) who has to stay home from a South American summer vacation where he was to meet his anthropologist/explorer father for the first time. This is after he is caught with cocaine for his drug addicted and alcoholic mother (Lane), and circumstances have them staying in a guest house at the wealthy sprawling NJ estate of businessman Osborne (Sutherland). While there he falls in love with the billionaire's granddaughter (Stewart), becomes friends with his grandson (Evans), and a number of other sometimes rich and sometimes off-kilter characters.

There are dark themes and serious contexts (wealth/class issues, human nature issues) present throughout, with spats of dark humour the first half of the film. The second half hits you like a brick wall, and was one of the most shocking and unexpected turns I've enountered in any film, and all but completely abandons the lighter side and humour found in the first hour.

I always wondered where Yelchin came from, and now I know. This is clearly his break,and the same could be said about Chris Evans and even Kristen Stewart (although this came shortly after Speak). Diane Lane, Donald Sutherland, and Elizabeth Perkins seem to take a backseat to Yelchin and the younger cast, but bring a lot of depth to their roles and the film.

This movie is a perfect reason not to trust critics and to go with your gut. It's been so long since I've uncovered a movie like this, and given it was out so long without me seeing it, it makes me want to dig around and see what else I'm missing.

(Update)

I have no idea what it is I like about this movie. Everyone that watches it around me seems to say, it was ok, but good? I definitely appreciate this movie more than most.

Ben Foster proves he can do almost anything in this movie, and his performance likely makes this a much better movie than it would be with someone else.

It's fun, it's quirky, and even though I don't favor comedies, it's one of the few that will make me laugh and I'll watch again.

Extremely underrated! Best SciFi/Horror movie.. ever.. period.

I don't like Nicolas Cage, but this movie is underrated..

This is by no means a perfect movie.. but it is a lot of fun. It is a quirky movie with a unique concept that hits most of the right notes.

The only big negative I have for this movie is some of the twists are seen a mile away.

If you don't like the occasional oddball movie (characters and themes) you won't like this, but if you do.. you should give this one a chance. This movie is a lot like Interstate 60, and if you've seen one and like it you should definitely see the other.

Watched it yet again and I still cringe at how the last half hour ruined what could have been a much better movie... It was at a perfect pace and feel, then it pivots to rushed and iffy... for once I think ADDING another half hour to the movie would have fixed things up.. but still an excellent movie

I don't think I've ever gained so much respect for an actor after a single movie than I did for Ryan Gosling after this.

I knew it would be a good movie, but I never thought it would be believable along the way.

Unless you are completely dead set against this movie succeeding before you even watch it, it will..

Nothing amazing about this movie, but an extremely solid effort all around..

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Only 24 people have rated this so far, and that is a bit sad. This is a good movie. Yes, in many ways it is what you'd expect that high school->college coming of age story to be.

The difference is this movie doesn't force the stereotypes and certain elements, and just lets things be and tells what feels like an extremely authentic and real story.

There are a couple parts that seemed a bit much, but it didn't detract from the whole. I didn't feel like I had sat and watched a movie as much as listened to four people recounting their trip home over fall break.

Also, if you watch the "Lessons of Palo Alto" behind the scenes segment on the DVD and consider how this movie came about, and did so with an entire crew of high school kids, you should be even more impressed.

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Incredible movie -- a complete surprise that started like a slap in the face out of nowhere, grew to be a bucket of cold water waking you up from sleep, and ended like getting hit by a semi walking across the street.

Most of the movie your watching a character more often than not referred to as Boy, traveling with a man named Mister, who encounters characters like Sister, in a vampire infested Stake Land. But really.. who needs names and flashy titles when there is more story and heart here than many lauded blockbusters.. and this came out of nowhere.

Speaking of which.. who is Nick Damici?!? He plays the leading role (Mister) and apparently is a co-writer for this film as well? Yet his past credits include "Police detective" and "Ray / Italian Soldier Ray" and is lined up to once again play an esteemed - might as well be an extra - "Police detective" in his next movie? What is wrong with Hollywood when he can write and star in a movie like this and still get less than supporting roles.. when clowns like Nicolas Cage and Robert Pattinson are swamped with leading opportunities.

Yeah Yeah.. ok.. Mulberry Street sucked.. on a level that few movies have sucked -- but he certainly redeemed himself with this. In fact I might go back and watch Mulberry Street again just to see if I can find something to appreciate in it somewhere, because if they can pull this off, I must have missed a silver lining in that.

Someone else who redeemed herself was Danielle Harris. After getting sick of seeing her in seemingly every slasher/horror type flick as the 33 year old 14 year old.. she finally steps out and does something different and shows her age - and arguable talent - a bit.. and good for her, I wasn't disappointed.

This is 28 Days Later meets Book of Eli. No movie is without its flaws, but this one does a good job of keeping them within the scope. It also has a fair share of cliches, but again, they serve a good purpose -- most things are cliche in genres for a reason, and they aren't taken advantage of here. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I can even forgive a slightly eye-rolling shoulder-shrugging unlikely twist.

Stake Land is engrossing, thoughtful, terrifying, endearing, and at times completely shocking -- in more ways than one. Hell, it even manages to go from frightening and infuriating one minute, and turns the page to something sweet and charming 10 minutes later.

This is not a vampire movie. This is not yet another doomsday apocalypse movie. This is a movie about people that live with vampires in a post-apocalyptic society. This is a movie about people, that despite their lack of names, deserve 2 hours of your time.

Awesome movie --

I thought this movie would have to be campy as hell to pull off the storyline. I figured it'd be a laugh a minute with little or no development beyond the comedy aspect. That's not true.. the comedy isn't overbearing and still works to effectively be, a laugh a minute, and has far more successful humor than the majority of non-hybrid comedies.

On top of that.. where most comedies fail and the reason I avoid the pure comedy genre, Tucker & Dale succeeds with great story and character development. It makes an unbelievable story at least slightly plausible through the length of the movie. It also gives you characters you love, and love to hate.

If there is any weakness in the film: it's too short and could have used another 10-20 minutes of time. There were a few people I'd like to have seen more of, and a few snippets from the story I'd have liked to have seen extended.