Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-18 00:40:58

ALWAYS BLAME THE WORKING GUY

Two small town guys (Kellan Lutz,Jonathan Tucker) burglarize a home. A 10 minute job, in and out. After an interesting set of connected credits (metaphor for connecting the dots in a case) we see a young dead boy in the same home, hit by a phone by a burglar. The woman who owns the house is a person of means and influence. Noah Cordin (Nick Stahl) becomes the lead investigator on the case, going through trash cans etc. His new partner is Leslie Spencer (Rachel Nichols) who, in this movie reminds me of Jodi Foster. Noah finds a clue which takes him back to his own hometown, a small blue collar community. Most of the guys work construction on the road and he wants to talk to them all. And remember, in all Indie films, blue collar workers chew, chop, and slurp their food while they are trying to talk at the same time. Leslie stays in the background while Noah plays hometown boy to infiltrate the group. This works well until county politics gets involved in a way that hampers his investigation. Good acting. Well scripted.

2012-05-17 07:46:07

Meskada

This review is from: Meskada (DVD) This film shows a small town's residents will go to any length, each in their own ways, to help the town thrive again after it's been pretty much destroyed by economy and Corporate America. They go about things in different ways, families are affected in one way or another here - but it all comes down to survival and sticking together whether out of friendship, blood or their common goal. Nick Stahl plays a Law Officer who grew up in this town, left it - but returns to because of a crime he's investigating proves to have ties to the town. At times you wonder which will win - his loyalty to that town or the loyalty to the badge he wears and what is right. I think his character thinks the same! All acting was pretty good - I saw a couple actors do roles unlike they usually play and were very good with their portrayals.

Tss5078 2012-05-06 21:01:42

The Ultimate Movie Review! - http://tss5078.blogspot.com

Meskada is another direct-to-video feature I knew nothing about aheadof time. I choose it because the story sounded interesting and I lovethe cast. In these cases, the film is usually hit or miss, with noin-between. In the case of Meskada, it's definitely a hit! The storyfollows a local detective, investigating the death of a child, during ahome invasion. What makes Meskada different from the rest is that 15minutes into the film, you know who did it and why, it's not a mystery.Nick Stahl who I usually don't like and Jonathan Tucker who I've alwaysliked are both fantastic in this film. It's roles that neither isreally used to playing and both stepped up to the challenge. The storywasn't all that strong, but the acting was, and what I really likedabout this film is how it came at a common story in an unconventionalway. It's defiantly worth checking out!

2012-05-06 00:49:27

The Psychodynamics of Small Towns

Threads of the past weave through this interesting film about small town folks and their loyalties to each other when it comes to intervention from the outside - even to the defense of homicide. Josh Sternfeld wrote and directed this little thriller with a small cast of young actors who may just be more noticed after this dramatic effort.Two boys - Eddie Arlinger (Kellan Lutz) and Shane Loakin (Jonathan Tucker) - drifters who go on the road to rob houses and sell their goods to pawn shops through their relationship with a bar girl (Grace Gummer, another of Meryl Streep's daughters) - accidentally kill a little boy during a robbery in Hilliard. The boy happens to be the son of a Meskada County Commissioner ( Laura Benati). Young small town detective Noah Cordin (Nick Stahl) and his new partner Leslie Spencer (Rachel Nichols) are brought in to solve the crime despite the fact that the town sheriff (Michael Sirow) and cohort (Michael Cerveris) think they can handle the matter themselves: much of the clash is bringing in an outside detective who grew up in a poor small town not far from Hilliard, viewed as interference. The local Bar owner Billy (James McCaffrey) and Shane's brother-in-law Dennis (Norman Reedus) fight to protect Eddie and Shane, but events occur that reveal the true identity of the killer after a showdown between the out of town detective and the townsfolk that come to grips with a situation no one wants to explore.While the story leaves some gaping holes unresolved, the script does manage to capture the small town loyalties that often avoid reality. Adding the aspect of how the national economy is affecting the livelihood of small town residents heightens the tension. The young cast is very fine, especially the key performance by Jonathan Tucker. Heartthrob Kellan Lutz and Grace Gummer provide the sensual interest and Nick Stahl continues to impress as an actor on the ascent. Newcomer Michael Sirow is an actor to watch as is Grace Gummer. In all this is an entertaining film that has the courage to not 'make nice' the unsettling problems of backwoods small town ethics. Grady Harp, December 10