What Comes Around

There is much to like with this movie. Grace Van Dien and the ever excellent Kyle Gallner are the two best reasons to watch this movie. Both are utterly convincing in their roles.

The direction and the editing, on the the other hand are, well, sub standard, is the polite way to say it. Some shots are dwelt on for too long and some of the scenes feel that they are 'acted' rather than having two people having a real conversation. The other actors are quite awful.

There is a nice little plot twist that comes in about half an hour into the movie that stops it falling into a schmaltzy Hallmark type movie.

Is it worth a watch? Kind of, but with some reservations.

Roost is an uncomfortable film to watch, so there's your warning! The story centres around the relationship of three people: Anna, the 16 year-old falling for a guy she met online played by Grace Van Dien; Beth, Anna's mom played by Summer Phoenix; and Eric, the guy Anna talks to online played by Kyle Gallner. Just with that very minimal description of the film, I'm sure you can already sense some of the drama that ensues.

The film is absolutely uncomfortable, as was it's intention. There were many 😬 moments on my end, and it was evident that many people felt that way too. Grace and Summer are a good mother-daughter duo, sometimes overacting, but overall good. The real stand out in the film is Kyle Gallner; he was fantastic!

The film explores trauma, more specifically unprocessed trauma and how it can affect the lives of those around us. If this triggers you at all, maybe this movie should be a pass.

Definitely a provocative and twisted story, Roost was a film I picked just because it suited my schedule, but I am incredibly glad I was able to see it.

I never review movies. Most movies are reviewed much better than I feel they should be. The exception would be many comedies that have fallen to critical insult when they were just the right medicine at the right time.

After watching this movie, I felt compelled to say something about it. Perhaps, I had very low expectations for 'What Comes Around.' Whether I did or didn't isn't really important. I know that I disagree significantly with many of the critical reviews posted previously. I think that the average mature, intelligent, viewer will find this movie, interesting and thought-provoking.

Initially, I did question the acting of certain characters in the movie. However, I never disbelieved any of the portrayals when I was watching the movie. My conclusion, is that the writing, directing, acting, were carefully gaged to present a realistic scenario. These decisions work well enough that you dislike some of the characters. I believe this dislike is significant enough that it garnered some of the criticism in the previous reviews.

Yes, I didn't think the mother (Summer Phoenix) acted the way that my mother would or that I might but then again she's in a situation that most of us nor our mothers would have ever found our/their-selves. Clearly, as we learn in the end, her mind works a little differently. Maybe, it was only different during a particular period due to circumstances but we can't be sure.

As for the daughter (Grace Van Dien), she was a little bit goofy and giddy. I even thought that perhaps she was a little too happy for an American teenage girl. However, she has no real worries, no concerns, and she thinks that she is "in love." She is not portrayed as stupid, but I think the Director definitely wants us to see how idealistic, naïve, and ignorant she may be.

In regard to how she dresses... She appears to live in a small town in a mountain community. We can see by her room decor in the movie, that she is definitely an individual who is not following current trends. Her love of classic poetry would indicate that she does not fall into the masses in terms of her preferences, including her fashion sense. I think her costume selections suggest a quirky and intellectual personality for the particular individual that the movie is trying to depict.

As for Eric (Kyle Gallner), the daughter's love interest, WOW! His performance was so real that it transported me back to difficult situations from my own life. The conflict, pain, and heartbreak of his character are portrayed with powerful raw emotions.

If you're expecting a thriller or action movie on the level of something like 'Taken', this movie is not it. If you want to watch a well acted and directed realistic movie with surprises and twists. This is a great choice.

No pun intended - and yes I know the saying (goes around) - and I understand what the title is suggesting. You will too, when you see the movie. I was trying to figure out which direction this would take. It didn't exactly go the route I thought it would go - still a warning sign - or maybe multiple warning signs.

Grace van Dien, daughter of Casper, got quite famous - not so much because of her father, but because of Stranger Things - which I have not seen yet. But it is on my list. This is not exploitative by the way if that is something you are looking for - it is quite obvious from a certain point forward ... when the twist comes to play. And the cliches keep ... coming up too (no pun intended) .... it tries hard to give us food for thought ... and the actors try their best ... but it never really gets there (in my book) ... still good effort.

A couple interesting twists, but the acting by Summer Phoenix is so so bad that there is no chance for this movie to be taken seriously. Grace Van Dien tries and plays the role well enough. Kyle Gallner shines here. With better dialogue and acting, this could have been a really successful psychological thriller. As it stands though, it's a dark and twisty Hallmark movie. I have to keep writing about this movie, so I will mention that Anna's outfit choices are interesting. Maybe this is how some teens dress these days, but I saw a lot of outfits that read professor/librarian, which felt off. And that's all I have to say about that.