Scenic Route

Saw Scenic Route at Sxsw in Austin. So well written, the movie manages to pull off being by turns dark, funny, and suspenseful. The dialog is great and the story takes the relationship of these two buddies in the desert (a surprisingly captivating setting) to some really interesting places. There were scenes that were laugh out loud hilarious, and I wont give away any of them but the plot takes some turns I sure didn't see coming.

This movie is smart, very well done and most importantly a pleasure to watch. Actually want to see it again when it hits the theaters.

Really impressed with Josh Duhamel. I guess I wasn't aware that this guy has some serious talent. After watching him in Scenic Route, I can now see why his star is rising. He nails it.

The film is basically an hour of two friends needlessly bashing each other physically and psychologically to the point where you are ready to leave the theater - which is what I did. I thought the film was terrible, but at the behest of a friend, I rented the DVD. I scrubbed through 90% of the film to the end where I was pleasantly surprised by a great plot twist that was well executed.

So my rating goes from a minus something to a reluctant five for a cool ending of a first effort. To those thinking of renting the DVD though - watching is still torture unless you chop the second act. If you do watch this film the repetitive bashing starts twenty minutes in so whenever you tire of this you can save your sanity by skipping to the start of the plot twist at an hour and fifteen minutes for a reasonably entertaining half hour short.

FLASH TO FILMMAKERS - No one but your parents and friends will pay $20 to see a feature film that takes an hour and fifteen minutes to engage its audience. The static script might have worked as an off-Broadway one act but as an 86 minute moving picture film this needed a lot of development - or at the very least a lot of heavy editing.

FLASH TO PARENTS AND FRIENDS WHO POSTED INCREDIBLE REVIEWS - if your reviews were disingenuous, you are not only cheating IMDb readers but the people behind this film. Think about it. You are building unreasonable expectations for a $20 movie ticket or DVD sale that the material cannot support. What should have been a great "reel" and learning experience for the filmmakers is now going to be held to the unreasonably high standard of your reviews. This is not going to sit well with people who watch based on your recommendations.

This was a great movie. Dan Fogler in a drama threw me but I've always liked the other guy, even though he usually does rom-com stuff that doesn't appeal to me. Very good all around. Plot summary bears some similarities to Gerry, I think it was called (Matt Damon, Casey Affleck) but waaaay less boring. A couple times during the film I thought I had sorta "figured it out" and decided I wasn't liking it, but w/in 10mins it changed my mind again. Being fundamentally a one-setting movie wasn't a problem/didn't get bored. The actors carry this thing very well and are very believable. I'm not one of those people (and damn, there's sooo many) that try and like "solve" movies while they're watching them. I don't wonder whether the butler did it or not because I'm still watching the movie and why spoil it for myself? I did slightly anticipate a few things but only a minute or two before events would unfold. It will trick you, shock you, impress you, do all the good things a good movie should. I did find the initial dialogue/argument that kicks things off slightly forced on Foglers part but oh well, didn't know the characters yet. Makes sense in retrospect. The ending was great for me. Thought it wasn't going to sit well but Josh Duhamel sells it just w/the look in his eyes (I feel somewhat lame saying that but it's true). Many who got all booty-hurt about Inception will pop up again after this but I think it ended just right, which is a rare enough thing these days (as is being well done and at times surprising. And a relatively fresh idea to boot). I feel that this movie wants you to get some perspective and appreciate your life and what you have, since many of us get stuck thinking about what we lack (quite natural given the pain in the posterior that life is for most people). You should watch it. Definitely worth your time

I saw Scenic Route during SXSW on Friday. I had no idea what to expect besides a mohawk. I was blown away. The acting, dialogue, and desert scenery combine to make this an awesome movie. The deeper meanings and plot twists will keep you thinking about the movie and its implications for days. The group I saw the movie with was still talking about script and interplay between the actors two days later. In fact, I want to see the movie again because I think there are subtle things I may have missed on the first viewing that may make me appreciate the film even more. It really is a unique film. If you are tired of movies that seem to copy old ideas, then this movie is for you. I highly recommend it.

I just finished watching this movie and I also just finished reading the 3 pages of reviews here on IMDb. It is rare to read only one (1) negative bad review while the rest gave it positive here on IMDb. having said that, this leads me to the obvious question why is there only an average rating of 6 only? I gave this movie an 8 out of a possible 10. The ending was simply brilliant! The acting was top notch. Do you guys realize how hard it is in movies these days to fool the viewer? Most people can see the ending in the first 20 minutes...

Well, this movie will fool you. It fooled both me and my girlfriend. It was great, we both looked at each other and came up with the same thing at the same time, Priceless!! To the one single person that so far gave this movie a bad review, maybe you are just upset you got fooled by a movie?