Lost in the Sun

I watched this one tonight and was pleasantly surprised. As I had never heard of this movie, I didn't expect much . . . but I ended up being moved enough by the film to write a review on this Saturday night.

The movie is about a boy whose mother has just died. He is going to live with his grandparents in New Mexico and a mysterious stranger offers to give him a ride. Of course, he has no idea what he is in for by accepting the offer and a fascinating "road trip/coming of age" story ensues (with a few surprises toward the end).

I hate long reviews, so let's get to it: I grew up in Texas and the locations used by the director are lonesome and add great authenticity to the movie. The directing was above average by Trey Nelson (who appears to be primarily a TV guy until this film) and I thought the acting was excellent by Josh and especially Josh Wiggins as Louis.

This is a pretty good film if you are in the mood for a lonesome road movie. 7/10 cheers

Petty criminal John (Josh Duhamel) goes into a gas station and the clerk pulls a gun on him. One week earlier, he gives Louis a ride to his grandparents after his mother's funeral. John pulls a bunch of holdups. They pick up Mary (Lynn Collins) and Rose along the way.

It's kind of a mumblecore crime spree road trip indie. It's not that interesting until the first escape where Louis has to get air. I don't get the situation where they first get together. It's unmotivated until the reveal much later. It leaves the movie feeling rambling at times. It's still questionable why Louis would leave a perfectly fine bus for a ride with a stranger. It's basic stranger danger. Duhamel is barely able to fill the screen by himself and the boy isn't that helpful. There are a few interesting moments but it is lackluster overall. It needs more to tie the reveal into something more poignant. It needs to convince me why the kid would follow a guy he never met before. It would be easier if he's simply hitchhiking and John picks him up.

Well, this is a really great movie, however, some will find it slow-moving. It is a sentimental story that has sort of expected twist in the end but nevertheless it was tip-top film, It definitely could've been better and all but we should not forget to praise the efforts made by Josh, I genuinely believe that he saved the movie, he is underrated actor; the film was substantially about one's pangs of remorse, the notion of being lost in life is the cornerstone of all the script writing of the movie, which was the birth of the movie's name; when your conscience starts eating on you due to all piled up past mistakes, it's basically about different human experience from a particular perspective.

I sort of stumbled across this film, and thought yeah it has got an OK cast, the ratings on IMDb (specially the amount of 1 votes) were sort of on the low side, but glad I gave it a go.

It has a very simple story line that guides you along from the minute it starts, and I really got caught up in it, the music was partly to blame, but it was filmed with a feeling most high end Hollywood products would kill for.

Great performance by the whole cast, especially the kid, and seeing it has a low score of 6 on IMDb, I gave it a 10 as it deserves a way better rating than it has. If you like a film that gives you that chill kind of feeling, with out blood and guts purely because of the great acting and simple but very effective story, than you will love this film!

10 out of 10

I highly recommend this movie.

Great direction, acting and cinematography.

If you ever wonder where all the good movies have gone, I think the answer is Independent films. Unbridled by the big studios, Independents still churn out great films. Not all of them, but you can definitely count this as one of them.

The dialog and acting, especially by young Josh Wiggins, is superb. Josh Duhamel is a hidden gem as far as lead actors go. He does not disappoint.

If you want a great 'feel good' movie - with heart, great direction, cinematography, dialog and acting - look no further than "Lost in the Sun".