jackcwelch23

Some clever ideas and a high energy cast makes this a decent if predictably inferior sequel that takes some questionable story turns and relies a bit too much on Amy Adams to brighten up the flat spots. It would've been nice to see her character Giselle as cynical and burnt out from 15 years of real life but instead she's just as chirpy as ever. It just never really felt as satisfying or as worthwhile a journey as it could've been. Some dud songs don't help matters but there are still a lot of things to like. Fast pacing keeps the entertainment value high but Enchanted is still the winner here.

An impressively disciplined first feature from youtuber Darious Britt, who showcases his filmmaking advice in a tightly scripted and edited drama about a good hearted young man whose life begins to suffer due to his determination to assist his deeply troubled mother. The performances by Britt and To-Ree-Nee-Wolf are excellent, subtle and convincing. The supporting performances vary a little as some roles were most likely not played by professional actors but they all hold up and are never distracting. The story is compact and fast paced, lacking the self indulgent long shots and overly moody silences that have become as cliched as any blockbuster formulas. The low budget does show from time to time, as the camera they used, a Canon C300, is not a particularly cinematic image and there's a few too many shots in cramped apartments and undecorated hospitals and offices, but the editing and acting is so good that these are very minor complaints. Arizona is shown as a sparsely populated stretching piece of land that fits the theme of a young man seemingly alone in a desperate situation. The messages are conveyed simply and honestly, and avoid overly manipulative melodrama. The movie has a goal and it achieves it in short. It is a perfect example of story and character trumping budget and scale. A highly recommended watch that is moving and sincere.

I am well versed in the story of the Room and Greg Sestero's acting journey. I think it is fantastic that he not only has kept his acting dream from being completely extinguished by his association with the mother of all bad movies The Room, but managed to write and act in a gem that will hopefully open up the doors to him that seemed closed permanently.

It is difficult to categorise this movie into a genre. It's funny, strange, scary and silly, frequently all at the same time. If you don't know much about the plot, it makes the experience far richer, the surprises are half the fun. Greg is very good, but his reluctant life partner Tommy Wiseau is, believe it or not, actually quite good as well. I have a feeling they didn't let him go full on tyrant on this set and let him run completely amok like he did back in '03. He more or less plays a version of himself, or at least similar to how Greg describes him in the disaster artist, and is a compelling guy to watch, despite looking like dawn of the dead at whatever his age is.

The production value is good. The dialogue wasn't dubbed back in. I couldn't see any green screen rooftops and the dialogue is strange at time but not exactly "Oh Hi Mark" strange if you get my drift. Even if you know absolutely nothing about the story of these 2 men and just watch this movie like any other, you will still probably enjoy it. It's never boring or repetitive. In short, it looks pretty darn good.

If you really are sick of movies, even the good ones, that follow a very recognisable formula and want something truly unique and unpredictable then this is for you. It left me scratching my head, wondering exactly what it was. That is the highest compliment I can pay to a movie. In the words of harmony Korine "Please just give me something different."

Best Friends is about as different as Transformers is the same.