TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

eric262003 Death is knocking on the door of archaeologist Dr. Henry Lair (Michael Caine). His last wish is to gather his disgraced son Turner (Christopher Walken) and his level-headed grandson Jason (Josh Lucas)to go on a road trip. Wheh they show up at his doorstep, Henry Lair feels like his last wish is starting to materialize before his eyes. But suddenly he dies and has left his legacy his will which is a variety of clues and directions hidden in a Kentucky Fried Chicken bag. The centerpiece of the film is centered around the topic of death and how it effects those around the survivors of those loved ones, but we feel that this death is rather assumed rather then actually getting the feeling of the character being dead. The first 20 minutes into the film, the connections between Henry and his family seems to be at times very disjointed.From a documentary focusing on the making of "Around the Bend", writer/director Jordan Roberts wrote the script for 10 long years which included a more in depth back-story involving Henry. Roberts goes all out to concentrate on the emotional impact on losing a person who was loved dearly and was taken into clinical masses. The deleted scenes that centres around the dying Henry has a more contrary perspective of the movie. Shamefully, Roberts edited out those scenes feeling they were incoherent to the plot. The film is only a measly 83 minutes long therefore, Mr. Roberts' theory to me seems rather unjustified.The good qualities about "Around The Bend" is that it thankfully refrains from being gratuitously sentimental and doesn't have any kind of teary outbursts. However it succeeds in making it more subtle in this difficult stage in life. Henry's will instructs Turner, Jason and son Zach (Lucas Bobo) to drive to New Mexico where they must scatter his ashes through many parts of this state. They must also stop at every KFC and have a meal before they continue. Henry's rigor mortis sets the tone towards the heavy burdens that has manifested towards the Lair clan, but the internal turmoil takes its toll on them. Turner and Jason milk upon Turner's mysterious abandonment and during the trip they continually argue over various issues that has been affecting their relationship. But Henry's will sends Turner and Jason to well known landmarks that bridge the gaps between them that has kept them apart.In the early parts of the film, Henry liked to refer to his clan as his tribe. All he ever wanted was to have cohesiveness and unity towards his family and to be at peace with one another. That's all fine fine and dandy, but it happened all too soon and abrupt making the movie too short and too rushed. There was a side-story that had an affect on Turner and he and Jason have a final battle of words at the last destination. The predictable conclusion deprives this nuanced tone. Death tries to removes the wedges from this estranged family and while the story is finger looking good, the conclusion is the one that flips the bird on us.

raisleygordon This picture has an intriguing premise, decent acting, and an "interesting" performance by Walken. I emphasize that word because his performance is hardly compelling. It's very mediocre. I just don't think Christopher Walken is a likely choice for drama. Actioners or Thrillers? Yes. Comedy? Definitely. But I just did not buy his performance here for a second. Maybe that's why the movie itself didn't work for me. And another thing - why all the references to KFC? This element is nowhere near realistic. So the ancestors ate chicken (if that's what the movie's implying) - whoopee. There's a better movie trying to get out, but I think Walken's role here and Josh Lucas's subdued acting here make this hard to recommend. At least the movie isn't sentimental.**1/2 out of ****

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU Four generations of fathers and sons without any wife, mother or daughter (vaguely one in the far distance at the end of the film). When the oldest one of these four musketeers, the great grandfather, decides to die he prepares, under the vigilant eye of his great grand son, the rite, ritual and mourning ceremony he wants for after his death. And there is a big chunk of money behind it if it is respected, though it is far from being known from the very start. The real objective is to bring his son, the grand father, to confessing what he did to his son, the father, which he will eventually do just before dying in his turn on the way to the rock where he "knew" his wife, his son's mother, where a new ritual will take place but only with the last two generations of the tribe, the father and the son. The point here is that the film is never emotional. It is funny most of the time and each desire appears as a whim, a caprice, and they probably are, at least up to the moment when some deep motivation comes to the surface, like the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. Some of the scenery is beautiful in California, Arizona and New Mexico. It is true I would have liked a slightly more emotional treatment, even more physical, because there is such a level of reserve and shyness that some elements are nothing but a vague whisper behind a loud music and we hardly get it. The film is also funny for the systematic re-visitation of the music of the 60s, of the hippie times.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

ciribiribin Around The Bend is a cutesy little story about four generations of Lair males coming to grips with their dysfunctional relationship and lives. I can't say much else about the plot without giving it away. Suffice it to say its one of those movies where the male family hierarchy experiences a spiritual awakening by taking a communal pee in the desert. In other words, this movie is the male equivalent of a chick flick.My wife picked out the DVD based on the actors in it, as is her custom. I'm more of a story-man and I must say my record for picking good movies is better than hers. But enough bragging. Ironically, in this case, it turned out the actors saved this thing from being a total bust. The ubiquitous Caine is over the top but that's his charm. The feminine heart-throb Lucas does the best he can with a schizoid character. The dancing-machine Walken is superb. And the precocious Bobo (I think he's the little boy) was believable as the generic kid who's wiser than his years.Yawn. Haven't I seen this story before on Lifetime TV? I'm sorry, but the whole thing struck me as a kind of a psychological scavenger hunt. Imagine Oprah and Dr. Phil got a hold of the script of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World and reworked it.There you have it. Four stars because I watched the entire movie start to finish.