Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

GurlyIamBeach Instant Favorite.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Ginger Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

mark.waltz "His insides will petrify and his stool will turn to concrete." With that piece of Walt Whitman style poetry, this film expresses its desire to be profound art. This is another "slice of life" drama about one member of a family's desire to get away as another one returns, surrounding these two total strangers in spite of the direct lineage, becoming close as the desires of a younger family member are related to by the returning member and opening up advice, whether wanted or not. I can understand the desire of bright young Reece Thompson to get away from his constantly at each other's throats family (and neighbors), and if somebody tried to pay me for painting with a fat old hog, I'd be out of there on the first greyhound.Kris Kristofferson is the aging prodigal, returning home and creating all sorts of conflict. His children with let him see their mother, and unfinished business with him among the townsfolk creates even more conflict. Idealistic Thompson must deal with his girlfriend's obnoxious man hating mother, while the uninformed family matriarch (a subtle and warmhearted Frances Conroy) thinks she's going crazy because she keeps hearing her ex's guitar. Other than Thompson, the only family member who seems to be somewhat happy over Kristofferson's return is black sheep son Val Kilmer, underacting and likable (somewhat) for a change, showing up unexpectedly for the fishing trip his dad promised but never took him on.With thousands of films on dysfunctional families coming out both in the theater and on TV, they take away from the impact of the issues that surround real families. Much of the time, they focus on rural families, giving good reason why many people leave these communities, head for a big city and rarely, if ever, visit. Fortunately, there's a few characters here who have integrity and aren't embittered clichés, relatable for their dreams and ones whose stories should involve less standard circumstances and predictable situations. Thompson is likable enough to win sympathy, and his performance is outstanding. This just doesn't fully involve you because key pieces are missing in the details, especially concerning Kristofferson's nightmares. A horrifying twist at the end brings out the ugliness in one of the family members (only hinted at through their bitterness), and it moves to a very depressing observation about blood relations. When this works, it strikes a solid cord, but for most of the time, it's just drab and unhopeful.

bob-rutzel-1 E.F. Bloodworth (Kristofferson) comes back to his old home in Tennessee after 40-years on the road. He left to pursue a musical career and virtually abandoned his young family. All are up in arms about his return. This is misleading because you think the story is all about E.F. Well, it's not. It's really about his nephew Fleming (Thompson) who wants to leave the homestead too, but is trying to do it the right way, and not the way E.F. did, but to be fair, Fleming is not that conscious about it all. He just wants to do the right thing. He just wants out from a very dysfunctional family who stayed. E.F. is the background, Fleming is the real story and his story should have been developed more. Wasted in here is Val Kilmer. Kilmer needs to find a vehicle to shine once more, but he seems content with small roles that go nowhere. Hillary Duff is a breath of fresh air, but it is Brady (Brown) who ignites (sorry for the pun, which you will understand if you see this movie) the story. His character's delivery is different, unique and solid. To be honest we don't really get to know any of the characters. We get bits and pieces and we are left to read into things. And, because of that, we don't really care one way or the other what happens to any of them, including Fleming. We don't feel anyone's pain. And, being honest again, the story should not have shown E.F. as coming back. Just saying he came back would have been good enough as the family and others bad mouthed him anyway. We would have gotten the point. Why do I say that? Because we expected more from the Kristofferson (E.F.) character and didn't get it. Like I said, this was misleading. Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

rsd_anon I rented this at Redbox after seeing the 7.2 IMDb rating. I forgot to check the number of IMDb votes. With only 300+ votes, it's obvious that many of the reviewers worked on the movie or were related to the cast and crew. Their praise was the praise of a parent for a dearly loved, but completely ungifted, child. This movie basically stank. It has some big name actors and it appears to have been made with a reasonable budget, but the general acting, directing, and storyline were BAD, BAD, BAD. Did you see Winter's Bone? If so, Winter's Bone probably inspired this movie, but the inspiration was drowned by a lack of writing, acting, and directing talent. My general rule of thumb is that you can ignore an IMDb rating until you have over 1,000 votes. The first few hundred votes are anything but unbiased. I forgot to check the number of votes and wasted $1 on another Redbox stinker.

sponge3 I love Val and Kris. And recently, Dwight has shown his acting chops so I had to see this. This is a slow moving story with mostly great acting so it was able to maintain my interest. The Brady Bloodworth character (W. Earl Brown) is over-acted in my opinion but the rest of the characters can hold your interest. You want to see what ultimately happens so you keep watching.Watch this if you are willing to give it time but don't watch if you need car chases, or something to blow up. Mostly great cast and a few classic lines from some Hollywood legends. Beautiful scenery is just a bonus to this film. Bright, vibrant scenery adds to the overall experience of this down home Americana type film.For better or worse, this story is very believable on many levels. Relax, turn off the phone and enjoy."I'm Warren, your son. When I was a boy you said you'd take me fishin, you never did. C'mon."