XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Prismark10 Lucky Them stars Toni Collette as veteran music journalist Ellie Klug for a failing Seattle rock magazine whose future might be going online only and she might have no future at all with the publication as she is more interested in partying and flirting with musicians then getting good stories.Klug goes around the famous alternative rock city looking for new talent such as rising street musician Lucas Stone (Ryan Eggold) who she ends up having a casual relationship with. Her editor forces her to write a story that might save a career with the magazine. Search for missing rock star Matthew Smith who has been missing for a decade after a car wreck. Smith was also her first love when she was young.Klug hits the road with her wealthy friend Charlie (Thomas Haden Church) who plans to make a documentary film on the search for Matthew Smith.As a low key road movie, the film is elevated by Haden Church who plays characters like Charlie with effortless ease. The story is slight, Klug is not really that likable, she appears shallow, easily falling for a young charmer.Still this independent movie filmed in and around Seattle (without showing its famous landmarks) managed to rope in a megastar for a belated cameo appearance.

Likes_Ninjas90 The comedy-drama Lucky Them is helmed by three women working as the director, co-writer, and star. The film first screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. It was released in the US nine months later. Comparatively, other films from the festival directed by men including 12 Years a Slave,Philomena and Prisoners, were released under three months later in the US. Why has it taken an additional year and a half for this film, starring no less than two Oscar nominees in Toni Collette and Thomas Haden Church (Sideways, Spider-Man 3), to be released in Australia? Either the film isn't spectacular or it's increasingly difficult for women to etch themselves into the film market, currently dominated by men. Truthfully, it's a bit of both.Ohio born filmmaker Megan Griffiths (pictured below), who directed the film, holds several accolades to her name including a B.A in visual communications and an MFA in Film Production from the Ohio University School of Film. She was named Emergent Narrative Female Director in 2011 and one of the Artists of the Year by City Arts magazine in Seattle. Griffiths directs the film from Emily Watchtel's semiautobiographical screenplay. Emily Watchtel co- wrote the film with Huck Botko but it's developed from her experiences of the music scene and dating. She told Indiewire she once interviewed celebrities, including musicians, and struggled as an actress. She intended the film to be a television show, reflecting its minor slice of life scale.As a writer Watchel worked under the pseudonym Ellie Klug, the name of Collette's character. Ellie is a forty year old music critic, who drinks too much and is struggling to impress Giles (Oliver Platt), the editor of her print magazine. The publication is fading and to boost its interest again he wants her to write a story about a musician named Matthew Smith, who supposedly died going over a waterfall ten years ago. Smith was also Ellie's ex-boyfriend who walked out on her before the plunge. She offers a brutal, darkly funny assessment of him: "He's not dead, he's just an asshole who's gone." Meanwhile, Ellie's also caught between two men: Lucas (Ryan Eggold), a young musician who excites her frivolous side while she interviews him and Charlie (Haden Church), a rich, older but pompous goofball with no interest in music. She reluctantly pairs with Charlie after he lends her money and he films a documentary about their search for Matthew.The film stylisations are limited to highly retro decor. There are neon signs and grainy, brown colour tones, which along with Ellie's love of old vinyl records, highlights a sense of nostalgia for the past. The film compliments its style thematically through a tug of war between the past and the present of Ellie's life, not dissimilar to films like The Skeleton Twins, Young Adult and Greenberg. The narrative type is a belated coming of age story, where a person edging closer to middle age must relinquish their grip on the past. For these characters it is pleasurable to be young again, holding onto the memories of bad relationships, and shielding themselves from the shallowness of their present day lives. The film is also about her unlikely relationship with two men: one too young for the long haul and the other pulling her closer to the reality of aging.Watchel's humorous script is easy to digest but has contrivances, like the way Ellie loses the money first given to her by her boss and a light bulb moment near the end. The side characters are also weakly drawn and unevenly directed. Lucas, with spiked hair, v-neck shirts and guitar ballads, is rendered like Ellie's dream guy or someone from a band poster. Thomas Haden Church is funny as Charlie but the part is written and played very broadly and more suited to a caricature from a sitcom like The Office. The same is true of his hippy girlfriend who appears briefly. Quirkiness from these characters is pleasurable but along with the nostalgic yearnings it subdues the risk or danger from the middle act. Only by the last portion can see how destructive Ellie's actions are towards others. Toni Collette brings an enjoyable leading presence. Her hardened cheekbones and slightly gaunt face are physical attributes befitting of Ellie's slightly edgy lifestyle and her mannerisms like eye-rolling and smirks aptly signpost her character's immaturity. Although I laughed several times at the cast's low-key humour, this isn't exactly new or daring material when films are desperately in need of fresh voices.

gradyharp Now and again, with patience, a little gem comes across the video on demand that somehow didn't make it in the theaters. This film was made in 2013 and seems to be headed for a re- release. Don't wait. See it now on video on demand courtesy of Amazon. It is a treat. Caroline Sherman has the original idea for the story and it was adapted foe the screen by Huck Botko and Emily Wachtel. Megan Griffiths directs with élan. Ellie Klug (the very fine Toni Collette) is a music critic for a failing rock magazine, SLAX' in Seattle headed by the pot-smoking Giles (Oliver Platt) in Seattle. She tends to write articles about not so talented music stars, such as street singer Lucas Stone (Ryan Eggold who is proving he can be more than a warped spy on TV's The Blacklist). They have casual sex but the rock around Ellie neck is an article she is forced to write about a famous rock star Matthew Smith who ha been missing since an apparent car wreck some years back, and who Ellie was in love with back in his heyday. She ultimately agrees to do a story (more like investigative journalism) mush at the insistence of her best friend, bar tender Dana (Nina Arianda). Lacking money to make a trip to Matthew Smith country, she borrows form Giles, is ripped off by Lucas, borrows from a very strange wealthy Charlie (Thomas Hayden Church) who wants to make a documentary on Ellie looking for Matthew Smith. How that all ends up is a study of the human psyches as attached to loves of the past and longings of the present but to tell more would be a spoiler. It should be added that Johnny Depp makes a very brief but central appearance….The cast is exemplary, especially Toni Collette who at last has a role that allows her to show just what a fine comedienne as well as serious actress she is. Tune in to the video on demand offer Amazon presents – no telling when they'll release a DVD of this treasureable film. Highly recommended.

wendyschmidt1957 Lucky me because I found this great little gem entitled, Lucky Them. Toni Collette, plays a darker, humorous role of rocker mag. writer, Elle. She's not losing her edge as much as losing her eagerness to do anything meaningful, anymore. Along comes a story, that is, in part, her story. And, she must choose to visit a painful past relationship. For the trip she brings along a straight up, funny, straight man, Charlie, played by Thomas Haden Church. He is also searching for something gone missing in his life. Add to that a cast of minor characters that steal the show in nearly every scene. But, Toni holds the key to this movie and she never, ever disappoints.