Cold Weather (2010)

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I pushed the player's eject button after 20 minutes, which seemed like 40 minutes of my life. Within the movie's first few minutes I noted to my wife that the director had his camera linger too long on scenes and speculated that we possibly may be in for a tedious experience from a too self-involved filmmaker. Random thoughts along the way: Early on we had our attention diverted from the story by trying to visually learn who the ex was and who the sister was; a casting fault occasionally made by a director without a lot of experience. A major ongoing problem was the dullard character Doug; it's very, very difficult to stay interested in a banal character. A Sherlock Holmes 'book'? Did the writer mean a compilation of the short novellas and short stories? And now, the scene that had me throw in the towel: Doug and Carlos return to the "motel" room (the characters used 'motel' and 'hotel' interchangeably) that had been occupied by the missing Rachel and they discover that the door, previously opened, is now locked and the room is ablaze with light. What would you do in this situation? Well, of course, you'd knock on the door to see if she had returned. But not these two dopes, they instead do something illogical and thereby inexorably advance the story/plot.

Cold Weather (2012)Indie films with their low budgets can turn a couple of basic directions to distinguish themselves. One is sheer inventiveness or surprise. The other is low key realism making ordinary people seem relatable, and that is where this movie goes. There are dozens of these, often with young casts appealing to the twenty-something generation somewhere between college and career.So we have a young man, Doug, living with his sister in Portland just as he finds a job in an ice factory. And then his ex-girlfriend arrives in town on business, and they see each other as old friends. The fourth character is a co-worker at the factory who befriends Doug and falls for the ex-girlfriend. And we see the basis of a relationship drama, not quite a romantic movie but not a serious probing drama, either.But then the movie turns abruptly, and the comic aspects get interwoven with an apparent crime that these amateur Sherlocks can't quite get their finger on. But their efforts make a great game. It's super low key, and any other movie would hype up the facts with guns and scary soundtrack music and real (or cheesy) fear. Not this kind of Indie film. This is about the people, and the "crime" they are pursuing is a just way to learn more about the protagonists.Which is pretty fun. The acting holds together pretty well, regular people being regular people without affectation. Easier said than done, but also leaving the audience less to really work with or care about than you'd prefer. By the very end, the last few moments, there is a final realization that's rather sweet and rewarding, and the movie turns back to what it's best at.See it? If you have an open mind for lower budget but reasonably well made modest movies (known as Indie films), you might just find this one clicks. Within its limitations.

If you enjoy watching a series of long, protracted establishing shots with very little story then this is the film for you. For the first forty minutes it's as if the director waltzed away from the camera and forgot to yell cut, as the same screen image continues into a oblivion. These drawn out shots happen frequently during the film and it is about as entertaining as staring at a wall for five minutes.Eventually, a mystery presents itself when the main character's ex-girlfriend disappears. There is one specific series of clues he follows involving a set of numbers. At first glance it appears to be a clever twist but, on reflection it is such an obscure reference and does not relate to any of the personality traits of the characters.The rest of the amateur detective work is rather pedestrian, there are really no surprises. The acting here isn't bad, it's just the script which doesn't contain any surprises or twists. The mystery portion ends fairly abruptly and by that time if you're not fast asleep you will be wondering why you ended up watching this film. There are some nice establishing shots, of waterfalls Oregon scenery but, otherwise an utter bore. How the critics gave this good reviews I will never know. Perhaps they all fell asleep as well and dreamed they saw a good film.

I don't know how people would consider this movie is a good one. The screenplay, the plot, the scenario in all are just too weak and uninteresting. The main male actor is such a wimp with a very unlikable meaty and fleshy face with dumb expression all the time like a retarded person. There is no way any woman would like to start a relationship with this guy. I also wonder why this movie would have to shot in the constant wet weather of Portland, Oregon. The guy read his book back to the light, then slept with lamp still on. The whole movie is just a No Big Deal while trying so hard to make something look big deal out of it. This movie told us that a couple of male dimwits who didn't even know how to deal with their own ordinary daily lives albeit playing private detectives. They both looked so stupid because the dialog of this screenplay made them look just like some worthless losers, no hopes, no ambitions, no nothing. This is a very lame movie with terrible dialog(especially the dialog!), poor acting, poor directing, poor sound tracks. There's nothing worthwhile watching or commentating. By saying so much only proved how frustrating when I watched this lousy movie. Don't waste your time, man.