Review: Mud

-
This movie made me realize something.
 
As the parent of a young boy, I'm horrified to think that one day my son is going to ask his friend "Did she have nice titties?" Oh God...
 
 
Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) go to an island in the Mississippi river to see s deserted boat in the trees, and instead encounter Mud. (Matthew McConaughey) He's a fugitive, but he tells the boys he did what he did for love. (How very Jaime Lannister of him) They soon start helping him by retrieving parts to get this boat working, and to reunite him with his one true love, Juniper. (Reese Witherspoon) But there is a mini Boardwalk Empire reunion are people hot on his trail, and the boys soon learn that not everything is as simple as it seems.
 
First off, the two boys in this film were great. Where the hell were the Iron Man 3 casting directors when they were looking for someone to fill their "token precious child" role? Either of these two would've done a much better job. McConaughey continues to impress me, and even Michael Shannon shows up for a short time, (apparently he's director Jeff Nichols' go to guy) though I wish he was in it more. The one that really threw me off was Paul Sparks. At first, I couldn't figure out where I had seen this guy from. Then when it dawned on me that he's Mickey Doyle in Boardwalk Empire, I was kind of floored. He was so different here.
 
The look and feel to Mud felt really authentic. Much like Nichols' previous film, Take Shelter did. He really understands the tough, small town life that he portrays in his films.  This film makes me look forward to what Jeff Nichols will bring us in the future, and I think both Sheridan and Lofland have bright futures ahead of them.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJune 4, 2013 at 10:13 AM

    I can't wait to see this! I was hoping to get to the theaters to see it, but I'm not sure if I'll get to. Great review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 5, 2013 at 9:09 AM

      I hope you get the chance. I'm still trying to see Iceman (another Michael Shannon movie) here. I just can't find a convenient show time.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJune 4, 2013 at 10:25 AM

    I've been meaning to see this for WEEKS! I've got to see it before it's pulled from theaters! Good review--this is probably the first review that kept my attention ^_^ I really, really need/want to see it now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 5, 2013 at 9:09 AM

      I think you'll like it. The focus is mainly on the kids, and for once that doesn't suck.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousJune 4, 2013 at 10:52 AM

    "How very Jaime Lannister of him." Ha ha! Great review, Brittani. I'm glad you liked this movie too. And yes, it would've liked it if Michael Shannon had more screen time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 5, 2013 at 9:08 AM

      It is very Jaime Lannister of him! The things he does for love. I'm glad you liked it too. I always crave more Michael Shannon screen time when he does these bit parts.

      Delete
  4. JoshJune 4, 2013 at 8:24 PM

    Great review! I really enjoyed this film, and I loved Take Shelter. I really need to see Nichols' Shotgun Stories.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 5, 2013 at 9:07 AM

      I do too! Thank you for reminding me. It's on instant Netflix at the moment.

      Delete
  5. 3guys1movie.comJune 5, 2013 at 12:23 PM

    really looking forward to checking this one out. Keep passing on checking it out at the theater. I really need to watch it before i miss my chance.

    Have you checked out Nichols other films?

    I don't know how they did it but now I am a fan of Jaime Lannister.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 5, 2013 at 2:59 PM

      I've seen Take Shelter, which I really enjoyed. I also threw Shotgun Stories in my Instant queue to check that out. Jaime Lannister is one of my favorite characters as well. Hated him at first, now I find him fascinating.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum

-
Image
Recently, I was talking to someone about who I thought were the best child actors when I was also a child.  Two that really stood out to me were Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazello, and one film those two were in together was called Radio Flyer.  Then I was reminded about the uniqueness of this film. Instead of reviewing the film, I wanted to have an open discussion about the ending. It deals with a tough issue; child abuse. What I’ve noticed is the way that the film ends is interpreted many different ways, and the filmmakers never came forward to say what was right and wrong. I’m interested in hearing everyone’s opinions on it. How did you interpret the ending? Obviously spoiler alerts will follow.. For those of you who haven’t seen the film, the basic premise is this: Two young boys, Mikey (Wood) and Bobby (Mazello) move in with their single mother and her boyfriend, who refers to himself as ‘The King’. It doesn’t take long for The King to start physically abusing Bobby, and the
Read more

Indie Gems: Behind The Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

-
Image
Passionate about your profession? I had never heard of this film until it ended up on one of Jason's favorite horror movie lists around Halloween. It immediately sounded interesting to me, so of course I threw it in my Netflix queue. (and if I'm just now watching it after adding it around Halloween, you know how ridiculous my queue is) Taylor (Angela Goethals) is a journalist who, along with a film crew decides to follow around a serial killer named Leslie Vernon. (Nathan Baesel) He plans on doing the typical slasher thing - getting a bunch of drunk teens in an abandoned house and knocking them off one by one. He gets advice from a retired serial killer, Eugene (Scott Wilson) and is threatened by a man who's on to him, Doc Holloran (Robert Englund) Taylor and crew are there capturing it all. Leslie Vernon is fucking hilarious to start with, and clearly very passionate about what he does. He tells Taylor all of his secrets and can barely contain his excitemen
Read more

Please join me in my Favorite Movie Titles Blogathon!

-
Image
Earlier this week I made a post where I ran through the letters of the alphabet with my favorite movie titles. There were a few people that suggested I turn it into a blogathon, and I've never done that before. So here goes nothing! Since this is my first attempt at a blogathon, it's all pretty simple, and it's hopefully a quick post that everyone can join in. Rules: 1) Going through the alphabet, list your favorite movie title beginning with each letter.  2) You don't have to necessarily  like the movie to use it's title.  3) Use the banner at the top of this post in yours. 4) Please have submissions in by Friday, May 30th*. (But I'll be honest, if you send them to me after that date, I'll still add them to my post.) You can either leave a link to your post in the comments here or tweet it to me, ( @ramblingfilm )  Thanks everyone! :)  *I had to move the date back a week due to Photobucket threatening me with bandwidth issues. But
Read more