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"Two teenage boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the bounty hunters on his trail and to reunite him with his true love."



5 out of 5 stars -- I couldn't think of anything I didn't like!

-- Curt

Really wanted to watch this last night, but the showings were at awkward times.

Saw Gatsby instead... what a mistake I made!

I loved the book, so I need to check out the movie sometime soon!  Maybe when I get paid next from work I'll go see Great Gatsby.  My friend who saw it last night said it was really good.

But yea, Mud over Gatsby anyday.  Such a shame the showings were awkward, because this was great!

-- Curt

My favorite film of 2013 thus far. Mcconaughey was the best I've ever seen him. I loathe indie film for the fact that it is so dialogue heavy and rarely reaches any type of climactic ending, but this one does! The moments throughout the film are so sharply written it makes me want to quit writing. The kid actors were amazing. It should be streaming in no time. Just caught it a week ago at the last theater it has shown in. It will get some Oscar love.

James

I really do hope it gets Oscar love, because honestly, it deserves it!  Apart from the fantastic acting, hopefully Adam Stone gets some recognition for his amazing cinematography.  I've seen this twice now, and the second time I seen it I was still in awe at how beautiful and entertaining this movie is!  

This is tied with The Place Beyond The Pines for my favourite of 2013, so far...

Curt

I made a point to seek this one out in theaters.
And I wasn't disappointed.
Also helped it was recommended by a colleague that wrote one of my fave flicks.
So, I figured I should trust his judgement.

The film's an effective drama that lure you into its world.
The cinematography enhances the tale's laid back pace.

My only real complaint is the ending.
There's far too much shooting and typical studio-style trickery.
I wanted more talking and less shooting from Mud in the end.

Could be the difference between getting Oscar noms, and not.
The voters prefer speeches to shoot-outs for the gold statues.

But still, this is a very good film that should be seen by all.
The narrative clearly follows those two boys.
And I really wanted to know what was going to happen to them next.

E.D.

Saw this a few nights ago and I was blown away.

Great stuff.  can't wait to see Mconaughey in the Wolf of Wall Street.

I like how he's doing really good movies now.

Saw this yesterday on Blu Ray with my girlfriend.  Can't say either of us were overly impressed.

Now, hold on, before you go attacking me or being shocked.

Although not impressed, I definitely didn't hate or even dislike it either.  It was very slow, very long, and when all was said and done, IMO, it didn't really deliver.

The acting was great for sure.  The kids, the parents, even old Mud himself were all good.  The cinemtography was also nice, as others have raved about.

The story, though?  Pretty weak, actually, IMO.  But before we go there, what was this really all about?

When we got done, I asked my girlie this question.  She's not a big movie type person or critic, but she enjoys movies. She paused and said in an asking tone, "Is it about life being hard and ugly?"  I said, "Maybe, but I think there's more."  We had a smoke and a few minutes later, I think it hit me - the movie's really about love, but it's the ugly side of love, not the beautiful side.

Love makes peeps do bad things and this is really what Mud is all about, IMO.  But, in the end, as we usually do, we see that all is not ugly and bad, and sometimes love can triumph, even though it's not in teh way we sometimes hope for.

But, back to the actual story and characters.  Who the Hell is Mud, anyway?  Who is Juniper?  How does either survive?  How can we really root for either when they're both such bad people, in most of the classic ways?  I'm not saying that I didn't, but it's tough until old Mud comes alive near the very end and shows his true colors.

Story-wise, what do we have here?  Well, basically, we have a very impoverished setting, including pretty much each and every single character, a coming of age period for 2 young boys, and a classic, but cliched love story full of jealousy, murder, and revenge...played out very, very slowly through the eyes of our Protag, Ellis (and the wonderfully acted Neckbone).

I can understand why movie darlings and the like will praise this.  I can also understand why the masses steared clear.

If I had to compare it with any other recent movie, I'd go with the far superior Winter's Bone, which hit harder and had more going for it.