Around The Bend (2004)

Who left the two big urns without a chaperon?! Look what happened!

Genre: Drama

Starring: Michael Caine (Sleuth; Batman Begins), Josh Lucas (Hulk; Sweet Home Alabama)

Directed By: Jordan Roberts

Overview: When a man dies, his quickly scrawled will inspires a road trip through the man's life and his past, the lives of his family, and even a few KFCs.

Acting: The casting in this is spectacular. A mix of super well knows and not so populars, the big hit here of course is Christopher Walken. Does anyone hate this actor? You know what? Toss me a comment if you don't. I'd like to hear from you. There must be SOMEONE out there who can't stand him. Throw in the reason why, too. That's important. Either way, his dancing? So good!
Rating: 9

Cinematography: The images along the road trip, panoramic night driving scenes, and silhouetted dusk introspective moments, absolutely impressive. Nice editing, nice flow. I must say however, the KFC signs in the way get a big -1, just because I'd rather be seeing something other than evil enterprises flashed at me every 10 minutes. This has nasty sponsorship all over it, a la Castaway. Terrible.
Rating: 7

Script: "I'm dancing for my tribe." You'll get it when you see it. So many deep and meaningful lines are spoken in this film that I was amazed that I saw two such movies in a week. The delivery of the lines always makes the script important, and they were said perfectly. They didn't make the kid a genius with a 30 year old's vocabulary, and they didn't weigh us down with too much suspense or vast relevance. It's an effin' great telling of the tale that unfolds, if I may say so myself... Given that this is my website, I MAY say so myself.
Rating: 9

Plot: The story is a road trip tale with a twist, a scattering of ashes along the way. Ok maybe not that much of a twist given that it's similar to Highway 61 (which is amazing by the way for you Canadian content people), but simplicity has it's place and the scenes are appropriate and the unanswered questions all get resolved, and the suspense is just right, the theme just important enough. A nice little movie for everyone.
Rating: 8

Mood: The trip is quite a trip. Sadly the corporate slant on it offended me, even though there were some hilarious and important scenes that took place in or around KFC, but must I be reminded of an organization being harassed by animal rights activists, health and safety organisations and anti-corporate groups alike? Those of you who love digging your fingers in the gore of corruption and lickin' em good will most likely find this to be a real cute additional touch to the trip. That would most likely add to the mood for me too if it was anything else less evil. You can go ahead and call it an 8, as for me...
Rating: 7

"So which of these blankets smell more like grandpa?" "Oh I thought that was cat piss..."

Overall Rating: 80% (Get Around to Seeing This)

Aftertaste: This is a great movie, go see it. It's not so morose that you'll consider this "tragic time", it's not so funny that you won't learn anything, and it's a great story all around from beginning to end. Don't pass up Christopher Walken dancing, he's the bomb. Nice ending too.