Raul Faust A dad and two children live together in a house away from the city-- and away from everything. Mother died years ago and dad dealt with some problems, so he decided to live isolated from society. That's a strange thing to imagine; his sons are 10 and 18 (approximately), and it is almost impossible to live this age without friends, parties or only people to talk about something according to your age. After some while, dad's brother shows up and reveals some weird secrets. As the movie movies, even thought there's nothing too exciting for you to be entertained, directing and acting make you pay very attention to the dialogs and reactions of the cast. Sometimes actors speak too low, so you have to be entertained to understand what they're talking about. Photography directing/editing are beautiful, making this movie be very calm to watch. Unfortunately there are some violent scenes and the movie seems to reach nowhere, but it is a good time passer. Watch it only for entertainment and maybe you'll enjoy.

edenney01 6.7 IMDb rating? Seriously? It must be getting one compulsory extra rating point for each A-List actor/actress that was in it, and half point for Kristin Stewart. This would definitely have a 4 - 4.5 rating without the cast boost. I also need to make a point of remembering the director, editor, and whoever did the score, so I can avoid their movies in the future. The movie somehow managed to keep my interest long enough to watch the whole thing, but only just barely.And what's with the totally bizarre ending?! Flashing back and forth between the boy in the hospital bed with his grandpa (with tons of rouge on his cheeks) talking about his grandmother's cooking, to his brother standing in the hallway in a rather odd stance and holding a green balloon for some reason, to boy #1 fully dressed and wading in the ocean. Then the brother pops his balloon for no particular reason, and has no visible reaction to popping it. Fade to black. Huh??? Would've made sense if it was just the grandfather talking to the boy or boys.

Cosmoeticadotcom When does the seep of an artist's talent get to be too much? Is it the first time he 'sells out', or the third, or when all of the early potential has drained away? This was what I was thinking as I watched David Gordon Green's third filmic effort, Undertow, an hour and forty-eight minute effort released in 2004. Oh, it's not a bad film, but all it is is a stylized, updated version of Night Of The Hunter, and that was a vastly overrated mediocrity of a film to begin with, directed by Charles Laughton in 1955, and starring Robert Mitchum as a murderous psychopath who stalks children who run away from him. What is most distressing about the film is that it comes after Green's first two features- the enigmatically wonderful George Washington and the lyrically poignant All The Real Girls.The basic problem is the screenplay- it's virtually nonexistent, and what does exist is all refried trite Hollywood potboiler thriller. How's this for originality? Two white trash Southern brothers, the Munns, are reunited. They have a deep, dark secret in their past. One brother, Deel (Josh Lucas), has just gotten out of prison, and the other, John (Dermot Mulroney), has two sons of his own, Chris (Jamie Bell, from Billy Elliott)- who impales his bare right foot on a nail, sticking up from a board in an opening chase scene, and Tim (Devon Alan)- a budding mental case who pukes all the time because he eats slugs, dirt, and paint. John stole Deel's girl, married her, and then Deel went crazy, committed a crime, and went to jail. It seems that John has some family gold coins that are worth a lot of money. Deel steals the coins, kills John, then tries to kill John's two sons, who've run off with the coins, even though he claims that Chris is really his son, since they look more alike and Chris has been in trouble with the law, as well. There are some potential moments of characterization, and a realistic family squabble with less melodrama and trite chase scenes would have been far more up Green's alley, but this film's sitting on the fence is what dooms it.Rumor has it that Green is working on adaptations of two recent books that contain dubious potential for him to expand his visual art- Brad Land's atrocious memoir of frat boy sodomy, Goat, and Sue Monk Kidd's 'mystical Negroes' novel, The Secret Life Of Bees. Is there no end to the bastardization of art? Apparently not, but such bastardy takes willing participants, and Green should be severely chided for moving away from his unique style. He was on the cusp of greatness with All The Real Girls, and perhaps becoming not another Malick, but an American Ingmar Bergman. Instead, Undertow is a major step backward for Green and for American film's future. Too bad his audience had to dosey-do with him.

Joseph Sylvers Not quite the southern Gothic revival I was expecting from David Gordan Green after watching "George Washington" but not too bad anyway.Two brothers witness their Uncle kill their father, for a set of lost gold coins, and unable to turn to the police, are forced to escape cross country, and encounter many strange and symbolic characters along the way.All and all I wasn't as impressed with Green's stunner of a debut, his trademark writing style is still present "can I carve my smile in your face?", but it's used less here, to the movies detriment. There's some great cinematography as well, the same sense of the beautiful junkyards and backwoods, but the overall story feels kinda contrived. There are some fairy tale-esquire moments, which elevate this above a normal thriller, but a masterpiece this is not.I got the sense when watching this it might be better the next time, or it might be worse. Worth watching for Dave Gordon Green fans, and those interested in beautiful photography of the south, or thrillers in general, but overall it just didn't seem to connect all it threads.