Last Seen in Idaho

Unique thriller with a good concept involving lost memories and an unsolved crime. I think this is a movie that women will like more than men in that it follows a female character, including her conflicted relationship with her sister, and there is also some romance thrown in as well with a good-looking male character. The main character was likeable and relatable.

Fascinating plot. Woman sees her kidnapping - and then her murder - BEFORE it happens. The directing is a classic style that gives us the moments that we want to see - because seriously I get sick of some of these indies staying in these long wide shots for entire scenes - I don't know if that's budget issues or chosen for art, but I want to see someone's eyes when they're having an important moment and this film lets you. This is obviously and independent film without a huge budget, but it's still a good thriller.

Showtime has a pretty wide selection of films and genres these days from independent films and Sundance movies to big budget blockbusters. That's one of the things I like about the channel. I was just perusing the guide and Last Seen in Idaho was about to start. The title and the description sounded cool so I went for it even though I didn't know any of the actors in it except I recognized one of them. It turned about to be a decent thriller. Maybe I'd classify it more as a mystery because there's a fair amount of sleuthing by the main character in between the occasional chase or fight scene. I liked the lead actress. She was relatable and natural. I really liked the lead male. He was simmering and likeable. All in all it's decent if you like these kinds of mystery-thriller movies.

The movie has an intriguing set up: Woman witnesses crime and in a near death escape ends up in coma only to awaken with special powers. Now this movie mainly stays in the realm of realism. The "special powers" are limited to premonitions that pop up unexpectedly and all relate in some form or other to her upcoming murder. How can she stop it?

I feel like this movie wanted to go deeper with some of the themes that it presented: Can we change our destiny? Are the mistakes of our past destined to haunt us? It dances around those topics, but with so many characters and plotlines in need of development in order to serve the mystery and the suspense, it never fully explores those themes. I wish it would have. That would have elevated the movie to a solid '8' for me.

Good directing. Good writing. Good acting. It's good across the board with suspense, moments that make you jump, tension, and some good action, but it's missing that something that would turn it into a break-out hit. Middle was a touch slow, maybe? Still, I recommend it. It was entertaining.

I was genuinely surprised at how awesome this movie was. I originally only gave this a chance because of Shaun and Wes were in it. But it it was a very good movie.