Cut Bank

I wanted to love this movie. With a trailer that felt like Fargo (minus the snow), I was confident it would make for an enjoyable Saturday night. Cut Bank is no Fargo. But it's hardly awful. Malkovich, Dern, Platt and Thornton deliver good performances; the plot moves along somewhat predictably, but nicely none the less.

Watching it, I was reminded of Clay Pigeons, and this actually helped me figure out what was troubling me about the movie: Hemsworth is no Joaquin Phoenix. He doesn't seem committed, and the viewer, in turn, finds it hard to commit to him.

Fortunately, the other performances carry the show and the ending brings an adequately satisfying payoff for your time in Cut Bank.

After reading the reviews here I was not expecting much with Cut Bank. But at the end of the movie I have to admit that I truly enjoyed this movie. I first was a little bit annoyed by the "parcel" at the end but the next day I suddenly figured it out and then I was even more satisfied with this movie. The stars in this movie are Michael Stuhlbarg, Billy Bob Thorton and John Malkovic. Liam Hemsworth was okay but he shouldn't have had the major role. The other actors were all good as well and made this movie better then the reviews want you to believe. It all starts slowly, but the more you get in the story the better it gets. I saw better movies for sure but I saw also a load of worse movies then Cut Bank. Certainly worth a watch.

I thought this reminded me a bit of Fargo but my more observant companion correctly and more accurately though it was a bit of a tribute to Blood Simple. If the movie had a weakness it was that Liam Hemsworth seemed a bit flat or lost compared to the others. The story was good, few puzzles still remain unexplained regarding the background of Derby Milton, the character whose singular unravels the plans of the main character and unleashes chaos. The women all play peripheral roles and more or less stand around and look worried.

The story felt fresh and although there was a resolution of sorts it was not too cliché.

Tried to watch this several times, but the fake, twangy--and forced-- southern accents were ridiculous. Montana is not a southern state, Hollywood. Good grief.

When you manage to cast three brilliant actors in your film like John Malkovich, Bruce Dern and Billy Bob Thornton, then you are entitled to feel pretty let down when the young buck you hire in the lead role completely ruins the whole thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Liam Hemsworth has no acting chops whatsoever. In fact he's an absolute drain on a film. It's a shame too because this was an otherwise fun film with some real quirk to it and a few elements that even the Coen brothers would even be proud of.

Director Matt Shaman quite effectively achieves the isolated, small town, far from the big city feel that makes a film like this work so well. This is Shakman's first film he's directed and he's done a good job. The characters are also well written and the overall script is pretty solid and a lot of fun. The only thing really holding this back is Hemsworth as far I am concerned. There are so many fine actors around his age who would have been perfect for the role too. Put him in a film opposite Miley Cyrus and he'll come across as great by comparison (maybe even Oscar worthy), but put him in a scene with one of the three big actors previously mentioned in this film and he noticeably pales in comparison. The fact that it's still quite watchable despite this is a good thing.