Stonebrook

Young Brad Rowe thinks he's fallen into some of what he's been shoveling for the past few years. He's a country kid who's lost the family farm to back taxes and been working on other people's land as a farm hand. A friend of his father's who is a big city cop, William Mesnik, got him into the expensive Ivy League school of Stonebrook and off he goes to the big city.

But the scholarship doesn't materialize and he has to pay his own way. But Rowe has a roommate in Seth Green who is both a computer hacker and a con artist. He gets Rowe into his schemes which start off with pool hustling. It goes quite a bit beyond that as the boys start ripping off money from the mob.

Poor Brad Rowe, cursed with the same first name and a general appearance that closely resembles the more well known Brad Pitt. I don't think Rowe's a bad actor, but apparently unless he's fated to be cast as a brother to Brad Pitt some day, Rowe will get all the roles that Pitt probably turns down.

On the other hand in his own quirky way, Seth Green has a lot of appeal and his part here generally fits in with the characters he's usually cast as. It's like Dr. Evil's son has decided to branch out on his own and enrolled at Stonebrook.

Stonebrook is not a bad film, but it has a way too many plot twists and turns and they're not introduced in a clever Hitchcockian type of way. Still it's not too bad and some will enjoy it.

The plot's twists and turns make the movie interesting to watch, even though a lot of the things that happen are a little hard to believe. The characters are really sketched pretty thin, although an effort was made to make them all interesting. Overall, it felt as though everyone on the production staff of this film was new to making movies, and so they were trying out different things and trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. The next couple of films these people make will probably be a lot better, but for this one, they seemed to be trying to find their way, from the director down to the music composer. Overall a good concept for a movie, it just needed a lot more polishing. I rented it for free, so no complaints.

Co-writer, co-producer and director, Bryon W. Thompson, has created a very under-rated thriller. A story about a country boy (Rowe)who seeks a better life through the help of an old family friend (Mesnik). He applies to Stonebrook Uni, meets a beautiful girl (McLellan), as well as an eccentric room-mate(Green)who is in his own mind 'a very dangerous man'. Life is great, that's until he and his room-mate accidentally steals from a mob boss (Kamel). From here it's a rollercoaster ride full of unexpected twists. If the story doesn't sound interesting enough, wait til the underlying story unfolds. The performances are good. You believe every character. The direction is also good. There are many cut away reminiscing scenes (much like 'The Usual Suspects') that are needed due to the intricate plot. This allows the viewer to keep up with the story causing the plot twists to work more effectively. Good thriller. Not quite great. But if you like a thriller with a twist. I recommend you check it out.

Why oh why do people insist on spoiling movies by making the plot far to difficult understand or keep up with? This film (Web of Lies is the Title in the UK) had a lot of potential and actually started quite well. I liked the bits when the boys were trying to hussle for money but all this got lost in a script that dissappeared up its own backside .I'm lost as to explain what happened in the end partially because there were to many twists and partly because i lost interest. Brad Rowe looks promising as an actor even if he is a clone of his name sake Brad Pit , apart from that i would advise you to do something more interesting for an hour and a half. 5 out of 10

While this independent film is flawed, it is nevertheless a gem and time worth spent. If you like suspense-yarns that don't spoon-feed you all the plot connections, you will have fun watching this one. On the other hand, if you need to have everything spelled out for you, this one may be a brain-struggle. Personally, I favor movies that let me do a bit of the work myself. But whatever camp you're in, I think you will ultimately walk away having enjoyed it.

Another reason to check this one out is Seth Green who, as always, is in top form. What I like about Seth is how he always brings flair and depth to his characterizations. He is a charming and talented actor, so I wish he had had more screen time. Brad Rowe is well suited as the farm boy lost in a big city, but his performance lacks dimension.

For those who haven't seen it, try not and read too much on this movie before seeing it. I've deliberately not delved into what the movie is all about here...you'll have fun finding that out yourself!