Flakes

I really enjoyed this. It's a fun, quirky flick with a fun, quirky cast, and the music/set was very well done. The two leads, Aaron Stanford and Zooey Deschanel, had great chemistry and both carried their roles with style and skill; Deschanel is hilariously adorable as always, and Stanford gives his character, Neal, a lovable, believable charm. The concept itself is quite cool as well, I thought; what other movie is about competing *cereal bars*? While the "Franchises = BAD" message is sort of smacked in your face throughout the film, it's definitely worth the occasional eyeroll. Basically, if you're looking for a movie that will make you laugh out loud, have you rooting for a happy ending and leave you smiling when it's over, 'Flakes' is for you.

Michael Lehmann's new film, Flakes, could have been a quirky comedy, centered on a new type of concept "cereal" bar. Instead, it tries too hard to be a romantic comedy with a quirky setting, and unfortunately, doesn't really deliver anything romantic or comedic. I mean, the setting really is great. And the overlying plot--young entrepreneur threatens to Starbuck over a local establishment with a local following--might have worked, if the film had been completely different.

But instead of focusing on the fact that these guys live, eat and breathe cereal, Lehmann decides to cliché it all up by introducing the same old, badly written girl-wants-slackerboy-to-quit working-his-dead-end-job-and-focus-on-his-aspiring-music-career theme. And because of this, we never really get to learn that much about cereal, or what great toys come out of cereal boxes, or really anything cool at all. We do get some slack-off acting and a shameful appearance by Christopher Lloyd. All-in-all, it's a waste of time and plays more like a badly written sitcom than an actual feature film.

Watching this, i was not expecting much. I have to say i was pleasantly surprised. During the start of the film i was left in awe at how cool the actual set was, the cereal bar is a work of mise en scene genius. But even with an exciting set a film can still be rubbish.

Flakes is not as quirky as it looks. It's dialogue is impressive and the performances are understated and all work perfectly with the story, see Skinny Larry and Winston. There are moments that made me laugh, granted it was more of a chuckle than a hysterical laugh. The thing that strikes me the most about this movie is how well the writers formulated their characters. All very well judged with good casting in them, the only role i was left wondering about was that of Strawberry as she was pretty pointless. Christopher Lloyd is awesome in this, i read on another comment that Christopher Lloyd does his usual but if you grew up watching him as Doc, this really isn't his usual.

Good characters, good premise, original storytelling and the ever lovely Zooey Deschanel. This is worth a watch, it is not a groundbreaking concept, it will not blow your brains out, it will not keep you on the edge of your seat, however it will charm you and leave you thinking about it. Well it did for me at least.

Just saw this at the SXSW film festival and found it pretty damn fun. The dialog is kludgey in spots, and I'm not sure they sold the romantic relationship between the two leads well enough, but there are some funny, clever moments with the main story about the competing cereal bars, and the concept itself I thought was fun. Christopher Lloyd has a few nice moments here and there. Deschanel is a blast as always. A curious thing to note, but I liked the set design/art direction quite a bit. Gave the competing venues a real personality of their own. There's still no word on distribution, but I'm hopeful that a good reception at SXSW will give it some momentum in that direction.

Michael Lehmann tells a charming little story about an aspiring rocker, Neal Downs, and an aspiring artist, Pussy Katz. Neal feels obligated to work fulltime at a cereal diner, Flakes, but his girlfriend Pussy Katz wants him to pursue his dream in becoming a musician. She even offers to take over his job, without payment. However, Neal declines. Meanwhile, a rival diner sets up in front of Flakes and in order to teach Neal a lesson, Pussy Katz takes up a job at the new cereal bar.

'Flakes' is overall a fun movie. While the concept is very appealing, the screenplay and execution are splendid. Although the pro-capitalist vs anti-capitalist theme is underdeveloped and the ending felt a little rushed, the comedy mostly makes up for it. The clever humour works brilliantly. I liked the art direction. The colourful sets looked very inventive and authentic. The cinematography is good too and the soundtrack fits well with the atmosphere and flaky surroundings.

Aaron Stanford and Zooey Deschanel form a likable and believable pair. They have great chemistry. Standford is competent as the scruffy wannabe rocker who's afraid of the uncertainty of a musician's future. Lovely Deschanel is a delight to watch. Her natural performance stands out, Christopher Lloyd, Keir O'Donnell and Izabella Miko provide great support.

The jokes made me laugh out loud. This film has heart and brain Positively flaky, fun, energetic and delicious, 'Flakes' at the very least brings a smile to the face. I'll definitely be revisiting this one.