Don't Come Back from the Moon

Constantly moving cameras. hopefully they made enough cash from this film to buy a tripod or a dolly. if you get seasick easily, don't watch this one. Smalley (James Franco) walks out on his family in a small, dying desert town after "the plant" closes down and there's no work. and he's not the only one. more dads are giving up and leaving town. so the kids turn into juvenile delinquents. lots of pretty sunsets. and pictures of the sun and moon. should have been more story and less pictures of the moon. it's a story about leaving. do people who leave ever come back? directed by Bruce Cheung, who seems to have worked with Franco on SO many projects. novel by Dean Bakopoulos. looks like it was filmed around the edges of the salton sea. abandoned houses. ruins. mud. dead fish. it's pretty dark. it's okay.

Take a bleak, slow movie. Set it in a broken down, rural, desert town so the scenery isn't interesting to look at. Add a lead character has questionable morals who just isn't interesting or sympathetic. Then add a title and description that hint this will be some kind of sci-fi mystery. Altogether I cam confused how someone thought this was a winning formula for a film. I suppose someone felt it has a powerful social message. But the only message was that it's bad if a parent wanders off and doesn't return. And even that message wasn't clear. I try to see the good in every film, but I couldn't find anything in this film that would convince me to watch it a second time.

This is a dull movie, but is honest about it. Follows the life of some youngsters abandoned by their father. They live in the American desert towns where there is little to do and little life except that which you can make.

It's low budget and shakey cam, but the real crux is some fine acting by the mostly young crew. Beyond that there's nothing there. So much more can have been said and done. There is hope in everyone and you can take if that happens or not.

It's a snapshot on certain lives. I just think there was more and better to say.

From "Alien Covenant" to this. Franco seems to be the draw, the storyline the switch. If you're into watching films depicting broken homes this is for you. I myself couldn't get through 20 minutes of it.

As per usual, an art film that's all fluff and pretentious pseudo storytelling than actual substance. The problem from the beginning is the extremely lazy, unfocused script and the "beating the dead horse" directing by Bruce Cheung. The drama itself is just not intriguing enough and the piecemeal and patchy editing doesn't help it's central storyline of fathers abandoning their families. The main lead Mickey, is just way too tiresome and one note to be made into a feature length picture. Franco and Jones (the only power players) themselves seem super bored with their roles. Nothing worthwhile happens. Even the bits of good engagement of the kids are ruined by the film's own trappings and inability to sell it to the audience. This could have been a 20 minute short film.