Coldwater

PROS: An obvious pro is the acting. There are a ton of things a movie needs to have to be good. For romance movies its plot development, for comedies it's creativity, for horrors it build up of tension, but every movie needs acting for it to be good. It is the universal pro for all movies. And this movie exemplified that pro. Every character was genuine, and felt like a real person. This is so rare to find actors who can instill both terror and joy into the audience with ease. I felt that every action he did was done with purpose and was driven by more than just one emotion, which is likely in real life but difficult in acting. Those bonds that the characters allowed us to build throughout the plot granted us to fell something deeper when the film resolved. You waited and waited to get to the end, and when you did all you could do was just breathe out in relief. That quality of serenity that the movie gave was a beautiful contrast to the hysteria the rest of the film showed.

CONS: The small con would be with the build up of tension. I wouldn't necessary qualify this movie as a strict horror, more like a psychological drama thriller, but there still needed to be more action. The movie all together was terrific, but maybe just a tad bit more intensity. Not a ton! but just a wee bit more.

www.chorror.com

Coldwater is the story of an adolescent boy who is sent to a backwoods juvenile reform facility. As the film continues, we slowly come to understand the events that lead him there and the horrors that occur.

While I would like to say that this story is completely fictional, it is not. The script and the characters are, of course, a work of fiction. However, the abuse that often occurs in juvenile reform facilities is all too real. There are many documented cases of emotional and physical abuse, in some cases even leading to the death of young teens, at these facilities all over the country.

While this is a fictional story, I appreciate its realism. This realism makes Coldwater shocking and at times difficult to watch. This film is not entertaining in the way that many films are. However, I believe that it is important to watch because the stories behind it are very real.

I just saw this movie at its premiere at SXSW. It's an intense film about a young man who is sent to be 'transformed' at what you might call a juvenile detention camp. Things deteriorate as the Colonel, played masterfully by James C. Burns, begins to unravel himself. The film is carried by newcomer PJ Boudousque, a name we should start getting used to. In his first film, he plays Brad Lunders, a teenager haunted by the mistakes of his past but determined to change his future, and that of anyone close to his orbit. His performance is intense and meaningful, saying as much with a look as he might with 100 words. Vincent Grashaw does a marvelous job with all the young cast, each bringing something very special to the film.

The score is a triumph.

I loved this film, and think for many people involved it will be the start of something big.

Saw it at Las Vegas Int'L Film festival where it took best picture and many more awards! and decidedly so! what impressed me most about this movie was the internal development building the tension of the character arcs. It is a very rare trait in American movies recently and it is always refreshing to see it, attempted and then achieved. The colors are spot on as well as acting. Many compliments to the DP. Also, Vincent Grashaw does a great job! Pretty great production design - minimal- but confident and effective.

I wish there were more movies like this and good movie lovers should not miss it!

My wife and best friend went to Pasadena to see this movie over the weekend without any preconceived notions. We were rewarded with a rich and deeply-emotional story that backfilled the plot at just the right moments to reveal teenagers who got in trouble only to experience more serious abuse, murder, and betrayal from the very rehabilitation and juvenile reform camps designed to "correct" their behavior. Lunders' character was played brilliantly in the portrayal of a teenager knowingly doing wrong, getting caught, and then forced to blend his survival instincts with an undertow of defiance while imprisoned.

Was the movie entertaining? Not in the classical sense. But more importantly it conveyed a message that forces the larger examination of the black box of private,for-profit, pseudo-correctional institutions for juveniles in this country. This message still resonates with us several days after seeing the movie. Great film making!