The Dust Storm

It's not often that I review on this site, but once in a while a movie comes along that touches something deeper than just me being entertained for x number of minutes. The Dust Storm is one of those. Being a fan of Colin O'donoghue brought my attention to this movie. I KNEW it wasn't a fairytale rosy red story I was about to see, and that might have helped me to "accept" the ending. It's tough, gritty, and "right in ya face" kind of movie. The cutting/editing of the movie establishes the mood and feeling of each scene in a spectacular way. The time jumping and warping the past, present and future together in several key scenes is brilliantly done.

Both characters carries boat loads of baggage and more and more are revealed to the viewer along the way, some surprised me, or made me sad. The whole movie is touching and gut-wrenching and will be simmering in my heart and soul for some time. I love how the two main characters are portraited, and both actors does this so well.

I'll hold my hands up and admit, straight off, that I watched this purely for Colin O'Donoghue.

Nashville provides a wonderful backdrop with all the colours and music. Unfortunately I found that I had little sympathy for either character. I get what happened but both could do with a stern talking to! Him to cut her loose and her to stop messing people around.

Perfectly watchable though and I quite enjoyable the way the film was put together.

Keep silent or run away; drink; fight. Wash, rinse, repeat. Boring to the last second with fake drama The guy tries but the girl is a drunkard nut job I kept hoping it might improve but nope. Might as well watch a Hallmark movie; at least you know there will be no surprise.

... from an IMDb reviewer with 1200+ reviews under his belt who didn't join the IMDb yesterday just to leave behind one single, glowing review about a film he either worked on or, possibly, wanted to work on.

So I volunteered.

In the classic "credo" of the Indie, writer/director Ryan Lacen has created a nice and friendly little romantic tale about two ex-lovers who have a chance encounter (long after their breakup) in Nashville, and then spend the rest of the film exploring both their old and their potentially new relationship against the backdrop of that famous city.

If you are a film buff, you could think of it as TWO FOR THE ROAD (1967) lite. In fact, very lite.

On the plus side, this is a cute semi-sweet romp against an energetic backdrop with the occasional (very occasional) musical interlude. Of the two stars, who together take up some 99.9% of the screen time, Colin O'Donoghue seems a little awkward and uncomfortable from time to time, whereas Kristen Gutoskie -- blessed with a rubber face like an early Jim Carrey -- shines and gives every indication there could be a major star in there waiting to break out.

The editing is also clever, and is used effectively to portray how people actually "think" about their own past and present, so props for that.

On the negative side, this project can never overcome the fact that it is an Indie done on a shoestring. You either get involved with the characters ... or you don't. No in-between.

On a long flight between A and B it would indeed keep your interest. And that is the best thing I can say.

An Oscar, on the other hand (as another reviewer suggested) is highly unlikely.

Two depressed exes randomly meet in Nashville after not seeing each other since their breakup, many years before. They knew a small amount from FaceBook but their weekend was about catching up, enjoying living in the moment, and making the right choices and moving forward.

Clearly the writer had an ex in mind for the stunning Kristen Gutoskie. She's complicated, moody, unpredictable, and searching aimlessly for love and life. We've all known this girl- the one who's natural beauty and personality attracts everyone, but she keeps people at arms length, even those she loves. They are frustrating and loving at the same time, and will wreck your life. But you still love her for many reasons. KG plays this character perfectly and even though the main arc is about Brennan, you can't help but feel for them both.

But I root for them, not to end up together per se, but to at least be in each other's lives more. Sometimes that's all we get, both in life and in the movies. There's always hope though. What I liked about these two is that they needed each other for an evolution, not as a couple but as individuals. And it works. Nashville is a good backdrop for this type of film because it's easy to have adventures there, and the fact that both mains have a music background is irrelevant. These two love each other very much, but in different ways- and that may frustrate an unsophisticated viewer. Still, you should screen this film. It def deserves higher than its average rating.