moviefandude

Before writing this, I glanced at the other reviews on here and noticed that they're all over the map. Some loved this movie, others not so much. I'm of the philosophy that no one's opinion of a movie is wrong. A movie hits you the way it hits you, that's all there is to it. I'm a fan of small character-driven films but I'm not normally drawn to the crime thriller genre. So going into this, I wasn't certain this movie would be for me. Well, it turned out it was. I really enjoyed the twists and turns and found myself fearful for the fate of the innocent characters, especially the server Charlotte who I thought was beautifully played by Jocelin Donahue.

I came across this film while looking for something to watch last night. The blurb on Prime simply read "A young woman (Dakota Johnson) and a cabbie (Sean Penn) share a remarkable journey in New York City." I like small, intimate movies with captivating characters, and since this looked like it might fit that bill, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed. It's amazing what great writing can do. This movie is about two strangers talking in a cab and yet it grabbed me from the opening scene and never let go. Congratulations to writer-director Christy Hall on her feature film debut. And to Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn for their remarkable portrayal of Hall's characters. Brilliant!

As an avid hockey fan, this film was a must-see and I thoroughly enjoyed it. NHL legends Teemu Selanne and Brett Hull are both laugh-out-loud funny in it. Selanne plays an obnoxious egomaniac who buys a minor-pro hockey team. The team captain who idolized him as a kid can't stand him and neither can Hull who sets out to buy an opposing team just to mess with him. There are other great characters as well, including a Gary Bettman imposter and a goofy team equipment manager. The movie takes place during the off-season so there's no hockey action in it but it more than makes up for it with big laughs and an engaging story.