Cold in July (2014)

just watch it!

Boring

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

For a lesser-known thriller, I was impressed by what 'Cold in July' had to offer. The storyline is compelling and unpredictable - you have no idea where it's heading based on what happens in the first few scenes. The plot twists are impossible to predict, with the film going in a completely different direction to what I was expecting.The acting in 'Cold in July' is top-notch, with three terrific lead performances. The film is well written and the plot is generally sound, despite a few gray areas where everything isn't totally clear. The pace is relentless from start to finish, there's never a dull moment and the film builds nicely to a tense finale. Overall, a very good thriller.

A knee jerk reaction has consequences for the rest of your life. Most of us have been there. Cold in July starts out as an introspective thriller, it's easy to identify with how badly things can go wrong based on quick decisions. The thrill stays true to the mind-twisting "that could have been me theme" for a fair distance. It even gives the sense that it may be heading for greatness as consequences of bad judgement take centre part in the thrill. Then, just when it starts getting intriguing, it goes mainstream. It's hard to fathom that the same director (Jim Mickle) is behind both halves of this film. The, relatively, abrupt change of format makes little sense: It clumsily shifts the mood of the film and wastes away the initial efforts of subtlety. A bit like watching a relay race with David Lynch and Quentin Tarantino. And one thought will linger longer than any thrill from the film - why didn't Mickle finish what he set out to do? Although totally derailed from greatness, Cold in July still makes for a decent viewing.

(Spoilers follow) Not sure what positive reviews may be about. What I saw was: 1) Huge plot holes: the issue of the burglar's identity, one of the chief reasons for the main character's questing, dropped without explanation, police involvement and cover-up given but the most cursory of treatments, the Dixie Mafia connection just mentioned, etc., I could go on all day. 2) Lack of realism: a quiet small-town framer, suddenly and without adequate explanation, goes along with people he had no acquaintance of just days before (in movie time) into a firefight with snuff movie syndicate characters. None of the other characters involved (either on the "good guys'" side or the "bad guys'" side) have any real prior involvement with him. No proper build-up into this change of character is provided, no insight into the inner process that induces such a transformation is even alluded to. 3) Acting: unconvincing and dull, at best.In sum: it's meant to be a gritty drama-thriller, but it's boring, generally lacks pace (without any good reason, as rarely any time is spent in introspective insights into the inner path each person takes to the final shoot-out) and fails to give viewers any compelling reason why they should follow this guy's detour from average Joe (with hardly any redeeming features) to gun-totting vigilante and back to average Joe.

Going into Jim Mickle's Cold In July, I had very low expectations, but I must say that Cold In July surpasses my very low expectations and is now a movie that I can consider slightly underrated.Cold In July features a great cast of very talented actors including Michael C. Hall, Sam Shepard and Don Johnson, who all bring something different to the table. Add in a bold, seedy narrative and an assortment of tones, Cold In July provides a somewhat uneven, but satisfying, roller-coaster ride of a movie.The first act of Cold In July is basically a blatant rip-off of David Cronenberg's A History of Violence. Being a fan of that film though, I didn't find this too much of an issue, but the resemblance between the two is uncanny. That said, the first act is ultimately pretty predictable. It's still watchable and fairly engrossing, but it isn't really until the second act where things take a very unexpected turn and things really pick up.The second act is where the film takes a huge leap in a different direction, and I must admit, it was ballsy, but it certainly pays off in the end. We are introduced formally to Sam Shepard's and Don Johnson's characters and the three form an unlikely, but hilarious team. Sadly though, after the introduction to these great characters, the act really begins to slow and sag compared to the rest of the film. But the third act really provides the relief and fun that we needed.The third act feels like a completely different movie than the rest, but this is where the film is most enjoyable. Our team gets drawn into a brutally dark secondary story line and from here is where we get some gritty, yet comedic, action violence that we all secretly wanted. The third act did feel somewhat disjointed but it was still an absolute blast and just a ton of fun.All three of these acts are very different from another and that does give Cold In July a disjointed and sometimes clumsy narrative. Story lines are brought in and dropped without resolution, and the tone switches are jarring at times. My biggest issue with the film is that it develops on some interesting ideas but never fully realizes them due to the story's frantic need to move forward at a break-neck pace. We abandon some interesting story lines throughout to replace them with others.Cold In July certainly isn't a polished and perfect movie. The jarring tone shifts and plot jumps give the film a staggered feeling. Despite these issues, Cold In July is well acted, entertaining and ultimately a ton of fun. Our unlikely team of likable anti-heroes have excellent chemistry, whether it be in the violent action sequences or the small spurts of dark humor. These interactions are all tightly-knit and leads to a surprisingly satisfying ending. This makes Cold In July a ton of fun to watch. Just don't go into it expecting a cohesive story or delicate narrative and you should be as pleased as I am.