A Bag of Hammers (2011)

What a waste of my time!!!

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Really lovely storyline, well acted and genuine, I absolutely loved it. It wasn't what I expected and the advert really does not do it justice. I would recommend it to anyone. It also has a truly stunning accompanying soundtrack and I would highly recommend just listening to on its own. Its a very gentle film that doesn't pull its punches, its truthful and as the film goes on and the story starts to pull together you really start to realise how beautifully thought out it all is. It touches on the themes of neglect, a badly run welfare system and the horrible cycle of poverty and unfairness. Totally uplifting it made me cry twice! This film really does not get the credit it is due. Watch it and recommend it to all your friends!

Brian Crano's film A Bag of Hammers is part of the modern subset of indie dramedies, films that try to embrace cultural or social issues but finding a proper mix of quirky humor and twisted situations that somehow bizarrely mirror real life with a touch of humor and dash of heartbreak. While this mini-genre is at its fullest popularity, Crano's film doesn't reach the brilliance that other films similar has done. Ben (Jason Ritter) and Alan (Jake Sandvig) are two friends who make a living by stealing cars through their valet service (how they aren't caught, the world may never know) and sublet part of their house to a struggling single mother, desperate to get a job and provide for her son. The boys end up taking care of the child themselves and must decide whether they are ready to move past their own adolescence to raise a son as their own.The plot suggests class statements, coming-of-age, and a type of conflict that would usually inhabit a Fox sitcom or a 1980's comedy. While some of these ambitions play out, most of them fall flat or are too jumbled to reach any real potential. Ritter and Sandvig give it their all, with Chandler Canterbury given a misdirected performance of vague longing. The film relies on a soundtrack to convey emotion instead of proper, driven dialogue to propel the narrative to create something more. The film has it's heart in the right place, but the execution denies it's ultimate success. C

So far the rating on this movie is so low - that is NOT because it is not a good movie. It combines the bro-movie with a real look at the financial circumstances so many are suffering today. Both male characters are a gentle combination of quirky losers who decide to take on a young boy who is going through hard times much as they did. Jason Ritter is such a pleasing actor, his nature and humour shine as the young man whose brother's death informs his aimlessness. Jake Sandvig is an excellent match, if you wanted to find a flaw perhaps they were too much alike, but personally I found it believable. Rebecca Hall, playing Jason's sister, is the voice of sanity - but not always right. Chandler Canterbury as the young boy is wonderful - all you would want in any 12 year old but prematurely old due to his life circumstances.Done with a beautiful subtlety and restraint, this is one of the best movies I've seen of this genre in a long time.

I showed up entirely too early to the theater for a screening at sxsw and went to see A Bag of Hammers completely by accident. The movie was fun and painful, enticing and hard to watch at some times. I was all over my seat with different emotions throughout the entire screening. The movie starts out very fun and eventually "grows up" so to speak and becomes a whole other vessel. The cast is fantastic and has supreme chemistry. I will recommend this movie to everyone I can and will go see it when it eventually opens in my home theater, just to get the experience again! The cast and director were fantastic at the screening and I can't wait to see what this fantastic group come up with next! See this movie as it tours the festivals!