People are voting emotionally.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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

Really sick and disgusting. Full of non-stop gratuitous violence with absolutely zero redemptive quality. The people that made this horrendously awful piece-o-crap 'film' need to go thru some kind of remedial movie-making boot camp. (complete with the kind of egregious physical torture they induced thru out this abortion of a miscarriage called a 'movie'.) The only thing worse than the actors involved in this film, is the audience that is forced to sit thru it. This noir is a truly revolting, resoundingly repugnant waste of anyone's oxygen to spend any time at all viewing. Take a dump on this movie and spend your time watching paint dry. It will be much more fulfilling. This is the kind of 'film-making' that makes me believe anyone can make a film.. and amazingly.. some company will actually distribute it.. truly a wonder.. This is the worst movie I've seen in... well.. ever. Really, really, really, really bad!

Just as the name goes Coldwater is a stone cold story about abuse and survival. But it's a different kind than we often see on the movies. The story moves out of the abusive culture which exists in the common society and explores a certain layer of systematic abuse which exists in a more controlled environment which is governed by the authorities in the name of rehabilitation.Brad (P.J. Boudousqué) is sent to a juvenile reform facility by his parents following his history of troubles with the law. Soon after he arrives at the location he realizes that this place is much worse than the detention centers he has served time earlier. While the techniques and routine takes a toll on the detainees Brad struggles to get out of the place. After a failed attempt and severe punishment his goals change to fight against the system than freeing himself.Coldwater is a slow moving yet applying drama. It is quite horrific and painful to get through as well. But the violence is done up to a certain point where it delivers the message and nothing else. The drama and the characters and their struggle overcome the violence element and due to this Coldwater become one of the few movies which positively get away with it. There is a good flow and mostly the story bounce between two timelines of Brad's life. While the movie creates a good interest of things to come it delivers certain element of surprises as well. However, for some reason I wish that the ending was different and we could witness a Brad who stood up for his beliefs than becoming a victim of it.Though for some viewers Coldwater could be a painful memory, as a movie it is different and effective. There is good acting from many less known talents and decent cinematography to get by.

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!