Pretty Good

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I originally saw this film at the Austin Film Festival and was excited to see it again when it came out on VOD. I like dry humor and I'm an indie film fan and this was right up my alley. Non conventional with fun laugh out loud moments. I would have liked to have seen more of the ensemble cast as it was one of my favorite parts but I found all of the characters to be enjoyable. The romantic story line I felt could have pushed the boundaries a little more and have been more developed but the fact that it didn't fall into stereotypical plot points was refreshing. Josh Fadem who plays Calvin was a standout for me as was Michelle Forbes who I enjoyed from The Killing. Always nice to see actors stepping into fresh roles that go against type. Overall it was a fun ride that I'd recommend to my friends.

I caught "Dear Sidewalk" at an old (read: dirty, poorly maintained) theater in San Francisco as part of an independent film series. Though the venue was a fright, the film turned out to be something else altogether: a charming, quirky comic drama about an introvert with no social skills trying to navigate the waters of his first serious adult relationship. Though it doesn't end up going anywhere much, and though the ending is too quick and tidy to be believed, the film is nevertheless a pleasant diversion (and it's worth the price of admission simply for the performance of Lana Dieterich as Trudy, and Austin, TX - though not named specifically - provides a lovely locale).