So-So Entertaining
The Tao of Netflix | Washington, DC | 10/28/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"This was 1.5 hours of my life that I'll never get back, but I don't regret having spent them watching this movie. In short, a couple decides to rent two movies from a local rental store. They find the store to be not your ordinary dreaded Blockbuster, and after talking the reluctant clerk into letting them rent the films, he requires them to sign an extensive contract and advises them that they have until midnight to return the movies, or face severe late fees. What then follows are two movies within a movie (each corresponding to the couple watching their two rented flicks). The first mini movie involves a hooker and a john, with one of them not being what they seem. The second involves a backwoods rogue police officer, jail, some satanic weirdness and a snuff film (trying to avoid a spoiler here...). At the end, the story returns to the rental couple who confront their movie return obligations.
Overall, it was ok, and just ok. It entertained me, but it lacked a compelling something. The story was a neat concept with the rentals turning into movie w/in a movie, but the individual plot concepts were highly predictable and based on very frequently reused topics. The acting was very stunted at times, the camera angles occasionally awkward. I do give them credit for trying to be creative with the camera (a few cool POV shots), but it did feel amateurish at times. Not much music or good mood setting atmospherics. It was a high quality video production though, with good image quality. So in summary, its a worthy rental, but would advise against purchasing without first having seen it."