Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Aussie Filmbuff This film is an total cinematic abortion. A tawdry little grub of a film from a tawdry little grub of a director, full of gratuitous T and A to try and cover it's lack of any artistic talent or merit. The only joy to be had is reading the other reviews on this page and laughing at them after viewing this rubbish. 'doco style' is not a validation for lousy camera work or a slap happy edit. Blunderingly sub par acting, a soundtrack straight from mundane 1990 era television, badly shot, badly lit, badly cut, badly acted, badly directed. The one 'special effects' shot in the film is so laughable it had me on my floor in stitches, yet the 'filmmaker' , a term I use laughingly, couldn't be bothered to put in muzzle flashes. Other high/low points are the fight between the two brothers or whatever they were, which was so laughable and full of over the top sound effects you might think somebody had switched films on you half way through. You can see the film that this.....thing... is trying to be, but the director simply does not have the brains or talent to get it there. Shot on five grand? I'd believe it. It certainly looks like it. Grainy and cheap looking, In every aspect, from the look of the film to the cast, this is cheap, nasty cinema at it's cheapest and nastiest.There are a lot of good films coming out of QLD and a lot of talented film directors. This and Jake Reedy both are NOT among them. Uwe Boll has more ability than this clown. Ed Wood has more taste, class and style. If anything, pray that this dolt never makes another film again, and dies horribly and alone for inflicting this five thousand dollar bucket of offal onto the viewing world. Avoid at all costs.

Micheal Boone A good attempt from first time director Jake Reedy. Vision and talent are there, execution not quite so much. An attention getting intro is quickly undone by long, tedious scenes of Tana Smith's Ethan moping around, making sympathy for such a self absorbed character hard to muster; Things pick up when Whitney Duff's Sasha is introduced, mainly due to her ability to hold the screen. Smith and Duff have great chemistry,which Reedy uses in his favor to play their blossoming relationship with all the hotblooded tension of young lust.More of Ethan being emo. In fact, Ethan may be the lead, but his screen time is almost detrimental to the other characters. Both Sasha and Benjamin James Doolan's Jesse are interesting characters, but never seem to be lavished with enough character moments to flesh them out. The few they do have are quite well done, such as Sasha's self loathing shower scene and Jesse's post coital confession, but there's only so many moody moments of Ethan sulking in his bedroom we can stand.Around the halfway point, Tin God does pick and hit the gas, with some great scenes between Ethan and Sasha, Ethan and Jesse, the neo doco/noir/grunge style really begins to work and it limps toward being a solid film. The music works with the camera to build mood and the film focuses on it's 3 leads. It's just a shame you have to suffer through the dawdling first half to get to the goods. Had the fat been trimmed from the start, this would have been a very solid film, but long, pointlessly moody scenes of nothing mixed with pointless characters ;I am still wondering what the point of Ethans friend Cas was; and dull 'character' scenes makes for an uneven film. One must wonder if Reedy slept through the first half of the edit, and awoke to put together a stylish final act. On the whole, better than some Independent fare Queensland film producers have thrown at us, but still not quite there. Shows potential which could improve with experience

karlabosworth "Tin God" is a good, solid independent film. When you look at the budget, it's a great film. I was lucky enough to see a screener recently, and I can honestly say this recalls all the great indie drama/thrillers from the last 15 years. Films like 'The Doom Generation", "Best Laid Plans", even a smattering of the early works of Kevin Smith and Edward Burns are here - Check out the 'date' scene between Ethan & Sasha and tell me that's not something at home in 'Chasing Amy' or 'Brothers McMullen'. This film takes all of those elements and gives them a distinct, dark edge all of it's own. The dialogue is razor sharp and witty, though delivered with varying degrees of success, the direction is ambitious and stylish despite the infinitesimal budget and the 3 leads are beautifully real. Kudos on the casting, because these actors look and sound like real, living, breathing people, not the beautifully airbrushed stereotypes we get in so many films. The cast of this film are that dirty kind of sexy; you'd expect to find them hanging out in a smokey bar, listening to loud, crunchy grunge rock while the sexy, twisted montage from the start of this film plays. And on that subject; what a great, stylistic way to start the film: Like a twisted late night rage video, sexy girls, blood, and bizarre imagery, giving us a view into the madness that lurks under Ethans skin. The Cast; Whitney Duff is amazing on screen,making Sasha both heartbreakingly fragile and sweetly innocent. Tana Smith is explosive as Ethan, filling the character with an explosive simmering rage and self loathing, bringing out all the darker emotions of a man who's desperate to find a connection and some solace. Benjamin James Doolan brings a sense of gravitas and wry humor to a character who, had he not been cast correctly, would have truly let the film down. When you consider this was a first time film for most of these actors, it really is a testament to the writing, direction and talent of this cast that this film is as watchable as it is. The Script; Rachael McMeeking and Jake Reedy have crafted a brutally honest look at an emotionally damaged trio who have no choice to self destruct. The dialogue and story have a sense of longing that is missing in similar films, that, despite the tiny budget, Reedy has managed to capture on film with expert precision. The dialogue was the main attraction, because these characters talk like real people. No words are wasted, No melodrama or exposition forced into the characters mouths. Everything unfolds. Australian film needs more from these writers. The few issues with "Tin God" are evidently budget and experience related: certain scenes early in the film feel a little pointless and don't progress the film; certainly good character moments but overall drag, While the 3 leads are exceptional, other characters could have benefited from stronger casting, and Reedy's ambition and style would certainly be helped with a far more sizable budget, but over all, as a first film, this is an indie gem, recalling the feel of all the great independent films i once sought out on the video shelves of the 1990's. I really do hope to see the cast, writers and the director take us on another journey, because i truly think they will only give us better films. "Tin God" is an amazing start for them all.

thebitterend1981 Gave this an 8 because I love the feel of it. It's the sort of edgy, worn out feel I like in movies like this. You get the feeling all of these characters are at the end of their rope and hanging on for dear life. I was a bit surprised to find it was shot in Australia, because it looks like it could have been made here in London, in the back streets of Liverpool or anywhere. The story is pretty dark, but the writings so good it manages to season the overwhelming sense of doom with a bit of humor here and there, with some cracking one liners. It's well done for a low budget movie, really. The 3 leads are really good, I really like that the director had the balls not to shy away from raw subject matter and nudity, because it keeps it real, which is what this film has going for it in a big way. Only real problems where some of the other actors where pretty weak, and there were some scenes that were a bit pointless early in the movie, but overall, pretty good. I'll be getting it on DVD or Blu Ray when it comes out. Would be curious to see a yak track or doco on the making of it.