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Best movie of this year hands down!

Good movie but grossly overrated

Awesome Movie

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

I started watching this with little expectation as the plot has all been done before, however as soon as you get a tour through the seedy meth lab in the LA area that feels light years from Disneyland it felt very real. It wasn't until I read about the cast afterwards on IMDB that it all made sense? they are not just from the U.S but from Canada, Australia, Wales, Bermuda - that is what makes this movie separate itself from the rest as they are unknowingly bringing other dimensions to a film that has been done many times before. This movie is worth visiting, not just to see life on the other side of the tracks but to admire the great acting that this group deliver.

I thought that the movie was interesting and amusing and entertaining and it kept me in suspense as to what would happen until there became some notion that nothing bad will happen and it sort of fell flat around 6/10 or 7/10 into the film. I liked the performances by Troy and the drug dealer. Beaver was a bit of a bore and I found that he did not act much at all just sort of behaved normally as any other day and so did the girl. So it was supposed to feel real like that film 'Kids' but their two performances just made it feel pretentious. Well, the decision of the woman in the film was far from realistic, and none of this would occur at such a level. I am angry that we did not get more of the drug dealer's story and Troy's story, as they are the only two who were interesting people and felt real. The others were forgettable and fake. Especially how she is a terrible cop who in no real way did any justice to the reality of tough, mature, and wise women who engage in such life and death behavior. It seemed to me like she was too sheltered to do this role and should stick to some sitcoms like Fuller House. But yeah, the guy who plays the Drug Dealer and his cousin Troy are good characters and actors and they made this film interesting. Some of the scenes were dragging on with the relationship between the two and the stereotypes were all there for every person built into a sort of dumb script but Sheiber and Grant did their part to perform in an adverse scenario. This writer needs to make a point and stick to it and focus on the strengths and drop the dead weight.

While the lead actor, Eliza Taylor, and others do well at building the chemistry between each other, this is only half of the film; the half that takes on the seamy underbelly of the Street drug dealing world seems contrived and the film suffers from a poorly written script, made-for-t.v. acting, and direction that seems scattered and poorly put together. Yes, it might have been a great film, but the focus of what the director presents seems tired and condescending to the viewer. That is, some of the film feels like it wants to build down-to-earth, close relationships between characters who seem sincere. The drug sub-culture parts of the plot displays a lack of understanding of the drug sub-culture and lingo. While this might have been finessed by employing less talk and more affect, the director fails to dovetail the human aspect with the moral one, makes it difficult to identify fully with any one of the characters. The subject matter ends up a drawn-out garbled message that was the main underplot of the entire project; the battle between separating good and evil from the grey emotional places in-between.This may have been better accomplished with less dialogue. Dialogue that sound more like a t.v. crime show rather than the decent indie-style film that it spends more time with. The half half that resembles a television series totally decimated what the character building phase accomplished. There is no happy medium. One comes away from the film feeling like hostages on a very slow, predictable amusement park ride - too long, too boring, and not worth the viewer's effort. Wish the entire crew the best, and hope that next time the director focuses more on overall continuity than wandering around taking us on an obvious message that spends too much time pretending the script is adequate, rather than spending time editing.The initial idea was probably well-intentioned, but this subject matter, once bitten into, seems more than the professionals who made this can effectively chew. Overall very unsatisfying. Four stars only for efforts actor Eliza Taylor, who provided brief moments if engaging and captivating realism.

There are several things that "Thumper" does remarkably well, and that's saying a lot—in the past decade or so, films (and, indeed, television shows) on drugs, drug use, and the war on drugs, have steadily become more staple, enough to establish their own set of tropes and pitfalls. But "Thumper" does enough to both validate and subvert expectations, by allowing organic character beats to drive the plot, and intimate human relationships to steer us into unfamiliar territory.The film's leads—Pablo Schreiber as menacing meth cook Wyatt, Eliza Taylor as shrewd undercover cop Kat—hurl themselves (occasionally, quite literally) into their complex roles with ferocious commitment. From the opening scene, Schreiber brings a furious volcanic intensity into the frame, threatening to explode in a wave of fire and ash. Taylor adeptly matches his performance with what she's given, brazenly going toe-to-toe with him—a notable feat, considering he towers an entire foot over her—and talking back when others fall silent.But it is Daniel Webber's vulnerable, downplayed Beaver—his arc mirrors Kat's in a number of ways, one of the reasons they are drawn to one another—whose agency and actions becomes crucial. And it is Beaver's relationship with Wyatt—in all its sad shades of fear, respect, anger, humiliation, and the need for validation—that changes everyone's lives, for better or worse.Other gritty performances include Grant Harvey as Wyatt's cousin, Troy, who brings to mind a mild, not-so-far-gone Sick Boy, Jazzy De Lisser's hard-boiled addict Gina, and Lena Headey's overbearing, sneering Ellen. It goes without saying that "Thumper" owes much of its praise to its cast—although there is noticeable unevenness with the writing, particularly for the female roles.Despite that unevenness, by the conclusion of the film, we are left with Kat, forced by her ordeal to take a hard look at who she is, and how what she has done has changed her. For a film that initially gives the impression of a creeping cynicism bordering on overwhelming pessimism, Kat's recognition of the drug war for the vicious, violent cycle it is, and her firm decision to break away from it, speaks volumes. Taylor's remarkable performance confirms her ability to bring to life characters with evolving moralities—I hope she continues to explore similarly challenging roles in other independent efforts, which may wisely recognize, and make the most of, her talent.The film's dedication to naturalism makes apparent director-writer Jordan Ross's roots in documentary filmmaking, with the entire film shot with a hand-held camera, setting the film's uncompromising tone. Effective films often affect emotionally and physically, and "Thumper" is one such film, evoking an undeniably visceral reaction, even on my second (and frankly, far more critical) viewing. It doesn't matter if you suspect, through the film's occasional familiar beats, or muted foreshadowing—or certainly know, as I did that second time—what comes next; how the film takes you there will leave you momentarily breathless, at times, shaken, and by the end, entirely struck.