recommended

one of my absolute favorites!

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Cut Bank is a little guy, little money film with great depth of character which beats out big Hollywood mafia on all battle fronts. It's a basic entertainment success in my estimation which can hopefully be replicated in this media war. It's a short honest 93 minute film that's safe to be alone in the dark with from first frame to last credit. Sure it's an under-appreciated little seriocomedy, thriller and love story, but it's also a film gem. Well Directed by Matt Shakman, but with a big performances from a great cast of actors across-the-board, with an impressive, and excellent standout performance by Michael Stuhlbarg. Correct reality Casting by Candice Elzinga and Rhonda Fisekci was near freak free perfect. Which if comes up short anywhere in its miserly budget, it's only weak link is in the quality of the Cinematographic Process, but it's not bad at all and appealing to view. Music by James Newton Howard sound score sets the pace nicely throughout, and end credits with Hank Williams Jr. singing the fitting "Cut Bank, Montana" soliloquy. Though it's only a film, and not real classic theater, this is not a one night stand, It's a film which will get better every time you see it for short basic entertainment over the years, so turns off the lights and enjoy…It's certainly a much better film than a thoroughly zero loser crap nonsense of "Fargo" and the see only it once and throw it away quickly , grossly sick degenerate, and highly overrated, The Shawshank Redemption (1994).

Is this the best vehicle for Malcovitch and Thornton available to them? These guys have history, and together, maybe not the legends Pachino and Deniro, or even Stallone and Swartzeneger, but really? A Fargo wannabe, (the series, never to be compared with the feature film). This film especially lacks character depth, drama, and especially moments made to give you the little JOLT, which are so badly shot and poorly directed, they would not pass for home video. The story is interesting enough, but is destroyed in the telling. There are great writers out there as we have seen,many or mostly in series presentations. How do guys with the stature of major league stars play ball in a place like Cut Bank? No humor, no drama, nothing characters, empty as the plains and as tasty as a canola sandwich. Yuk.

The story itself is really good. And the supporting actors on display here do a very good job too. It might be a bit harsh what another reviewer says, but I'll agree that this would be a lot better with a different lead. Leaving aside if he can act or not, Liam is the weak link in this one for sure.The impact of the twists and turns in this story never fully reach their potential because of that and some other small hiccups along the way. Still it's fun to watch and guess where it is heading and wait on how the tension builds up. There is a somewhat crazy character in this (looking for his own McGuffin, scriptwriter knows his movies obviously), who gives this a little push or slows it down, depending on your take on him. One thing is for sure, there are a lot of things happening ... for better or worse

With rare exceptions small towns in American cinema are between two extremes. Either they are the ideal place, a shelter against the corruption of the big city or they're these stifling places of conformity where people want to bust loose as soon as possible. In It's A Wonderful Life George Bailey finds it first one way then the other. But in Cut Bank both the title of the film and the town where all the characters live it's most definitely the latter at least that's what Liam Hemsworth finds.But he's got obligations and a girl he loves in Teresa Palmer daughter of Billy Bob Thornton the richest guy in town. Hemsworth one fine day gets lucky, as he's videoing Palmer for a local beauty pageant in a field he happens to tape David Burke a very silent and stoic Blackfoot Indian shoot mailman Bruce Dern and then take off with the mail truck.Too good to be true. Clues to solving a federal crime involving the mails is payable by Uncle Sam's post office with a six figure reward. And postal official Oliver Platt is here to pay off. But when things are too good to be true they generally are. Then some bodies start piling up and a local eccentric played by Michael Stuhlbarg starts on a hunt for a missing parcel that was supposed to be delivered in the mail by Dern. Just like Fargo, another small town setting with a crime spree that originates with a plan dreamed up by an amateur and carried out by idiots. Cut Bank, Montana is certainly not Bedford Falls. It's more like the film Fargo. In fact there's one very definite parallel, the relationship between Hemsworth and Thornton is almost a duplicate of the one that amateur master criminal William H. Macy has with his father-in-law Harve Presnell. Presnell and Thornton treat the son-in- law and prospective son-in-law like manure which is half the problem.Sheriff John Malkovich whose sleepy little Montana town has never recorded a murder is soon awash in bodies. But when the truth comes out there's a surprise ending I guarantee you won't see coming especially if you think this is a Fargo clone.The cast ensemble delivers good performances but if I had to pick one out it would be Stuhlbarg. His town eccentric hermit is underplayed and frightening at the same time, a difficult thing to pull off.Cut Bank, Montana a town with an unexpected crime wave.