I've always been a fan of low-budget films. They always seem to do so much more with so much less. But the problem is that the acting is often bad, or the lighting, or some other technical aspect that fails due to the low budget.But such is not the case with Cold Weather. It succeeds on all accounts, while still managing to be a fun, stimulating, and entertaining film. It tells a great story and is a pleasure to watch. It's not for everyone, though, and the typical indie-haters should steer clear of this one. But if you enjoy a good story and a fun movie, check this one out!

Cold Weather (2012)Indie films with their low budgets can turn a couple of basic directions to distinguish themselves. One is sheer inventiveness or surprise. The other is low key realism making ordinary people seem relatable, and that is where this movie goes. There are dozens of these, often with young casts appealing to the twenty-something generation somewhere between college and career.So we have a young man, Doug, living with his sister in Portland just as he finds a job in an ice factory. And then his ex-girlfriend arrives in town on business, and they see each other as old friends. The fourth character is a co-worker at the factory who befriends Doug and falls for the ex-girlfriend. And we see the basis of a relationship drama, not quite a romantic movie but not a serious probing drama, either.But then the movie turns abruptly, and the comic aspects get interwoven with an apparent crime that these amateur Sherlocks can't quite get their finger on. But their efforts make a great game. It's super low key, and any other movie would hype up the facts with guns and scary soundtrack music and real (or cheesy) fear. Not this kind of Indie film. This is about the people, and the "crime" they are pursuing is a just way to learn more about the protagonists.Which is pretty fun. The acting holds together pretty well, regular people being regular people without affectation. Easier said than done, but also leaving the audience less to really work with or care about than you'd prefer. By the very end, the last few moments, there is a final realization that's rather sweet and rewarding, and the movie turns back to what it's best at.See it? If you have an open mind for lower budget but reasonably well made modest movies (known as Indie films), you might just find this one clicks. Within its limitations.

As all the other reviews state, this movie is different. It's low-budget, slow, quirky, simple, odd, alternative... whatever. If you're open minded and in the mood then it's tolerable or maybe even enjoyable. It starts off slow and slowly picks up the pace after the mystery starts maybe half way through. Then there's more action and more interest as the characters try to figure things out. At this point you become more interested to find out what happened. But then at the most suspenseful point the movie just ends. I couldn't believe it. Artsy is one thing but no payoff at the end of sitting through 90 minutes of this movie was cruel. Maybe I didn't get it - I don't know. I just don't know how you can make a movie with absolutely no ending.

Be prepared to exert a LOT of patience if you're going to make it through this film.For the first 45 minutes, I really did wonder why on earth I was watching it. A brother, sister, the brother's ex-girlfriend and his best friend sit around various locations not talking or doing anything. Seriously. I understand that a film need not be packed with action in order to be engaging, but the number one rule of character studies is that the characters must be interesting for the film to be. Not so here.And the characters never really do become interesting, but the film does, after a mystery involving the ex-girlfriend's disappearance begins to unravel. The final twenty minutes or so, devoted exclusively to the brother and sister, and especially the film's final scene, make the viewer realize that the whole movie has really been about the brother and sister all along, and only makes one wish that it had delivered more sooner.In general this is a film I would recommend, but with the qualification that its engaging second half doesn't completely make up for the tediousness of its first.Grade: B