"Valley of Bones" is a short, eye-catching title for a film that seeks to be action-adventure but goes wide and ends short of the mark. Not a bad idea for a movie, just a premise that could not be believably sustained by the author and director. Female paleontologist with a criminal past and a young son she is raising with her father gets wind of a potential dinosaur find on a remote ranch which the audience and one other character know to be a scene of drug-running violence. Apparently the drug cartel thinks it can profit from a heap of dug up fossils, too. So much is not how things are really done in the real world of pre-historic fieldwork. Fossils are not bones. Major finds are not worked by a couple of folks with shovels who can extract them over lunch. Most junkies are not good at taking down barflies. It's not the sketchy characters, it's the sketchy story and the plotholes and timing problems. BTW, Mark Margolis pays a visit from 'Better Call Saul'. Why? I'm thinking he lost a bet.

Valley of the Bones is provocative story with stand out performances. Director Dan Glaser really endows his film with great twists and surprises. Glaser's direction throughout the piece shows innovative, suspenseful moments that keep the viewer on the edge of where the story is going next.Steven Molony gives an absolutely enthralling performance as the self destructive McCoy. His scenes with Autumn Reeser resonate in a grounded, empathetic manner. Together they show the complex intertwined themes of love and loss that the film has to offer.Other cast members make their mark in this film as well. Mark Margolis is delightfully dangerous as El Papá! Also, Alexandra Blllings and Mason Mahay both give resounding, credible performances.The Cinematography is handled quite well too. There are some exceptional views of lovely landscapes and great action shots.Overall the film leaves you with a contemplative awe. The viewer will take away a long lasting impression of these motley characters, and the compelling storytelling that is forged.

ND scenery was amazing considering I thought the western end of the state was bleak. Refreshing to see new actors, and faces- My reason for this- tired of the worn out faces of Hollywood. Steven Molony was such a refreshing new face that was an awesome character. Autumn Reeser is such a good actress, and so beautiful. It was a fun , refreshing movie- I hope there is a sequel!!

Dingy, violent little number, about a paleontologist ( recently out of prison, and trying to redeem herself, obligatorily ) who receives a tip from a meth junkie ( with vaguely defined ties to, and undefined debt to, a drug cartel who is threatening his family ) about a tyrannosaurus Rex buried on a desolate plot of land in North Dakota, which could potentially be worth a fortune.Characters with overly cluttered backgrounds people this well photographed drama/ Western/ horror thriller, which never climaxes, so much as it just stops, with no resolution to any of its numerous plot lines. However, if we were to take out the overly complex character backgrounds, all we would be left with is the odd story of an archaeological dig, with the vaguely defined prize going to the undefined highest bidder, and again, some good cinematography, making good use of the bleak North Dakota land.This is another film ( similar to The Gracefield Incident, from a month or two ago ) which was filmed several years ago ( in this case, this was filmed from 5 October 2015 - 2 November 2015 ) and sat unreleased until its abrupt, barely advertised limited release ( in September 2017 ) and has barely any information on its IMDb page, or Wikipedia page, and doesn't have a Boxofficemojo page, and didn't get a Thursday night preview screening. I saw a trailer for this one single time, about a week ago, and there was a standee in the cinema lobby, and apparently that was all of the promotion this received. Edit: it now has a Boxofficemojo page, and this opened in a limited release, on only three hundred screens, bringing in $164.738, placing it at number 44 for opening weekend. The following week, it plummeted from 300 screens down to only 13, and from 44th down to 105th place.