Uncle John (2015)

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I had an Uncle John once. He was rich and he bought us things. Until......Well, that's family drama and I probably best not lay it all out for you. THIS Uncle John is much different. At least, I hope.Two stories collide here. One: Title Character has to deal with both one dead bully and the deceased's brother. And two: a budding relationship in the workplace. Feel these don't belong together? Yeah, I agree.But, it works, nonetheless. Both intersect as said Uncle brought up the male-half of the couple. It's well-shot, acted, made and interesting. Is it horror? Not sure. Has horror elements, though - dead bodies, murder, cover-ups, police investigations, etc. I was kinda duped, though. I subscribe to SHUDDER, a "horror" channel via my Amazon Prime membership and I get a ton of my horror via that service. This was promoted on there and I'm always keen to new (to me) scary movies. It's not really horror - well, maybe 10%. Mostly it's a drama. And comedy. The other half story involving the couple definitely has an absolute star in the making: Not-Mark Duplass. He was funny and charismatic as hell. I *could* watch an entire movie based on his comedic timing and romantic endeavors. Recommended, but be prepared for an extreme slow-burn "drama/comedy/horror." It's not for everyone, but it's still realistic and suspenseful at times. Not to mention, Not-Mark Duplass and Uncle John, himself, is worth the whole trip.***Final thoughts: I guess the joke's old, or so a coworker told me, but when I heard it in this movie, I laughed so hard, I had to post it online immediately. It got a huge response, all-of-a-sudden and one of my biggest posts to date. Don't want to ruin/spoil it here, but suffice to say: Listen to your doctor!

Veteran character actor John Ashton ("Beverly Hills Cop" I and II, "Gone Baby Gone") is sublime as "Uncle John", a quiet pillar of a small farming community whose residents are blithely unaware how deep his still waters run. Deep and dark.Seems that John has lost someone dear to him. And there are those who will pay for his pain. Dearly.Alex Moffat and the stunning Jenna Lyng (a dead ringer for TV's Lisa Ling) are also quite good here as coworkers/burgeoning lovers Ben and Kate. The young couple have come a callin' on Ben's sweet Uncle John for a brief overnight visit. What they don't know about their kind and gracious host won't hurt these two.Which is certainly a damn sight more than can be said for the poor bastard who dares cross this benevolent, yet unforgiving, curious country gentleman.

This is a response to the reviewer who said that the film did a good job depicting rural Illinois. The small town is set in Wisconsin. Uncle John's truck has Wisconsin plates and filming was done in Lodi Wisconsin which is probably a 2 hour 45 minute drive from downtown Chicago.Sauk Prairie Recreation Area is an actual place northwest of Lodi. Devil's Lake is not far from there so there is actual terrain with bluffs similar to the one that Uncle John visits, which is likely the site where Dutch killed John's sister Dede (Ben's mother). We know she fell to her death there and supposedly jumped. The motive for John killing Dutch may very well have been a confession by Dutch that he killed her. There was a comment made in the movie that Dutch had been 'snaking' Dede which suggests that he was pursuing her but that they likely did not have a relationship.Danny telling John that Dutch told him Dede jumped because maybe she was overwhelmed by being a mom may have been a way for Danny to try to get John to reveal something.I don't think it was clear anywhere that John's sister was actually married to Dutch or that he was the father of Ben since it was Uncle John that raised Ben.Agree that the film did a good job depicting a small Wisconsin community.

I feel like this was a story that could have used a lot more refining around the edges, as to make the mystery aspect hit a lot harder and to make it more effective. As it is, it's still pretty good. I do admire it's resistance to go for easy, cheap thrills, as overall the film never goes into places that you expect it to go, or to have twists and turns that are the usual for this type of film. The acting is very good I think, all believable in their parts especially the lead actor playing Uncle John. I do think that the film would leave a lot of audiences wanting more, and expecting a lot more out of it. As it is however, I do feel like it leaves a strong enough impact to really be recommended.