Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

gjosiban-51201 In order for the American Side to work, even a little bit, it's essential that you know nothing about Tesla, the man who developed alternating current. Because if you know of him, you'd know that he had no such dream of creating the mcguffin that drives the movie. Because the premise is ridiculous, the lengths to which various individuals and groups go to acquire the plans is simply not believable. But this movie has other shortcomings besides. To advance the plot, the protagonist, a down-in-the-mouth gumshoe who drives a Dodge Dart, is given entree to daytime cocktail parties and evening soirees where he is able to chat up the rich who for some reason feed him bits and snatches of what they're up to instead of simply calling the cops and having the guy thrown out. The movie is also replete with coincidences and characters whose function is to provide knowledge so as to advance the mystery, but whose fortuitous appearance stretches credulity. For example, the boat owner who hired our hero early in the film and to whom our hero returns in one of his hours of need just happens to teach physics and knows all about Tesla. There's more, but it's just too silly.

clovis-5 This thriller is set in Buffalo, and is a kind of homage to that city, formerly one of the Gilded Age urban centers of the Northeast. This upstate NY post-industrial setting is a nice change of pace, and provides a post-industrial backdrop to the travails of a private eye as he navigates the twists and turns of intrigue, murder and espionage surrounding the works of Nikola Tesla. In this regard, the film is as much about Buffalo as it is about Tesla, whose person and work are invoked reverentially by various characters in the course of the film. The script provides great dialogue, lots of snappy exchanges. Some of the twists and turns seemed hard to follow, but this did not prevent me from enjoying this fun and offbeat cinematic ride.

S. Soma It's hard to know how to react to this movie. I guess the most accurate description I could give it is that the experience of watching it was like having one of those dreams that's almost coherent and even approaches being cinematic, but has just a few too many non sequitur peculiarities, so intrinsic to any dream, that the whole mess just doesn't quite hold together.Bizarrely, this movie has no shortage of reasonably name-brand actors. Matthew Broderick, Robert Forster, strangely beautiful Camilla Bell and even a small cameo with the legendary Robert Vaughn are in this movie, and they make no more impact upon it than a collection of talking head shots. Even Janeane Garofalo, whose presence in a movie usually elicits SOME sort of emotional response from me by virtue of the fact I find her so detestable as a person and an actor, doesn't make a dent in this picture.And who is Greg Stuhr, the lead, and how did he get to BE the lead with so many recognizable actors relegated behind him as background scenery?Only adding to the Kafkaesque sense of this movie are the collection of sparkling reviews from other viewers. Some of them as much as admit that they gave the movie a high review because they are either from or really like Buffalo or both. Alrighty then.So how does such a peculiar, oddly distorted movie get made? I have a theory. Of course I do.There are certain topics that just naturally result in cinematic peculiarities. UFOs, Loch Ness, Bigfoot and so on are just frequently going to result in movies that are a little pressed off- center. The organizers behind the movie are possessed of certain thinking patterns and cherished belief systems that are a little half-baked resulting in plot lines that are a little half-baked resulting in depictions that are a little half-baked. The underlying thinking is not rigorous or structured, with lots of gaps and holes that if carefully examined might result in some undesirable questions or illuminations, and so goes the picture that gets made. Nonlinear thinking and disconnected thought patterns unfettered by the notions of cause and effect, basic physics or plain old reality tend to result in peculiar scripts and, shall we say, "innovative filmography".Nikola Tesla is DEFINITELY one such topic. His inventions, his insights, his intelligence and the events of his life are equal parts genius and nutcase. SOME of what he did was genius and so amongst the true-believers EVERYTHING he did was genius. SOME dirty tricks and manipulation and subterfuge were perpetrated upon him and so ALL his unrealized miracle inventions have been suppressed by "evil echelons". Lather, rinse, ad nauseam. People believe in Tesla like they believe in UFOs and Bigfoot and angels and a seemingly endless parade of conspiracies. The fact that a handful are true constitutes all the veracity needed for ALL the rest.And you end up with a movie that was made by true-believers for true-believers. All the appropriate conspiracy checkboxes get ticked off in the context of the canon scenery. And then it's called "noir" to spackle over all the holes. And the crowd goes wild.And while they may be name brand, if you re-examine that cast list, none of the "big" names are really all that big anymore. I'm guessing some of them needed the money. Looking at many of the scenes with the name-brand actors in them, and making note of the isolated context and the blocking, I often get a distinct sense of, "I go on, I get off, I get paid."Watch the scene with Robert Vaughn and see what feeling YOU get about it.As an exercise, see if you can get a grip on what the "unlimited energy of the ionosphere" and their description of the use of "the life energy" in the "tin man" project actually MEANS. Had to get an insider reference to Kirlian auras in there SOMEHOW, didn't we? And for bonus credit, stand on any busy street corner and yell "free energy" and watch what happens.If you're a fan of this kind of "thinking", I BELIEVE you'll probably love this movie. Proof is for party poopers. Say it with me.For the rest of us, it's pretty much confusing or irritating or both.

crisdannunzio If you are a fan of well-made films that make you think, have a bit of pathos and are beautifully shot, do yourself a favor and watch The American Side. In a world that is getting more and more difficult to make quality films without a "high concept", this movie reminds us of what filmaking is truly about. The story holds your interest throughout and the acting is top notch; the characters are all very interesting - from the lead down to the day players - but perhaps most intriguing of all is the character of location. The city of Buffalo, NY and the surrounding western NY area including Niagra Falls, plays a key and visually stunning role in this film. This is a real hidden gem.