Cold Weather

Wow, it's only January 5 and already I've been slacking on my movie reviews.  I watched this movie 3 days ago and I almost forgot to write about it!  Oh well, I'm writing about it now.  Phew!

We were flipping through the movies available on our Roku box (don't ask me what that is because I don't really understand how it works), and my husband pointed out Cold Weather, and told me it was a "mumblecore murder mystery."  My interest was piqued.  I am not sure what the definition of "mumblecore" is but it's a genre of movie that I tend to like.  According to Wikipedia, "Mumblecore films are generally set in a post-college milieu, with characters that are typically heterosexual, white, middle class, and in their twenties.  These films are typically character-driven, focusing more on relationships than conventional plot points." That sounds about right.  My two favorite mumblecore movies were Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation, which were some of the first movies in the genre.  Since then, I have been sorely disappointed by most of the other mumblecore movies that I've seen, even though I always forget that and get excited when a new mumblecore film enters my radar.  I frequently have the complaint that nothing much seems to happen, and the movies also tend to cut off rather abruptly at the end.  But those two are really good, trust me!

But I digress.  Cold Weather.  Spoiler alert!  This was the story of a dude who had gone to school for forensics science and likes to read Sherlock Holmes (you hear me?  That is an important plot point that the movie points out at least six times) but has dropped out of school and is now living with his sister in Portland and working overnights at an ice factory.  His ex-girlfriend comes into town and he hangs out with her and his buddy from work a few times.  Cue the disappearance of the ex-girlfriend, and then the dude and his buddy put their investigative skills to work and try to find her.

Ho hum.  Like so many mumblecore movies I've seen before, this one disappointed.  This one had a little more action and plot than most, but it was guilty of the abrupt ending, which always irks me.  It wasn't completely terrible but I didn't really like or care about any of the characters and found Cold Weather ultimately forgettable.   I'm feeling generous, so I'll give it a 5/10.  See you when I watch my next movie!