Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

nbthalia This movie has a very promising start. A veteran sheriff squints through his windscreen as he drives down a mist-shrouded road. Suddenly, he strikes a pedestrian hard who collides with the windscreen and rolls off. Then he struggles to his feet and runs away. The film then descends into a confusing mêlée of American and Asian characters, subtitles and a strange and often baffling plot involving exotic pets and various unbelievable situations. For instance, would an attractive young lady really open her hotel door to admit an evil-looking character to use her phone, simply because he was of the same race as her, therefore presumably trustworthy? The acting can only be described as sluggish and underplayed to a torpor-inducing point. It was very consistent but not in a good way. By the way, could anyone explain why in a couple of scenes the (admittedly very decorative) female lead was shown toying with a cut-throat razor? My main gripe, though is that this movie is too slow and complex to really work well.

Nick Bollinger Man from Reno was my first foray into the films of Dave Boyle, and from what I hear, it is quite different from what he has previously made. But if any of his other films do resemble this one, I will definitely make the effort to seek them out. Man from Reno felt at once like a throwback to great 1940s noir mysteries like The Big Sleep, while also being remarkably relevant in 2015. The opening scene - driving through fog so thick you can't see three feet in front of you - sets the tone for the rest of the movie; the plot twists and turns so much it's nearly impossible to keep up with all the new information, but it still manages to stay coherent enough that you stay on the edge of your seat, trying to grasp whatever details may stick. And through all this, a set of richly developed characters connect with you, keeping you invested in their story, even if you may not fully understand it. I left turning over the details of the movie in my head and will continue to do so for some time - hopefully a second viewing will reveal much of what I missed the first time around!

csaunders-cody I really enjoyed this movie. It had a great twist at the end. The actors were fantastic. I loved how inexpensive it was for the movie to be developed and produced. Furthermore, the fact that the movie title is "Man from Reno" and the movie does not ever happen in Reno, I find fascinating— that is that the director could pull off such a successful flick when the setting is not taking place in Reno. I had the grand opportunity to view this movie in Wichita, Kansas at the Tall Grass Film Festival. I liked it so much that I want to own it. What I liked the most is how humor was introduced into the flick. So many times, subtle humor caught me off guard and made me laugh (inside not out loud) and the mysterious action kept rolling on and on. One negative part to this plot was that the police sheriff broke down the door into Aki's room when he did not know that Kazuki's character would or would not be there—drama for a neat scene was created, I suppose. I certainly recommend this film. It was a great way to spend an afternoon. And it lived up to the Tallgrass promise of the "second funnest thing you can do in the dark."

Kelly An expertly crafted throwback to film noir with the unique twist of being dual language. I was fortunate enough to see this during the LA Film Fest and immensely enjoyed following the twists and turns of the story. It begins with an enigmatic man and separately, a crime fiction novelist that seemingly have nothing to do with each other and only deepen into other mysteries as the film progresses. Hidden secrets about the characters come to light and slowly the two stories begin to interweave with each other. Well written, directed and acted it was definitely a stand out on the film festival circuit and the location of San Francisco serves as another character within the film.