Nelson Strang There's some genuinely great acting in this, plus some really strong writing and directing, but ultimately it doesn't quite achieve escape velocity and soar. The ending is just too convenient, and with another pass this script could have been so much more effective. However, it's still definitely worth a watch, despite these failings.

Terry Halmshaw I went into this movie knowing nothing at all about it, so perhaps that's one of the reasons I scored it so highly. Sometimes it's great to just watch a movie for the sake of watching it rather then go in expecting something only to be disappointed.The story is not new, but the way it's delivered is quite good and not what I expected at all.I have never heard of any of the actors in this piece and given their sometimes wooden acting and sheer (seemingly) lack of talent helps deliver this movie in a fashion I'm certainly not familiar with. I am hoping that the actors were directed in such a fashion as to seem wooden and inexperienced to add to the impact they have on the audience.There are some rather ridiculous moments of 'special effects' but I'm not going to detract too much from the movie for what seem like 'after thoughts'. There are a couple of bad editing points, I can't fathom why they needed two Toyota Camry's, but clearly there is more then one and in a couple of scenes there is some annoying lens reflection, but I guess most wont notice anyway. Why do I bring these items up???, well I am of the opinion that this movie was a fluke, however I'm not totally convinced, but it seems to me that if you take an old script use unknown actors, use poor visual effects combined with poor camera work and still have a winning combination it's either a fluke or bloody good direction. I'm not knowledgeable enough on the director nor the actors to offer an 'informed opinion', but let's hope the next movie from Paul Osborne shows me that it was great work from him that pleased me so much about this movie. Overall I was glued to this movie for the simple fact that the actors had me wondering if they could deliver the goods, they delivered in spades as did the director, as mentioned the script is by no means new, but it has some interesting twists and turns that carry the movie and keep you guessing, to turn a old script into something that is interesting and is not 'too' predictable is an achievement in itself.I thoroughly enjoyed this.8/10.

Jesse Boland This feels so much like a Nineties suspense/thriller and it really plays like one. There are almost no cellphones used, and the way in which the scenes were shot really felt like the simpler lighting, and low definition. That is the setting for the most part, and once past this you can get to the meat of the movie, which is in no way perfect, but has some good strong acting, and you can see the effort on the screen. The story flows with a few stutters, and backtracks on itself a lot, however you do get good tensions between the characters, and even though the shots were way too claustrophobicly close up when they did not all have to be, even the boardroom stuff is passable for the acting if nothing else. Speaking of nothing else though there is nothing more that saves this movie, the story is crooked, and connivingly obvious, and it still thinks that it is fooling you when it does the inevitable. So I think that I Enjoyed the acting in this movie by both of the leads Good, or Evil, you have to decide, and the supporting cast were really the big strength of the movie more than just a cameo by Jeffrey Combs is still just filler if you look at it on it's own, but worth my time. I only recommend this to fans of Nineties suspense, or Fifties to Eighties B-movies as that is all you will really be getting here.

The Movie Guys Kip Desmond seems like one of those guys who hit the lottery. Prosperous job, beautiful wife, he's just LUCKY. The durability of his luck gets a major test in Paul Osborne's new drama/thriller, "Favor".There's no spoiler alert necessary to tell you the plot of this film. The concept is laid out in the first scene and fires out of the gate from there. The script is streamlined nicely to deliver this plot and not get involved in stray scenes that meander for no reason or jump into side plots that go nowhere.Kip gets what he wants, and what he's wanted for sometime is Abby, a local waitress with whom he's been having an affair. But when things go bad (that bad), Kip ends up going to an old high school friend to help him get rid of the body. The high school friend, Marvin, agrees and…well, let's just say it doesn't go so well. Every attempt to keep the act and the situation clean gets foiled by blackmail, guilt or really bad decisions."Favor" follows the path of good modern day thrillers like "A Simple Plan" and "Blood Simple", apparently, movies with "Simple" in the title. But "Favor" is far from simple. Osborne has created a steady air of "uncomfortable" that permeates each scene as the choices the characters make become darker and more desperate. There's nothing more fun at the movies than watching characters get deeper and deeper in trouble, and there's no shortage of that in "Favor", as the stakes get raised in scene after scene, sometimes to funny, but often to shocking results.Blayne Weaver plays Kip, a fine bit of casting, as Weaver can play weasel quite well. Patrick Day is the casting coup here, nailing pathetic loser who can turn around and be quite conniving. We all know and fear the hell out of the guy he's playing. They all live in our hometown, which is why we left there years ago. Other supporting cast members include Cheryl Nichols, Christina Rose, Rosalie Ward and Jeffrey Combs, but the film belongs to the leads just driving that story home. Again, a film this single-minded is refreshing.The tech elements are consistent. As most indie films are, this is shot digitally, but unlike most indie features which go nuts with the depth of field 'cause "Yay! We can do that now! Just like film!", you're never saying to yourself, "Look at how nuts they've gone with the depth of field 'cause they can do that now. Just like film". Instead, the cinematography serves the greater picture of setting the tone. And the tone is dark. The intangibles are here that always set an indie apart from a major studio picture. As they're intangible, I don't know what they are, but all independent films have them – just…little things that make this film an indie, but I think Osborne's writing shows he could just as easily collaborate with Robert Richardson, Rick Carter and Michael Kahn, so guys, clear your calendars.There's something enjoyable about watching the comeuppance of a white, privileged, entitled guy. I remember this guy Brad Wilkins from my college (yeah, his name was BRAD), and he never thought the rules applied to him. Man, I'd like to see him involved in the quagmire Kip finds himself in. And that's another positive quality of "Favor", you can't really root for Kip, or Marvin (or BRAD). They're pretty repellent guys. But you can't stop watching their story, and you hope the damage they cause doesn't spread.But it does.Enjoy.