When I say "legitimately entirely amateur", all cast and crew are all either newbs, and/or have very minimal experience in their fields, and that makes a good result great, and more appreciated.

This is co-writer, producer, editor and director Luke Covert's first attempt at filmmaking, and wow, did he not disappoint. Then add that this low budget indie gem was practically perfectly directed and performed by cast I've never heard of, and the cinematography was spot on, with a bonus awesome soundtrack.

The entire story was clever, well thought out and presented. If you're a millennial, or a parent of them, you'll relate to everything that happens in this film. The dreams, the plans, the maturity, the good or failing friendships, the sibling rivalry, the loyalty and let-downs - it's all in this film, and presented on a silver platter.

Was it perfect? Nope, but darn close. The 94 min runtime was used effectively and the pacing was decent. The story was cohesive and flowed smoothly, although a few tweaks were needed here and there.

Covert is certainly a filmmaker to keep an eye out on, because this little amateur production of his was stronger and more entertaining than some recent films from seasoned filmmakers I've seen lately.

Mad props to the entire cast and crew. Intentional or not, it seems there's an opening for a Turbo Cola 2, so I hope that happens. A well deserved 7.5 rounded up to an 8/10 from me.

The title says it all. If you want to know what this movie is like, imagine Clerks (1994),but with way less interesting characters and even less humour. If your unfamiliar with Clerks, so the reference isn't helpful, I'll describe this movie in one sentence. This is your average coming of age story with characters you'll instantly forget, much like the movie.

An intriguing plot can keep an audience engaged in a story, but usually it's the characters that catch and keep our attention. These characters are shallow and cliche, with dialogue and performances that won't leave an impression. They don't promote an emotional investment so it's difficult to care about them or their plights.

It's not a bad movie, it's just uninspired. With the exception of some slightly clever plot elements, the script is emotionally and mentally numbing. There's little to no humour in the script and the dialogue is shallow with no profundities to be found. There's no clever or intellectual insights provided beyond things change after high school is over.

It's a period piece set in the year 1999, and it's an average coming of age story with nothing new to say. What it does say, it says with a blasé script with banal dialogue. If you're feeling nostalgic or just want to watch a great coming of age tale set around that era, you'll find dozens of movies made in the 90's and 00's with more entertainment value. Many will actually reward your investment in time and energy by watching them.

Turbo Cola is an indie movie that clearly shows homage to older indie and coming of age movies. However, it also has interjections of a heist every so often through the movie. It's an awkward mash of genres that feels fairly thrown together at times. Had the movie stuck to one genre or the other, I feel that it could've been a lot better. Full spoilers ahead for the movie, so be warned.

About 75% of the movie feels like a Clerks-esque indie film about friends trying to find their way in life just after high school. Jimmy wants to move in with Austin, Austin wants to move to New York, Mary Jane is going to College in New York, and so on. Everyone's talking about the New Year's Eve party that's happening, but due to different reasons no one ever stays too long and keeps coming back to the Quality Mart. All the while, there's the looming threat of Y2K that could seemingly end the world as they know it.

The other 25% of the movie is a heist plot to steal money from the ATM in the Quality Mart that has very little bearing on the rest of the movie. This is where the main issues with the movie stem. The movie has a good flow through most of it with the character building between the cast, but every 20 or so minutes is a reminder of a heist that's happening that doesn't even pay off in the end.

There's also several questionable choices made for the movie, such as: Why can't we hear Mindy over the phone during the first phone call, but can hear her and Swearsky in the other two phone calls? Why is the money just jammed into the ATM instead of neat stacks? Why are planes flying so close to the gas station that it shakes the entire building like an earthquake? Why are there people visiting a small Midwest town to see the town's "wrench drop", but don't know the town's mascot, which is also a wrench? Why does the cop come in to get coffee, leave, then come back just to ask for his change? Why is the "employee's only" bathroom absolutely covered in what appears to be feces? Why does Eric become completely lucid and all-knowing once he's been shot instead of giving that moment to one of the main cast? Most of these can be answered with "because exposition" but that's not really a good answer.

Overall, the acting is good for an indie film, the cinematography is great, but the script feels like it was written by two different people, which is detrimental to the movie overall.