Oh the Drama
Oh the Horror
Keep Me in Suspense
Feels like Sci-Fi
Isn't it Romantic
So-called Comedies
Western Unions
Comic Book Heroes
Kid Stuff
Fact not Fiction
Cinema Fantastico (Subtitles)
Just Seen
Hostiles (2018) When Christian Bale (a retired Calvary officer) is tasked with returning
a Cheyenne family to their tribal lands, he balks—he’s spent 25 years killing
savages and wants nothing more to do with them. But orders are orders, so he and his regiment begin the trek to Montana—and
discover tragedies and friendship along their way. It’s slow and quiet and sad, but its
final moments, both bitter & hopeful, tugged hard at my own spirit. My grade: A
The Magnificent Seven
(2016) When robber baron Bart Bogue
(Peter Sarsgaard, naturally) and his army of bandits take a town
from its people for gold mining, a farmer’s widow hires Denzel Washington to help—he sure does, along with his misfit posse of
sharpshooters. Rich with colors right
off a Louis L’Armour bookjacket, this is as classic a Western shoot ‘em up as
you can get. Loved the grand credits at
the end! My grade: B Plus
Jane Got A Gun (2016) When
Natalie Portman's husband rides home riddled with bullets &
whispers "the Bishop Brothers are coming", she'll have to enlist the
help of her former fiance to protect her & her little girl.
It's a silly title for an emotional Western thriller, and the ending was
more than you should even hope for, but so what--good is good. My grade: B
Slow West (2015)
It’s 1870, and Jay Cavendish from Scotland has come to the American
West in search of his love Rose. He’s a brave but genteel young man, so
he’ll pay Silas, a desperado to accompany him. But Silas is a bounty
hunter too, and knows there’s a price on Rose & her father’s
heads. And soon Jay will learn that where Silas goes, bad men follow.
It’s kindness meets savagery, just another blood-soaked chapter in the
Book of the Wild West. My grade: B
The Salvation (2015) Mads
Mikkelsen is an 1871 homesteader who's just lost his wife & son
to a pair of killers. He exacts revenge, not knowing one of them is
the brother of Colonel Delarue, terror of the Wild West. It's a western
alright, right down to the bad dude in the black hat--but he's bad for a
reason, and it's a clever one. Watching Mads is always a bonus. My grade: B
The Homesman (2014) Set
in the 1850s in the Nebraska territory, Hilary Swank is a lonely 31
year old spinster who volunteers to escort 3 women (driven insane by the
harsh prairie life) to Iowa; she hires Tommy Lee Jones, a grizzled old
claim jumper to help her make the journey. Will they make it? Yes and
no. Prepare yourself, this is no Hollywood Western; it's an unflinching
look at an unforgiving time. My grade: B
Django Unchained (2012) Christopher
Waltz & his 'freed slave' Jamie Foxx are pre-Civil War bounty
hunters, chasing after wanted men and Foxx's enslaved wife in Quentin
Tarentino's spin on the spaghetti western. Sit back a spell, this flick
is 3 hours long--and worth every bloody, profane minute. My grade: B
Cowboys & Aliens (2011) Sci-Fi
meets the Old West when Harrison Ford (a grizzled cow baron) &
Daniel Craig (an outlaw with ammnesia) meet up with hostile aliens
invading the Arizona Territory. Critics were 50/50 over this shoot-em-up
with cowboys, indians and space-creeps but this was one wild ride, so
saddle up! My grade: B-
3:10 to Yuma (2007) Christian Bale & Russell Crowe in this remake of the 1957 Western; everyone gets shot. Everyone. My grade: B-