Stop SOPA!

Information on SOPA from Wikipedia.

Jonah Hex

Jonah Hex is one of the worst films ever made. I wish I had live-blogged my commentary. There is no part of this movie that isn't dreadful. It has no redeeming features. It's not even re-watchable on the basis of being really really bad, because it's sooo boring and ridiculous. It's based on a comic book character, and I guess I might've thought it was worth watching if I'd read this character before. But I doubt it.

trailer:


As I look for a review that contains any positive remarks I find this:

well, if I ever find a positive comment, I'll try to remember to stick it in this spot.

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

3:10 to Yuma (2008) is a remake of the 1957 Glenn Ford and Van Heflin classic. Though enjoyable, the remake doesn't supplant the original. I had several issues with it, but the main one was the growth of the elder son into a main and motivating character. The father just doesn't seem nearly as noble and principled when i know he's only acting this way because his son is right there watching. Russell Crowe and Christian Bale star in this version, which is directed by James Mangold. Alan Tudyk ("Wash" from Firefly) has a good part.

trailer:


Slant Magazine gives it a mixed review, closing by saying, "Energetic and occasionally inspired, it's a western that, at the moment of truth, too closely remakes when what was truly necessary was reinvention." Rolling Stone calls it "flashily entertaining". Roger Ebert gives it high praise, opening his review with this: "James Mangold's "3:10 to Yuma" restores the wounded heart of the Western and rescues it from the morass of pointless violence."

Cowboys & Aliens

I had not heard good things about Cowboys & Aliens, but now that I've seen it I think the reports I heard were much too harsh. It's great fun to watch. This 2011 science fiction/western stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford and is directed by Jon Favreau. Also starring are Sam Rockwell, Olivia Wilde, Keith Carradine and Adam Beach (who plays Jim Chee in the PBS mystery series based on Hillerman's books).

trailer:


Slant Magazine gives it one grudging star and finds fault with everything, opening by saying,

Brandishing a literal-minded title as laughable as the rest of its action, Cowboys & Aliens mashes up genres with a staunch dedication to getting everything wrong, making sure that each scene is more inane than the one that preceded it.

Rolling Stone doesn't like it and closes with this:

The mash-up of cowboys and aliens doesn't do either camp any favors. How are we supposed to work up a rooting interest when both sides are shooting blanks?

Roger Ebert says, ""Cowboys & Aliens" has without any doubt the most cockamamie plot I've witnessed in many a moon" and wishes it had been a straight western.

The Last Rites of Ransom Pride

The Last Rites of Ransom Pride is a 2010 Western starring actors I'm only vaguely familiar with (except for Kris Kristofferson, who has a role) and directed by someone I've never heard of. I got a kick out of this one, and enjoyed describing it to The Husband as "a western with a car chase, a motorcycle with a side car, siamese twins, a voodoo priestess, a dwarf, and the hunt for and reburial of Ransom Pride." From my description, he's decided to pass on a viewing of this one. Hmmm...

trailer:


DVD Talk says, "The good does outweigh the bad though. This won't change your life or even make you think, but it's entertaining enough".

3:10 to Yuma (1957)

The original 3:10 to Yuma stars Glenn Ford and Van Heflin and is directed by Delmer Daves. I've seen this one twice now, and it's just as enjoyable the 2nd time through.

Here's the opening segment that includes the theme sung by Frankie Laine:


Slant Magazine calls it " a solid ride up to its climax". DVD Talk opens by saying:

3:10 to Yuma is one of the best of the late '50s Westerns, and is about as handsome as the B&W Western ever got. Low-key performances from an interesting cast back up great work by Van Heflin and Glenn Ford, whose tense angst adds a Noir-ish dimension. ... Taken from a story by the now-revered Elmore Leonard, the show develops a nice little knot of suspense.

DVD Journal says, "A tight piece of genre filmmaking, 3:10 to Yuma deserves its reputation as a genre classic."

Two Mules for Sister Sara

Two Mules for Sister Sara is a 1970 Clint Eastwood Western directed by Don Siegal and co-starring Shirley MacLaine . We watched this because of Clint Eastwood, but its one of my least favorite of Eastwood's films. It's just a bit too cute for my taste these days.

trailer:


Spaghetti-Western.net says, "For a film that is usually called a failure, it is remarkably enjoyable, but its problems are many" and calls it " a pleasant, if awkwardly paced movie." Roger Ebert calls it "a lot better than it might have been".

Winchester 73

Winchester '73 (1950) has been on The Husband's wish-list for years, and The Younger Son got it for him for Christmas this year. It's more the traditional old-style Western and stars Jimmy Stewart and Shelley Winters. It has Rock Hudson miscast as a native American and Tony Curtis in one of his early roles. Will Geer is also a supporting player. Anthony Mann directs.

trailer:


DVD Talk opens with this:

Winchester '73 is what film critics call a key western, for it represents a major turn in the genre's development. High Noon got all the credit for initiating the 'adult psychological Western' of the 1950s but this ambitious Universal film is the real trend-setter...

Couch Cowboy says, "This is the first effort from James Stewart and Anthony Mann, and many consider it the best." Ferdy on Films points out its kinship with film noir.

Dust

The question is this: Is Dust a Western or not? The votes are in, and The Husband claims it's not even remotely a Western but an urban fantasy, while The Younger Son and I say Dust is a Western, kind of. The Husband just couldn't take the violence and moved away from the tv after an hour or so. The Younger Son had seen it before, having bought it on a sale table after reading the description of a straight revenge Western on the back of the DVD case. He was surprised by the first scene of a modern-day NYC apartment burglary gone wrong.

It's a 2001 film directed by Milcho Manchevski and starring Joseph Fiennes and David Wenham.

trailer:

Dust | David Wenham | Joseph Fiennes | Milcho Manchevski | Movie Trailer | Review

European Film Review says it "should be congratulated for at least trying something a little bit different." Time Out calls the effect "bewildering". BBC closes with this:

Given the production's famously troubled shoot, with reports of soaring temperatures, plagues of wasps, demented sheep, and an outbreak of dysentery, perhaps a 'making-of' documentary might prove more entertaining.

AMC has some information.

The Track of Sand

You can't really "click to look inside" on that picture, but you can go to Amazon.com, which is where the picture came from and where you can buy this book.

The Track of Sand is 12th in the Andrea Camilleri Inspector Montalbano detective series. These are written in Italian and set in Sicily. I read them in English translation (I say, as if there might be any doubt). The Husband gave me the ones I haven't read yet for Christmas. I'm sure I'll enjoy them all as I've enjoyed the ones I have read.

from the back of the book:

Montalbano wakes from strange dreams to find a gruesomely bludgeoned horse carcass in front of his seaside home. When his men come to investigate, the carcass disappears, leaving only a trail in the sand. Before long, two people report missing horses - Rachele, a champion equestrian, and Lo Duca, one of the richest men in Sicily. Then Montalbano's home is broken into and is ransacked and he is certain that the crimes are linked. As he negotiates the glittering underworld of legitimate horseracing and the Mafia's connection to it, the scrupulous and melancholy Montalbano is aided by his unorthodox methods, melancholy self-reflection, and love of good food

The Independent says this book is "as funny and intriguing as the best of its predecessors." Eurocrime says it "provides just what the eager, regular reader will expect." The Seatle PI has a positive review.

I've read these:

1. The Shape of Water
2. The Terra-Cotta Dog
5. Excursion to Tindari
6. The Smell of Night
9. The Paper Moon
10. August Heat
11. The Wings of the Sphinx