Western

The Book of Eli

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Book of Eli
  • IMDB: link

Stop me if you’ve heard this before. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland a wanderer (Denzel Washington) travels across a ruined landscape avoiding robbers, thieves, and cannibals.

He carries with him something important and valuable which the intelligent but mean-spirited head of a small town (Gary Oldman) will kill to possess.

This is The Book of Eli, and no one will ever accuse it of having a single original idea.

Part western, part post-apocalyptic thriller, and part psuedo-religious mess, the Hughes brothers (the guys who also screwed up From Hell) deliver a trainwreck of a film about one man’s quest to deliver the last bible in existence to the West Coast and the many, many men he kills who get in his way.

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Appaloosa

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Appaloosa
  • IMDB: link

“Which is how, fifteen years ago, I got to be a peace officer and Virgil Cole’s deputy.  Which is why I was with him now, still carrying the eight-gauge, walking the horses down a long, shale-scattered slope toward Appaloosa.”

The town of Appaloosa is under the thumb of rancher Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons), whose men take whatever they want.  After the marshal (Robert Jaregui) is killed by Bragg and his men the town council seeks outside help to solve their situation.

They enlist the help of two gun hands, Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and his longtime sidekick Everitt Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) to clean up the town and take Bragg down.  Cole’s mission to deliver justice is made more difficult by the arrival of a complicated woman (Renne Zellweger) and Bragg’s connections in Washington.

Western lovers should enjoy this film which pays homage in style to many old favorites.  I was also impressed that much of the dialogue from Robert B. Parker‘s novel was kept in the film adding a unique voice both harsh and humorous to the proceedings.

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3:10 to Yuma Redux

/ / Home Video
  • Title: 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
  • IMDb: link

“Just remember, it’s your old man that hauled Ben Wade to that station… when nobody else would.”

3:10 to Yuma

This remake of the 1957 film (read that review) makes a few changes to the tale.  The down-on-his-luck farmer Dan Evans (Christian Bale) still agrees to help deliver the notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to justice, but in this version his reasons are just as much about making himself look better in his son’s eyes (Logan Leman) as providing for his family.

The inclusion of the son on the adventure changes the dynamic of the relationship and the one-upsmanship between Ben and Dan.  Although this gives the film a fresh take on the story, it’s a take that isn’t as good as the original.

Also of interest here is the peculiar ending which seems haphazardly put together.  In the first film Wade reluctantly helps Dan at the last minute, but here Wade and Dan almost become bosom pals (which was the intention of director James Mangold) as they race through the town trying to catch the train.  So the tense psychological drama is dropped in favor of a buddy film. Sigh.

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A Coward and an Outlaw

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  • IMDb: link

“He was born Jesse Woodson James on September 5th, 1847, and was named after his mother’s brother, a man who committed suicide.  He stood five feet eight inches tall, weighed one hundred fifty-five pounds, and was vain about his physique…he was missing the nub of his left middle finger and was cautious lest that mutilation be seen…he had a condition that was referred to as granulated eyelids and it caused him to blink more than usual, as if he found creation slightly more than he could accept…he could be reckless or serene, rational or lunatic, from one minute to the next.  If he made an entrance, heads turned into his direction; if he strode down an aisle store clerks backed away; if he neared animals they retreated.  Rooms seemed hotter when he was in them, rains fell straighter, clocks slowed, sounds were amplified.”

 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Based on the novel by Ron Hansen the film tells the story of the famous outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and his friend who shot him in the back, Bob Ford (Casey Affleck).  The film is filled with supporting characters and events too numerous to mention here.  Plot divergences, threads, and events that work both with and against the main tale.  But at its core this is a film about two men and how their destinies became intertwined during their lives and long after their deaths.

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