Short Review: One of the best westerns made.


Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Powers Boothe, Charlton Heston, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Dana Delany, Michael Rooker and Billy Bob Thornton - All of them and you toss in Robert Mitchum doing the narration for good measure? This is how you cast your Western.


This is a film that others in Hollywood movies should emulate. Directors George P. Cosmatos and Kurt Russell explore the familiar tale of the shoot-out at the OK Corral . Following his famed stewardship of Dodge City, Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell), retires to Tombstone, Arizona where he hopes to live a quiet existence with his brothers and their friend Doc Holiday (Val Kilmer).

Earp's idyllic dreams are ruined by the Cowboys, a band of outlaws, who threaten the small town. The Earp Brothers, along with Holiday, face down the brutal outlaws. The conflict leads to the final shoot-out that made all of the men legends.

While the cast is impressive, it is Val Kilmer who makes the movie. His turn as Doc Holiday is one of the great performances in the genre and one of the best film performances of the 1990's. His sly, fatalistic Holiday is reason enough to see the film.

Doc Holiday is presented as an ominous gunslinger who has the capacity to bring quick death to anyone. His ever present danger is undercut by terminal illness. He is racked with tuberculosis and is physically fading. The duality of a dying man who is forced to summon the skills of his healthier days is fascinating to watch.

Kevin Jarre’s script is perfectly paced and full of so many brilliant lines I can’t decide where to begin my praise. The dialog in this script puts most screenwriters to shame. Characters should always have heightened speech. The best way to elevate your characters is through the words that flow from their lips. Jarre offers his characters great lines that perfectly match their personalities. Not once does the elevated language feel imposed. Another example of this use of grand language is Pirates of The Caribbean series (written by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio.)

Jarre’s wise use of language meshed with Kurt Russell’s confident performance give credence to the fear that Wyatt Earp puts into those around him even though he doesn’t use his gun until the midpoint of the film.




Children, that is how you write dialog.

This is how you make a movie.


Cautions: Obviously, since this deals with the shoot-out at the OK Corral, there is violence. In comparison to what you see on TV these days, the violence is not out of hand.


Worldview: Men are fallen and their hunger knows no bounds. This hunger for power, sex, wealth drive many to commit atrocities. These horrors can happen on large and small scales. The immediate threat the Cowboys pose to the peace of Tombstone is an interesting moral problem that replicates the one found in war zones. When is it acceptable for a man to pull the trigger? To kill another man?

The sixth commandment states "You shalt not murder". Murdering is different than killing. Murder assumes no moral right is promoted by the act. Murder is wasteful and hateful. One is permitted to kill as the need arises however. But where does that moment come?


Self-defense is one of the central human rights. The ability to be free is centered on this concept. Wyatt Earp tries to shirk the concerns over the Cowboys, up to the point where violence is visited upon his family.

Wyatt refuses the role of Sheriff only to have his brother Morgan take up the position. Morgan is the calm soul, the thoughtful brother who says at one point "God made all this and He remembered to make a little speck like me." He is not the one to confront the evil of the world alone. That is Wyatt's calling. Wyatt's hesitation to stand up to evil costs both him and Morgan dearly.

I find questions about where these important lines are drawn to be fascinating. I also find that they cause a boatload of arguments as well. I would say that it proves the potency of this film that a simple Western can prompt such thoughts in the first place.



Related Reviews:
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3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Shane (1953)


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Labels: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Charlton Heston, film, Kurt Russell, Michael Biehn, movie review, Powers Boothe, Sam Elliott, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Val Kilmer, western

Short Review: Seriously, who doesn't love watching middle-aged people hook up? What's more exciting than witnessing a couple of soulless corporate hacks who have wasted their lives on burying their personal woes under heaps of work and travel? That's what the world needs, a movie about a budding romance between the upwardly pathetic.




I think its fitting that this film was nominated for an impressive six Oscars but didn't get any of them. That pretty much sums up the experience of watching the film. Its almost really good.

There is plenty going for the movie. George Clooney gives a notable performance, in particular in relation to his other films as of late. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner penned a well meaning script and Reitman turned in another strong film.

The problem?

Who cares?

That's a big problem.

Reitman has a great voice and knows how to craft full characters. As it turns out, his main character is his downfall. Clooney is well cast as Ryan Bingham, a high-class corporate consultant who fires people for a living. He flies from one job to the next, ruining other people's lives. His job has also ruined his. Aging and seeing himself slowly becoming obsolete himself, Bingham casually strolls through his mid-life crisis.

A man adrift can be an interesting character study and Bingham certainly has points about him that make him an attractive lead. Bingham's freedom is shown to be his flaw. He can go anywhere but he has nowhere to return when he's through. It may be poetic but it is terribly boring to watch.

Bingham doesn't have anything holding him down so in turn he has nothing to lose. The audience has little to invest in, other than a polite "I hope he does well." When the final credits roll we are no closer to the character than when we walked in. We know more about him, but there is no depth, no growth for us to ponder. Ultimately, he's just a loser in a fine suit.

This is not a film you should avoid at all costs. There are many moments that make it a worthwhile watch. I would recommend this if you have an urge to see it. If you're a Clooney fan for example. Otherwise, there are plenty of superior films out there you haven't seen. Go find one.





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Labels: Anna Kendrick, Danny McBride, film, George Clooney, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, movie review, Sam Elliott, Vera Farmiga

Screenwriters: Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) and Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard)
Director: Jason Reitman (Juno)
Actors: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Vera Farmiga (The Departed), Anna Kendrick (Twilight), Jason Bateman (Extract), J.K. Simmons (The Ladykillers), Sam Elliott (We Were Soldiers) and Danny McBride (The Fist Foot Way)

Labels: Anna Kendrick, Danny McBride, film, George Clooney, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, movie trailer, Sam Elliott, Vera Farmiga

What the heck is with the soundtrack on this one? What is that Earth Music (or whatever it is) playing over an ad for a Western? Why not just play a polka?

Fantastic film but this trailer does a terrible job selling it. The film's best features, the dialog and Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell performances aren't really displayed well. What we do get is a spoiler on Morgan Earp's fate and a series of dizzying snippets.

Labels: Bill Paxton, Charlton Heston, film, Kurt Russell, movie trailer, Sam Elliott, Val Kilmer

Short Review: There are times when a film is released and it is so utterly vacuous it distinguishes itself in the cornucopia of crap known as Hollywood. It is so ugly and incapable that it warrants becoming a notable cult classic.

This isn’t one of those films. This is plain ol’ stupid.


Nicholas Cage has bad taste in movies. His films tend to be blunt, flashy affairs with paper-thin plots and characters so stupid they have to wear a helmet every time they step outside. He may be the single greatest fattener of discount DVDs bins worldwide. This outing is bad even compared to the low expectations set by Cage's reeking repertoire. Think of it, we're talking about a field that includes Guarding Tess, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Windtalkers, and this one sticks out as the bad one.

Cage stars as Johnny Blaze a dimwit stunt man that makes a deal with the devil. This deal makes Blaze Satan’s bounty hunter...or at least I think that is what happens. The whole thing isn't explained well. Regardless, Blaze appears at night as a leather bound skeleton who’s skull is on fire. He lumbers around and hits bad guys with a chain. The name Johnny Blaze is the extent of the creative potency of this film. The whole concept, from its over arching themes to it tinest details is a laughable proposal. Given its source material in the original Marvel comic, I'm still setting bar low. Ghost Rider isn’t exactly Marvel’s A-List commodity, its more like its D-List commode.

One of the main issues with this movie is the horrid script. The dialog alone is so childish it must have been written in finger paints. The plot is likewise brainless. The story is so choppy that it reads like a transcript from a debate between two stutterers. An example is the first half of the film. This film forces us to watch a muddled opening about how Johnny becomes The Ghost Rider. This opening lasts about the first half of the film. Something that should take a few minutes stretches on for a large portion of the running time. By the time Blaze comes around to being a leather boy flamer, there's no time left to explain the whys or hows of his slavery to Satan. He simply starts on fire and gets jumped by some of the fruitiest looking demons ever put to film. No explanation of his satanic role, no self examination, nothing. Just a leather bound fireball beating up extras from The Lost Boys.

Seemingly aware of how terrible the production will end up being, Cage apparently didn't put his back into this work. Cage stumbles around the screen mumbling like a punch-drunk stoner. His dialog is littered with cheap, dime store puns about fire and being dead. Supporting him is the athletic Eva Mendes. Ms. Mendes offers a visual spark to the film but little else. This is in part to the poor writing but part is also because her line readings have the emotional punch of a 1-800 sex talk operator on her last day of work. This said, Ms. Mendes’ dead pulse performance comes across like Meryl Streep when placed against the stumbling portrayals of those playing the bad guys.

If there is any reason to see this film it is the casting of Peter Fonda as Satan. Peter Fonda as Satan? Are you kidding me. Look at this:


I guess it makes sense, spending eternity watching Peter Fonda trying to act ominous is a slice of hell.

Speaking of trying to act, this takes me to Wes Bentley as the Anti-Christ "Blackheart". Now, to be fair to Bentley, he’s not given much to work with here. He may be a fine actor if left to his own devices. In this sour production however, he is likewise hindered by the moronic script. To make matters worse, he is decked out like a loser trolling a food court. Look at this:


This whole film is the result of writer/director Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil, Elektra.) Mr. Johnson has been slinging his cinematic slop for a long time and this one smells as bad as the rest. Along with Uwe Boll and Eli Roth, Johnson has set himself aside as a particularly bad filmmaker in a professional field which has lost almost all standards. He constantly misses his mark and wastes our time. Don’t compile their bad decision making with another bad decision of your own making. Do what you can to avoid seeing this truly stupid movie.


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Labels: Donal Logue, film, movie review, Nicholas Cage, Peter Fonda, Sam Elliott