Sunday, April 10, 2011

     The Western Heritage Awards will be held next weekend (April 16) in my hometown of Oklahoma City, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Center (known locally as the Cowboy Hall of Fame). Ed Harris, who has starred in several Westerns, will be on hand as one of the evening’s hosts. So, with that in mind, I thought I’d post a review of his film Appaloosa. On a scale of five stars, I gave the movie four. See below for my thoughts on the great film.
 The town of Appaloosa is in need of some serious taming, as arrogant rancher Randall Bragg seems to just do as he pleases. So, the town fathers call in Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch to take care of business, as the town’s new marshals. What starts as a standard western movie premise quickly changes as the arrival of a new woman puts a different dynamic on the situation. 
  Alright, so even the plot of a tough lawman caught between duty and the woman he loves has been done before, but not quite like this. What makes Appaloosa unique is the morals (or lack of) and character of Mrs. French, and how the tough lawman responds to her.
  Appaloosa is a traditional western, with not much revisionism thrown in (and that’s a good thing). Save for a few moments of harsh profanity and one brief scene of partial nudity, this movie could have been made forty years ago. It’s not overly violent, and doesn’t dwell on the gunfights. Instead, this is a character driven western that takes its time, and ends up being one darn good movie.
    Ed Harris stars in this film that he also directed. He looks at home in a western, and portrays Marshal Cole with just the right touch. Viggo Mortensen, who portrays Hitch, looks even more natural, as if he is some sort of Frederick Remington painting come to life. Renee Zellweger is obnoxious as the shady Mrs. French, but I believe this to be some of the best acting in the film! The character is supposed to be obnoxious. She’s like one of those villains in some of the old, great westerns: you just can’t stand her! Jeremy Irons does surprisingly well as a wealthy, yet villainous rancher. Mr. Irons is a top notch actor, but on the surface the classically trained Englishman seems like an odd choice to portray an American frontiersman. Still, he pulls it off in a very convincing fashion. And, although he’s only in it for a few moments, Lance Henriksen almost steals the show as gunfighter Ring Shelton. The relationship between Shelton and Cole is very interesting, as it is clear both respect each other’s ability but viewers know an inevitable showdown is looming.
 Fans of modern movies might not find much to like in Appaloosa. While never boring, in my opinion, the film is not action packed. It is a throwback to an older generation, when Hollywood didn’t rely on CGI and over the top violence. The first time I watched this movie, I admit, I didn’t care for it too much. I didn’t hate it, but it wasn’t one of my favorites. As an avid western fan, I see the few that make their way to the movie theatres with excitement. I think I had built the movie up too much, and it just didn’t live up to the hype I had created. It came not long after the action packed remake of 3:10 to Yuma, and compared to that movie, Appaloosa came across as a bit slow. However, after watching this movie a second time, I appreciated more what Mr. Harris was doing. There are a couple of scenes of good cowboy style shooting. But, again, the action does not take center state. This is a movie making a statement about friendship and loyalty. The second time I watched it, I got it, and I loved it. With wonderful cinematography (and I can’t stress that enough!), great characters, and some truly funny moments, Appaloosa is one fans of classic westerns should enjoy.
    Rating: Appaloosa is rated “R” for a few instances of rough language, adult themes, one brief scene of partial nudity, and a bit of violence. The violence is not frequent, but we do see some blood and the affects of a few close range gunshots. Not recommended for children or younger teens.
    Note: Appaloosa is based on a novel by the late Robert B. Parker, and the film follows the book very closely. If you like the characters of Cole and Hitch, there are three sequels in the literary cannon. Let’s hope they get filmed as well!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Random Thoughts On A Few Upcoming Movies

Alright, I have some random thoughts on a couple of upcoming films. Since my random and possibly incoherent thoughts are not long enough to stand alone as separate blog posts, I’ve lumped ‘em all together for a Friday blog post round-up extravaganza.

Much has been written about Hollywood’s obsession with remakes. Some of them turn out pretty good (3:10 to Yuma) and some (most) don’t work out so well. But, of all the movies to remake, do we really need an updated Arthur? Since, for some reason Russell Brand seems to be the current “it” boy when it comes to “comedy,” I guess it was inevitable. The film is getting awful reviews. Now, I have to admit I’ve never seen a (live action) film Brand has made, but he seems to always play the same character. He’s a one note guy, and I’m guessing his star will fade fairly quickly. After all, the obnoxious, depraved role he plays in just about everything is only humorous for a few minutes…alright; it’s not really ever funny. But, my guess is audiences will soon tire of it.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about hoping quality faith based movies would be made. While Soul Surfer isn’t the comedy I was requesting in my blog, it does look to be a decent movie with a great message. And the best part: it does not feature Gary Busey fighting the Anti-Christ! Come to think of it, I think it’s actually a Christian film not about the End Times. I hope it does great at the box office, and I wish all the best to those who made this picture. Betahny Hamilton, the girl the film is based on, seems like a great kid. God bless her for spreading the Word and being a great role model.

After forty plus years of trying to bring Atlas Shrugged to the big screen, it’s finally arriving next week. First of all, let me say I’m all for a movie with a conservative message. The liberals throw in their leftist world view all the time, so I say all is fair in ideological cinema. But, I probably won’t see Atlas. I hope it does great at the box office, but I just don’t have an interest in the project. I’m not a huge Ayn Rand fan, even though my politics lean pretty dang libertarian (however Rand was off on some pretty big stuff!). But, the plot just doesn’t look that fascinating to me. And the book it’s based on is so long, it will take three movies just to tell the story. I’m fine with that. What I’m not fine with is them leaving me hanging with part one, and then not producing the other two films! If this thing bombs at the box office, it will be a death sentence for the other two projects. And yes, I realize the irony that I would maybe watch it later if all three get made and the story comes to a conclusion, but my lack of seeing it in the theater may prevent that from happening. I always thought Atlas Shrugged veered into the science fiction and speculative fiction genres, but the previews seem to make the film look like a straight forward movie about warring corporations. And something about trains. I’m not sure. Maybe I’m wrong and it’s an engrossing story, but it just doesn’t have me interested as of now. It does look to be well made. But, the source material itself is not an easy sell, and not because of the political overtones which many Americans agree with. The story seems to be a vehicle to expound philosophy, and appears to be “heavy.” When my wife and I go to the movies for date night, I don’t want philosophy or politics (right or left). I want a good movie. We want to be entertained. I just don’t get that vibe from Altus Shrugged.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

The Day Lincoln Was Shot

The cable station TNT put out some great original movies during the mid-to-late 90s, and even into the early 2000s. Why they’ve stopped making feature films, I don’t know. However, through the years some of these pictures have been released on DVD. I’m still waiting on The Avenging Angel, starring Tom Berenger. But, one of the movies I’ve been waiting to see on DVD is finally coming! At least, I think it is. Movies Unlimited now has a page for the 1998 film The Day Lincoln Was Shot. According the site, the movie will be released on May 13 of this year. That is all the information I can seem to find at the moment (even Amazon doesn’t have a listing as of today). It makes sense that this movie would be released as Robert Redford’s The Conspirator will hit theaters this month (on the 146th anniversary of Lincoln's assassination). Redford’s film actually looks to be pretty good based upon the previews. We don’t see too many quality historical pictures these days, so I welcome those that come along. Let’s just hope it sticks to the facts and doesn’t slide in some political opining in the background! And, here’s hoping Movies Unlimited is correct, and TNT’s very good film will finally get the home video release it deserves.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

A Couple of New Westerns Worth Mentioning...

Wyatt Earp is riding to a movie theater near you once again! Yes, that’s right…it’s been fifteen plus years since we’ve had an Earp movie (two of ‘em actually: Tombstone and Wyatt Earp). However, I am happy to report the famed lawman will once again be entertaining us. I don’t have many details now, but here’s what I know:

An independent film entitled The First Ride of Wyatt Earp is currently in production. Interestingly enough, Val Kilmer is most likely playing an aged Earp, recounting his first ride as part of a posse tracking the murderer of Dora Hand (the posse included Bat Masterson and several other well known figures. The true story is chronicled in the excellent book Thunder Over the Prairie.)

Warner Brothers (who brought us 1994’s Wyatt Earp) is developing an old fashioned sounding tale called Wild Guns. This movie will chronicle an event that did not actually happen (in fact it has no historical basis) but sounds very entertaining. In the picture, Earp and Holliday reunite to rescue the kidnapped daughter of Sitting Bull. Doesn’t that sound like something right out of those old 40s westerns that threw in the names of real figures but placed them in completely trumped up settings? I’m fine with that, for the sole purpose of entertainment.

I will bring more as I learn it. Things might be looking up for western fans, and fans of the West’s most famed lawman.