Movie Review: Jane Got a Gun

Jane Got a Gun has finally arrived in theaters, some three years after it was shot. The movie has a production history that is the thing of legends. Unfortunately, the product that ends up on the screen is less than legendary. In fact, the movie is downright forgettable. It is a shame, too, as the cast is actually a good one, and a lot of the shots look fantastic. It really had all the parts needed to make a good movie, everything just conspired to ensure that this movie ended up not being good. Beyond that, the studio just snuck it into theaters, even upping the theater count from 400 to over 1200, but with no ad campaign, it was almost assured to fail.

Movie Review: The Hateful Eight

When is a Quentin Tarantino simultaneously like a Quentin Tarantino movie and not like a Quentin Tarantino movie? When it is the eighth movie by Quentin Tarantino. It is a movie that is also known as The Hateful Eight. I am sure you are wondering what that opening statement means. I will get to that. Let me start by saying one of my first thoughts was wondering when I am going to see a Broadway billboard advertising the first play by Quentin Tarantino. That is what that opening alludes to. This movie feels a lot like a play, the limited locale, the focus on dialogue, but it still feels very cinematic at the same time. Rather contradictory, I know, but it fits.

Critical Capsule: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Well, I saw A Million Ways to Die in the West. I am pretty sure I did not laugh at all. I suspect I will be in the minority, but the movie just did not work for me. It felt like a Family Guy cutaway that keeps going and going for nearly two hours. It is like observational stand-up, only difference is the guy is actually in the setting and pointing things out. The humor is similar to that one guy who thinks he is hilarious for pointing things out and if you don't laugh, he repeats it until you do.

Sci-Fi Invasion: Welcome to Blood City

I will not quit on you, Sci-Fi Invasion box set. No matter what kind of lame, bizarre, and boring junk you throw at me, I will keep coming back until the last movie is done. It may take some time, but I will get through. I just have to look at each movie as an opportunity, a new experience, and hopefully I will walk away with something. Good or bad, every movie adds to your experience. I know its been awhile, but i am back. This latest experience was not bad. Of course, that is comparatively speaking and does not really say all that much.

Movie Review: Cowboys and Aliens

It me a little while, but I finally got around to seeing Cowboys and Aliens. At the start of the summer you would have counted this among my most anticipated movies. Between the director, Jon Favreau (Iron Man), and the stars, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde, it would seem to be an easy sell. Add to that the concept, which is spelled out right in the title, and you have a virtual can't miss. The trailer seemed to promise fun, and I was really hoping it would pay off. The problem is that it doesn't.

Blu-ray Review: The Outlaw Josey Wales

I cannot claim to be a big fan of westerns, but there are some that are just incredible and belong in the must watch pile for any movie lover. It took me a long time to gain an appreciation for the genre, but it is there and I am sure in time it will continue to grow. The movie that won me over was Tombstone. It is a relatively recent film but we all have to start somewhere, right? Even more recently I have started looking back on the Western here and there, and the one name that will always draw me to a project is Clint Eastwood. The man is the prototypical bad ass cowboy. This time around I have found his 1976 film, The Outlaw Josey Wales. I found it to be a good, not great film, interesting but not as involving as I had expected it to be.

Movie Review: Rango

Let me apologize right up front. What for? Let's just say that Rango is a fantastic film, but it is also one that is escaping my ability to write about it. For one reason or another the words are just not coming. I would love to say that it is a movie so great that it left me speechless, but that is not exactly accurate. It is a movie that collects homages to tons of films, primarily westerns, and molds them into something new, fun, and wonderful. It is like the animated equivalent of a Quentin Tarantino movie, and I love Tarantino.

Movie Review: True Grit (2010)

The Western is a genre that has taken me a long time to warm up to. Actually, it is still an ongoing process as there are countless genre classics left for me to watch. It is just a genre that did not immediately grab me when I was first getting into movies. I was initially drawn to science fiction and horror (still am) and next to those, the western just could not compare. Now, while I am getting to like the genre, I cannot quite point to what it was that began to change my mind, but I do know that Tombstone didn't hurt. My recent full discovery of the Man with No Name Trilogy took it to another level, and now there is the fantastic new True Grit that does nothing but increase my interest in the Western.

Blu-ray Review: A Fistful of Dollars

Wow. What else can I say? This is, simply put, a fantastic film. Is it the greatest film I've ever seen? No. It is also likely that the age has somewhat diminished the impact, but there is no denying how utterly entertaining it is. I am sure I have seen it before, but I cannot quite put my finger on when, but while I recognized parts of it this is the first time I have truly seen it. I have now seen it a couple of times and each time reveals new information. It is a movie that keeps on giving.

Movie Review: Jonah Hex

"Jonah Hex." "Joooonah Hex." "Jonah." "Hex." Jonah Heeeeex."
The name was said so many times and so many different ways it is hard to say just how it is supposed to be pronounced. However, that is the least of this movies problems. It does not have any direction, character, or personality. It has a plot filled character motivations that either do not make sense or seem out of place. It is littered with miscast actors and other out of place elements like some mysterious, unexplained mind you, exploding orbs. Yes, you read that right.