I’ll tell you what the fundamental problem with “Serenity: Better Days” is, so far. There’s too much fore-shadowing to “Serenity.” There’s so much it became pretty irritating to read at times. Wash makes a hint at the possible getting together of Kaylee and the Doc, and heck even the cover has Wash and Zoe holding hands. We know what happens in “Serenity,” there’s no need to keep connecting the dots to remind us this is a sequel to “Those Left Behind,” and the second part of the comic book prequel… you follow?
Tag Archives: Western
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
You take two of the greatest actors of modern American cinema, grab a slew of all-star performers all providing excellent performances, match it with the stylish and epic direction of James Mangold, and you have yourself “3:10 to Yuma” a remake of the great western film that’s a contender for one of my favorites of 2007, and damn near superior to its predecessor. Mangold’s film packs an abundance of quality and power with it and that’s due to the fantastic writing by the adapting screenwriters, who takes the simplistic yet original story and turns it something much more unique. It’s the story of a man trying to reclaim his dignity, a story about a man who is very well the devil reincarnated learning about respect, and the story of a young boy discovering that everything he thought he once knew now suddenly was all just a fraud. “3:10 to Yuma” brought with it the stylish marketing and appeal to the modern audiences, but don’t sell it short.
Dust Devil – The Final Cut (1992) (Limited Collector's Edition DVD)
Richard Stanley’s “Dust Devil” is “The Hitcher” with a supernatural twist. It’s a compelling story about a man who kills random drivers on the road, yet is also a monster impossible to kill. With the special edition of “Dust Devil” from Subversive Cinema, now on DVD, you don’t only get one DVD, you get five. You receive the final cut, the more extended work print, and three other film works from Richard Stanley that are very avant-garde. Like the “Cannibal Holocaust” boxed set, this is well worth the money because it gives film collectors something to really bite on with a wonderfully constructed library of goodies with extras, booklets, production diaries, and even a “Dust Devil” comic book.
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Want to know something utterly shocking? When I finished “Brokeback Mountain”–I wasn’t gay. I know, you’re gasping and holding your breath, but I’m being honest. When I finished this homosexual love story, I wasn’t gay. I’m a heterosexual of young age, with an untarnished record, and yet, when I finished the movie I didn’t find the gay lifestyle appealing to my own tastes, and I was still sexually aroused by good looking women. Yes, you misanthropic, religiously fanatical, homophobic morons, watching a movie with gay people about the gay lifestyle won’t turn you gay. Can you believe that? And if you do, then perhaps your sexuality is already in doubt, but to those open-minded few who watched the film in spite of the themes and or because of its themes, then congratulations, you’re proof that humans are still evolving.
Hidalgo (2004)
“Hidalgo” is often times a very fun and exciting throwback to old time serials, with a guiltless innocence that is family fun through and through without the taint of colorful characters. And it is a lot of fun from beginning to end with a great story that everyone can really become involved in. Based on the supposedly and debatably true accounts of Frank Hopkins, an adventurer who risked tooth and nail during an epic race across the desert. Though it can be debated if the events depicted here ever really happened, what we see on-screen most of the time is a lot of fun as post-Aragorn Viggo Mortensen takes the reins of adventure hero this time and really packs a punch as the anti-hero Frank who is haunted by the slaughter of his people, and is in a bitter battle with his conscience over his heritage as a Native American.
Home on the Range (2004)
“Home on the Range” is a sign post, it’s a sign post up ahead the reads the basic end of Disney. What once was a company that gave us “The Lion King” and “Bambi” now gives us crap like “Lilo and Stitch”, their direct to video sequels of their classic films, and–this. I wanted to like “Home on the Range”, I really did, I was expecting at best an entertaining animated film that was a guilty pleasure, and even that doesn’t pull off my expectations at all. I was so disappointed after liking the pictures of the animated characters that I saw, but, man, this is a lame movie. The animation is very reminiscent of masters such as Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, and Bob McKimson, the era where cartoons were actually good and funny, does anyone remember that?
Open Range (2003)
Based on the novel “The Open Range Men” by Lauran Paine, Charley is a free ranger along with his superior whom he calls boss; the two friends are teamed with two other young employees and live a simple life out on the open range as nomads herding cows for a living until one of the young employees is badly beaten and imprisoned in a town. When Charley and Boss go to retrieve him they come across a crooked Marshall and town mayor and upon their arrival to their campground, they’re soon being watched and stalked by masked men upon their return to their home, but when Charley and boss decide to take it upon themselves to stop the stalkers, they return to their home ravaged beyond belief and their friends hurt badly.