Western

The story of Jesse James or rather the end of it, like you've never seen before.

Stunning cinematography and brilliant acting all around makes this one of 2007's finest films. Casey Affleck in particular was real impressive playing Robert Ford's role and Brad Pitt did an outstanding rendition of Jesse James himself.

This film really should've been up there with the best film Oscar nominations for 2007. Instead of Michael Clayton, if you ask me. One thing I'd tell you though is not to watch it unless you've got the time for it coz it's almost two and a half hours long. Probably a little more than that actually.

I loved the ending though it's a tragic one. I'm not really spoiling it coz you already know that from the title itself.

...There would be no eulogies for Bob, no photographs of his body would be sold in sundries stores, no people would crowd the streets in the rain to see his funeral cortege, no biographies would be written about him, no children named after him, no one would ever pay twenty-five cents to stand in the rooms he grew up in. The shotgun would ignite, and Ella Mae would scream, but Robert Ford would only lay on the floor and look at the ceiling, the light going out of his eyes before he could find the right words.

Serves him right I say. At the end of the day, Robert Ford was just a coward who betrayed them all for the money and fame none of which he deserved.

A fine Western which showcases some of 2007's best performances in Christian Bale, Russel Crowe and Ben Foster who all did great jobs with their roles. It's been too long since I've watched a Western as good as this. Being a huge fan of the genre and all, I absolutely loved this.

A great score and some brilliant dialogue too, like with almost all good Western's.


Byron McElroy: If you're gonna kill me, just as soon get to it.
Ben Wade: I ain't gonna kill you. Not like this.
Byron McElroy: Won't change a thing, lettin' me live. I'll come for you.
Ben Wade: I'd be disappointed if you didn't.

Butterfield: Twenty-two robberies. Over four hundred thousand dollars in losses. More in delays. The Southern Pacific will have Ben Wade convicted in a federal court. Hanged in public. An example made. And we will pay to make it happen.
Ben Wade: Y'all notice he didn't mention any of the lives I've taken.

Dan Evans: I've been standin on one leg for three damn years waitin for God to do me a favor... and He ain't listenin.

Ben Wade: You know, squeezin' that watch won't stop time.

Ben Wade: Now, you see Dan, generally pretty much everyone wants to live. That means Butterfield, too. He's gonna walk out on you. He's gonna come back up here, and he's gonna walk out on you. Now, what you gotta figure is why you and your boy are gonna die. Because Butterfield's railroad lost some money?

Dan Evans: What did Doc Potter give his life for, William? McElroy...
Ben Wade: Little red ants on a hill.
Butterfield: I'll pay you the 200, Dan. Right now. And you can walk away.
Dan Evans: You know, this whole ride... it's been egging on me. That's what the government gave me for my leg - 198 dollars 36 cents and the funny thing is that... when you think about it, which I have been lately, is they weren't paying me to walk away, they were paying me so they could walk away.

"All right, I'm coming out. Any man I see out there, I'm gonna shoot him. Any sumbitch takes a shot at me, I'm not only gonna kill him, but I'm gonna kill his wife, all his friends, and burn his damn house down. "

I've not watched "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" yet and I think that's the only film in this genre that could change my opinion on this being my favourite Western of all time and pretty much one of my all time absolute favourite films.

Clint Eastwood is the finest good guy in this genre I've seen and Gene Hackman it's finest villain. Morgan Freeman did excellent as well and that's something I take for granted from him. The four Oscars and the five nominations well deserved need I say.

This is the film that I'll always remember and I'll give credit for making me a film fanatic. It's been a really long time since I've watched it and I still remember almost all of it and that's something extremely rare for me. I forget about most movies except for their titles within a few months and sometimes even within a few weeks time. But not this. That ain't never gonna happen. In other words if you haven't figured it out yet, I absolutely love this film!

"It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have. "

Preacher: See here, you can't turn all these people out into the night. It is inhuman, brother. Inhuman!
The Stranger: I'm not your brother.
Preacher: We are all brothers in the eyes of God.
The Stranger: All these people, are they your sisters and brothers?
Preacher: They most certainly are.
The Stranger: ...Then you won't mind if they come over and stay at your place, will ya?


The idea is nice but the execution isn't. It came off a bit too cheesy for me. Clint is pretty bad ass here playing a role which was at times surprisingly unpleasant in a way compared to his previous roles dare I say. There's not much of the usual morally good guy thing. Everyone has their own flaws in this hence I'm guessing this actually will be a more accurate and realistic depiction of a true Western story when compared to all the big name Spaghetti Western's we all have watched over the years.

I disagree that this is a must watch for anyone who likes this genre, it's just an average film. not bad, not too good either.

Strangely enough, Denis Quaid's character is pretty well made and I liked his acting here but Kevin Costner was kind of mediocre. Would be nice if they gave Gene Hackman a bigger role.

It's beautiful to look at and somehow I can't help but wonder how beautiful some of the old western flicks might be if filmed with modern equipment. The acting is great overall and the film has a very gritty feel to it but the dialogue was less than impressive.

Still, it's perhaps the best in the genre since Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven but the remake of 3:10 last year topped this.

2 November 2008

Definitely not Leone's best but still pretty great and this almost qualifies as a Western comedy. Now that's something different.

Rod Steiger and James Coburn both did pretty well with their roles but I'd had very much preffered Elli Wallach doing Steiger's role. Though Steiger's got a good range at doing comedy and drama, I have a feeling Mr Wallach would've nailed the role. He's much more adept at doing comedy as we've all seen with The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. James Coburn even though great does not quite have the charm as someone like Lee van Cleef and he's definitely not as cool as Clint Eastwood.

Having said that all, I still liked the cast a lot. The only problem I had with this film was the fact it was too long at more than two and a half hours of run time and it did drag on at times and dare I say some scenes were boring. Leone's trademark facial close up shots seemed a bit outta place with no tense gun swinging scenes present. A little bit of editing I think could probably make it a whole lot better.

It's still very much worth a watch if you like Westerns or if you're a big fan of Leone.

...For the rich you sing!

Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek are hot. But this film? Don't bother. But it's kinda fun to watch actually. Steve Zahn's one lucky bastard.

An epic tale about three very different men on the same mission. The third and the final of the man with no name trilogy. Clint Eastwood is back as the 'Good', with yet another superb performance to his name. Eli Wallach does a masterful rendition of the sly thief 'Ugly' and Lee Van Cleef is back to his usual best, this time playing the 'Bad'. The cast couldn't have been any better and the film couldn't have been any better either. It's perfect. It's genre defying.

Absolutely phenomenal effort by Sergio Leone. Add to that Ennio Morricone's signature Western music, which makes the whole experience a lot better. He's definitely the best in this genre.

This is where it all began for the man with no name. Undoubtedly one of the greatest Westerns of all time and the film that started it all.

Clint Eastwood is such a fine actor. The fact that he never understood Italian and worked with the great Italian director Sergio Leone who doesn't understand English must've meant that they faced a lot of difficulties with the language barrier. Yet he seems to have pulled off the role almost perfectly.

Kudos to Ennio Morricone for the great soundtrack as well. You just can't help but feel like whistling along to the theme tune.

The only thing that bothered me was the fact that the movie is dubbed. But I could understand it considering the time of filming and the fact this was a small budget Italian film with an almost all Italian crew who never spoke or understood any English. All the sound was added during post production and though it doesn't match at times, I got used to it quickly.

This is supposed to be based on the Japanese epic Yojimbo by the legendary Japanese director Kurosawa. I've not watched it yet but after seeing this, I've already made up my mind that I'll definitely be seeing it soon enough.

Goddammit! The man with no name is back and it's got even better than the first time around.

Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef form probably one of the greatest partnership in the entire history of film making. Fucking loved it. These guys are so fucking badass. It's like they could kill a guy just with those mysterious looks alone.

Loved the great soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, and Sergio Leone just got promoted to my favourite directors list.

Bow down to one of the greatest Westerns of all time. Never thought I'd see a Western as good as Unforgiven, but this is definitely as good if not even better.

A good story with a beautiful message. Some breathtaking landscapes and scenery. One of the finest scores ever in a film and I really mean that. One of the very few mainstream films which (at the time of it's release) gave a lot of depth and character to the Native Americans, which I as someone who's obsessed with ancient cultures and the likes really appreciate.

Kevin Costner may not be a great director and he's not exactly impressive as an actor either, but this film has a lot in it that appeals to me. Fans of Scorsese and Goodfellas in particular are just pissed that this won the Oscar. Personally I don't think this film is Oscar material anyway but maybe they gave it for a change, but whatever it is, this is certainly is worth praising. Yes it has it's many flaws but it has it's moments as well.

28 October 2008