Western
Film Review – The Power of the Dog
Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a mean son of a gun. He runs his 1925 Montana ranch with his brother George (Jesse Plemons) like a dictator. Where George is a kinder, gentler soul, Phil controls things with a cruel iron fist. With pursed lips adorning…
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Film Review – Cry Macho
The title of Cry Macho (2021) operates as an oxymoron. “Macho” expresses the inflated, aggressive nature of masculinity – one of toughness and perseverance in the face of adversity. To “Cry” is to express feelings that have stereotypically not been associated with what it means…
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Film Review – The Kid
As a longtime fan of Vincent D’Onofrio’s work in front of the camera, The Kid presented an opportunity to see what he is capable behind it. As the director, D’Onofrio hopefully would take his immense knowledge of being in the film industry and be able…
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Film Review – Hostiles
In an era when every other film is beset with A.D.D. inducing hyper kinetics, the thought of taking ones time can almost appear bold. It’s not easy to let a story breathe, expand, and move at a deliberate pace while still maintaining our interest. Writer/director…
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Film Review – The Dark Tower
Let’s go ahead and generously call Nikolaj Arcel‘s long-gestating The Dark Tower adaptation “minor King.” The potential franchise starter based on Stephen King‘s sprawling series of fantasy novels is nothing if not slight, much to its detriment.
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Film Review – The Beguiled
The frame, darkened around the edges, gives way to natural light towards the center. Nature and life creeps into view. Light stays in the center while darkness bleeds out, taking away almost any resemblance of an edge to framing of the shot. This becomes an…
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Blu-Ray Review – One-Eyed Jacks
Marlon Brando’s first and only directorial effort, One-Eyed Jacks (1961) has been inducted into the Criterion Collection (Spine #844). Once lost to public domain, the film has been updated with restored visuals and audio, and comes with a handful of supplemental material to provide context…
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Film Review – In A Valley of Violence
Silent lone gunman wandering the plains with only his horse and dog as company. An encounter with a drunken priest. Running afoul of the Marshall in a small frontier town. Gunfights and revenge. All of the cliches are present in the new Western In A Valley…
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