3:10 To Yuma proves that there is still room for a Western in the testosterone fueled, sex obsessed realm of modern cinema.
The characters are genuinely deep and indeed I often found myself empathizing more with the anti hero Ben Wade (played by Russell Crowe) than with good guy Dan Evans (played by Christian Bale), it is an enjoyable reversal of roles. Particular note should be payed to the development of Christian Bale's character, Crowe has the most up-front emphasis but it always feels like you are just tapping the surface of the depths of Bale's Evans.
I cursed with joy upon the realization that Alan Tudyk played the role of the Doc, and even more so when I realized that Crowe's psychotic right-hand man was none other than Ben Foster, aka Spacker Dave in The Punisher. Foster's performance at times seems over the top compared to some of the more subtle characters but I see this as a good thing. To me it says that Wade (Crowe) saw that Charlie Prince (Foster) had the drive and personality to separate him from the other guns in the gang, that this was a person more creative or dynamic than the others.
There are no fancy pretensions towards a convoluted plot of ever changing loyalties, no eye catching special effects to give you that visual orgasm that George Lucas believes that our lives are so pitifully lacking, there is no secret mystery that entwines their fates together. This movie is about an honest rancher struggling to make ends meet who agrees to assist in the transportation of a dangerous outlaw to the nearest city in order to get payed enough to provide for his family, with the outlaw's gang in pursuit. 3:10 To Yuma proves that a simple, and almost cliched story can be told in such a way that the audience will appreciate it as if it were exploring virgin territory.
I am not on the whole a fan of westerns, mostly because I discovered the phaser before I discovered the six shooter, but even years ago in the height of my Star Trek obsession I did enjoy movies such as 'Unforgiven' and 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'. 3:10 To Yuma can sit quite comfortably in these vaulted halls as a classic western, and in this author's opinion quite rightly so.
Rating: A
Saturday 21 June 2008
Monday 9 June 2008
The Nines (aka The Nin9s)
Wow. Seriously, wow. Surreal, intelligent, utterly fascinating. I'm really not sure what else that I can say about this movie.
It's hard to say if this is one film or three. It is presented in three parts, with three completely different protagonists, all played by Ryan Reynolds, and played excellently I might add (but I've always said that he deserved better parts than he usually got). The characters in each story overlap in many details, and there are numerous subtle crossovers that link the three wholly unique stories together, the overall tale is as deftly woven as each individual character. I mean every character when I say that, the similarities that the characters share between stories create shocking differences in your perception of them for each tale, yet overall they are still basically the same person though in a different situation.
I can honestly say that for the first time a movie has made me really think about the story as it ends, and then keep thinking afterwards. This isn't a film for everybody, but those of you who do appreciate it will consider it to be something special. This is a phenomenal directorial debut for John August.
Like Donnie Darko I'm certain that this film won't have great rewatchability, after all how could it once you know how the last threads of this tapestry weave together? I'm also equally certain that this movie too will one day reach cult status, it doesn't have any of the iconic characters of Donnie Darko but like Donnie Darko it does have a story that was written for a cinema audience that could tell the difference between intelligence and pretension.
I really, really do not want to give away anything about the story, I try to give my reviews without spoiling the actual plot (though Indiana Jones ATKOTCS really deserved all the bile I spewed towards it and in retrospect I'm not sure that I was harsh enough). Like any movie that tries to bring us more than the usual Hollywood dross this needs to be experienced unsullied, and I think that you should try to experience it as so. As I said earlier, there are those who will not enjoy this film and there are those who will be captivated, I was one of the latter and I doubt that I'll be the only one.
Rating: A
It's hard to say if this is one film or three. It is presented in three parts, with three completely different protagonists, all played by Ryan Reynolds, and played excellently I might add (but I've always said that he deserved better parts than he usually got). The characters in each story overlap in many details, and there are numerous subtle crossovers that link the three wholly unique stories together, the overall tale is as deftly woven as each individual character. I mean every character when I say that, the similarities that the characters share between stories create shocking differences in your perception of them for each tale, yet overall they are still basically the same person though in a different situation.
I can honestly say that for the first time a movie has made me really think about the story as it ends, and then keep thinking afterwards. This isn't a film for everybody, but those of you who do appreciate it will consider it to be something special. This is a phenomenal directorial debut for John August.
Like Donnie Darko I'm certain that this film won't have great rewatchability, after all how could it once you know how the last threads of this tapestry weave together? I'm also equally certain that this movie too will one day reach cult status, it doesn't have any of the iconic characters of Donnie Darko but like Donnie Darko it does have a story that was written for a cinema audience that could tell the difference between intelligence and pretension.
I really, really do not want to give away anything about the story, I try to give my reviews without spoiling the actual plot (though Indiana Jones ATKOTCS really deserved all the bile I spewed towards it and in retrospect I'm not sure that I was harsh enough). Like any movie that tries to bring us more than the usual Hollywood dross this needs to be experienced unsullied, and I think that you should try to experience it as so. As I said earlier, there are those who will not enjoy this film and there are those who will be captivated, I was one of the latter and I doubt that I'll be the only one.
Rating: A
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