FLIX!
Okay, there has been a lot of negative ink about this flick. It didn't do this, it didn't do that, it took too long telling the story of background info....yada yada yada.
This was a wonderful movie that does not deserve any of the negativity it has garnered. Johnny Depp has served up one of the roles that will be a cornerstone when in the future they are doing the life-time achievement awards for something. He was utterly fantastic in this. Johnny kept this piece together and did so with finesse thanks to the help of director Gore Verbinski.
Armie Hammer in the lead role was uncanny. Do not underestimate this guy. He is definitely an up-and-comer. He did a wonderful job in this really good movie.
The storyline here was true to the original storyline of the original Lone Ranger story, and I loved that. And for you trivia fans, did you know that the grandson of the Lone Ranger would become the Green Hornet? Didn't think so. They don't mention it in the movie, but I just toss it out there.
The Lone Ranger was masterful story-telling, done light-heartedly, and was a lot of fun. Johnny Depp did tend to steal the show as Tonto, but overall this was superb story-telling, setting us up for the next installment of this Disney franchise.
In this movie, John Reid, the Lone Ranger was played masterfully by Armie Hammer. (Guess he's too self-concious to go by Armand Hammer.) But this is really told through the eyes of Tonto - an Indian, (as was "One Flew Over The Cukoo's Nest"),.... but that's another story.
Okay, here's the deal. A bunch of US Rangers get set-up and all get killed in a bushwhack in a canyon. One guy survives (due to the assistance of an Indian), and therefore he becomes the "Lone Ranger". They go on a mission to bring the killer of the Rangers to justice and the plot ensues from there.
There is a lot of whacky impossible death-defying acts and action, but honestly, isn't that what we go to movies for sometimes?
William Fichtner, as Butch Cavendish (the bad guy),was wonderful. Bill, you have been a favorite of mine since "The Perfect Storm." Nicely done, pal. You were the quintessential villain.
A kid wanders into a "Wild West" display in a carnival in 1933 and Tonto is one of the exhibits. He ends up talking to Tonto, and Tonto's flashbacks are the movie. I love movies that do this (The Green Mile, Fried Green Tomatoes, etc.) and so it was, to me, a great way to tie it all together. If there were a Tonto he could have been alive in the early 1930s esspecially when I remember that Wyatt Earp didn't die until 1927, and Bat Masterson was a sports reporter for the New York Times well into the 20's.
This new genre is being labeled "Comedy Action". Such as RED and The Heat. The Lone Ranger perfectly hits that mark. It even featured the "1812 Overture" (from TLR television show during some action sequences). I'm sorry so many critics didn't like it. This didn't deserve any harshness, because it accomplished exactly what it was trying to do. So, to quote The Lone Ranger,
"Hi-HO SILVER, and away!!!!"
Tonto: "Don't ever do that again."
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Hatfields & McCoys
TUBE!
The scene opens in the midst of a battle in the Civil War. Two Confederate soldiers are fighting side by side and what's left of their outfit gets away and are camped for the night. In the middle of the night one of the soldiers is up in the night getting his horse ready to ride. He is confronted by another soldier who asks him what he thinks he's doing. The reply? "I'm quittin'. We ain't winnin' anyways. I've had enough." Soldier Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield then rides off leaving Soldier Randolf "Randall" McCoy staring in disbelief that a comrade would desert.
That scene may be entirely fiction in the remarkable mini-series produced for the History Channel entitled Hatfields & McCoys. But from everything else I've read about the USA's most infamous feud, the rest of this story is uncannily accurate. I began watching it on Netflix and was blown away; I watched it all within about a 12 hour period of time. A friend recommended it and I am so glad he did.
Hatfields and McCoys stars Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. I have to admit right up front that I was never much of a Costner fan. He was just plain hokey-awful in JFK, and forced and awkward in The Bodyguard. I think even Field of Dreams could have been better with someone else. He just gave one crummy performance after another until Wyatt Earp. And more recently in the film Open Range. Folks this guy has finally found his genre (westerns) and he is one of the greatest of all time in it. And anybody who knows me knows I love "cowboy movies". I would not make a statement like that if I didn't believe it.
Bill Paxton here is also wonderful. His experience in Tombstone was not wasted - and although this actually is not a western, it is still very westernesque. Both Paxton and Costner bring a depth to their characters that was intense. So much so that as a viewer it was impossible to pick a side in the feud.
This miniseries lets us feel the pain and sense of utter loss that both families felt during this feud that lasted from 1863 until officially ending in 1904. Yes they were hard drinkin' hillbillies, but they had wives and families and lots of children that they cared about and wanted to protect.
Besides Costner and Paxton, the whole cast was fantastic starting with Mare Winningham as Randall's wife Sally. Mare turns in yet another of her patented quiet, unassuming, wonderful performances. Sarah Parish played Levicy Hatfield, the wife of Devil Anse and she made us feel Levicy's pain.
A Romeo and Juliet type theme runs throughout most of the mini-series between Johnson "Johnse" (pronounced 'Jonce') Hatfield (Matt Barr) and Roseanna McCoy (Lindsay Pulsipher). And although it seems a bit contrived and too convenient for the storyline, it is historically accurate. In fact I did some research on the feud and this mini-series was spot on, thanks to the brilliant screenplay masterfully written by Ted Mann and Bill Kerby. They wrote it with the simple beauty of the language of the time, kept it flowing, interesting, and they never lost the rhythm....hats off to the film editors too.
This story is compelling not only because of what it became, but it should be used to illustrate that sometimes the smallest insignificant things can have powerful results. (I was reminded that a prisoner broke a rule, cooking a can of soup in a way that he was not supposed to, and it eventually became the infamous Attica prison riot). In this case, a stolen pig, a bad judicial ruling, and a mysterious shooting led to decades of death and hatred.
This was an amazing piece of television, a medium that is slowly becoming the place where all the great work gets done. The locations were perfect. The costumes seemed honest. I don't like it when the viewer is trying to suspend disbelief and get into the story and then a prop or costume reminds you that this is a production. A few things I did notice, however, was that everyone had pretty perfect white teeth, and most of the women had neatly groomed contemporary eyebrows.
I'll bet this work gets big buzz and accolades at the next Emmy Awards. It will quite a battle between House of Cards and Hatfields & McCoys. (I know that there are lots of other contenders too.) But I love a season when so many truly remarkable things all deserve a nod.
Hatfields & McCoys gets a great big recommendation from me.
The scene opens in the midst of a battle in the Civil War. Two Confederate soldiers are fighting side by side and what's left of their outfit gets away and are camped for the night. In the middle of the night one of the soldiers is up in the night getting his horse ready to ride. He is confronted by another soldier who asks him what he thinks he's doing. The reply? "I'm quittin'. We ain't winnin' anyways. I've had enough." Soldier Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield then rides off leaving Soldier Randolf "Randall" McCoy staring in disbelief that a comrade would desert.
That scene may be entirely fiction in the remarkable mini-series produced for the History Channel entitled Hatfields & McCoys. But from everything else I've read about the USA's most infamous feud, the rest of this story is uncannily accurate. I began watching it on Netflix and was blown away; I watched it all within about a 12 hour period of time. A friend recommended it and I am so glad he did.
Hatfields and McCoys stars Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. I have to admit right up front that I was never much of a Costner fan. He was just plain hokey-awful in JFK, and forced and awkward in The Bodyguard. I think even Field of Dreams could have been better with someone else. He just gave one crummy performance after another until Wyatt Earp. And more recently in the film Open Range. Folks this guy has finally found his genre (westerns) and he is one of the greatest of all time in it. And anybody who knows me knows I love "cowboy movies". I would not make a statement like that if I didn't believe it.
Bill Paxton here is also wonderful. His experience in Tombstone was not wasted - and although this actually is not a western, it is still very westernesque. Both Paxton and Costner bring a depth to their characters that was intense. So much so that as a viewer it was impossible to pick a side in the feud.
This miniseries lets us feel the pain and sense of utter loss that both families felt during this feud that lasted from 1863 until officially ending in 1904. Yes they were hard drinkin' hillbillies, but they had wives and families and lots of children that they cared about and wanted to protect.
Besides Costner and Paxton, the whole cast was fantastic starting with Mare Winningham as Randall's wife Sally. Mare turns in yet another of her patented quiet, unassuming, wonderful performances. Sarah Parish played Levicy Hatfield, the wife of Devil Anse and she made us feel Levicy's pain.
A Romeo and Juliet type theme runs throughout most of the mini-series between Johnson "Johnse" (pronounced 'Jonce') Hatfield (Matt Barr) and Roseanna McCoy (Lindsay Pulsipher). And although it seems a bit contrived and too convenient for the storyline, it is historically accurate. In fact I did some research on the feud and this mini-series was spot on, thanks to the brilliant screenplay masterfully written by Ted Mann and Bill Kerby. They wrote it with the simple beauty of the language of the time, kept it flowing, interesting, and they never lost the rhythm....hats off to the film editors too.
This story is compelling not only because of what it became, but it should be used to illustrate that sometimes the smallest insignificant things can have powerful results. (I was reminded that a prisoner broke a rule, cooking a can of soup in a way that he was not supposed to, and it eventually became the infamous Attica prison riot). In this case, a stolen pig, a bad judicial ruling, and a mysterious shooting led to decades of death and hatred.
This was an amazing piece of television, a medium that is slowly becoming the place where all the great work gets done. The locations were perfect. The costumes seemed honest. I don't like it when the viewer is trying to suspend disbelief and get into the story and then a prop or costume reminds you that this is a production. A few things I did notice, however, was that everyone had pretty perfect white teeth, and most of the women had neatly groomed contemporary eyebrows.
I'll bet this work gets big buzz and accolades at the next Emmy Awards. It will quite a battle between House of Cards and Hatfields & McCoys. (I know that there are lots of other contenders too.) But I love a season when so many truly remarkable things all deserve a nod.
Hatfields & McCoys gets a great big recommendation from me.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
White House Down
FLIX!
A crazed Secret Service Chief of Presidential Security assembles a cast of lunatics a devises a plot that is two-fold. One part is about getting money, a lot of it. The kind of money that the Federal Reserve keeps on hand in cash - 400 million dollars. The other part is about launching a massive nuclear strike all over the middle east. The crazy Secret Service guy (James Wood) needs to keep the President alive in order to activate the "football", the portable device that allows the President (Jamie Foxx) to order a nuclear strike from anywhere. I could say more about the plot line but you've seen it before. In a movie called "Die Hard."
In this remake of Die Hard, this time starring Channing Tatum as the hero, or antihero it might be said, we once again go meandering through a complicated building (The White House), and the place is crawling with bad guys. And once again our hero is on his own to save the day.
Here, the President, played by Jamie Foxx (superb as always), is the guy our boy John Cale is out to save. As in Die Hard, when the bad guys discover they John McCain's wife in their grasp, here the bad guys come to realize they have John Cale's daughter in their grasp. I mean the only thing different about this movie is that the hero never uttered the phrase "Yippee Yi Ki Yay, Mr. President."
But here's the thing. Remaking Die Hard isn't necessarily a bad thing. I guess the bad thing is the guys actually trying to keep the Die Hard franchise alive aren't doing such a great job, but this version was really done well. Fresh blood in the roles doesn't hurt a thing. Die Hard was a great flick and so was this. The first time I saw Die Hard I was in a mood for total distraction. I wanted stuff to blow up, lots of action, and lots of bullets flying. And Die Hard was perfect. That's why I appreciate White House Down. Somewhere out there is a guy who's going through a divorce and needs a distraction. Go see White House Down.
A crazed Secret Service Chief of Presidential Security assembles a cast of lunatics a devises a plot that is two-fold. One part is about getting money, a lot of it. The kind of money that the Federal Reserve keeps on hand in cash - 400 million dollars. The other part is about launching a massive nuclear strike all over the middle east. The crazy Secret Service guy (James Wood) needs to keep the President alive in order to activate the "football", the portable device that allows the President (Jamie Foxx) to order a nuclear strike from anywhere. I could say more about the plot line but you've seen it before. In a movie called "Die Hard."
In this remake of Die Hard, this time starring Channing Tatum as the hero, or antihero it might be said, we once again go meandering through a complicated building (The White House), and the place is crawling with bad guys. And once again our hero is on his own to save the day.
Here, the President, played by Jamie Foxx (superb as always), is the guy our boy John Cale is out to save. As in Die Hard, when the bad guys discover they John McCain's wife in their grasp, here the bad guys come to realize they have John Cale's daughter in their grasp. I mean the only thing different about this movie is that the hero never uttered the phrase "Yippee Yi Ki Yay, Mr. President."
But here's the thing. Remaking Die Hard isn't necessarily a bad thing. I guess the bad thing is the guys actually trying to keep the Die Hard franchise alive aren't doing such a great job, but this version was really done well. Fresh blood in the roles doesn't hurt a thing. Die Hard was a great flick and so was this. The first time I saw Die Hard I was in a mood for total distraction. I wanted stuff to blow up, lots of action, and lots of bullets flying. And Die Hard was perfect. That's why I appreciate White House Down. Somewhere out there is a guy who's going through a divorce and needs a distraction. Go see White House Down.
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