The Fastest Gun in the West = the Worst Western Ever. OK, we need a really bad villain. How about Broderick Crawford, all 260 lbs of him, including his jowls. For the hero, Glenn Ford, not bad but just not right for this role, plus he never puts on a hat. Leading lady, Jeanne Crain, too beautiful for this dusty frontier town and with a waist so tiny you can't believe she had seven children in real life. Then throw in every character actor you can imagine or recognize, too many to name here. Then there's Russ Tamblyn, a dancer from West Side Story. What's he doing here? Not to worry, there's a barn dance scene, where he goes leaping from hay loft to stable to everywhere, just to show he can dance and is not in this movie for his looks. The final showdown is what you expect except for a surprise ending that keeps you wondering for about 10 seconds.
Reviews
91 Reviews
Not as Good as the Original
12 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
While using the same title as earlier versions of the book this film falls far short of depicting the disillusionment and eventual fate of its main character, Paul Baumer. The academy-award winning original version showed the gradual transformation of Paul and his friends from enthusiastic recruits to hard-bitten, and eventually doomed, veterans.
Inspired by the patriotic harangues by their school teacher, they go to boot camp, where they are turned into hardened fighting men by a sadistic drill sergeant. On their first exposure to the front lines they install new barbed wire at night in front of their trenches, only to see one comrade caught in the wire and killed by an enemy sniper.
They finally are stationed in the trenches where a grisly sergeant shows Paul how his portable shovel will be his best weapon in hand-to-hand combat. (In the new movie Paul is quite handy with his shovel but we never know where or how he developed that talent.) Also in the original, one of his buddies gets new boots and is promptly killed by a sniper. Another friend takes the boots and is soon killed. This "cursed boots" element was a way to focus on the deaths of each of his friends.
Also left out of this new version is the weekend sojourned the boys spent on leave with some rural French girls who were more than willing to trade their hospitality for bread, which the German soldiers had in abundance. Later, when Paul carries his wounded comrade to the field hospital it's the grizzly sergeant who's wounded and dies, not one of his buddies. Finally, sensitive Paul is killed by a sniper as he reaches out of the trench to grab a butterfly, not by a bayonet in some underground battle with French soldiers.
Basically, this new version shows realistic blood and gore, the accumulation of which disillusions Paul, although the only way we can tell is how wide-open his eyes become. If you want to see bloody trench warfare and not the full journey of Paul Baumer from eager recruit to disillusioned veteran, this new version of AQOTWF is for you. I prefer the original and the subsequent TV version.
Finally, the co-plot of the peace negotiations in the railway cars is both annoying and irrelevant. The decision of the Germans to attack one more time before 11 a.m. When the armistice would take effect is hard to believe. I wonder if there is any historic equivalent of this, and if not, it was a poor choice to set up the ultimate demise of Paul Baumer.
Inspired by the patriotic harangues by their school teacher, they go to boot camp, where they are turned into hardened fighting men by a sadistic drill sergeant. On their first exposure to the front lines they install new barbed wire at night in front of their trenches, only to see one comrade caught in the wire and killed by an enemy sniper.
They finally are stationed in the trenches where a grisly sergeant shows Paul how his portable shovel will be his best weapon in hand-to-hand combat. (In the new movie Paul is quite handy with his shovel but we never know where or how he developed that talent.) Also in the original, one of his buddies gets new boots and is promptly killed by a sniper. Another friend takes the boots and is soon killed. This "cursed boots" element was a way to focus on the deaths of each of his friends.
Also left out of this new version is the weekend sojourned the boys spent on leave with some rural French girls who were more than willing to trade their hospitality for bread, which the German soldiers had in abundance. Later, when Paul carries his wounded comrade to the field hospital it's the grizzly sergeant who's wounded and dies, not one of his buddies. Finally, sensitive Paul is killed by a sniper as he reaches out of the trench to grab a butterfly, not by a bayonet in some underground battle with French soldiers.
Basically, this new version shows realistic blood and gore, the accumulation of which disillusions Paul, although the only way we can tell is how wide-open his eyes become. If you want to see bloody trench warfare and not the full journey of Paul Baumer from eager recruit to disillusioned veteran, this new version of AQOTWF is for you. I prefer the original and the subsequent TV version.
Finally, the co-plot of the peace negotiations in the railway cars is both annoying and irrelevant. The decision of the Germans to attack one more time before 11 a.m. When the armistice would take effect is hard to believe. I wonder if there is any historic equivalent of this, and if not, it was a poor choice to set up the ultimate demise of Paul Baumer.
The Red Badge of Courage
(1974 TV Movie)
Got two things right
15 March 2021
Unlike the Audie Murphy/John Huston version from 1951, this film was truer to the book in at least two points: the Union regiment was from New York, not Ohio; the solders were all young men, not grizzled old Hollywood character actors apparently preferred by Huston.
Cries & Whispers
(1972)
Such unhappy people!
25 August 2020
Ibsen meets Freud meets Oil of Olay. At least now we know what all the layers were that women wore under those dresses in the late 19th century. Have you ever seen more unhappy people? And for no obvious good reasons? Made before the white teeth craze that is now sweeping the nation.
Pan's Labyrinth
(2006)
No hole required
25 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Alice in Wonderland" meets "A Beautiful Mind." The difference here is that the little girl already lives in a horrible "Wonderland" without having to fall into a hole. There's no queen yelling "Off with their heads!" but rather a nasty fascist officer who offs people with a shot between the eyes from his trusty Luger. Like "A Beautiful Mind" it's not clear whether or not the girl's contact with the creatures from below is reality or delusion. And like the ending in "Gladiator" it doesn't really matter if it's reality or not, as in death she is reunited with her loved ones in the alternate underground universe from whence she supposedly came.
Juno
(2007)
Insight into teen culture
25 August 2020
"Blue Denim" (1959) meets "Clueless." Unlike "Blue Denim," where Carol Linley apparently got pregant just by going into the basement alone with Brandon De Wilde, "Juno" at least shows some clothes hitting the floor. In both movies the pregnant teen opted out of an abortion, although in 1959 the only option was the "back alley" version. Like "Clueless" this featured an insight into a teen culture and vocabulary which at times seems totally foreign to adults. Ellen Page's Canadian accent actually slipped through a couple of times when she pronounced certain words the uniquely Canadian way. (Think: Donald Sutherland's voice in a commercial.)
Coco Before Chanel
(2009)
Story line ends too soon
25 August 2020
After seeing this movie you wonder if "before Chanel" was enough of a story. We see Coco rise from abject poverty to being something of a famous hat designer and shop owner, but nothing of her eventual worldwide fame. The photography was beautiful and kudos to the costume and set designs, which reflected their historic time periods well. But Audrey Tautou's beauty was minimized by the fact that she was pouting most of the time. And the warning for smoking is certainly accurate; Coco even smoked when she was fitting dresses on models and cutting out cloth for patterns. Amazingly, she lived to be 87!
La Vie En Rose
(2007)
Good music
24 August 2020
I rented this movie along with "Coco Before Chanel" and I was amazed at the similarities between the two stories -- young girl from dysfunctional family rises from poverty through personal talent goes on to become world famous. This one was better than "Coco" because of the music, if nothing else.
This Gun for Hire
(1942)
Cool Veronica
24 August 2020
Veronica Lake is a little too cool in this. A hit man is ready to shoot her but is interrupted and she escapes. Later he rescues her from the villain's mansion and she becomes his pal when he forces her to accompany him while he eludes police and at the same time seeks revenge on the villain who set him up to be caught after carrying out a typical cold blooded killing. When the hit man (Alan Ladd) tells her a sob story about his abusive childhood she becomes even more sympathetic toward him. Later, after she helps him allude a police dragnet, she learns that he killed a cop while escaping. Her comment: "He promised me he wouldn't do that any more" (?!) Observation: Alan Ladd never looked so short as when he is shown disguised in a guard's uniform wearing a gas mask ( he was 5' 5").
Bullitt
(1968)
Dated in so many ways
24 August 2020
This movie is dated in so many ways. How did people drive such long cars on such narrow streets? Why does everyone have to stop at a pay phone or ask someone to use their land line phone? How do you get on a plane carrying a gun? Why is organized crime called "the organization"? Why can't police protect a witness or guard a hospital or airport? Why is the driver of the pursued "organization" car so quiet and unexpressive? Is he a former limo driver? Bullit is already famous when the movie starts but it's not clear why. This actually plays out like a sequel to a previous movie which introduced the character in more detail. Still, entertaining to watch and appreciate.
Avatar
(2009)
Package good; story, not so
24 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Green Mansions" meets "The Emerald Forest" meets any number of "Stars Wars" movies. The special effects of this film constantly threaten to overwhelm any semblance of plot or character development. Basically, however, it's a retelling of a story done many times before - higher technology newcomers threaten the habitat of bonding-with-nature natives. Goodness and purity win out (unlike in many historical realities) and the lovers (one from each of the two conflicting societies) survive to live happily ever after. The plot is so predictable, however, that it even includes the trite cliché of the action going from epic battle scenes to a final one-on-one showdown of Our Hero and his personal nemesis, the evil bloodthirsty commander of the mechanized invaders (See Gibson, Mel, in "The Patriot"). As dramatized here the plot goes even a step further, with Our Hero one blow away from death at the hands of his nemesis when his female love interest comes to his rescue (See Cooper, Gary, in "High Noon"). Basically this film can be summed up as: "Unoriginal story presented in a spectacular package."
Moonrise Kingdom
(2012)
A fairy tale
24 August 2020
This is a Fairy Tale. A lonely princess lives in a remote castle with her eccentric father and mother, the King and Queen, and three younger, equally eccentric, brothers. She spends time on the top of the castle looking through her telescope at the land around the Kingdom. One day she spies a handsome young prince and falls in love with him. He is with his regiment of hussars but feels alienated from them because of their emphasis on uniformity. He spies the princess and also falls in love with her. She escapes the castle and together they flee into the wilderness. The King, and local sheriff, and the hussars all search for them,only to discover that the lovers are about to be captured by a wicked witch. The hussars never much liked the prince because of his carefree attitude but the regiment has a code of
never abandoning a trooper and they set out to save the Prince and his Princess...etc. etc. etc.
The King's Speech
(2010)
A bit thin, don't you think?
24 August 2020
As a dramatization of a historic moment this was excellent, with perfect casting. However, for the theme of a motion picture it was a bit thin. I would have appreciated more detail about Albert's childhood (rather than his just discussing it with his therapist). Also, more dramatization of his courtship of Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, whether this was an arranged marriage or a romantic one and how did she react to his stammering problem. She was quite the individual and lived to be 101. (I see in Wikipedia that her life has been portrayed in whole or part in a number of recent films and TV programs.)
Natalie Wood was never more beautiful
23 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
One of my favorite movies. Natalie Wood at her most beautiful and giving an Oscar quality performance. Viewing it over time, however, I've come to believe that Steve McQueen was slightly miscast. Both Angie and Rocky are members of super-traditional Italian families. But Rocky, with his Anglo features, seems oddly out of place among his family, as if he had been adopted as an infant. Also, he has a pleasant personality which would appeal to many girls, but when the kissing starts, he seems somewhat awkward. A nice portrait of New York City in the early 1960s, and a chilling depiction of what many girls went through in an attempt to get an illegal abortion. And, finally, a happy ending.
Shane
(1966)
An alternate universe
23 August 2020
How did this disaster happen? Did someone go back in time and mess with the space-time continuum? It's like you woke up and were living your bad dream, Shane's story but with new characters and a dull plot line...oh my gosh, what happened to Alan Ladd? How did these cheesy sets replace the real Montana mountain range? Who wrote these scripts? HELP me wake up!!
Fury
(2014)
War is Hell
23 August 2020
"To Hell and Back" meets "Saving Private Ryan." The movie accomplished the goal of showing that war is hell and cannot be refined, to paraphrase General Sherman. Even the American "good guys" can be as bloodthirsty and barbaric as the Nazis or the Russians. The final "Battle of the Alamo" is certainly heroic, but seems far from realistic, mainly because it is hard to believe the SS troops would just throw themselves at one tank en masse without pulling back and planning some better strategy. But who knows? If this was based on any true incident it's one I've never heard of. It certainly shows how short a tanker's life expectancy must have been when confronting the superior German tanks. Also, there probably were cases of clerk/typists being thrown into action. I suspect, however, that they were usually given a rifle and sent to the front lines rather than being tossed into a job requiring some previous mechanical training, such as tank gunner or bomber tail gunner.
No Country for Old Men
(2007)
Why doesn't anyone notice this guy.
23 August 2020
James Bond meets Texas Rednecks. There's this maniacal killer with a funny hair style and grim expression walking around with a gun and a tank of compressed air and either no one sees him or doesn't think to report his presence to the police. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the local police in the Austin area where I live can come up with a suspect or make an arrest soon after a murder when there was no indication at first of who might have committed it. Yet in this movie the police are dumb or overcome with ennui or malaise that they can't capture or even track down someone who is so obviously on the loose and deadly. Especially after he killed the deputy early in the movie you'd think every cop in Texas would be on the lookout for him. So you just keep watching, wondering how dumber the people can be. And the kids: "Hey, mister. Do you know you have a bone sticking out of your arm?" I realize this story took place years ago before cell phones, but you'd think the kids would have thought to get someone to call for an ambulance.
Gone Girl
(2014)
Fodder for psychology classes
23 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
At the start of the relationship portrayed in this movie your reaction is: "These people really need counseling." But then you realize the woman is bat-crap crazy, so what should the Ben Affleck character do? He is so wishy-washy that he probably gets what he deserves, doomed to living with a homicidal maniac. As entertainment, the film tried to maintain suspense but that vanished once the wife's role in the "disappearance" was revealed. Like the sexually-repressed girl in Roman Polanski's "Repulsion," you know she has problems (in "Repulsion" the girl's problem - which led to gruesome consequences-was androphobia, an abnormal fear of interaction with men). You hope "Gone Girl" will end with the woman being taken away to a mental institution and when it doesn't you feel disappointed--but then that's how the author wrote the story. Another film along this line is "Les Diaboliques" where two women conspire to murder an emotionally abusive man only to discover that his body has disappeared and there are reports of him being seen alive here and there. The ending is a surprise, but unlike "Gone Girl" the key to the mystery isn't given away so soon, hence that movie qualifies as a classic "Thriller" while "Gone Girl" is just fodder for psychology classes.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
(2014)
Would make a great operetta
23 August 2020
The Keystone Kops meet Victor Herbert. All that is needed is for everyone to break out singing every now and then and this would be a great operetta, a melodrama set in the fictional European Republic of Zubrowka. The single camera technique employed by director Wes Anderson (only moving side-to-side or front-to-back-to front) can become tiresome at times but generally maintains its role as providing a special feeling to this fairy tale. Anderson's style includes what film critic Judith Crist called the "Hey there..." technique. She was referring to biblical epics of the 1960s with many famous actors in bit roles. It applies here, for example: "Hey there, it's Bill Murray!" or "Hey there, it's Bob Balaban!" etc. Another frustration with the film is its fast pace and quick screen shots. There is so much detail in each setting that you want to feast your eyes on the grandeur (as well as visual "in" jokes). For that reason, it's best viewed as a DVD so you can back up and watch scenes over and over again
Interstellar
(2014)
Lots of (non-black) holes in the plot
23 August 2020
"The Time Machine" meets "2001: A Space Odyssey." It's difficult for most people to comprehend the concept of a Black Hole and differences in time passage affected by space travel. While those elements are central to this movie's plot, the story also focuses on a man's relation to his family and a dying planet (Earth) where people try to pursue their normal lives despite Dust Bowl conditions and a dwindling supply of food (to incurable diseases which have wiped out wheat and other food crops) and availability of breathable air. Add to this the story element that the best space jockey in the world quit NASA (because of some questionable flying decisions) to become a farmer like his ancestors. Then he stumbles upon a secret government facility which is preparing to send a ship through a Black Hole to find three earlier probes which went to three different planets that might prove to be suitable for resettlement for dwellers of a dying Earth. He is immediately put in command of this mission although he didn't even know about it until yesterday, basically because of his fame as a great pilot. The plot gets even more involved as he and his top research companion and the oddest robot ever to appear in movies attempt to visit the three planets and determine which, if any, is suitable for earthlings. The rest of the story is too difficult to explain, let alone comprehend. Just remember that quantum physics, Black Holes, time travel and the lot, like theology, are sometimes incomprehensible for many, if not most people, but it you sit back and aren't too critical about obvious non-black holes in the plot, it's an enjoyable, if longish, movie to watch.
A screwed-up bunch
23 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Hi-diddle-dee-dee, an actor's life for me..." We suspected show business people were basically a screwed-up bunch, seeking validation from audience adulation, yearning to be taken "seriously" despite success after success, trying to find "love" from person after person. But after seeing this film, who would ever want to become a Broadway performer? We see the delusional world of Riggan Thomson, a former movie super hero megastar known as Birdman, now trying to gain self-respect by producing and starring in a "serious" Broadway play. A technique used by the director is extreme close-ups of the unretouched face of each cast member, revealing blemishes and wrinkles. This is contrasted with the made-up faces they put on for the stage, especially Riggan who wears a tight-fitting hair-piece and fake facial hair for his character. Accidentally locked out of the theater prior to his big closing scene he is forced to walk, wearing only his underwear, through Times Square to the theater's front door. Such scenes are apparently not unusual in New York as no one seems bothered until they realize who he is - not the actor appearing in a thought-provoking stage drama but Birdman in the flesh. These fans want to get his autograph and have photos taken with him as he struggles to return to his new world. Ultimately, he cannot find a place in this world and mentally and emotionally retreats to a fantasyland where he is no longer Birdman but free to fly without the burdens that have plagued him for so long.
Back to a winning formula
22 August 2020
The first Star Wars movie, "Episode III: A New Hope," set the pattern, characters, plot, and setting for all subsequent "episodes." With "A New Hope" being by far the best of the lot, it made sense for the producers, after losing sight of what made that such a fantastic film (great visuals, not taking itself too seriously, classic good guys vs. bad guys, action-packed climax, etc.) to try to go back to that winning formula. The new story has a lot of "in jokes" which someone who hasn't seen Episode III wouldn't get. It also has certain character roles repeated with slight twists, i.e. social misfit who's real adventurous and skilled with weapons-Luke Skywalker in the first movie, Rey in this one - except Rey is female. Death Star as center of villainy in the first film, super giant Death Star in the same role this time. X-Wing fighters blowup Death Star using plans smuggled to them by a cute droid: R2D2 in the first film, BB-8 in this one. The list goes on and on, but at least the script and editing are good enough to make the story entertaining, if somewhat repetitive. Many inconsistencies bothered me but one in particular. When someone is handing a light saber to another person, shouldn't it be handle first? That rule applies to guns, knives, and other dangerous elements but that doesn't stop Rey from handing the weapon blade-first to Kylo Ren. (I think Han Solo should have thought of that also when he was trying to get Kylo Ren to switch sides, with disastrous results, for Han.)
Rushmore
(1998)
A strange kid
22 August 2020
"A Separate Peace" meets "A Catcher in the Rye." Max Fisher is a strange kid, but that is not unusual. There are many such "odd balls" in every school, many of them quite talented but in areas not reflected by academic success. Max's success as a producer of plays indicates a promising future in that area alone, but he is also an organizer extraordinaire, initiating all kinds of successful extracurricular activities. But he neglects his school work, probably out of boredom, and is kicked out of school for that failure. His infatuation with a pretty teacher ten or more years older than him is nothing unusual, just ask any former teenage boy. His problem is that he becomes obsessed and obviously needs special counseling i.e. "professional help." In the end his quirkiness appears to be more appreciated by all and happiness is just around the corner. (What is it about prep schools that they turn out so many maladjusted young men; did I mention that we now have one in the White House?)
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