Appaloosa

Ed Harris | 2008 | 114 mins | USA

Ed Harris returns to the director's chair for the first time since 2000's Pollock, and the result is, at best, a so-so western. Harris and Viggo Mortensen star as Virgil Cole and his trusty sidekick Everett Hitch, two lawmen-for-hire who arrive in the dusty town of Appaloosa in order to rid it of the scourge of Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) and his men, a crew of miscreants who have been abusing the town's reluctant hospitality.

Cole and Hitch quickly lay down the new law, and bring Bragg in to stand trial for the murder of a local Marshall. Of course, then a woman has to come into the picture and muck it all up. Enter Mrs. Allison French (Renée Zellweger), a recent widow who falls for Virgil (or is it Everett)? It's too bad Zellweger, a native Texan, sounds so wooden and awkward with her half-southern accent, and is so hopelessly unsexy as the woman who seduces everyone. Maybe they're just into her because she is literally the only woman in the entire territory.

When Ring Shelton (Lance Henricksen) blows into town and kidnaps Mrs. French (banking on Cole's affection for her as a bargaining chip to exchange her for Bragg), our two lawmen are forced to embark on a mission to set things right.

There's an obvious morality play at the centre of this story between what's lawful and what's right, but it's all too often awkwardly articulated in ham-fisted, expository conversations between Mortensen and his hooker confidante (Spanish actress Ariadna Gil), who only appears in the film to give him an opportunity to voice things that might have been more subtly communicated or even left unspoken. As if the opening and closing voice-over narration weren't enough!

I wanted to see more of the struggle between the Cole and Hitch. While Hitch is moral to a fault, overly bold and often guided by an emotional compass, Cole's tough guy facade hides a passive doormat whose adherence to the law comes at the price of his personal happiness, making him a spineless cuckold. The tension between the lifelong friends would have been a more interesting avenue to explore than the tepid pseudo-love-triangle.

Jeremy Irons is pretty good as the cold-hearted Bragg, but it's unfortunate that his low voice and semi-successful attempt to not speak with a British accent makes him sound a bit like Daniel Plainview. He's better than that, but it's not always apparent in this film.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird

Kim Ji-woon | 2008 | 139 min | South Korea

In the ten years since making his amazing debut film, The Quiet Family (later remade by Takashi Miike as The Happiness of the Katakuris), Kim Ji-woon has given us the wrestling comedy, The Foul King and the K-Horror sensation, A Tale of Two Sisters, among other films (which I must admit to not having seen yet). Now he's made what is Korea's most expensive production to date. Not only that, but with that money, he's made a western. Far from the most popular genre of film at the moment, Ji-woon injects it with so much excess of style, action, and comedy that it's both a western for western-lovers and for your little sister who probably thinks Clint Eastwood looks like a creepy creep (which to be fair, he probably is).

Set in Manchria during the Japanese occupation, three Koreans (the titular Good, Bad, and Weird) are all involved in a train robbery. The Weird is on-board to rob its VIP passenger without knowing that he has an extremely valuable treasure map with him. The Bad and his gang stop the train with the sole intention of stealing said valuable map. The Good is there to foil The Bad's robbery. Once off the train, the map becomes sought after by not just the film's three leads, but also by the Japanese military and a good portion of the criminal underworld. Few know what the treasure is but figure that if so many people want it, it must be worth rising their lives and taking those of others.

Filled with ridiculously fun set piece after ridiculously fun set piece, great acting from its leads, and a script that keeps putting playful roadblocks in-front of its characters; the moments when I didn't have a smile on my face while watching The Good, The Bad, The Weird were rare. There's a bit of fat in some of the second half's action scenes, but it's a western, and that's how they're supposed to be. I'm not sure if I should use a steak metaphor or not...

The Burrowers

J.T. Petty | 2008 | 96 mins | 2008

I’ve come to realize recently that a film needs only three basic elements in order to really satisfy me. It’s one of those simple, basic realizations that I’d never articulated to myself before, but here’s pretty much all I want:

1. A well written script. Clever writing can save a bad story and bad writing can ruin a good one. On the whole, I’d rather have a good script than a good plot. It helps to have both, but y’know, if I have to pick one.*

2. Good shootin’. A beautifully, smartly or interestingly composed shot is worth a thousand words, actually.

3. Good sound design. A great soundtrack is nice, but everything matters, from the score to the way the sound effects and even the actors’ voices themselves fit together. Sound can make or break the atmosphere in a film completely.

The Burrowers has all three in spades, AND it’s got Clancy Brown. Basically, JT Petty (Soft For Digging, S&MAN) had me at hello. I’m pretty sure I told him this while I was very drunk last night. I feel terribly jet-set this TIFF.

The western/horror blend relies heavily on slow building tension and suspense. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing that sneaks up on you very unnervingly indeed. The Burrowers feels uncanny, as well. It's like digging up something so terrifying that you have to cast it out because it's not only horrific but also so familiar. A terror from within.

The year is 1879, and the place is a gorgeously desolate stretch of the Dakota Plains. Coffey (Karl Geary, but let’s just call him Hot Irish) comes calling on his ladylove one morning, engagement ring in hand, only to find her family and their neighbours missing or murdered. Both distraught and bewildered, the young man joins a band of local ranchers and cavalrymen in search of the victims, assumed to be the captives of a rogue native tribe.

Of course, the reality of this murky situation is much more sinister than anyone can imagine, and soon Hot Irish is forced to split off from the search party and forge on with a couple of like-minded ranchers (William Mapother, and Clancy Brown – star of such classics as Highlander and Buckaroo Banzai). The air of dread and mounting tension is beautifully maintained between the men, their environment, and whatever it is that lurks in the shadows and tall grasses.

Catch the second screening of The Burrowers on Thursday September 11th at 3:30pm, and check here for more info.

*Note: #1 does not apply to films in languages I don't speak. With those, I just assume I'm not getting any of the nuances of the script in subtitles anyway, so why judge harshly?

3:10 to Yuma.

James Mangold | 2007 | 117 min | US

3:10 is a remake of a 1957 picture of the same name. This one stays fairly true to the constraints of a traditional western, eschewing the bloody nihilism of last year's brilliant revival western The Proposition. It's a good move, allowing the leads to shine + their dynamic to unfold casually. Mangold also stays conservative visually. There isn't much need for camera flash in the beautiful countryside of the American southwest.

Christian Bale is a master of transforming himself from role to role. He is a joy to watch again here as a desperate family man who agrees to escort outlaw Ben Wade (solid work by Russell Crowe) to a prison-bound train in exchange for a sum that will save his farm. Ben Foster + Peter Fonda are along for the ride too, each turning in good performances. Though there are some terrific action pieces, including a lengthy climax shoot-out, the real joy in this film is watching the two leads, guarding themselves as they grow genuinely fond of each other despite their circumstances.

The play between the action + quieter dramatic scenes is perfectly paced. Despite a two-hour runtime, the film flies by. Great movie.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.

John Ford | 1962 | 123 min | US

Even in the year 1962, westerns were already archaic + out of fashion. Ford himself signaled the death knell of the form not six years earlier with The Searchers. That movie turned the genre on its head to create a story that was as enthralling as it was bizarre + blew the character of Heroic Everyman John Wayne out of the water.

In what seems to be a direct counter to that early genre turning, the opening shot of Liberty Valance is a familiar western trope: a close-up of a worn wooden sign bearing the film's credits. Ford immediately creates all appearances of a throwback picture; an old-timey black + white homage to the films that made Ford's career. But it's not long before the film reveals itself to be Ford's final joke. Perhaps even more than The Searchers, Valance betrays every assumption the audience has in Ford films, the western tradition, + its iconic stars John Wayne + Jimmy Stewart.

Stewart is the focus of the story as a senator who rose to fame as the man who shot the outlaw Liberty Valance. Decades after the shooting, Stewart returns to the frontier town of Shinbone for the funeral of an old friend; the town which Valance once terrorized . He meets a local reporter who demands to know who the deceased man is + Stewart sits down to tell him the truth beind the legend of his rise to fame.

Not a lot can be said about the film without betraying what makes it great, but Ford does an expert job of slowly building our expectations of characters + circumstances only to turn on them over + over again. He seemed particularly aware of the public perception of the celebrity personas of Wayne + Stewart + uses them to great advantage. This would not be the same story without being able to pin so much nuance on nice guy Jimmy + towering John. And subtlety is the key here (eat it, Shyamalan). It is not an overly complex story, but it is full + satisfying. The same can be said of all of the performances, as well.

A final note: fans of Lee Marvin will enjoy every moment of his titular villain. I am a big fan of Lee Marvin + I marvel at how much more light-hearted + humorous his portrayals of the bad guys seem to be than his portrayals of the good guys. His heroes always seem burdened by a heavy conscience + a heavy heart. His ne'er-do-wells relish every moment of their freedom. Marvin's Valance seems to genuinely enjoys being a bastard. I love that man. . .