Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

This movie was a headache-inducing combination of dull and annoying.

It could be the fact that I find Daniel Craig a little... what's the word I'm looking for... fugly?

Or maybe it's just that I'm pretty tired of Harrison Ford for no real reason other than an interview on Conan that was completely devoid of direction or charm.

However, I'd say the most likely reason I didn't enjoy Cowboys and Aliens is because it seemed like it was trying to be some type of trendy, hip update on the western, but then it wasn't. I saw weak copies of character types and appearances from both Rango and True Grit (in fact, I read in EW that the costume designer actually used fabrics from True Grit for this film), but Cowboys and Aliens had nothing on either of those movies, despite the budget and the talent involved.

I guess I was glad it wasn't a sequel to anything, and it wasn't another insufferably banal superhero movie. However, being glad a bad movie isn't another type of bad movie doesn't make it good. The only points it gets in my book is the horrifying ugliness of the aliens. NOT. ENOUGH.

Blah.

True Grit (1969)

Just as valuable as the 2010 reboot but in different ways.

Props to Kim Darby (Yes, this Kim Darby), for bringing emotion to the table despite the silliness of her voice, acting style, and astoundingly Justin Bieber-like haircut.

When you watch this you'll be treated to another serendipitous and excellent minor role for Dennis Hopper. The more I see of his older work the more I want to watch of everything he's ever done.

I think my favorite part of watching this John Wayne classic was gaining a greater appreciation of the richness of the modern adaptation's roots. Each actor in the update really drew from and yet moved beyond the now charmingly outdated original.

It helped me understand even more why the recent adaptation of True Grit was nominated for best picture. Yay!

Giant (1956)

Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson play an extremely wealthy couple living on a cattle ranch turned oil field in rural Texas, and a hugely absurd James Dean comes along for the ride.

Rock Hudson's character struggles to overcome his racism against Mexicans, while Elizabeth Taylor's character struggles to look realistically dirty and appropriately upset in the dusty, often hostile setting.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. Even though it went on for two hundred years (it literally had an intermission) and was at times amusingly dated (both visually and subject matter-wise), I genuinely wanted to sit through all the way to the end.

An interesting minor role by Dennis Hopper, who I only really knew for his amusing roles in two of my childhood favorites, Super Mario Bros. (1993) and Waterworld (1995), and of course for his disturbing turn in creepy David Lynch's creepy Blue Velvet (1986).

Bonus points to anyone who can remind me what film essay (assigned during my time at Northwestern) specifically discussed the upsetting/hilarious Thanksgiving dinner scene in which the couple's small children realize they're about to eat the turkey they've been patiently feeding for a month.

Overall: likely to be enjoyable to you if you like Taylor, Hudson, Dean, or movies from the '50s. Otherwise, skip it.

Rango (2011)

I really enjoyed this movie. I thought the dialogue was genuinely interesting and funny, and that the subject matter was both whimsical and novel.

The character design was never cute, and for the most part, not visually appealing on any level. I found this lack of aesthetic appeal refreshing. The ugliness and oddness of the characters was pleasantly counterbalanced by some very delightful visual moments. Two (of many possible) examples that spring to mind are 1) when Rango is "drawing" in the dark night sky using a smoldering stick from a fire (it looks like flashlight trails captured on long exposure film), and 2) the strange wandering plants based on the real-life Spanish Dagger cactus. I loved the movement and strange personification these plants had in the film.

Overall, Rango was through and through a great animated film. A word of warning, however: though marketed as such, this is DEFINITELY NOT a children's movie. From beginning to end it has elements that would (and did, in the theater I was in) outright terrify small children. There were also some really violent moments, and some mild cussing (along the lines of hell and damn).

To be truly enjoyed by grown-ups only.

True Grit (2010)

- Fantastic
- Beautiful to behold
- Quotable
- Makes me want to go out into the wilderness and overall be braver, stronger, and better at using the vocabulary I have
- All around excellent

My Little Chickadee (1940)

W.C. Fields and Mae West team up in this tale from the Old West involving masked bandits, shoot-‘em-up train heists and crooked sheriffs.

This seemed like it was going to be a surefire entertainer from yesteryear because of the personality of the two stars involved. I expected plenty of laughs and lots of racy gags. Maybe some antiquated humor I couldn’t quite grasp. Outdated sexual innuendo. The usual.

Unfortunately this movie was so boring I had to turn it off midway through. This is something I almost never do. I hate giving up on something halfway—I’ll watch a stinker all the way through to the end just to have a complete picture of what I’ll later complain about to my friends.

But the issue with My Little Chickadee wasn’t that it was bad in the sense of being tasteless, humorless, or illogical. There were some jokes worth a chuckle or two. The problem was that the story was just outright boring. Apparently relying on the charisma of the two stars to carry the thing forward, no one bothered to put much stock in plot. Unfortunately both West and Fields fell totally flat in this one, and so without any kind of interesting action to fall back on, the whole thing just completely fell apart.

Wah-wah-wahwahwahwahhhh! (Disappointed trumpet.)

Up Next, Either:
New York, I Love You
Or
Where the Wild Things Are