Excellent, captivating western that moves along at a brisk pace and is very lean storytelling. Mads Mikkelsen and his brother head to America following the War of 1864 to prosper and run afoul of, among other things, Jeffrey Dean Morgan's vengeful character Delarue and a host of undesirable frontier scum that stand in the way of happiness for our heroes and their families. Photography is outstanding and unique where many shots seem to take place capturing a strange juxtaposition between daylight and moonlight resulting in a beautiful, mesmerizing glow rarely seen in these films -- director Kristian Levring deserves special credit for giving the western genre an unusual look with this trick and it adds an otherworldly dimension that steps the film's quality up to a whole new level. Morgan is, as always, a delight to watch -- thoroughly immersive and magnetically charming and evil -- and Eva Green does a fantastic job despite not uttering a single word (her tongue having been cut out as a child and all). Highly recommended.
Sort of a more modern, more literary-minded, collegiate-bound and less-pretentious (depending on your viewpoint) version of Garden State, Liberal Arts was a fine study on accepting adulthood and navigating the urges to try to remain younger than you think that you are. Interesting commentary on "acting your age" and what age means. Sweet film, well-written, with carefully observed performances.
Eric Cantona is in the film? Is it the same Eric Cantona who's best-known for this?
It's good to see a review of this as is probably not check it out as I never heard of it and it stars Cantona. But I love westerns so I'll give it a go.
I pretty much agree with Deputy Riley about The Salvation. It is a different western, and I thought it was well-done. Mads Mikkelsen is Danish as is the director. Very unusual landscapes as it was all filmed in South Africa even though the story is suppose to take place in America.
Eric Cantona is in the film? Is it the same Eric Cantona who's best-known for this?
It's good to see a review of this as is probably not check it out as I never heard of it and it stars Cantona. But I love westerns so I'll give it a go.
Yeah Jim, that is the same Eric Cantona that is in the film, but honestly he is barely in the movie. I can't remember if he has ten lines. He's more the bad guy "muscle" and an intimidating presence, but I would not at all say the movie "stars" Cantona. The poster should not list his name on it as prominently as it does.
Wanderer, hope you enjoy the film, post back here your thoughts if you give it a shot!
Joan, glad you enjoyed the film too! Also glad you enjoyed the landscapes. I thought the photography capture the landscapes and lighting in an interesting way, it looked like it was often simultaneously moonlight and daylight at the same time.
Hawk the Slayer - 9/10 - Unintentional comedy gold! A Fantasy epic filmed in England for about 15 quid. See silly-string used as a special effect, a giant whose just a bit tall, a dwarf whose about 5 foot 4", and bask in the deliciousness of the ace soundtrack that is the lovechild of Morricone's Dollars scores, Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds and disco music. Most of the budget must have gone on fog machines that obscure almost every fight scene. A must-see!
Another one of those early failed Weinstein productions that features a familiar cast (Patricia Arquette, Ewan McGregor, Nick Nolte, Josh Brolin and even Brad Dourif) with a convoluted story and bad dialogue, acting, too artsy cinematography and to top things off, apparently it's a remake of a foreign film done by the same director (when are those any good?). Truly a shit film.
The Skin I Live In (2011) 5/10
Some called this a "horror" film by Pedro Almodóvar, I think it totally misses the boat in that regard but I did enjoy it for its comedic qualities. As a genuine thriller I can't take the premise seriously, however as a twisted black comedy it has its moments.
Fear the Walking Dead Season 1 (2015) 3/10
Unlike Walking Dead this entire season of FTWD never once was scary, had totally uninteresting characters and even some annoying ones (the black pimp near the end), terribly bland scoring, terribly cheap production values and managed to make sitting through the offset of the zombie apocalypse an extremely boring chore... I'm glad there is The Walking Dead to fall back on.
Really? 10/10? Paper thin plot, unlikable characters, world that might as well be destroyed, the best part was actually the propulsive action score. I should have quit 45 minutes in when my husband couldn't stand the lack of plot anymore.
Really? 10/10? Paper thin plot, unlikable characters, world that might as well be destroyed, the best part was actually the propulsive action score. I should have quit 45 minutes in when my husband couldn't stand the lack of plot anymore.
Of course 10/10! It's got a great plot told through action, it's not needlessly complicated. I think the characters Max, Furiosa and Nux are very likable. All three have character arcs, they are well realized. They become selfless as the movie goes on. It also has heart, something you don't often see in action pictures.
Awesome movie. One of the great mainstream entertainments made by a filmmaker who knows how to do it right. Proof that a slick, polished visual feast sci-fi/action film can entertain the hell out of an audience while still being witty, smart, and with heart. I'm not even really a Will Smith fan, but he's great in this, and his chemistry with Bridget Moynahan (hell, his chemistry with Sonny/Alan Tudyk) is a delight.
Well, henry - your inability to shut up about Mad Max: Fury Road for five minutes has now officially and singlehandedly put me off from ever seeing the thing. Congratulations.
