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From Silents to the Seventies: The Spoilers (1942)

David Krauss — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 19:00:16 +0000

A rootin’-tootin’ Western with plenty of spunk and swagger, The Spoilers caps its mix of action, humor, and romance with a signature barroom brawl. Marlene Dietrich, Randolph Scott, and John Wayne hit the jackpot in this gold rush tale that stakes its claim as a genre classic. The Spoilers Theatrical Release Date: June 11, 1942...

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One Man’s Trash: Billy the Kid vs. Dracula

Adam Tyner — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 16:00:36 +0000

Hmmm, how best to succinctly describe the central conflict in Billy the Kid vs. Dracula…? Wait, I’ve got it! Billy the Kid squares off against Dracula! I guess that’s it for the plot synopsis. Load up, fellas! We’re moving on. Okay, okay, I guess I can delve into a little more detail than that. The...

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The Outsider Review: Don’t Bring This One In

Deirdre Crimmins — Wed, 12 Jun 2019 12:00:18 +0000

The Western genre is far from dead, but The Outsider might make you wish it were. The caricatures of characters, abysmal treatment of women, and nearly inscrutable plot make the movie an experience to be tolerated rather than celebrated. The story is your typical revenge riff at first. Jing Phang (Jon Foo) has a loving...

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From Silents to the Seventies: Calamity Jane

David Krauss — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 16:00:25 +0000

This tuneful take on Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, and the dangerous town of Deadwood is a whole lot more wholesome than HBO’s beloved series and only for diehard Doris Day devotees. It’s a calamity, all right! Calamity Jane Theatrical Release Date: November 4, 1953 Blu-ray Release Date: March 3, 2015 Directed by: David Butler...

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Deadwood: The Movie Review – A Very Belated Series Finale

Josh Zyber — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 12:00:01 +0000

Of all the TV shows unceremoniously canceled too soon, HBO’s beloved Western series Deadwood was one of the most painful losses. After talking about it for thirteen years, creator David Milch has gathered almost the entire cast for a reunion movie, hoping to provide fans (and himself) the closure denied to them the first time...

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Now Streaming: Godless

Josh Zyber — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 13:00:46 +0000

The explosion of quality television programming these days, especially on streaming, has made it nearly impossible to keep up with every new show of interest, no matter how buzzed or acclaimed. The holiday break gave me an opportunity to finally catch up with one, Netflix’s well-regarded Western, Godless. Produced by Steven Soderbergh, the limited series...

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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Review: How the West Was Weird

Jason Gorber — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 18:00:51 +0000

The Coen brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is simultaneously an odd addition to their oeuvre and yet perfectly in keeping with their wild, acerbic tone. The film was birthed as a television anthology of Western tales, a pulpy collection of short stories tied together by little more than the dusty setting. From there, it...

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TIFF Journal: The Sisters Brothers

Philip Brown — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 16:00:27 +0000

The Sisters Brothers is another contemporary Western that seems to exist purely to prove that the genre is still relevant while telling a story about the demise of the West. It all started with Peckinpah before Eastwood kept at it for decades and then others followed suit. It can feel frustratingly limited to only explore...

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‘Hostiles’ Review: A Grim Oater

Philip Brown — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 20:00:00 +0000

‘Hostiles’ is the first official Western by writer/director Scott Cooper, whose previous movies (‘Crazy Heart’, ‘Out of the Furnace’) have essentially been Westerns minus the period trappings. Undoubtedly, finally getting to make a real deal Western was a dream come true for the director. Too bad he was so determined to make one relentlessly grim...

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‘Westworld’ Pilot Recap: “We’re Miles Beyond a Glitch Here”

Josh Zyber — Tue, 04 Oct 2016 13:00:55 +0000

Adapted from the 1973 sci-fi thriller written and directed by the late Michael Crichton, ‘Westworld’ is the biggest and most ambitious high-concept event series HBO has launched since ‘Game of Thrones’. The pilot episode leaves me with a lot of questions, not all of which I’m certain the series will be able to answer satisfactorily....

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Weekend Roundtable: Favorite Westerns

Josh Zyber — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 19:00:57 +0000

The Western genre may have, by and large, fallen out of favor with moviegoing audiences quite some time ago, but filmmakers keep trying to bring it back. With a new remake of ‘The Magnificent Seven’ in theaters this week, let’s look back at some of our favorite Westerns. Shannon Nutt Clint Eastwood’s 1992 “anti-Western” (also...

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‘The Magnificent Seven’ (2016) Review: The “Seven” Part Is Accurate

Philip Brown — Thu, 22 Sep 2016 19:00:42 +0000

No one ever asked for a remake of ‘The Magnificent Seven’. Quite apart from the fact that the original movie is a product of its time, the thing was already a remake of ‘Seven Samurai’. Remaking a remake sounds more like a parody of Hollywood unoriginality than a real project. Yet somehow here we are....

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