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9 out of 10 to Yuma

By Aaron 9/9/2007


3:10 to Yuma is not the old school, Indians and Cowboys western Brett wrote about in his article this week. But it is a GREAT movie. Russell Crowe plays the infamous Ben Wade, a murderous train robber. Christian Bale is Dan Evans, a broken man trying to turn his life around and hold onto his homestead. There are other characters, and perhaps, other storylines, but they are irrelevant. Christian Bale and Russell Crowe ARE this movie. Each of them takes their acting to another level – Bale really pushes himself in this movie, even more than The Machinist. And Crowe brings new depth to the sympathetic villain role.

The movie follows Crowe’s Wade who is apprehended by Pinkertons when Wade lingers too long after a robbery. Bale’s Evans is a rancher who after running into Wade at the scene of the crime, volunteers to join a posse to take Crowe to the train station. Ben Foster is great too as Wade’s fanatically loyal right hand man, Charlie Prince. Prince kills everyone in his path as he does everything possible to spring Wade. While Evans and the Pinkertons move closer to the train station, Evans begins to open up to Wade, to understand Wade, and to let Wade begin to understand him.

It is in this deeper, epistemological vein where 3:10 to Yuma sets itself apart – as much more than just “a western.” The movie is not about the classic old west, or any of its themes, the movie is about people. Specifically the intense connection between Wade and Evans – two characters with drastically different morals and conceptions of right and wrong who discover some of themselves in each other. What makes Yuma special is that it is a movie made better because of what is left unsaid. While most movies suffer because of what they do not say or explain, Yuma realizes exactly what it needs to convey and does just that. The rest is left for you to ponder, to turn over in your head. If you do not like that, you will not like Yuma. But if you open your mind and let Wade and Evans slip in you begin to understand their connection, and then you really appreciate this movie.

All that heady stuff is great, but Yuma packs in a lot of different action that spans the western genre – train robberies, jail breaks, Apache, getaways, you name it. It is realistic, and shot very well to create fluid, fast paced action. The gunslinging is exactly what you expect in modern action movies, and a cut above many of the old western. Bale’s Wade and Foster’s Prince are nothing short of amazing with their six shooters.

When you add all that character development and deep sentiment you usually find in Oscar caliber movies with modern western action, you have a really good movie, and one I feel very comfortable giving 9/10 saltystix.

 

   

Bob’s October Movie Preview

By Bob 10/2/2008

Now that we have gotten through the sludge of September movies, it’s time for some Oscar contenders, and movies that think they’re good but not. Halloween is also this month so there is bound to be a lot of random horror movies going on and of course a Saw film to soak in. Whatever happens though, I’m gonna guess that at least one of the following gets some nods come Oscar time. With that, my October Movie Preview:

Cops, Robbers, and Blah

10) Pride and Glory: October 24th

From the director of Miracle comes one of the most clichéd trailers of ALL TIME. Edward Norton as A COP. Colin Farrell as HIMSELF. What more could we want from a movie? I don’t know, and I will likely never find out because this is not one flick I will be seeing.

9) Max Payne: October 17th

As I feverishly go through my mind trying to think of a video game adaptation that has actually been a good movie, I’m also reminded of all of the bad movies Marky Mark has made over the past ever (excluding The Departed and Boogie Nights of course). I would be shocked if there is anybody who is actually excited for this, as anybody who actually played the game has probably outgrown the genre.

8) Body of Lies: October 10th

Leonardo Dicaprio. Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott. Something about spies. The trailers really tell us nothing about this film except, “How am I supposed to run an operation when you’re running a side operation.” I don’t really know what that means, but Leo says it in the trailer. This film looks like another lame attempt by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe to win Oscars. I’m not buying it.

7) Flash of Genius: October 3rd

Greg Kinnear stars as an man who invents the intermittent windshield wiper, and then has it stolen from him buy the major auto manufacturers. This just looks like a boring film that will get a lukewarm response. For some reason, however, it has been getting a huge level of marketing with television and even radio advertisements. I doubt people will buy it.

6) RocknRolla: October 10th

Guy Ritchie is back in the genre he knows best, and this appears to be an English gangster film much in the mold of Lock Stock and Snatch. We’ll see if he still has his stuff, but for now, I’ll just pop in my DVDs of the older films that I can trust, and look to be almost identical in plot to this one.

Movies that Intrigue Me

5) Changeling: October 24th

Angelina Jolie stars in this Clint Eastwood film about a woman whose son goes missing and is returned with something different. Any film that Eastwood directs (that’s not Flags of our Fathers of course) is worth checking out, and this looks to be no different. It got solid reviews with it premiered at Cannes, and Angelina Jolie is ready for a solid role.

4) W.: October 17th

A film that is certain to be the years most controversial, Oliver Stone directs this biopic about our current president. While I am sure Stone will exaggerate many of the details, there is no denying that he has put together an awesome cast including Josh Broling (as Bush), Elizibeth Banks (as First Lady Laura), James Cromwell (as his father H. W.), Richard Dreyfuss (as Cheney), Thadie Newton (as Condoleezza Rice) and others as the rest of his cabinet. Whatever happens in this film, it will certainly be interesting.

3) Synecdoche, New York: October 24th

A film that I have been awaiting since last year, this is Charlie Kauffman’s directorial debut. I have loved the films he has written (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Adaptation. ) and this should prove to be equally compelling. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a playwright who attempts to put on a production in a warehouse that includes a scale model of New York. It will probably boggle our minds, but that is Kauffman, isn’t it?

2) Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: October 3rd

Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as the eponymous Nick and Norah who meet each other one night in New York and have adventures. Something about the trailer really brought this movie to my attention, probably the indie style that I love. Cera is always great, and Dennings was really cool in Charlie Bartlett, so I might make my way to a cinema this week to check it out.

1) Zach and Miri Make a Porno: October 31st

Seth Rogen and Elizibeth Banks star as two best friends who decide to make a porno together. This is Kevin Smith’s first film since Clerks 2, and I can only hope that it matches that film in hilarity. The only thing I don’t understand, is why are they releasing this film on Halloween? I guess there is probably a Saw film being released anyways.

   

   


   


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