Jeremiah Johnson Review

Jeremiah Johnson is an overlooked northern western that tells the story of a man who leaves behind one society for a simpler life, but soon finds that simple definitely does not equate to easy. Johnson is played by Robert Redford in a role that he absolutely owns from beginning to end. This is one of…

Montage Of Heck Review

HBO for the past few years has had a very cool way of doing musician biographies, using old footage and interviews, and other direct sources from the people in the spotlight to tell their own stories. I have seen both the Rolling Stones, and Sinatra’s documentaries, but of all of those, Kurt Cobain’s “Montage of…

Rolling Thunder Review

Movies can tell us a lot about the political and social climate of the times in which they were made. The 70s for instance, as evidenced by movies like this, Death Wish, and Dirty Harry was a time when there was a lot of right wing backlash against the previous decade bubbling up. We had…

Christine Review

Sometime in high school I read the Stephen King novel ‘Christine’ that this movie was based upon, and I really dug it. This movie for the most part faithfully follows the novel, cutting out a few things, and combining a character or two for the sake of brevity. Christine is a 1958 red and white…

Swamp Thing Review

Way down in the swamps of Louisiana, Dr. Alec Holland (and his sister) has created a top-secret a secret formula that gives both plants/animals (and humans) that touch it the ability to survive in extreme conditions. It basically takes whatever the core essence of the thing it touches and makes that their super power. Alice,…

Killer Klowns from Outer Space Review

This is my wife’s favorite movie, so perhaps I should let her review it. Alright, never mind, she says that’s my job, but I will try to write this in her spirit, like one of those authors “writing in the style of…” whoever. The basic story here is all in the title, a group of…

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Review

Some movies are defined by the age you were when you first saw them. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is just such a movie for me. As a young squire I was blissfully unaware of how absurd it was that Christian Slater and Kevin Costner were portraying classic British legends. I just thought they were…

American Sniper Review

“I need you to be human again…” sobs the longsuffering wife, and mother to the children of America’s deadliest ever military sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) in this gripping film directed by Clint Eastwood. However, after more than 160 confirmed kills (with over 250 probable kills) that may be asking too much for any man.…

Once Upon a Time in the West Review

When I think back on the elements that most of my favorite westerns share, a few things come back time and time again in nearly each of them. First, great cinematography and epic settings. Check. Then you must have a memorable score such as the whistling in the “Dollars” trilogy or the old standard title…

The Salvation Review

There’s an old divide among western fans that is probably mostly forgotten by modern viewers. A few years back I wrote what I consider to be the review I am the proudest of here, of my all time favorite western, Rio Bravo. Rio Bravo was made as answer to “High Noon” starring Gary Cooper since…