Undead or Alive
[ 2007 ] [ Hits:23762 ]
Review: The recent success of mainstream movies like Shaun of the Dead has sparked a zombie revival. However, the much talked about “zombedy” has to strike a fine balance in order to be taken seriously by zombie movie fans. Undead or Alive seems to tick most check boxes on the zombie side of things, but doesn’t really have much ammo when it comes to comedy as two cowboys become partners, only to discover that they’re being pursued by zombies infected with Geronimo’s curse. Chris Kattan from Sa...
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Australia
[ 2008 ] [ Hits:23096 ]
Review: Australia is a Baz Luhrmann film of epic proportions. Not only is it 165 minutes long, but it follows in the slipstream of other classic titles such as Gone with the Wind. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman headline the cast in their native country and are supported by fellow Australian, David Wenham. The movie’s sweeping shots of Australia are glorious, and add to the grand Western feel of the Outback. Luhrmann’s colourful costumes and youthful zest from Romeo & Juliet, Strictly Ballroom and Mo...
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The Magnificent Seven
[ 2016 ] [ Hits:1991 ]
Review: The Magnificent Seven is a revisionist Western remake of a classic Western, which was based on a Japanese film called The Seven Samurai. The story of heroes vs. cowards, little man vs. big man, defending your fortress and fighting for freedom from tyranny and persecution has remained timeless. The altruism at the heart of The Seven Samurai is part of the reason this film has been immortalised and still holds up today. The heroic seven are an inspiration to audiences, who feel powerless in a syst...
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The Hateful Eight
[ Hits:2161 ]
Review: The Hateful Eight is a Quentin Tarantino film, which has drawn inspiration from The Thing and Reservoir Dogs. The crime drama mystery western is set more than a decade after the Civil War and follows a stagecoach, as a bounty hunter and his passengers find shelter in a cabin inhabited by some mysterious strangers.
Tarantino's film features a star-studded cast headlined by Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell, with stellar performances from Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern. Kur...
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The Revenant
[ Hits:2097 ]
Review: The Revenant is a gritty survival adventure masquerading as a grim western, which while brutal remains beautiful and spirited. We follow the tale of a frontiersman, whose desire for revenge gives him the strength he needs to carry on after being mauled by a bear and being left for dead by his hunting party in the 1820s.
The title, which for all intents and purposes means 'zombie', gives you an idea of this film's dark edge. The Terrence Malick finesse of the nature versus man visuals is counter...
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The Lone Ranger
[ Hits:3180 ]
Review: Most people remember The Lone Ranger for: the noble gun-slinging heroics of John Reid, the camaraderie with Tonto, the lightning quick Silver and the classical Revolution theme. However, after watching the new film starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, you'll start doubting you ever saw the original TV series.
At 22 minutes per episode, The Lone Ranger TV series is stripped down when compared with Gore Verbinski's The Lone Ranger. The TV series played to its central concept so much that i...
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Django Unchained
[ Hits:5180 ]
Review: Slavery is not dead, it's alive and well in Hollywood. We're not talking about those struggling actors chained to their trailers between takes, being forced to succumb to the hardship of celebrity, we're taking about a trend that has emerged in 2012 in Cloud Atlas, Lincoln and most notably Django Unchained, in a story about a free man trying to rescue his wife from a plantation.
Quentin Tarantino's got a penchant for movies about raw deals and underdogs, and as such returns to this theme again ...
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Cowboys & Aliens
[ Hits:6097 ]
Review: Cowboys & Indians – sure, Cowboys & Kung Fu – fine, but aliens in the Wild West? Go on, pull the other pulsating tentacle. Isn’t that why Bravestarr was relocated to a planet called New Texas? If only someone had whispered in Jon Favreau’s ear, “it’s a comedy”. Instead, the Iron Man director has gone and dropped the “funny” out of “seriously funny” in this comic book adaptation, wielding a straight-to-video idea with a blockbuster budget and no one’s having it.If y...
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True Grit
[ Hits:10046 ]
Review: Is it the reflection in a cowboy's boot? Is it the whinnying of a horse ready to bolt? Is it the glint in a gun fighter's eye before a showdown? True grit is what most Westerns are built on with tough, leather-faced hard men swaggering around town like they've just shot the Sheriff. Thing is... it's often difficult to spot the difference between a bad and good guy. This is the Wild West and this is the remake of John Wayne's swan song... it's called True Grit.The Coen brothers seem intent on res...
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The Assassination of Jesse James
[ 2007 ] [ Hits:5259 ]
Review: The Assassination of Jesse James is a beautiful Western from Andrew Dominik (Chopper). Dominik adapts Hansen’s book into a vivid story about heroics and cowardice from the perspective of Robert Ford (Affleck). Young Robert Ford hero worships Jesse James and grows to resent his outlaw hero as he stuggles to join the gang. The script is written with authentic language and lyrical narration. The actors harness the Missouri accents with relative ease and develop full-bodied characters. Casey Affle...
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