Western Weekends - Django Unchained

Three months without any holidays or long weekends can make anyone a mite ornery. And a month where you have both will go real slowly. Sorry, my mind seems to be going. But my mood's the same, so I figured I'd unwind with a Tarantino bloodbath.

Taking place in a pre-Civil War Deep South, we follow Django Freeman, an ex-slave turned bounty hunter played by Jamie Foxx, and his German mentor Dr King Schultz, played by Cristoph Waltz. The film is divided into three parts: It initially follows Dr Schultz as he buys Django to help him find the Brittle Brothers, then goes on to show Shultz take Django on as his protege. The main story involves Schultz helping Django rescue his wife Broomhilda von Shaft from Calvin Candie, a ruthless plantation owner played by Leonardo DiCaprio. So, it's a pretty long film.

Both Jamie Foxx and Cristoph Waltz give great performances, especially Waltz. The best scene is when he shoots the sheriff in the town they're in, and then gives himself up to the marshal - in the process revealing the sheriff's identity as a criminal and requesting the bounty.

The main story can get pretty tense as Django and Schultz deal with Candie and his head house slave Stephen, played by Samuel L Jackson. Candie presents himself as charming and affable, but he is an utterly horrible person, while Stephen is a lot more cunning than he presents himself to be. The tension arises not from whether or not Stephen will see through their scheme, but whether Candie becomes so unbearable that they give themselves away.

Of course, there is a lot of gratuitous violence (it was directed by Quentin Tarantino after all), with a lot of inappropriate language. The anti-slavery message conjures up a lot of unpleasant imagery with this, but it certainly doesn't sugar-coat it.

All in all, the film is a combination of Blazing Saddles and The Wild Bunch.

Western Weekends: Unforgiven

I can't review western films without bringing up Clint Eastwood, so I might as well start with the last western film he did - a gritty exploration of the genre.

Clint Eastwood directs and stars as William Munny, a retired outlaw trying to run a homestead in Kansas when he's approached by The Schofield Kid. The Kid is travelling to the town of Big Whiskey in Wyoming to kill two cowboys who disfigured a prostitute and claim the reward offered by her companions. Will is reluctant at first, but relents as he needs the money, inviting his old partner Ned Logan, played by Morgan Freeman.

The trio soon find themselves coming into conflict with Little Bill Daggett, Big Whiskey's sheriff, played by Gene Hackman. Little Bill doesn't take kindly to criminals and gunfighters in his town, which he demonstrates to English Bob, played by Richard Harris - who is also seeking the reward.

Unforgiven takes apart the myths and romance associated with the West and tries to explore the complicated truths. This is emphasised with English Bob's story arc, with Little Bill telling his biographer the truth about the gunfighter's depicted exploits. Clint Eastwood also depicts himself differently than before; Will Munny struggles to get on an unruly horse, spends a lot of time recovering from a fever, and even struggles to shoot someone when the time comes.

It's the classic example of a revisionist western, and one that is worth checking out.

What Makes a Western? - Part 2: Spirit, Struggle, and Demise

Last week I discussed what makes a story a Western in therms of the historical and geographical aspects. I figured that this week I'll try and interpret an existing definition.

I'm looking at the American Film Institute's definition, which is a story "set in the American West, that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier".

Well, we already know it doesn't have to be set in the American West, as they can also be set in Mexico or even Australia. But I've already discussed that.

By 'Spirit', I'm going to guess that they are referring to "Manifest Destiny" - a belief which emerged in the 19th Century that Americans were meant to expand. How the West was Won seems to be the strongest embodiment of that belief. Ultimately, the Spirit was about having your own land and cultivating it while raising a family and being able to survive.

This brings us to the Struggle. Frontier life could be very unforgiving, with natural, animal, or human threats. In films like Stagecoach or The Searchers, this could be Indians or outlaws - possibly illustrating the notion that settlers are bringing "civilisation" to the West, while revisionist westerns might reverse this - often with the subject of fighting change in films like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or The Wild Bunch. The Homesman actually illustrated the Struggle as being against nature combined with the isolation of settlements.

Speaking of fighting change, this can also be a subject of the Demise. As stated previously, the Western period "officially" ended in 1890 when the US Census Bureau declared the frontier to be closed. However, change doesn't happen quickly or smoothly. Red Dead Redemption is a game all about the demise of the frontier, and how slow that demise is.

I'm getting nowhere with this, so I'll say that any story that has some kind of frontier could be considered a western.

What Makes a Western? - Part One: History and Geography

While I've started doing these Western Weekends after my regular writing has hit a slump again, I've been thinking about the Western genre and how it's defined.

Let's look at the geographical side first. I think "West" at that time was defined as anything west of the Mississippi River, and most classic western films take place in the Southwest - often Texas or the Arizona and New Mexico Territories (which didn't achieve statehood until 1912). Later revisionist Westerns might take place on the High Plains further north, often Wyoming or Montana.

Hell, sometimes they don't even have to be in the USA. Films like The Wild Bunch, The Professionals, and a lot of Spaghetti Westerns take place in Mexico, while Northwest Mounted Police takes place in Canada. There's even a sub-genre of westerns that take place in the Australian Outback - like Quigley Down Under and The Proposition.

Going further afield, you could argue that Star Wars borrows elements from western films. The Mos Eisley Cantina is essentially a western saloon with more aliens. Firefly is practically a western set in space, showing the Manifest Destiny that encouraged frontier settlement.

Anyway, geography aside, let's look at history. In early Hollywood westerns, the time span is shorter than you think. The earliest year is generally 1865, when the Civil War ended, while the period "officially" ended in 1890, when the US Census Bureau declared the frontier closed. This was also the year of Wounded Knee.

Having studied this period for my GCSEs, I know that it lasted longer than that. The biggest push West would be the California Gold Rush in 1848, but there was also the Mormons travelling to Utah before that, along with the mountain men earlier than that. You could even say that the earliest western story could be the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

As for finishing in 1890, it could be argued that the latest end date for period was as late as 1920. The Mexican Revolution (which is depicted as attracting numerous American adventurers, mercenaries, and outlaws) had come to a close, while the classic western image of the saloon had been put down with the passage of Prohibition on a national scale.

Looking at that, I suppose the popular image of the Western genre is that of deserts or plains with expansive space - which is why films set in the Outback could be called westerns. If that's the case, you could say that No Country for Old Men and Breaking Bad could be considered westerns to some extent.

The American Film Institute defines Westerns as being "set in the American West, that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier".

I'll talk about in more detail another time. It might need a bit more space.

Western Weekends: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

It's been a while, so I figured I'd do another review, this time looking at Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a semi-historical film about the leaders of one of the last outlaw gangs operating in the West.

Taking place in Wyoming in the late 1890s, we follow Paul Newman as Robert Leroy Parker, more commonly known as Butch Cassidy, the affable and talkative leader of the Hole in the Wall Gang. Starring alongside him is Robert Redford as his laconic right-hand man Harry 'The Sundance Kid' Longabaugh. After a botched train robbery, the two outlaws find themselves being pursued relentlessly by a special posse formed by the railroad company. Unable to elude them, they flee to Bolivia with Sundance's girlfriend Etta Place, played by Katharine Ross, where they make a living as bank robbers known as "Los Bandidos Yanquis".

While the history might not be entirely accurate, it can be agreed that Paul Newman and Robert Redford have fantastic chemistry. Yes, they're outlaws, but they're so likeable. They're not even violent outlaws - in fact it's in an honest job where Butch kills someone for the first time. You want to root for these thieves, especially when they're being chased and can't catch a break. Everyone knows the scene when they're cornered on the cliffside.

The humorous dialogue between the two stars carries the film, and the daring escapes and poignant ending add to this to create an engaging story about the twilight years of the American West.

The on-screen chemistry actually worked so well that Newman and Redford reunited with director George Roy Hill four years later in The Sting.

"Well, we're back in business boys and girls, just like the old days."

Western Weekends: The Mask of Zorro

Sorry, I seem to have missed a week. You could say that I have managed to get some writing done but that would be a lie. Or are we supposed to call those 'alternative facts' now?

Actually, I have started working on my swashbuckler series again. So I thought I might look at something which combines Swashbucklers and Westerns; The Mask of Zorro, a summer blockbuster from 1998 based on the works of Johnston McCulley.

A prologue takes place in California in 1821. Anthony Hopkins plays Don Diego de la Vega, a nobleman leading a double life as Zorro, the masked swordsman who fights against oppression and injustice. As the Mexican War of Independence draws to a close, Diego believes that he can retire. This hope is dashed by the intervention of Don Rafael Montero, the now-former Spanish Governor of California who has deduced his secret identity - partially motivated by his desire for Diego's wife Esperanza. Diego tries to resist arrest until Esperanza is accidentally killed. However, Montero spares his life but destroys his estate and takes his infant daughter Elena to raise as his own.

Twenty years later, Diego has been living in anonymity until learning that Montero has returned to California with a now-adult Elena played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Not long afterwards, he encounters Alejandro Murietta, a drunken thief played by Antonio Banderas. Alejandro becomes Diego's apprentice, hoping to avenge the death of his brother Joaquin at the hands of Montero's henchman, Captain Harrison Love. 

I saw this film a while back, and watched it again recently to see if it still holds up. It actually does so surprisingly well. There's plenty of swordfights, a good mix of comedy and drama, and even some rather dark imagery in places. I love the hero's journey Alejandro goes through. He starts off as a drunken thief, learns to fight, and becomes an impulsive fame-seeker before developing into the Zorro for a new age.

It is a little cliched, but they're fun cliches, and the film still works with them.

Anyway, I'd best get back to my writing.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

So, we had a Friday 13th this month. And while a Finnish airline had a flight designated as 666 that day (Sadly not piloted by Bruce Dickinson), Netflix decided to use this perceived unlucky day to premier A Series of Unfortunate Events - an adaptation of the children's novels written by Daniel Handler under the pen-name Lemony Snicket.

The series follows the misfortunes of the Baudelaire siblings: fourteen-year-old inventor Violet, twelve-year-old bookworm Klaus, and the bitey infant Sunny. After their parents are killed in a mysterious fire, the three are forced to travel from foster home to foster home while being targeted by the villainous Count Olaf, a distant relative and stage actor who seeks to inherit the sizeable fortune their parents left them. Along the way, they try to learn about a mysterious organisation their parents were involved with.

While I was in a generation of kids who grew up with these books, I never really read them. However, I did dip into the first book once, and I understand that they are known to be very bleak and depressing - even the books themselves acknowledge this. There was a film too, released thirteen years ago. I saw a bit of it once while laid up, but I can't say I was hooked. Hell, if you read into some of the jokes in this series, it's apparent that the show's producers (including Handler himself) weren't particularly keen on it either. And this time I was hooked.

Neil Patrick Harris does a fantastic job as Count Olaf. While Olaf is an appalling actor who the kids always recognise despite fooling the adults (a recurring theme in the books), Harris delights in chewing the scenery, even though his character is more or less a complete monster. Meanwhile, Patrick Warburton stars as Lemony Snicket, the show's omni-present narrator, who I find very reminiscent of Rod Serling. I'm especially interested in finding out his role in the events of the series.

The show has a very strange tone. You want to laugh at Olaf's hamming, but you also want to feel sorry for the Baudelaires, and this can create some real, gut-wrenching tension. I love the visuals as well - courtesy of Bo Welch, who has done a lot of work with Tim Burton and Barry Sonnenfeld (who's also involved in the series as a director and producer). There's only eight episodes at the moment, which cover the events of the first four books (out of thirteen). However, I managed to binge them in one weekend, and I'm eager to find out what happens next.

While I didn't really read the books when they came out, this series actually makes me want to. 

I suppose that's the sign of an adaptation done well.

Western Weekends: The Homesman

Last weekend I looked at a classic western epic. This weekend I'm going to look at something newer - and a lot more depressing.

Hilary Swank plays Mary Bea Cuddy, an unmarried homesteader living in Nebraska. Following a harsh winter, she takes a job as a 'Homesman' who takes three mentally unstable women to a church in Iowa. Along the way, she enlists the help of George Briggs, a scoundrel and claim jumper played by Tommy Lee Jones, who also directs the film.

I consider this film to be groundbreaking for exploring an issue of Prairie Madness. The harsh living conditions of frontier life combined with the isolated nature could have a poor effect on the mind. I can't think of any other film that has truly explored this.

Cuddy is a great protagonist. She is very strong-willed and independent, but at the same time, she is also feeling the effects of the isolation. Meanwhile, George Briggs is somewhat conflicted. He is reluctant to go on the journey, only agreeing so Mary stops him from being lynched. Even afterwards, he's not willing to stay with her without the promise of a payment. Nonetheless, he goes through some interesting development.

The visuals are dreary, but that's the effect they're going for and it's done well. The shots of the High Plains really hammer in the theme of isolation.

It's a good film with a strong revisionist tone, but a very mean-spirited one. Not one for the faint of heart. 

Western Weekends: How the West Was Won

Well, I've survived the first week of January, and I've toasted the New Year resolutions...which I haven't made.

Anyway, I've been contemplating which Western film to open this review series with. So, as a tribute to Debbie Reynolds, who passed away over the Christmas week, I thought I might look at this 1962 epic she starred in. How the West Was Won chronicles four generations of the Prescott family as they move further west during a fifty year period. Narrated by Spencer Tracey, the film is divided into five acts, which could all be their own films: The Rivers, The Plains, The Civil War, The Railroad, and The Outlaws.

The Rivers takes place around 1840, when Zebulon Prescott (Played by Karl Malden) seeks land in Ohio River country at the tip of southern Illinois. In a journey which includes river pirates and rapids, Zebulon's eldest daughter Eve (played by Carroll Baker), becomes romantically involved with Linus Rawlings, an affable mountain man played by Jimmy Stewart.

The Plains jumps forward to the early 1850s, and follows Debbie Reynolds as Eve's younger sister Lilith, who has moved Back East and is performing at a dance hall in St Louis. After inheriting a gold mine in California, she travels West again and meets the gambler Cleve van Valen, played by Gregory Peck.

The remainder of the film follows George Peppard as Zeb Rawlings, the eldest son of Eve and Linus. Not satisfied with life on a farm, he enlists in the army during the Civil War, later serving in the cavalry during the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, and becoming a marshal before retiring to Arizona around 1890.

The film has a massive cast, which also includes Henry Fonda, Eli Wallach, Lee J. Cobb, and even a cameo by John Wayne. It's hard to discuss everybody. There are plenty of characters I want to learn more about, but the film's long enough already.

The visuals absolutely stunning, and while it's predominately an idealistic look at the frontier lifestyle, it doesn't hesitate to show some of the rougher aspects within the action. It certainly is a product of the time. But it's nonetheless one that's worth checking out.

Happy New Year

Well, the utter train wreck we called 2016 has come to an end. Time to nurse the hangover, look at New Year's Resolutions, and the concept of "New Year, New Me."

Yeah, that'll be the day. I don't make promises I don't intend to keep. I'm not a politician.

I've not long started in a new job, so the writing's going to be a bit slow in the upcoming months. So it looks like I'll be doing more blogging. This is the Writer's Block after all.

Anyway, one thing I'm looking forward to in 2017 is the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 - the sequel to what may be one of my favourite games of all time.

And since I love Westerns, I thought I might unveil a new series of posts - Western Weekends. Starting next Saturday, I'll be posting (somewhat) regular reviews of Western movies. There's no real criteria here - they can be classic films or obscure ones I find online.

Happy 2017.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Merry Christmas everybody. I'm sure that you've all had plenty to drink and are still working your way through the leftovers. I've just got back from seeing the first of Disney's Star Wars spin-off films, Rogue One.

Taking place not long before A New Hope, we follow Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, an independent-minded rogue hastily recruited by the Rebel Alliance. Jyn is the daughter of Galen Erso, played by Mads Mikkelson, a scientist who works for an Imperial weapons development team. Working with a Rebel Intellegence officer Cassian Andor, played by Diego Luna, she has to find plans for the superweapon her father is working on.

I have to say that the beginning of the film seems rather rushed, but it does pick up to deliver a long but exciting climax. I also think that Jyn and Cassian aren't very interesting characters. It's a shame, because I found the opening scene with her backstory to be very gripping. Her father had resigned from weapons development until he is forced out of retirement by his old boss Orson Krennic, played by Ben Mendelsohn.

While our two main heroes aren't interesting, it's the supporting characters who steal the show. My favourite is the droid K-S20, played by Alan Tudyk. He kicks a lot more arse than C-3P0, and delivers a lot of snarky lines, like a cross between HK-47 from Knights of the Old Republic and Wash from Firefly (even though he is Wash from Firefly). There's also a blind monk played by Donnie Yen, who is a really good fighter. Mads Mikkelson is also pretty good, as he's repentant despite working on a secret weapon. His boss is suitably ruthless too, but there's not much to him.

One thing that did seem to stand out was the number of times the film panders to the fans. This includes a CGI Peter Cushing. He gets a lot of screen time and looks...off. But I can''t really fault that. And it was great to see Darth Vader again, with his special retreat for suitably dramatic entrances.

They've certainly tried to make the film darker than the rest, and they do end up succeeding. You'll have to see it for yourself to see where though.

Overall, it's no Empire Strikes Back, but it certainly is worth it for the blazing action.

Oh, advance warning; there's no opening crawl. But that shouldn't dissuade you.