The Resident Bitch's Movie Log

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The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976)
Imdb

Date Watched: 11/25/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The upcoming MoFo Top 100 Westerns Countdown
Rewatch: No.



I know he's an iconic figure in the genre - but I don't like Clint Eastwood, at least not as an actor. I've always struggled to connect with his characters and Josey Wales was no different. Add that to the fact that I didn't care much for the other characters either - and in particular found Lone Watie really irritating - and I was left feeling pretty underwhelmed.

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This was another of those, oh, she's gonna hate it, moments. Maybe you don't hate it exactly, but I'd have quite liked a rant.
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5-time MoFo Award winner.



This was another of those, oh, she's gonna hate it, moments. Maybe you don't hate it exactly, but I'd have quite liked a rant.
Sorry to disappoint. I didn't despise it, but it was pretty awful. No idea why it's so highly rated.



Miss Vicky's Loyal and Willing Slave
Much respect to you for going on a westerns binge - not something I could bring myself to do I don't think



2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ
I wouldn't rate it that low, but I don't care for Josey Wales as much as most Eastwood films. He's one of my favorite directors though.





The Man From Snowy River (George Miller, 1982)
Imdb

Date Watched: 11/26/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The upcoming MoFo Top 100 Westerns Countdown
Rewatch: Yes.



I know I watched this movie many times as a child, but the only things I could recall about it were the title and a vague image of a man riding a horse down a very steep slope.

Supposedly this movie is based on an old poem, but it felt like it was a made for TV movie lifted directly from the pages of some s***ty Young Adult romance novel you might pick up from a bargain bin. Damn this thing was corny and lame. I'll grant that the scenery was gorgeous, but the film's use of silhouettes was far more irritating than poetic. Speaking of irritating, there was entirely too much Kirk Douglas, especially as "Spur" the dumbass one-legged gold miner living on dreams and wallaby stew. I came close to turning it off multiple times and I honestly have no idea why I didn't, since I was under no obligation to finish it.

I should've kept this movie as a fond, but very vague memory.

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The Big Country (William Wyler, 1958)
Imdb

Date Watched: 11/29/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The upcoming MoFo Top 100 Westerns Countdown
Rewatch: No.



This is a long damn movie and it didn't start picking up until nearly the end. The big country of the title is beautiful to look at but the film is full of characters that range from boring, to irritating, to despicable and not a damn one is likable even in their badness.

About the only thing I truly enjoyed was looking at that gorgeous horse Charlton Heston was riding.

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The Quick and the Dead (Sam Raimi, 1995)
Imdb

Date Watched: 11/29/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: Westerns countdown
Rewatch: Yes


I decided to give myself a break and watched this longtime favorite.

The Quick and the Dead is a bit of an unconventional Western that no doubt isn't a favorite among purist fans of the genre. It's a film that favors style over substance - not particularly surprising since its director made his name with the Evil Dead trilogy and would later go on to helm the Toby Maguire era of the Spider-Man franchise - and is more interested in entertaining its audience than in teaching any sort of morality or waxing poetic about the old frontier and its people.

That said, there's plenty in this story of revenge, redemption, and quick-draw gun fighting to like and, despite its relative shallowness, there's plenty more in its characters. Gene Hackman chews up the screen as the outlaw villain who has taken absolute control of the town and turned it into a dictatorship. Sharon Stone does well enough as the lady gunfighter out to take him down. A young Leonardo DiCaprio is charming and funny as the outlaw's son who has something to prove and Russell Crowe is wonderful as the preacher with a dark past who is held prisoner and forced to participate in a quick-draw competition where he must choose between his principles and his life.

The film is also gorgeously lit and features impressive sets (filmed at Old Tucson Studios) and a rousing score from Alan Silvestri.

And, while it may offend the sensibilities of Western purists, it's a very accessible film for more casual fans or people just beginning to explore the genre.

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I love the film. I remember seeing it when I was a kid, and there was a sex scene with Jodie Foster, I was in love with Jodie Foster after that. Years later I saw the film again and that scene never appeared, and I though: Jesus, what an imagination I had, it seemed so real. After all the scene is actually real, thank god for that, or better, Jodie Foster. She's single by the way... but doesn't answer my e-mails anymore, I missed my shot. I love everything about the film. Spotted horse cannot be killed by a bullet. - It's one of my most memorable quotations in any movie.





Hombre (Martin Ritt, 1967)
Imdb

Date Watched: 12/01/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The upcoming MoFo Top 100 Westerns Countdown
Rewatch: No.



The landscapes were beautiful but damn was this movie dull. I like the premise well enough, but Newman just came off as really wooden to me. I didn't care at all for his character or any of the others in the film. The final scene also felt anti-climactic to me and lacked tension.

Ugh. I know there are still many months before the deadline, but if I'm going to get enough for a ballot of 25 that I can really stand behind it's going to be a real struggle.

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I'm expecting to read variations of that sentence a lot. Especially with those from the 50's and 60's.
You're probably right but I sure hope you're wrong. Surely there's gotta be more undiscovered treasures for me like The Hanging Tree?

Probably just wishful thinking.





Sukiyaki Western Django (Takashi Miike, 2007)
Imdb

Date Watched: 12/01/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The upcoming MoFo Top 100 Westerns Countdown
Rewatch: No.



Well that was... odd. Very odd. I don't know if I like it. The overly saturated colors are eye-catching. There's no shortage of action and blood. It's got a bizarre collection of characters (Seriously, WTF was up with that sheriff?). But I spent pretty much the whole time just repeating "What the f**k?" over and over again.

At least it wasn't dull.

+





One-Eyed Jacks (Marlon Brando, 1961)
Imdb

Date Watched: 12/05/19
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The upcoming MoFo Top 100 Westerns Countdown
Rewatch: No.



This movie was entirely too long for what it had to offer and the pacing left a bit to be desired. I was also bothered by just how old "Louisa" looked (not helped by the mere 10 year age difference between Katy Jurado and Pina Pellicer). But the story was interesting enough and Brando looked pretty hot (though the character Rio is kind of a jackass) so... not bad.


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At the very least you'll be able to say you saw a lot of these classics but I think by the end you'll be able to put a good list together. I'm curious to see The Hanging Tree now and hope to get to it soon. Out of all the recs I sent you, I'd put Hud and Ox-Bow Incident at the top of the list. If you're a Christian Bale fan, you might like Hostiles which I watched today.



If you're a Christian Bale fan, you might like Hostiles which I watched today.
He's actually one of my least favorite actors. Yuma is one of the few movies I can stand him in, but I may give it a shot since I feel like I'll probably have better results with newer Westerns than a lot of these classics.

I tried watching another Western yesterday - Bite the Bullet from 1975 - but I'm not going to finish it. I wish I'd researched it before watching it. So much actual animal cruelty.

ETA: Just saw your write up on Hostiles and read that Ben Foster is in it. He was outstanding in Yuma. I'll definitely have to check it out.



He's actually one of my least favorite actors. Yuma is one of the few movies I can stand him in, but I may give it a shot since I feel like I'll probably have better results with newer Westerns than a lot of these classics.

I tried watching another Western yesterday - Bite the Bullet from 1975 - but I'm not going to finish it. I wish I'd researched it before watching it. So much actual animal cruelty.

ETA: Just saw your write up on Hostiles and read that Ben Foster is in it. He was outstanding in Yuma. I'll definitely have to check it out.
Foster is great in everything and I was also thinking you'll have better luck with modern westerns. One I'm looking forward to is The Proposition.



I liked The Hanging Tree but never in a million years would I have thought it to be something for you.
I think it's the power dynamic between Frail and the people indebted to him that really appealed to me. Plus the whole bad guy with heart of gold thing.



I was surprised that you liked it too when I watched it last night. I thought about it, and a lot of movies you like seem to have the disenfranchised outsider who's at odds with society with conflicted feelings. Which sounds like the movie Joker to me, only I haven't seen the movie yet. Does that sound right?