Western Hall of Fame II

Tools    





Well, I had fun initially. Is it a big deal that I didn't finish?

You could always say that nobody has to vote for or watch a movie nominated by someone who didn't finish, but they can if they want. How much time is left until the deadline? I could possibly still clutch and finish it anyway.

Feb 10, yeah I could finish. Hmm... it's a tough decision...



Well, I had fun initially. Is it a big deal that I didn't finish?

You could always say that nobody has to vote for or watch a movie nominated by someone who didn't finish, but they can if they want. How much time is left until the deadline? I could possibly still clutch and finish it anyway.

Feb 10, yeah I could finish. Hmm... it's a tough decision...
Well... okay, but I’ve already gone through and changed everything and notified everyone. So if you’re still in can you please just confirm yes or no?

I’m sorry to seem rude, I just don’t want to keep other people waiting and keep switching between you being in and out.



And, I'm sure wyldesyde19 already knows this, but @KeyserCorleone @edarsenal you have one less movie to watch now! Only 1 left for KC and 3 for ed.

One less??? I have The Great Silence and The Shootist to do.



The trick is not minding
And, I'm sure wyldesyde19 already knows this, but @KeyserCorleone @edarsenal you have one less movie to watch now! Only 1 left for KC and 3 for ed.

One less??? I have The Great Silence and The Shootist to do.
Silence is out with Zotis withdrawal



The trick is not minding
There was a lot of great westerns in this HoF...I'm ready to see what film won this! Then I'm ready to do a second Western HoF
Actually, it’d the third Western HOF 😏
And I agree, this has been a great HOF. The salvation was a pleasant surprise



And, I'm sure wyldesyde19 already knows this, but @KeyserCorleone @edarsenal you have one less movie to watch now! Only 1 left for KC and 3 for ed.

One less??? I have The Great Silence and The Shootist to do.
Yeah, you’ve only got the Shooting as CR said.



This has officially been the third HoF that I've attempted, and the third I've dropped out of.
Which Hofs were those? I don't remember them.
Some random HoF, like 11 or 14, There was a black and white Freaks movie, a neat artistic Chinese movie, Blues Brothers... I nominated The Poker House, Jennifer Lawrence's first film.

I can't remember the second one.



Okay, I'll stay and finish. I'm dredding the three John Wayne movies.
All right, so is everyone okay with that?
@Wyldesyde19 @edarsenal @KeyserCorleone

I’m not handling this well, I probably should have made a firm decision already. But I haven’t, so if you guys are okay with watching The Great Silence, then Zotis will stay in.



The trick is not minding
I’m fine with it. Like I said earlier, I was looking forward to watching anyways. It’ll annoy me if I watch it and he decides to drop out again though. I have to pay to view it via streaming.



All right, so is everyone okay with that?
I’m not handling this well, I probably should have made a firm decision already. But I haven’t, so if you guys are okay with watching The Great Silence, then Zotis will stay in.
You're handling this just fine And many other past HoF host have been in your shoes! If you decide to let Zotis try and finish, I will support your decision as host...

But as you did ask: I think it's too late in the game for Zotis' nom. He won't finish, he's said so in several different ways in his last few post. So ultimately we'll have to extend the HoF deadline and delay the start of the third Western HoF and in the end he'll still end up disqualified. So it's better for all, including Zotis himself, if we just shake hands, be friends and say, 'maybe next time'.



I think it's too late in the game for Zotis' nom. He won't finish, he's said so in several different ways in his last few post.
I said I'll finish, so I'll finish. You won't have to extend the deadline at all. Feb 10 is more than enough time.



Speaking of finished...







I don't consider myself to be a John Ford man, I much prefer Howard Hawks. Rio Bravo is an epic that runs 2 and a half hours...and it just flew by to me. Typically a filmmaker will spend the first half of the film getting to know the characters and then building to the action, that's not Hawks. Set piece after set piece is thrilling where the group comes together but the story is still progressing. This would be a great companion piece to High Noon. It touches on similar subject matters yet it still delivers a fresh take.



John Wayne gets a lot of crap for his acting, but once again Hawks knows how to use Wayne. John is given a sense of empathy and compassion, he's an older gunfighter and he feels the sort. But the star is the setpieces which Hawks manages to give suspenseful after suspenseful shot. Great nomination and pick.





Rio Bravo (1959)

I don't fully understand why people consider this a great classic. This was the kind of cliche stylistic Hollywood melodrama that for years made me think that all old movies were cheesy. Ten minutes into the movie I realised I'd already seen it. It was forgettable and predictable. My dad actually gave my brother a series of John Wayne Westerns, and this was probably the only one I watched with them. I occasionally saw clips of the others when I happened to walk into the living room while they were watching them, but they all seemed equally boring to me from the segments I observed. It wasn't until I saw Kurasawa's Seven Samurai that I realised old movies didn't have to be like this.

I did find the movie to be somewhat charming. It even managed to grip me a couple of times. I liked the crowd work in the bar when they were chasing the man with muddy boots, but most of the time I just wanted it to be over. The romance actually had me rolling my eyes. I didn't like how preachy John Wayne was, and how whipped the bad guys sometimes were. At least they had him getting knocked around a bit and the bad guys weren't always total pushovers.

I just hope the other John Wayne movies are a little better. I figure I'll get them out of the way first and save The Salvation for last.






The Cowboys (1972)

Well, I guess there's not much to say about how I feel towards this movie other than I'm glad it's over with. It was a mildly pleasant film that gave me a weird sort of sensation somewhere in between being entertained and bored. I did like the sly cowardly villain played by Bruce Dern, and the fiesty inspirational black cook played by Roscoe Lee Browne. John Wayne felt tired like he was resting on his laurles, and very wooden, but pleasant enough I suppose. The kids all did fairly well. The plot took a nice turn in the final act, but the ending was a bit underwhelming.




Alright, well to be honest those were the only two I was dredding, and they were exactly as I expected. I gave them as much credit as I could and just tried to appreciate their charms, but they're not the kind of movies I would normally watch. I'm going to go ahead and watch the last John Wayne right now, and to be honest I am actually kind of looking forward to this one. I don't know why, but something about it does actually peak my interest. I don't care for John Wayne, but actually the story of Liberty Valance is something I'm curious about.

I guess I don't mind rewatching The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly so that I can thoroughly critique it.

Then I'll watch The Silence, which I've been anticipating and am looking forward to seeing with a fresh perspective.

Finally I'll end with The Salvation which I'm going into totally blind. I like Mads Mikkelsen and Eva Green, so I'm excited. I should finish them all within 48 hours.