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I am going to post my first ever movie review. I hope that I'm not breaking any rules by posting it here. It is also the last movie I have seen. OK. Here goes:
A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST (2014)
"It's really big. Yes. You're huge!. No. I meant you."
I was very surprised to learn this movie was made in 2014 because I had never heard of it before seeing it just now.
I was also surprised to learn it got a rating at IMDB of 6.1. This film was written and directed by Seth MacFarlane (who was the show runner of "Family Guy"). Many Family Guy episodes were really hysterical and I would have expected that any of his solo projects would have garnered a much higher rating.
On the IMDB boards, 7.0 out of 10 is an average rating and I usually agree with the ratings they publish. So I was not expecting this movie to be excellent. I was surprised because I would have expected any solo project from MacFarlane would have gotten a rating of at least 7.5 or higher.
The movie began in a fairly typical way. Many of the early laughs were cheap and kind of expected.
By the way, although this movie is rated as a comedy, it is most definitely something you would not want to see with your children (assuming you have any). Much of the language and many of the situations here are most definitely "adult".
As the movie unfolded, my reaction remained kind of "Ho Hum". It was OK. But definitely pretty much "average".
But as it proceeded, I found myself enjoying it more and more all the time. My affection for this film just kept on building until by the end of the movie, I must say that I came away thinking it was worthy of a much higher rating. I'm still not certain why I enjoyed it so much. Perhaps it was because MacFarlane seemed to be poking fun at the entire genre of Westerns as well as Comedies and perhaps several others as well.
I would most definitely recommend that anyone who enjoys comedies see this film. It may appear to be a dumb comedy designed for very young audiences. But it is actually a very "smart" film. At this moment, I really feel a strong desire to turn off my computer and go watch it again. I usually only want to see a movie for a second time after several weeks or months have passed. But I am remembering this film as very "smart" and definitely worth seeing again and maybe again after that.
Now for a few random remarks.
Giovanni Ribisi played a small part in this film. I like Ribisi very much and I've always enjoyed almost all of his performances. I must say that I think he was pretty much wasted in this role. He has many strong talents, but they were just not needed here. Any one of a hundred other actors could have played this part and not very much in the way of talent was ever required. I got the impression that perhaps Ribisi was cast in this film because someone just admired his work or maybe because he was friends with someone involved in casting - maybe even MacFarlane. I don't recall any projects in which the two worked together. But if I wrote and directed a film, I would almost certainly jump at the chance to cast Ribisi.
Two of the female leads were Amanda Seyfried and Charlize Theron. I have to say that Theron was most definitely the star of this movie. Actually, that may not be quite true. The biggest star of this movie was MacFarlane's talent for writing and directing. He did a great job in both departments. He also turned in a great understated performance in a comedy in which he could have easily "stolen the show". But he was very generous in the way he gave his co-stars the opportunity to take away most of the laughs.
There are a few shots in this movie that I predict you will never forget. Among these are: Flying Fish, Tumbling Horses, Sheep on Stilts and others.
Liam Neeson also turns in an excellent performance in a comparatively small role. I've never seen him before as a truly evil villian and he was delicious. In addition to those actors I've already mentioned (MacFarlane, Theron, Seyfried, Ribisi and Neeson), there are a few other excellent actors involved. These include Sarah Silverman in a most memorable performance as a whore with a very likeable personality and Gilbert Gottfried who played a small cameo as Abraham Lincon. I was surprised at the appearance of Alex Borstein. I suppose I should not have been surprised since the last time I saw her was about 15 years ago on Mad TV. Of course this is now 15 years later and she most definitely appears to be 15 years older. I don't know why I'm so surprised. The best explanation may be that I'm just stupid. I don't know why I would have expected anything different.
She most definitley appeared to have aged every single year of those 15 years. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic. Or maybe I have somewhat dumbass expectations when it comes to women in films showing their age (it truly feels like that may be true). I am left wondering why Borstein would have taken on this role because it was really a very tiny role and Alex has a truly massive amount of talent. Perhaps I'm just being foolish and/or unrealistic. I mean, what did I expect she would look like 15 years later? She is now 50 years old and she looks every inch of that. I best stop writing now because I'm feeling pretty stupid at the moment. I truly have no idea what I'm trying to say. I will just stop by saying I've always admired her talent. She is massively talented and it's a shame that women seem to get the "short end of the stick" when being judged because it seems to me that aging impacts women much more so than men and women are often judged more harshly when they age. I know that is just so wrong and so stupid. After all, what would anyone have the right to expect? She is 50 years old now. Why am I surprised she no longer looks like a woman in her twenties? I'm feeling quite embarrassed at my own lack of sensitivity on this subject. I just wish I knew how to handle this better. But I obviously do not.
Bottom Line? This is a very funny movie and if you are ever looking for some escapism and some laughs, do yourself a favor and see this one. You will laugh. I promise.
A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST (2014)
"It's really big. Yes. You're huge!. No. I meant you."
I was very surprised to learn this movie was made in 2014 because I had never heard of it before seeing it just now.
I was also surprised to learn it got a rating at IMDB of 6.1. This film was written and directed by Seth MacFarlane (who was the show runner of "Family Guy"). Many Family Guy episodes were really hysterical and I would have expected that any of his solo projects would have garnered a much higher rating.
On the IMDB boards, 7.0 out of 10 is an average rating and I usually agree with the ratings they publish. So I was not expecting this movie to be excellent. I was surprised because I would have expected any solo project from MacFarlane would have gotten a rating of at least 7.5 or higher.
The movie began in a fairly typical way. Many of the early laughs were cheap and kind of expected.
By the way, although this movie is rated as a comedy, it is most definitely something you would not want to see with your children (assuming you have any). Much of the language and many of the situations here are most definitely "adult".
As the movie unfolded, my reaction remained kind of "Ho Hum". It was OK. But definitely pretty much "average".
But as it proceeded, I found myself enjoying it more and more all the time. My affection for this film just kept on building until by the end of the movie, I must say that I came away thinking it was worthy of a much higher rating. I'm still not certain why I enjoyed it so much. Perhaps it was because MacFarlane seemed to be poking fun at the entire genre of Westerns as well as Comedies and perhaps several others as well.
I would most definitely recommend that anyone who enjoys comedies see this film. It may appear to be a dumb comedy designed for very young audiences. But it is actually a very "smart" film. At this moment, I really feel a strong desire to turn off my computer and go watch it again. I usually only want to see a movie for a second time after several weeks or months have passed. But I am remembering this film as very "smart" and definitely worth seeing again and maybe again after that.
Now for a few random remarks.
Giovanni Ribisi played a small part in this film. I like Ribisi very much and I've always enjoyed almost all of his performances. I must say that I think he was pretty much wasted in this role. He has many strong talents, but they were just not needed here. Any one of a hundred other actors could have played this part and not very much in the way of talent was ever required. I got the impression that perhaps Ribisi was cast in this film because someone just admired his work or maybe because he was friends with someone involved in casting - maybe even MacFarlane. I don't recall any projects in which the two worked together. But if I wrote and directed a film, I would almost certainly jump at the chance to cast Ribisi.
Two of the female leads were Amanda Seyfried and Charlize Theron. I have to say that Theron was most definitely the star of this movie. Actually, that may not be quite true. The biggest star of this movie was MacFarlane's talent for writing and directing. He did a great job in both departments. He also turned in a great understated performance in a comedy in which he could have easily "stolen the show". But he was very generous in the way he gave his co-stars the opportunity to take away most of the laughs.
There are a few shots in this movie that I predict you will never forget. Among these are: Flying Fish, Tumbling Horses, Sheep on Stilts and others.
Liam Neeson also turns in an excellent performance in a comparatively small role. I've never seen him before as a truly evil villian and he was delicious. In addition to those actors I've already mentioned (MacFarlane, Theron, Seyfried, Ribisi and Neeson), there are a few other excellent actors involved. These include Sarah Silverman in a most memorable performance as a whore with a very likeable personality and Gilbert Gottfried who played a small cameo as Abraham Lincon. I was surprised at the appearance of Alex Borstein. I suppose I should not have been surprised since the last time I saw her was about 15 years ago on Mad TV. Of course this is now 15 years later and she most definitely appears to be 15 years older. I don't know why I'm so surprised. The best explanation may be that I'm just stupid. I don't know why I would have expected anything different.
She most definitley appeared to have aged every single year of those 15 years. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic. Or maybe I have somewhat dumbass expectations when it comes to women in films showing their age (it truly feels like that may be true). I am left wondering why Borstein would have taken on this role because it was really a very tiny role and Alex has a truly massive amount of talent. Perhaps I'm just being foolish and/or unrealistic. I mean, what did I expect she would look like 15 years later? She is now 50 years old and she looks every inch of that. I best stop writing now because I'm feeling pretty stupid at the moment. I truly have no idea what I'm trying to say. I will just stop by saying I've always admired her talent. She is massively talented and it's a shame that women seem to get the "short end of the stick" when being judged because it seems to me that aging impacts women much more so than men and women are often judged more harshly when they age. I know that is just so wrong and so stupid. After all, what would anyone have the right to expect? She is 50 years old now. Why am I surprised she no longer looks like a woman in her twenties? I'm feeling quite embarrassed at my own lack of sensitivity on this subject. I just wish I knew how to handle this better. But I obviously do not.
Bottom Line? This is a very funny movie and if you are ever looking for some escapism and some laughs, do yourself a favor and see this one. You will laugh. I promise.