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[ReD NeCKersoN]

In theatres now in the USA. (Don't know about other countries.)

Appaloosa Website

Scroll down for the trailer. I hope to see this soon. If I do, I'll attempt a review. Some great actors in this film & I'm a big fan of actor/director Ed Harris. I hope this is good.

[EvilFutsin]

Unfortunately, I'm going to completely miss this, probably. I've had no interest in seeing it, honestly, nor any films as of late. (hence the lack of a new review recently)

The sadder news is the film is probably going to be kind of mixed. I've heard that the violence is far too PG-13, although Viggo is amazing in it (another great sidekick western character for the newer westerns), and as I feared - Renee Zellwegger hurts it given she sucks in period pieces. And Jeremy Irons is great, but his character isn't as menacing as you'd like him to be.

Granted, gritty violence is not always the sign of quality (Seraphim Falls anyone?).

If I do get a chance to catch it, I shall review it, however.

[EvilFutsin]

Sorry I wasn't able to catch/review Appaloosa, folks. It will be some time before I get my mitts on it to see. I look forward now to seeing it, as I'm tired of 2008's string of B-movies that're awesome but hollow. Hopefully Appaloosa's a little lesson that.

However, I have a special double-bill review coming. It's NOT what you expect (the Yojimbo/Fistful thing, that is), it's an underrated western and another of those "sort of" western films, but the combination is great and I think you'll all enjoy it!

[Pardner]

Well, I watch it tonight and I loved it. I liked how both Ed Harris's and Vigo Mortensen's charecters were the quiet/serious gunslingers who knew their business. Reminded me of Clint's charecters!

... Jeremy Irons is great, but his character isn't as menacing as you'd like him to be.

I will agree with that. I feel that the bad guy could have been meaner. I was all excited when he shot the marshal and the two deputies, but the rest of the film he was kinda a push over Although, hiring the competition is always a good idea

[ChainLightnin']

Funny, I just watched it last night for the first time too. I liked it as well. I'll bet those guys had a lot of fun making that film! Gotta kick out of "Wormtail" from Harry Potter as one of the squirrelly city boys, and "Three Fingered Jack". Really good accurate gun sounds.

[ReD NeCKersoN]

Chico watched it the other night & seemed to like it. He said it wasn't the greatest western film he'd ever seen, but was definitely worth checking out. Add that to what you guys are saying in here & that's good enough for me. Adding to my netflix cue asap.

9 video clips here.

[EvilFutsin]

Wormtail? i.e. Timothy Spall?

Wow. Sold. I'll try to rent it when dad and I return our DVDs this weekend.

[ChainLightnin']

Yup, it's Spall. Amazing versatile actor!

[CRAZYHOSE]

I saw this a few months ago and liked it.

Viggo Mortensen is very good as Everett. tough but thoughtful.

I also liked the Renée Zellwegger charactor, I thought it was a truthful look at the female 'predicament'.

There was some violence, like the bit where Virgil (Ed harris) knocks the guys front teeth out, but nothing too over the top.

Overall a good western I thought

[EvilFutsin]

Well, I saw the flick and honestly - disappointed.

It's not that it's a bad movie. Performances were fantastic, story was interesting, some of the most realistic characterizations I've ever seen in a film (especially for Zellwegger's character and Ed Harris' lead), the surprise of Lance Henrikson (!!!!) was awesome as I love that guy in any western, and it definitely has a great ending.

There's a ton to love about the film throughout. The well-lit scenes, fantastic use of color and film (this was, amazingly, not shot on digital), the few key moments of violence are well-handled (not perfect, but well-handled), the town is a great character for the movie, and it does have some fantastic dialogue. Not to mention the chemistry of Viggo and Ed is pretty much one of the best western duos ever.

The real catch is just that I never ended up feeling satisfied. Sure, it's a good ending for the story, but there's many things in the execution throughout the film that pull back, not giving you the visceral moment that allows you to go WHOA and pump up. You get two fantastic moments in the first 15 minutes of the movie, and then it's over. Nothing happens and you get a long, long, long, long set-up before anything starts really going on again (that being when Bragg is being transported to his execution).

Look, I'm not saying this needed more "action" or gunplay. The drama on a conceptual and thematic level, as well as the performances of the actors, was VERY good. It showed the subtlety and maturity I was hoping for. What I didn't get was scenes that actually showed a sense of "dramatization". I had a long talk with my dad after we watched the film about what was kind of wrong and one conclusion I came to, in a long rant about movies in general, was that what makes a movie stand out (especially the great ones) is seeing that the movie is an extension through the screen into an entirely different world. Cinematically-speaking. Appaloosa lacked this, as have other films that ended up kind of disappointing me. To be quite blunt, realism can come from many areas. Using minimalistic ideas in cinematography and blocking doesn't always work. With David Mamet, it does, because the material is so strong you just put the camera in the middle of the room and boom, you got a great flick (although I'm sure hardcore fans of Glengarry Glenross will kill me for saying that). But westerns have always prided themselves on having something of a more in-depth sense of dramatization, where you get to soak into another reality. You're meant to look back in time. I've always found (truly without fail) that the best way to bring the audience into the reality of the movie is through the story, script, characters, and performances. In this part, the reality was solid, sold and outright perfect. But on a visual and directorial level, I didn't get that in most of the film.

Which is not to say it isn't at all in the movie. The opening, the moments of violence, and the entire train sequence where Bragg gets sprung include this brilliantly. The final execution of what could have been Everett Hitch's last decision was also great. You get a good rush from that finale.

But the pieces that make up the whole just didn't click together for me. It's a little hard to explain without getting long-winded about it, but the gist best I can say is that I felt the movie held back too much in the wrong ways.

It's still worth seeing for fans of old-fashioned westerns, but I honestly don't think I'll ever see it again (although I'd probably have my actors watch certain scenes on loop). Slow westerns are fine, mature westerns are fine, hell, westerns without an ounce of gunfire are fine by me and I love some of them and will praise'em when I dig'em. But you're meant to entertain the audience and you can't let the point of your film, however brilliant and at times well-executed, overpower that.

Interesting sidenote: The cinematographer, amazingly, was known for a few Ozsploitation films in the early 80s such as one of my favorite movies - Razorback. He also did The Road Warrior (and worked with George Miller multiple times), Dances with Wolves (no kidding), The Power of One (a great South Africa drama), Last Action Hero, and many others....including...Super Mario Bros. o_o

[ReD NeCKersoN]

I finally watched this the other day. I'm not as in depth or well versed as Futsin (which is why I refuse to do reviews here) but I liked the film & will watch it again. There's plenty of good stuff in it, even if the movie focuses on the character development. Gunplay is sparce for sure but this obviously wasn't intended to be an action flick. I also can't stand Zelwegger as an actress but that's a personal preference thing I guess. ANYBODY but her would have been less of a distraction for me. The authenticity of the props & attention to every little detail in this flick really stood out imo. From what I understand, a ton of research was done for authenticity's sake & it shows. I also truly enjoyed the conversations & interactions between the characters. I'd give it 4 out of 6 bullets. (Maybe even 4.5.) At least watch it once if you get the chance.