Directed by David Mamet Spartan really moves, almost right off the bat. It's an addicting kind of a movie, with Val Kilmer playing some version of 24's Jack Bauer, free and eager to bend the rules so that he might accomplish the mission in front of him. Scott (Kilmer) works for the Secret Service in some capacity, … Continue reading Spartan (2004)
the searchers
Red River (1948)
Directed by Howard Hawks John Wayne plays an effective, unexpected villain in Red River, perhaps inspiring John Ford to cast him in such a role in what is considered the greatest western of all time, 1956’s The Searchers. Ford said about Wayne in this film, “I didn’t know the son of a bitch could act.” … Continue reading Red River (1948)
True Grit (2010)
Directed by the Coen Brothers The 1969 film was a celebration of all things John Wayne while the Coen Brothers' adaptation of the same source material is much more broadly comedic, at least to a point. The Rooster Cogburn character here is played by a legendary actor in his own right, Jeff Bridges. He's somewhere … Continue reading True Grit (2010)
True Grit (1969)
Directed by Henry Hathaway John Wayne more or less plays John Wayne in True Grit. As Rooster Cogburn he is an old Marshall, drunk and lazy but quick with a gun and honorable to boot when the moment calls. Cogburn is the man young Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) turns to for help tracking down Tom Chaney, … Continue reading True Grit (1969)
Stagecoach (1939)
Directed by John Ford While it wasn't the first western, nor was it close, Stagecoach was the first modern western. Along with the introduction of what would become repeated tropes in the genre, the film was Ford's first foray into Monument Valley, the landscape he would eventually make famous, and it is what made a star … Continue reading Stagecoach (1939)
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