From a far, Invictus looked like a movie with a lot of potential. On the one had you have Clint Eastwood in the directors chair and on the other you have Morgan Freeman in a role he was born to play, Nelson Mandella. Unfortunately, Invictus wasn’t able to follow through as well as I hoped.
Invictus told the uplifting tale of a rugby team bent on winning the world cup in South Africa in order to bring the country together. It’s a very inspirational tale, but it just feels as though its all been done before and much better for that matter. Clint Eastwood is one of my favorite directors, but with this movie it really just felt like he was trying to make a good-feeling best picture contender. He’s just done so much better with masterpieces like Mystic River and Unforgiven under his belt. It was a little disappointing.
To shed some light on this movie, I must say I absolutely loved Morgan Freeman. He was fantastic, a performance certainly worthy of the nomination it will get. As I said before, he was born to play this role and I’m actually surprised he hadn’t played Mandella sooner. He was phenomenal. Matt Damon on the other, I wasn’t a huge fan of in this film. I’ve never been a huge Damon fan, but he has surprised me in the past. This film was one of those cases.
Overall, with Eastwood’s directing and Freeman’s performance, Invictus made for a decent movie, while it could’ve been great. After watching Invictus, I came to realize I would’ve much rather seen a movie centered around Nelson Mandella’s life and election. I believe that would’ve made for a much better movie.
This is a list I’ve truly been prepping for, for about a year now. About a year ago I had only seen a couple westerns that I had actually enjoyed (a few of those made this list), and I realized as a lover of movies I have not seen nearly enough westerns. So, I filled my netflix queue and got to watching and enjoying. I realized two things while watching the many westerns I did.
First of all, I’m quite sorry to say and I know many won’t agree with this statement and might even just X out of this page as soon as they read it, but an opinion’s an opinion and I’m not gonna lie to agree with society. I found John Wayne to be overrated. I’m just not a fan. I liked a few of his movies, such as The Searchers and The Shootist, and my favorite would probably have to be The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but that didn’t even make the list. It probably would be 11 or 12 though if I were to add on to this list.
Secondly, and much more importantly, I realized that the Western genre is one of my favorites and this list would be harder to make than I thought. I was very right. Through watching this dying genre I found not only fantastic westerns, but also some of the greatest movies I’ve seen of all time. Well, I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time now. Here are my top ten favorite westerns.
10. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
At the heart of this classic lies what may be the most iconic duo of all time. Paul Newman and Robert Redford play so impeccably well off each other that every scene is made real and memorable. The timing of every witty crack is absolutely perfect, the action sequences are highly entertaining, while sticking to realism and the finale is breathtaking.
9. Tombstone
Tombstone is a fantastic film that was a shoe in for this list. Tombstone is the greatest telling of the now classic tale of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. There are many memorable parts, from the classic OK coral shoot-out, to Holiday’s tricks with a tea cup in a bar. There’s something for everyone in this flick because even if you don’t find solace in the fantastic scenes, you will certainly find enjoyment out of Val Kilmer’s masterful performance as Doc Holiday.
8. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
This is one of the newest westerns to be placed on this list and in my eyes this movie is a breath of fresh air because it showed that great westerns can still be made today. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are phenomenal. A brilliant cast and script was combined to tell the very true and quite epic tale of the assassination of one of the most famous western outlaws there ever was.
7. For A Few Dollars More
For A Few Dollars More is a fascinating character study of bounty hunters in the old west. It’s the second film in Sergio Leone’s Man With No Name Trilogy, but as with every movie in the Dollars trilogy, it stands alone as its own fantastic story. Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef make for a very interesting and entertaining pair in the old west. Leone builds tension, keeps you guessing, and in the end he most certainly does not disappoint.
6. The Proposition
The Proposition is another western that is relatively new. It was made only a few years ago and I believe it is one of the greatest westerns of all time, only surpassed by some of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen. The plot of The Proposition is genuinely simple, yet superbly poetic. In the Australian Outback, a man is hired to kill his older brother in order to save his younger one from the noose. It’s the most brutal western I’ve seen and it never lets up till its pitch-perfect ending.
5. True Grit
The Coen Brother’s never cease to amaze and with their remake of the now classic John Wayne movie, they do more than that. True Grit is undoubtedly the most light-hearted of their films I’ve seen and the most light-hearted western. It’s also the one that feels the most real. Like almost all westerns, True Grit tells a simple tale, but because of the people who are telling the tale, what you get is something unbelievably moving.
4. Once Upon a Time in the West
Sergio Leone’s complex, gritty, western tale of revenge and mayhem is so amazing that it was hard to even put it at just number three. I’m going to say this right now, Sergio Leone builds tension better than Hitchcock does. Every single scene from the (waiting for the train) opening to the final showdown, your always on edge. I’d also like to say that Ennio Morricone is probably the greatest film composer in history. Westerns almost always have fantastic scores, but this is my favorite of any western score.
Last, but certainly not least I have to mention Henry Fonda’s flawless performance as the ruthless western gunslinger Frank, certainly out of character for him; his best work. This is some of Sergio Leone’s best work. A film that builds and builds with a well thought out, detailed and at times even complex plot that ends up being a very simple tale of good vs. evil. Sergio Leone’s masterpiece is the third greatest western I’ve seen.
3. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Most commonly called the classic western and for good reason. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is nothing and I repeat nothing short of a masterpiece. If I’m not mistaken I think the Man With No Name trilogy is the only trilogy that truly gets greater with each film. Leone’s skill for building tension, which has been attempted, but never matched, was never greater than in every single, intricately plotted, scene of this movie.
What Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood (Blondie-The Good) , Lee Van Cleef (Angel Eyes-The Bad) and Eli Wallach (Tuco- The Ugly) have given us is masterful look at the west, the adventures, and the subsequent stories that were inspired. A story full of depth and characters, whether that be the good guys, the bad guys, and the ones in between. A timeless epic that savors my hunger for excellence with each passing scene eventually leading to what is probably the most iconic and greatest western showdown/ending ever put on screen. And for this, from the bottom of my heart, I thank them.
2. Django Unchained
Django Unchained is about a hero of mythical proportions on a quest for love. It’s a tale of friendship and taking a stand against the savagery of slavery. It’s a spaghetti western and an epic legend with all the blood and violence of the west and the heroes and villains you find in legends. It’s finds a balance between the intense drama that’s playing out and the rollicking good time that it is. It’s a magnificent story as only Quentin Tarantino could’ve told.
It’s hard not to root for Django in his vengeful and loving journey. It’s hard to to jump up and cheer when the whip or gun is turned back on the slaver. Dr. King Schultz can see slavery for what it is and he sees Django as a man and a friend in need. Only together can they attempt to conquer the Candyland and the ignorant villainy that lies within. Django Unchanged is ridiculously entertaining and unbelievably powerful.
1. Unforgiven
As I said in the past, this was a difficult list to make, but there is not a doubt in my mind when it comes to number one. Clint Eastwood starred in many classic westerns including Sergio Leone’s classic Man With No Name Trilogy. Then he directed some of his own great westerns. His knowledge on the genre grew over years of experience and he eventually gave us the greatest western of all time. Unforgiven is the western that was able to do what no other western was able to. It showed us what the west really was. Unforgiven showed us that a ruthless killer could fall off his horse or miss a shot.
Unforgiven shows the realistic West where no one could really be considered the good guy, not even the guy your rooting for (William Munny- Clint Eastood in an Oscar nominated performance) , and especially not the sheriff (Little Bill Dagget- Gene Hackman in an Oscar winning performance). Unforgiven was a masterful look into a world we’ve never seen. We thought we had, but we realize now that was all just fantasy. Unforgiven mixes dark realism with the fantasy Western genre. Add brilliant acting and characters, fantastic writing and direction and the result is not only the greatest western of all time, but one of the greatest movies ever made. A true masterpiece of our time worthy of recognition and praise.
Last weekend, The Dark Knight was in it’s third weekend and I didn’t write this article last week because I honestly believed that The Dark Knight could beat The Mummy 3 in its third weekend and I was right. The Dark Knight was higher in its third week than Mummy was in its first by 1.4 million dollars. Now is where everyone is saying that The Dark Knight is going to fall, they’re saying that it will never beat Titanic or even go another weekend on top. Well I say that we as fans can and will proof these non-believers wrong like we did last weekend let’s show them all what’s possible when it comes to this movie.
This spectacular movie has broken almost every record in the book and I’m aiming for it to beat one more and that’s to beat Titanic out of the top spot for most money made Domestically. Titanic has made $600,788,188 Domestically. So far, The Dark Knight has made $394,887,000. What’s a measly little $200,000,000 when it comes to a movie this good, if there’s one movie that could do it, it’s The Dark Knight whose broken the record for most money made in a span of 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and even 10 days. It even broke the record for most made in the first weekend, which most said was impossible, but we as fans proofed them wrong. Well, let’s proof them wrong again with The Dark Knight’s Last Stand.
If like me and are a fan of The Dark Knight than read on, if your like me and enjoy The Dark Knight more than Titanic than read on, if your also like me and want to see the movie with Heath Ledger’s final completed performance make more than Titanic Domestically, than read on please. I have seen The Dark Knight several times so far and am going to see it at least twice this weekend. If you have not seen The Dark Knight yet, please go see it, you will not regret it, the movie is astounding and anyone who has seen it will tell you the same unless they’re just trying to be an outcast. If you already have seen the movie, see it again this weekend, multiple times. Let’s as fans show the world that a movie this good is able to be better than it previous weekends, probably not its first or second, but at least substantially higher than its third, no that its third was bad because it did beat a movie that had a bit of a following. If you’re a Dark Knight send this URL to other Dark Knight fans, tell all the Dark Knight fans about what you read here, and force the people you know who haven’t seen it yet into their closest theater. If you are a true Dark Knight fan than post a comment here telling all viewers how many times you’ve seen the movie and how many times you plan to see the movie this weekend. Thank-You.
This post is dedicated to my favorite scenes from my new favorite movie, The Dark Knight. If I couldn’t find the scene, I described it, and If I couldn’t find the entire scene, I apologize. The Dark Knight is spectacular and every scene is great, but I did my best. See the movie if you haven’t yet, it has tobeat Titanc Domestically, but if you haven’t, don’t read ahead.
This movie has undoubtedly exceeded my very unrealistic expectations , in fact, this movie would have exceeded my expectations no matter how high they were. I am sick of his movie being compared to stupid movies like Spider-Man and Fantastic Four because saying that this movie is one of the greatest comic book movies of all time is bringing it down a notch, because folks believe it or not this is by far the greatest comic book movie of all time, and not only that, but it’s also one of the greatest movies of all time period. That’s right, I said it, and I’ll say it again, this is one of the greatest movies of all time. What are you gonna do, call me a fan boy, say that I would’ve liked it even if it sucked because it was a Batman movie. That’s not true at all, I didn’t start liking Batman until Batman Begins, which was in my opinion an A+ movie, but this was so much better in so many ways. This is an amazing movie, if you miss seeing it, I’m sorry.
Let me start my next comment with a little message to the 1 to 1000000000000000 ratio of critics who didn’t like this movie. There was barely any of you out there, but to that minimal amount of people, Fuck You. I’m sorry, I know that I’m supposed to allow everyone to have their own opinion, but I can’t think of a single reason to give this movie below an A, and A+ for that matter. The only reason I could possibly think of is the fact that you couldn’t handle everyone in the world liking it, so you had to be the few people to give it a bad grade, or maybe it was that you couldn’t handle the fact that this genre of movie could bring a movie this amazing. Whatever the reason, to those very few critics who didn’t give this movie a good grade, find a new profession and fast, the one you have right now isn’t going to work out.
This movie was flawless, I could watch this movie 100 times and still not figure out a single thing that bothered me in the movie. It was flawlessly directed, written, and acted by every cast member especially Ledger, but I’ll get to that later. Maggie was ten times the Rachel Dawes that Holmes was. Aaron Eckhart was delightfully cool and fun that transforms into disfigured and dangerous, and he makes the part his own with such indiscribeble flair. Caine and Freeman are at the top of their game as always. Christian Bale was fantastic, he added much more complexity to a complex character, he surpassed his original already good performance with flying colors.
Now we get to Heath Ledger, I’ve been looking forward to this performance for a year now, where as I was anticipating the movie itself for three years. My expectations for this character were off the charts, I knew this character would be amazing, but to tell you the truth, I had no idea. The Joker actually exceeded my expectations, he was insane, disturbing, hysterically funny, suicidal, and loads o fun. It is impossible for a character to be better than this, impossible. I am just sad that I started my Top 50 characters list before I saw this movie, he would have been near the top, For Sure. I don’t want to give anything away, but lets just say that he makes feel insecure while he’s around you because he torments your mind with disturbing choices. The Joker is what you would get if you put Jack Torrence, Alex DeLarge, Hannibal Lecter, and paint in a blender and then multiplied it all by 10. Heath Ledger/The Joker is amazing, he kills, destroys and burns, whatever comes his way for one purpose only, to have a blast. Well, while The Joker was having a blast, I was having a blast watching him. He put a smile on my face every time he walked on the screen.
The Dark Knight is spectacular. Oh, forgot to mention this, this is a comic book movie so every kid on earth is gonna wanna see, but take my word for it, do not bring children to this movie. As much as I want to see this movie make a lot of money because it’s amazing I’m gonna have to say do not do it, this movie is not and will never be intended towards children. Anyways, back to the review, The Dark Knight could not have been better than this was. Go see it multiple times now, you will not regret it. If you go in there wanting to have a good time, you’ll have and amazing time. If you go in there thinking you’ll have an ok time, you’ll have an amazing time. If you were dragged into it and you hate Batman and super hero films, you’ll have an amazing time. If you go in there trying to be a critic and attempting to point out flaws because you feel that there has to be at least one person who hates it, you’ll still probably have an amazing time, except for a few of you who are blinded by comic book physique. I know I said it multiple times already, but I’m going to say it again with a few different adjectives, The Dark Knight was unbelievably incredible and leaves you with an astonished speechlessness. This is why I love movies. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece.
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