Silverado

By the 1980s, the western genre had unfortunately gone by the wayside. The often white-washed entries of the 1950s, the spaghetti westerns of the 1960s and the revisionist westerns of the 1970s had done a number on fans, and the genre was never quite the same. I'm still not sure why dammit! Maybe I was meant to grow up during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s! After the 70s, the western became few and far between, like 1985's Silverado, a throwback western I've seen bits and pieces of but only saw all the way through...well, this time.

Having served a five-year jail sentence for a murder that was actually self-defense, a drifter named Emmett (Scott Glenn) is riding west with California as his ultimate destination. Riding deep into the desert, Emmett finds something his eyes just don't believe. Lying in long underwear in the sand is a man named Paden (Kevin Kline) who tells the story of how he was double-crossed and left to die with no water or supplies. The two pair up and keep on heading west, both with their own objectives. What awaits them? First, they'll find out Emmett's younger brother, Jake (Kevin Costner), is about to be hung for a murder that sounds fishy while also running into a man, Mal (Danny Glover), heading west to help his family run their small homestead and ranch. The trail ahead won't be easy though as a corrupt rancher and his equally corrupt sheriff are wreaking havoc on the town of Silverado, the town they're all heading to.

I caught the first 45 minutes of this 1985 western a few years back. I liked it, didn't love it, but never got back to it. Well, Encore Westerns tempted me once too often with it on its schedule. My biggest takeaway? Director Lawrence Kasdan (who also wrote the screenplay with his brother, Mark) loves westerns. LOVES them. He must have grown up watching countless westerns because in the same way Indiana Jones and Star Wars did, 'Silverado' plays like a tribute film to its genre predecessors while also creating its own identity. I guess it makes sense because Kasdan wrote Raiders, Empire and Jedi. Go figure! It feels familiar -- in a good way -- and the lines are blurred some, but from the start things are pretty clear. The good guys are good and the bad guys are corrupt, greedy and evil. Entertaining in the best kind of way.

What I remember struggling with was the almost complete lack of a story. There are characters. There are some vignettes here and there. But a linear story? No, not really. We meet a ton of characters, things are kinda laid out, and then eventually, the good guys face off against those dastardly bad guys. It can be frustrating, but the payoff is worth it. Just know that getting there can be a tad slow in a 133-minute flick.

If you've seen Kasdan's writing credits -- read it HERE -- it's clear he's at his strongest with ensembles, typically tough guy ensembles. That is the biggest strength here in 'Silverado,' specifically with his four main heroes, Kline, Glenn, Glover and Costner. These are archetypal western characters, and they don't disappoint. Kline's Paden is the former gunslinger with a checkered past, Glenn's Emmett the amiable but tough as nails drifter, Costner's Jake the fun-loving, hard-living, cocky youngster, and Glover's Mal the ice water in his veins rifleman and family man. Kline doesn't scream 'wild west gunfighter,' but he's the coolest character. Glenn and Glover are similarly strong with Costner the only relative weak link in the bunch. It's not his fault, but the character is just a bit too goofy. Still, the strength is in the group. By the time you see the gun-slinging quartet ride to the final showdown, you're fully on their side.

Who else to look for? Let's talk baddies. Brian Dennehy is Sheriff Cobb, an imposing, brutish man who used to ride with Paden and is now working with a local rancher to buy up all the land around the town. Jeff Fahey is solid as his enforcer of sorts, Tyree. Jeff Goldblum has some fun as Slick, a gambler who arrives in Silverado looking for some easy cash. I thought the best supporting part was Linda Hunt (later of NCIS: LA) as Stella, the diminutive but feisty owner of the Silverado saloon. And in the out of left field department, John Cleese plays a sheriff in another town who comes across our heroes' trail. Also look for Rosanna Arquette, James Gammon and Lynn Whitfield in other supporting roles. If there's a weakness in the cast, it's that beyond Dennehy the villains aren't developed much or even on-screen. The evil rancher is almost an afterthought. The depth of the cast is still very impressive.

So westerns, they like their guns. 'Silverado' is a movie for those with a gun fetish. Scene after scene bring these guns to life from the hard, metallic click of the Henry rifle being loaded to a six-shooter being cocked and fired. The guns end up becoming additional characters. The action is pretty violent but never overly graphic. In the throwback fashion, it's good, old-fashioned, rip-roaring action. A rare "cold" western with snow and the mountains instead of the dusty prairies, this is a western that truly appreciates the genre it's come from. An Oscar-nominated musical score (little too adoring at times), a fun cast, fun vignettes and entertaining throughout. One of those perfect 3-star movies, best watched with a big tub of popcorn.

Silverado (1985): ***/****

The Next Three Days

Master thieves, hardened criminals, hired killers.  Movies have a way of dramatizing and romanticizing those people into something they are almost assuredly not.  The life of a real criminal has to be something different from the one we as moviegoers see so regularly.  It's an entirely different world.  If you wanted to get into that world, where would you even start?  You want to do something you've got absolutely no experience or background in and have no idea how to get it done. Sound like a dangerous enough proposition? That's 2010's The Next Three Days.

In and out of theaters in a week or two thanks to some less than favorable reviews, I missed this movie last fall even though I thought it looked good.  So why didn't it succeed? Why weren't the reviews that good?  My first reaction was that -- and this will come as a surprise -- it's a good movie.  It's not an instant classic that will rewrite the genre, but it is unique, it is different, and in the end, entertaining.  From Crash director Paul Haggis, 'Days' tries to put a spin on the criminal underworld that as viewers we think we understand.  Facing a situation that could tear your life apart, would you go down a road that could easily end with a lengthy jail sentence and maybe even claim your life?

A professor at a small community college in Pittsburgh, John Brennan (Russell Crowe) is happily married to career woman, Lara (Elizabeth Banks), with a 3-year old son. Their life is ripped apart though when one day police officers burst into their home with a warrant for Lara's arrest for the murder of a co-worker. She's found guilty and even with a lengthy appeals process looks like she'll be sent to prison for life.  Seeing his wife truly start to crumble, John decides he will break her out of prison and with their family flee to another country.  But just a professor, what should he do? Where should he start?  Almost by trial and error, John starts to figure things out. A plan starts coming together when he receives a shock from his wife. She's being sent to a different prison in three days. If he wants to pull the job off, he's going to have to put it into effect now.

Who among us at some point watching a movie like this not thought 'Hey, I could do that'.  Okay, just me? Well, anyways, that's what makes the story interesting from your typical story of criminals trying to pull off a job.  Starting from scratch, Crowe's John has to figure out how exactly you go about busting someone out of prison?  He's Joe America, a middle-aged man with a decent job who's never committed a crime in his life.  He has literally no experience with anything illegal, but with his back against the wall sees he has to attempt something desperate if he wants to bring his wife back.

Russell Crowe is a great choice in the lead even if at first glance it doesn't sound like it should work.  This is Maximus from Gladiator or Ben Wade from 3:10 to Yuma.  Of course he'll know how to break his wife out of prison.  Maybe playing on audience perception going in, Haggis makes a wise choice casting Crowe.  He's that good mix of vulnerable and worried with determined and steadfast.  It never hurts that Crowe is a very likable actor, bringing the audience in on his side, maybe even more so as a family man.  What surprised me was the acting by Banks who I normally think of as a more comedic actress.  Consciously or not, Haggis and his screenplay don't portray her in the most favorable light.  Her introduction brought to mind a word that rhymes with 'itchy.' Haggis does leave you guessing about Banks' Lara.  Is she or isn't she a murderer?  It's resolved in the end, but Banks does a great job keeping you unbalanced with a not so likable character.

'Days' is a remake of a 2008 French film that clocked in at just 96 minutes.  If there's a complaint here, it's that 'Days' is a little long in the tooth at 133 minutes.  The first 60-75 minutes are necessary to show John learning how exactly he's going to pull this job off, some plans working and others failing miserably.  A tense failure at the prison truly puts you in shoes as nerves and anxiety rack his body.  A little slow-moving at times, it is certainly needed to set up the actual break which is the better half overall. Haggis has only hinted at how Crowe's Brennan will do the job so seeing it in execution is exciting.  In the process of putting his plan together, his name has popped up on the radar with two detectives (nice supporting parts for Lennie James and Allan Steele) trying to keep up with him.  Tension at its best with a prolonged chase dominating the last 40 minutes or so, the movie ending on a high note.

Thanks to some not so factual advertising, I thought I was seeing a slightly different movie than the one I ended up seeing.  Previews built up Liam Neeson as a crook gone straight who will help Crowe in his efforts.  Not so fast, Neeson is in the entire movie for one scene that goes about three or four minutes. A good part, but don't expect a big part. The whole supporting cast surprised me mostly because none of the names were really pushed in ads.  Daniel Stern plays the Brennans' lawyer, Brian Dennehy plays John's father with whom he has a rocky relationship, former Wu Tang member RZA as a drug dealer, and Olivia Wilde as a single mom who John meets. None of the parts are very big, but they are quick scenes that help move the story along, always keeping things interesting.  If for no other reason, you're wondering what's a guy like Dennehy or an up and coming actress like Wilde doing here?

While I enjoyed the ending, I felt like there was a lot of potential to go down a darker and -- in my eyes -- better finale.  We do get resolution about Banks' character, but all I can think of now is it would have been better to not know.  If Haggis keeps us in the dark, maybe that drives some people away, makes others leave the theater with a bad taste in their mouths, but he'd be trying something different.  Even if he just went a slightly different way, the ending could have improved.  As is, it is all right, especially the final shot on Crowe questioning what's happened and what's still to come.  All-around, a good movie.

The Next Three Days <---trailer (2010): ***/****

Rambo: First Blood

Unlike any war the United States had ever been in, the Vietnam War was something no one could have prepared for, both during and after the conflict.  American soldiers were welcomed home with cries of 'Baby killers' and much, much worse by an American public that probably had no idea what those soldiers went through.  And when they did get home, the soldiers began to struggle through post traumatic stress disorder on scales unlike any war had produced.  Movie studios embraced this concept, trying to show the plight of what so many soldiers were going through, including one of the best efforts, 1982's First Blood.

The more I see with Sylvester Stallone, the more I come away impressed of him as an actor, writer and director.  There is a perception with Sly that he's just a big galoot, that New Yorker who mumbles his words and doesn't know any better.  And maybe through his career, he wasn't a classic oriented filmmaker, but maybe most importantly he knows what audiences will plop down money for and go see his movies in theaters.  The guy is genuinely talented in front of the camera or behind it, but often enough that talent gets lost in a sea of bad, cheesy movies.  Co-writing the script and starring in First Blood, Stallone shows his ability on all fronts.

A small town sheriff in the Pacific Northwest, Sheriff Teasle (Brian Dennehy) picks up a drifter traveling through his town and orders him to move along, the population doesn't approve of his kind.  The drifter, a man named John Rambo (Stallone), is just looking for a bite to eat so when he's arrested for vagrancy and booked, he freaks out.  He runs for the hills with Teasle and a crew of deputies on his trail, but they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.  Rambo is a Vietnam vet, a Special Forces soldier, a Green Beret, and a Congressional Medal of Honor winner.  He toys with the deputies, wounding them all but killing none until Teasle is forced to call in the state police (led by Bill McKinney) and the National Guard, along with Rambo's former commander in Vietnam, Colonel Samuel Trautman (Richard Crenna). But as the manhunt continues, is Rambo even willing to surrender or is this one last blaze of glory?

Through all the parodies, spoofs and criticisms of Stallone as an actor, this is one of his finest performances, both as a physical action star and a dramatic actor.  For the first 80 minutes or so, Stallone has little in the way of lines at all.  It's his presence alone that keeps the movie interesting, letting his actions speak for themselves as he somewhat humanely takes out the sheriff's posse hunting him.  When he finally gets to deliver his lines, Sly hits a grand slam in the finale.  MILD SPOILERS Watch it HERE as Rambo just falls apart emotionally and physically, his memories from Vietnam finally becoming too much to handle. What he says is probably what most Vietnam vets felt like to one degree or another and shows that if you ever thought Stallone couldn't act, you'd be wrong.

Now we've got this heroic, very easy to like main character so you need someone equally evil to counter with.  Dennehy as small town Sheriff Teasle is the ideal bad guy to Rambo's good guy.  He's the type of power figure who gets off using all his power, all his might on this little world he controls.  Then when there's the slightest disturbance, he flips out.  He and his deputies treat Rambo like dirt for no obvious reason, but they do it because they can.  This is a character you love to hate almost from the first time you meet him.  Then there's the middle man, Crenna as Colonel Trautman, Rambo's commanding officer in Vietnam.  First, his entrance (watch HERE) is as bad-ass as they come in this character you probably shouldn't like but end up feeling that way regardless.  Trautman helped create the man that Rambo has turned into but knows it was a part of war.  Now, he has to balance out responsibility with what's right for the most people.  Two great supporting roles.

Okay, enough with the acting and all that good stuff.  Rightfully so, but this was one of the first great 1980s action movies.  From the moment Rambo escapes the sheriff's office it is almost non-stop action until the end.  This is aided by Stallone doing many of his own stunts, but the action is that fine line between implausible and realistic while still being ridiculously cool. The action is big and in your face, especially toward the end when everything in sight starts getting blown up.  There's chases, hand to hand fights, and shootouts galore so anyone seeking an action-packed flick will surely get what they paid for.

Also worth mentioning is the music from composer Jerry Goldsmith with a score reminiscent of his Von Ryan's Express score that balances the quieter, softer moments like THIS with the more action-oriented, like HERE. Goldsmith did a lot of great scores in his career, but this is one of his best.  The British Columbia locations are perfect, adding that sense of gloomy, dreary, always raining feeling of being closed in with nowhere to go.  As a CSI Miami fan, I have to point out this, look for a very young David Caruso as a deputy. The sequels are entertaining enough in their own ways, but as a movie this is the best one by far.  An action classic with the acting to back it up.

First Blood <---trailer (1982): *** 1/2 /****