Rolling Thunder

The Vietnam War ended, and American soldiers came home to a country that felt strongly opposed to what had been done as part of the fighting. They were not greeted as heroes as our veterans had been welcomed in previous wars, especially World War II. For some -- and not to sound too flowery -- the fighting was just beginning as those vets tried to re-acclimate to living back home. That's what we've got in 1977's Rolling Thunder as a jumping-off point.

Major Charlie Rane (William Devane) is coming home to San Antonio, Texas. He's spent the last seven years as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese, subjected to horrific treatment and torture meant to beat him down into nothing. Somehow, some way, he survived though, and he is welcomed back as a hero. Rane on the other hand, he's not so sure. He steps back into a home situation where his wife wants a divorce so she can remarry. His son is almost 10 years old, and he barely knows him. Rane simply doesn't know how to readjust to life as he used to know it. What little balance he finds is quickly destroyed when personal tragedy strikes, the reasoning...simple, pure greed with too many lives as an expense. Rane himself barely survives the incident, telling the police he doesn't remember much about what happened. The Air Force veteran...he remembers though, and Rane intends to exact his own revenge.

I'd never heard of this Vietnam War-themed flick from director John Flynn until recently it popped up on the movie channel Retroplex. It certainly sounded interesting, and in the end, it was. It's not a great film, but 'Thunder' is darkly entertaining, a morbid cloud of cynicism hanging over the proceedings. Isn't that what we all want to see?!? No nonsense about the story either. Straightforward revenge with a more vigilante-themed story mixed in with the more message-oriented story of Vietnam vets struggling to readjust to life back in the states after the horror of what they saw during their tours of duty. It ain't flashy, but it's violent, gritty and uncomfortable to watch. Worth seeking out.

A good to great character actor who never quite became a full-on movie star, William Devane does not disappoint with one of his few starring roles. It's his movie, and he carries it. His time spent as a North Vietnamese prisoner has worn him down while making him tougher in the process. His Major Charlie Rane is almost mute, is claustrophobic, has some form of PTSD and struggles to get back to the things he used to know and love. It is an unsettling performance, full of intensity and menace as Rane struggles to piece it all together. What does it? A release of hatred, a hate-oriented goal of retribution and revenge. He seems to find himself when tasked with a mission, however dangerous. Devane is excellent in a quiet, emotional leading performance. Two thumbs up for a guy often relegated to bad guy roles. Part Travis Bickle, part Paul Kersey, part Wild West vigilante, this is a fascinating character.

I haven't seen much of Tommy Lee Jones' pre-Lonesome Dove work, but here the 31-year old actor shows off that quiet, intimidating charisma that has served him so well in the 35-plus years since. He's underused as Johnny Vohden, a fellow prisoner who experienced everything Rane went through. Through their common, horrifying experience, they've bonded to become friends that can't be broken up. Excellent supporting part. Linda Haynes plays Linda Forchet, a young woman in her 20's fascinated with Rane, drawn to him in ways she can't describe. It's a good part, but somewhat distracting, as her character's personality seems to be wearing tight, thin shirts without a bra. Just an observation. Also look for James Best and Luke Askew as two gutter-trash crooks who wrong Rane in a big old way (wait for those fireworks!). Also look for Dabney Coleman, Lisa Blake Richards and Lawrason Driscoll in supporting parts.

'Thunder' is a bit of a slow burn, even following the surprising, horrifically violent twist about 35 minutes into the 95-minute long flick. It's trying to build that intensity to almost unbearable levels as we wait for Devane's Rane to blow like a volcano. In that sense, it treads that fine line. Things can be a little slow in parts. Never boring, but at the same time, never as interesting as things could have been. I'll give credit where it is due though. Everyone involved seems to know where they want to end up, all the while building up to a blood and bullet-riddled finale. It could have gone for a horrifically dark ending but taps the brakes a bit.

So overall, good but not great. A crime thriller set along the Texas/Mexico border has a gritty, dark feeling, almost like a film noir with a lot of blood squibs! This is a revenge movie that certainly belongs along the likes of movies like Taxi Driver and Death Wish and the Dirty Harry movies. A tad on the slow side at times, but worth checking out.

Rolling Thunder (1977): ** 1/2 /****

Lonesome Dove

Sometimes you just need to sit back and take it all in. Just appreciate a movie for being pretty much perfect on all levels. Case in point? The 1989 CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove, based off the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel -- also an all-timer and one of my favorites -- from author Larry McMurtry. Aired over four nights, the miniseries pulled in crazy ratings, better reviews, and rave reviews for its cast. It deserves every positive thing it got. It is a true classic, and regardless of its TV roots, one of the best westerns of all-time.

Along the Rio Grande River in the town of Lonesome Dove in south Texas, former Texas Rangers Capt. Augustus McCrae (Robert Duvall) and Capt. Woodrow F. Call (Tommy Lee Jones) own the Hat Creek Company, working as cattle buyers and sellers, selling an occasional horse but nothing too lucrative. After creating quite a name for themselves as Rangers when all of Texas was still a wilderness, the duo has drifted into obscurity some. They're pleasantly surprised when a good friend from their past and a former ranger himself, Jake Spoon (Robert Urich), rides into Lonesome Dove telling them how beautiful and untouched the Montana territory far to the north is. Call gets the idea in his head to put together a herd of cattle and drive them all the way to the territory, starting up the first cattle ranch in Montana. Gus and several of their men are wary but go along with it. The veteran Rangers have their reasons for going -- both very different -- but no one involved has any real idea what awaits them on the trail.

It's impossible to condense a 900-plus page novel and a four-part miniseries running 384 minutes into one concise paragraph explaining the plot. Expanding a little, the two Rangers drive a cattle herd from south Texas to Montana, experiencing all the good, bad, dangerous and terrifying that the trail has to offer. Without getting too cheesy/flowery, it's about friendship, love, betrayal, pride, loyalty and on the biggest level, the changing times in the west, seen through the eyes of old and young men alike. There is a subplot I've lost interest in over the years and repeated viewings/readings, but Lonesome Dove is as perfect a movie as I've ever seen. I highly recommend the novel too if you're a reader looking for a good book.

Director Simon Wincer does an admirable job bringing McMurtry's novel to life. Decisions that are made to streamline the story excise non-essential characters, scenes and explanation to make a four-part miniseries into a miniseries running longer than six hours that flies by. The filming locations are perfect, helping set up the passage of time with cinematographer Dean Semler turning in a beautiful-looking story. A TV miniseries might seem limiting, but the visual scope and beauty here is a huge selling point. Throw in a sweeping, emotionally perfect score (listen HERE) from composer Basil Poledouris, and you've got all the makings of a halfway decent story!

What sets 'Lonesome' apart I've always felt is its ability to mix the romance of the wild west with the realism of the wild west. There's something straightforward and iconic about the visual of a cowboy on horseback trailing along with a cattle herd against the horizon. There's something simple about it that is able to permeate itself through a ton of westerns, good and bad. A man on his horse, doing a job that isn't easy and ready to fight off whatever comes at the herd because it's his job. The counter? There was nothing romantic about it no matter what you may want to think. It was back-breaking work, and death comes cheap (as it's said several times) to those who aren't careful and even to those who are. It doesn't take much for the winds to shift from good to bad. Straddling that line, 'Lonesome' is a somber, moving story that has the ability to tear your guts up through good and bad. It's the rare western with that ability.

Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones. That's it. That's all. I could leave it at that and be good, but that'd make for a short review, wouldn't it? Both men have had remarkable careers, but I don't believe either has ever (EVER!!!) been better than they were here. Duvall's Gus is fast-talking, loves some whiskey and good biscuits, a ladies man, and an all-timer at avoiding work. Jones' Call is a man of few words, ridiculously stubborn, hard-working to a fault, and lives by a code. A true Odd Couple-esque dynamic, these are phenomenal performances. They play off each other with ease. Their dialogue crackles with energy whether it be two friends busting each other, two partners figuring out how to solve a problem, or two longtime friends having a rare heart-to-heart in a trying moment. Both are amazingly excellent, but Duvall is on another level here as Gus. His energy, his non-stop talking, his physical mannerisms from a quick smirk to sucking his lips to his unique walk...my goodness, Gus McCrae is one of the all-time best western characters. Robert Duvall is the freaking man.


Though there are many characters in the miniseries, the heart of the story is Gus and Call's Hat Creek outfit and their motley crew of cowboys. Danny Glover is a quiet scene-stealer as Josh Deets, the outfit's tracker and scout, a fiercely capable worker and fighter who never complains, just putting his head down and getting the job done. Rick Schroder is excellent as Newt, a young, inexperienced 17-year old cowboy orphaned years before and picked up and cared for by the Hat Creek outfit. Tim Scott plays Pea Eye, a well-meaning but not so intelligent former Ranger. And last, there's unofficial member Dish Boggett, played by D.B. Sweeney, a more than capable cowboy who finds a niche with the group. There's a bond, a camaraderie amongst the crew that feels natural and real, not actors, but real people and their relationships. It is the rare western where you can say that.

You could write a thesis paper about individual characters here, making my job reviewing the miniseries a tough one! Diane Lane doesn't deserved to get buried so far down in a review, but here we sit. Her Lorena Wood, a beautiful young prostitute who finds herself on the trail with the herd, is a fascinating character to watch grow and develop. Her chemistry with Duvall is impeccable too. Anjelica Houston plays Clara, a past love (and maybe currently) of Gus', married and with children on a horse ranch in Nebraska. Frederic Forrest is frightening as Blue Duck, a half-breed bandit who's rampaged all over Texas for years, all the while out of the reach of our Rangers. I also especially liked Jorge Martinez de Hoyos as Po Campo, the cook traveling with the herd.

If there is a weak point in 'Lonesome,' it is a subplot involving an Arkansas sheriff, July Johnson (Chris Cooper), trailing Jake Spoon only to find out his wife (Glenne Headly) has left him. This subplot also features Barry Corbin, Steve Buscemi, and Frederick Coffin. I just don't find myself drawn to the characters here and as a result, their portions of the story tend to drag.

This is a movie that deserves a big old, long review full of in-depth analysis, more than I've got the space for here. I easily could write a college paper about this McMurtry novel! I also don't want to give away too much here with my review, recommending you go into the miniseries with a clean slate. I'll say this instead. There are moments that are absolutely heartbreaking, truly gut-wrenching, whether it be a surprising/shocking death to a face-to-face where you're begging something to happen. Both watching the miniseries and reading McMurtry's novel, I've cried and we're talking real, big crocodile tears. It's a classic movie -- screw the miniseries moniker -- and required viewing for anyone who loves good characters, story and scope regardless of your feelings on the western genre.

Interesting tidbit? McMurtry originally wrote the basic idea as a movie with John Wayne (Call), Jimmy Stewart (Gus) and Henry Fonda (Jake) leading the cast only to see it fall apart because of scheduling conflicts. Can you imagine that? If you're looking to kill a couple hours, see if you can fill out the rest of the cast with actors working in the late 1960's and early 1970's. I have, and let me tell you, it's tough. In the meantime, check Lonesome Dove out.

Lonesome Dove (1989): ****/****

The Family

If movies have taught me anything about the Mafia, one thing rises above all else. Don't turn on the Family. They will get you for it and make you pay for it. What about those who do and get away with it? Well, kinda get away it. Let's get going with 2013's The Family.

It's the middle of the night in Normandy and the Blake family has arrived, their furniture, clothes and possessions waiting for them in a quiet, corner house. They move in glumly, unpacking and getting ready to set up their new lives. There's a problem though. This isn't really the Blake family. This is the Manzoni family, including patriarch Giovanni (Robert De Niro), a former Mafia family from New York City now in the Witness Protection program. Giovanni and his wife, Maggie (Michelle Pfeiffer), and their kids, Belle (Dianna Agron) and Warren (John D'Leo), keep getting in trouble though, forcing them to move from town to town all over Europe with the FBI's help and surveillance. They keep reverting to their old ways, forcing the FBI to keep moving them. Their idyllic lives (of sorts) could be in trouble though. Giovanni testified against his former mob boss (Stan Carp) after a failed hit, and wasting away in jail, he's enlisted the help of a hitman to find the Manzonis and kill them.

There sure are a lot of movies out there, huh? Great lead-in, right? I mean it though. This dark Mafia comedy was released in theaters last summer without much in the way of fanfare or positive reviews, but it did okay in theaters, earning over $68 million. It's one of many movies I was aware of, knew what it was about and had some interest in seeing. But getting to the theaters proves to be kinda difficult at times so here we sit courtesy of Netflix. The complaints in negative reviews were pretty much across the board from too violent to too schizophrenic to too goofy. I'm not saying this was a classic movie by any means, but I was entertained throughout, a talented cast and an interesting premise rising above some of its flaws. I find myself saying it more and more as I defend movies, but is it so wrong to just be entertained by a movie?

For starters, 'Family' is very stylish and very dark. It wastes no time revealing its darkness, the lead hit man, Rocco (Jon Freda), blowing away a whole family in the opening scene, an innocent family at that as he suspects they're the Manzonis. That's the whole tone of the movie, the moments where that schizo nature works well. The line "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy" kept coming up for me. You can move this Mafia family to France, but they're still a tough, hard-edged, take no prisoners family. Giovanni still resorts to strong arm tactics to get what he needs (including drastic measures to get clear water, not brown water from the faucet), Maggie doesn't appreciate the American hate and takes out a grocery store, Belle fights off the "charms" of the locals and young Warren sets up a crime ring within days. It's these moments that are the most fun. Even better? Giovanni's mental asides as we see what he'd like to do to those who come up against him for any number of reasons.

I didn't understand the hate some reviews had, mostly because of the cast. The last couple years have been up and down for De Niro with some of his roles, but he shows off here that he as good a dramatic actor as he is, he's also a really funny actor. He doesn't try too hard. He just is funny, getting the laugh from playing a ridiculously brutal straight man. His facial expressions are priceless, his deadpan deliveries even better. He's got an excellent chemistry with Pfeiffer as his wife, a similarly dark, funny part. Her highlight? Her confession to the village priest is so startling (we don't hear it) that the priest wants nothing to do with her. The kids have their moments too, virginal Belle turning back advances from some less than smooth village boys, turning her attention to a dreamy college student/teacher while Warren gets beat up badly the first day at school and goes to work setting up his own little crime ring. As bizarre and dark and goofy as this group is, I liked them all.

There's more though, starting with Tommy Lee Jones as Agent Robert Stansfield, the FBI agent placed in charge of the Manzonis as they move from one place to another in Witness Protection. Jimmy Palumbo and Domenick Lombardozzi have some fun too as the two surveillance agents assigned as security over the Manzonis in their cozy French house.

It all builds to an inevitable showdown, the Mafia finally tracking them down in their new French home. A squad of Italian hit men descend on the village, the Manzonis forced to improvise as they come under attack. There's some cool action in this finale, even if it is more than a little ridiculous in the end results. That's the movie in itself. It is all over the place, struggling to find that one tone that works and sticking with it. The script at times in director Luc Besson's film depends far too much on coincidence -- like how the Mafia finds Giovanni and Co., not to mention finding the house -- for my liking, but the moments that work, really work. How about Giovanni (posing as a writer) asked to be a guest speaker at a film screening, originally intended to be Some Came Running but it ends up being....Goodfellas. Yes, it's a self-conscious script/movie decision (De Niro starred in said movie) but it works and the payoff is excellent.

Good movie, not great, with some very funny, very dark moments.

The Family (2013): ***/****

The Company Men

So the 1930s had the Great Depression. Now, our current recession has been dubbed the Great Recession since the global economy took a world-changing hit in 2007 and 2008. How about some movies about it?!? Not exactly a warm, uplifting story now, is it? Just like movies about Iraq and Afghanistan, these movies seem doomed. Maybe the wounds are too fresh, maybe in years to come they'll gain popularity. One that's good in the moment and will hopefully be remembered pretty well is 2010's The Company Men.

Like many international/worldwide companies, Global Transportation Systems (GTX) is hit very hard when the economy bottoms out in 2008, forcing the higher-ups to approve severe layoffs almost across the board. A 12-year veteran of the company, Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is among the first wave fired, forcing the husband and father of two to desperately search for a new job. Not soon after when things don't go on the upswing, 30-year veteran Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) is among the second wave of employees fired, one of thousands across the company. GTX offers a severance package on top of a company meant to help them find new jobs, but the dire situation is lousy just the same. All the while, one of GTX's most powerful employees, Gene McLary (Tommy Lee Jones), sees the writing on the wall but can do little about it. What does the economy hold for both the company and the individual?

I'm basically the most un-savvy business mind ever. While I tried to understand and grasp what the economic downturn, it basically flew right over my head. Thankfully this drama from director John Wells doesn't try to explain the recession, instead focusing on humanizing the recession. We don't see the bigger picture for the most part. There aren't any huge, emotional scenes showing how the recession came to be, how the world, the economy, businesses/corporations adjust to the problem, how it may ultimately be solved at all. We meet the people -- on both sides, being fired and doing the firing -- as they try to survive this downturn unlike anything else the economy and world has ever seen. In that sense, it's a good, old-fashioned drama that allows the cast to do their thing. No gimmicks or anything forced, just personal, human drama.

If there is an issue with that personal, human drama, it's that it can be difficult to fully get behind and support these characters. They're dropped from six-figure paying jobs to searching for jobs. We hear them -- especially Affleck's Bobby -- talk about not being able to afford his Patriots tickets, his country club membership, his family's vacations to Disney. Boo-hoo, I get paid $60 per story I write at work. The same for Tommy Lee Jones' Gene on a smaller level, one particular line hamstringing an otherwise very effective monologue. Cooper's Phil is the most sympathetic -- and similarly most underutilized character -- a factory worker turned office supervisor trying to pay for his daughter's college tuition. End of rant. Moral of the story....it's hard to feel too bad about people complaining about losing the ultra-luxuries of being rich. Yeah, #FirstWorldProblems.

That minor rant out of the way, I thought the acting was uniformly solid across the board. Lack of sympathy aside, Affleck does a good job showing how low a man can get, how frustrating it can be when your world is completely pulled out from under you. Jones is his typical professional self, a solid role that shows not all big business is evil. He's worked his way up to the hierarchy and appreciates the work it's taken to get there. He also sees the hypocritical excesses all around him but knows there is little he can do at the same time. Cooper is underused as Phil, but his character is key to show a variation on how some people handle losing their job. Because it's a very real part, his scenes can be incredibly uncomfortable to watch. Also look for Kevin Costner as Jack, Bobby's blue collar brother-in-law who owns his own construction/contracting company, never missing a chance to dig Bobby for his evil ways with big business.

It was a wise choice to give all these individuals some personal flaws so we're not seeing "perfect" people thrown out on their backside. Affleck's rage comes out in one particular interview, Bobby making comments that are just wrong. Jones too has a personal secret that came as a surprise. We see all these little foibles, these little idiosyncrasies in all of the cast. Also joining the cast is Craig T. Nelson as GTX's ridiculously rich CEO, Maria Bello as GTX's battle axe, the woman placed in charge of organizing the mass firings, Rosemarie DeWitt as Bobby's wife, and Eamonn Walker as Danny, a fellow victim of the mass firings who bonds with Bobby.

First-time director John Wells has a winner here. It's low-key in its message without beating us over the head with that message. Because of the subject, the story can be a tad bit uncomfortable to watch. We're seeing people at their lowest, their most desperate. 'Company' doesn't try to explain it all, to fix it all with a snap of the finger. The ending does provide some hope for the future, building up the tenacity and courage of the American worker. There is no easy answer to the current recession so why force one on the viewer? It's a good movie, a solid drama that capitalizes on a very strong cast. 

The Company Men (2010): ***/****

Emperor

Win a war. Rebuild a country. Well, that's the nice way of doing it. Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era was a dark mark on U.S. history. After World War I, the Allied powers basically neutered Germany, demilitarizing the army and placing harsh limits on the country. The Marshall Plan followed the conclusion of World War II, but what to do with Germany, and as is the case in 2012's Emperor specifically, what to do with Japan?

World War II has come to a close, and U.S. forces are occupying Japan, plans going forward to help rebuild the country but also to search and investigate war crimes committed during the war. General Douglas MacArthur (Tommy Lee Jones) has been named Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers and has been tasked with deciding where American forces and Japan go from here. One of his biggest decisions is coupled with the war criminals. First, they must be found and second, they must face trial for their crimes. More than that though, he must decide what to do with Hirohito, the Japanese emperor. How much involvement did the Emperor have in getting Japan into the war? How much was he responsible? Did he order the attack on Pearl Harbor? MacArthur passes the investigating mission to an officer on his staff, General Bonner Fellers (Matthew Fox), to find out how the Hirohito issue should be resolved, but there won't be easy answers.

I was encouraged when I found this movie at IMDB and then Netflix. A post-World War II about the U.S. occupation of Japan -- just months after the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima -- sounded like a great jumping off point. It's a touchy, messy and uncomfortable topic in history that hasn't been dealt with much in terms of film. That's when the movie is at its best, seeing the Japanese cities in ruin, the channels the American military must still go through following the war with the Japanese power structure, the differences in culture between America and Japan and plenty of other things. It's a war movie but not quite. It's a drama about the military and based on a true story at that. Read more about Bonner Fellers HERE.

So that's all and good, right? You would think so. The movie unfortunately only partially focuses on that part of the story. Director Peter Webber works off a script from Vera Blasi and David Klass decides to go down a different route. Instead of focusing solely on the investigation into Emperor Hirohito, 'Emperor' follows Fox's General Fellers and his own personal investigation into finding a past love, Aya (Eriko Hatsune), an exchange student he met in America but visited in Japan prior to the start of the war. We get one mindless, lyrical flashback after another showing their past, slowing down an already slow-moving story to a standstill. We're talking about a huge moment in international history, and it is minimized to a love story that cannot be. Gag me. The best thing to come from it is some more exploration of the Japanese culture -- what makes the Japanese people who they are -- but that doesn't make the majority of it interesting.

The casting in general is just okay. Fox is acceptable as General Bonner Fellers, but his entire part is hamstrung by the long lost love script. Tommy Lee Jones is an interesting choice to play MacArthur, one of the most iconic generals in American military history. Physically, nothing was done to make him resemble the famous general, but he gives it the old college try in terms of speech patterns and physical mannerisms. It's a good part, not a great one, but his character is basically an extended cameo. It's a part that keeps him in the background far too much in general. As for the rest of the cast, not too much else to recommend. The other American officers at HQ are basically faceless, and the Japanese officers and government officials don't make much of an impression.

There are some moments late that are worth mentioning. Fox's Fellers has an emotional scene late with his Japanese translator, Takahashi (Masayoshi Haneda), a man dealing with his own grief but trying to move on as best he can. A Japanese official (Masato Ibu) talks to Fellers about the day Japan surrendered and what led to it, a part of history I wasn't aware of that you can read about HERE. As well, the scene late where MacArthur actually gets to meet with Hirohito (Takataro Kataoka), an odd meeting in terms of cultural differences as two men feel each other out. Unfortunately, these are just individual scenes that get lost in a movie that wastes a chance to be pretty decent considering the subject matter. Too bad because I wanted to like this one.

Emperor (2012): **/****  

Small Soldiers

With 1995's Toy Story, the idea of toys coming to life....well...came to life. While there was some really dark moments in that Pixar classic -- Sid comes to mind torturing his toys -- it was mostly a really sweet, really funny story about the lives of toys when their masters/kids aren't around. At its very basic, ground level, that's an incredibly unique idea, one all kids have thought of at some point. But what if Toy Story didn't tap the brakes? I think it would be a movie a little closer to 1998's Small Soldiers.

Helping his father run his struggling toy store, teenager Alan Abernathy (Gregory Smith) accepts (read = bribes) a shipment of new action figures during the latest delivery. From GloboTech Industries comes the Commando Elite, a specialist group of commandos headed by Major Chip Hazard (voiced by Tommy Lee Jones), whose sole goal is to eliminate their enemies, creatures called the Gorgonites, headed by Archer (voiced by Frank Langella). The toys are a new design, able to speak and respond to voice commands. Alan is stunned though when Archer doesn't just talk to him, but respond with unique answers to questions he asks. These aren't just any action figures, but that's only the start. Alan takes Archer home with him overnight, but meanwhile at the store, the Commando Elite have come to life too. Their aim? Kill Archer and his fellow Gorgonites.

While I love Toy Story, I can also appreciate how cool the premise here sounds. I'd seen bits and pieces of this quasi-family oriented science fiction story from director Joe Dante, but I finally sat down and watched it straight through recently. I liked it but didn't love it. Complaints to come, but 'Soldiers' gets a lot of points for originality if nothing else. What if G.I. Joe and Cobra toys came to life? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Shredder and the Foot Clan? Stands to reason they might try and kill each other, right? Yeah, as a kid who grew up with action figures, that's pretty cool. The graphics here are spot-on as the toys come to life. It's not CGI -- always a good thing -- and while it looks realistic, the toys are still toys. They can break (damn plastic!) and their movements are pretty stilted. It goes a long way in making it seem even remotely believable.

The focus is not exclusively on the toys. Our main character, Alan, has quite the checkered past and has been kicked out of two schools, forcing his family, including Dad (Kevin Dunn) and Mom (Ann Magnuson) to move. He meets Christy (Kirsten Dunst), his neighbor, and quickly hits it off with her...even though she only "dates" older guys. So, yes, at times the story focuses too much on that after school special drama, how tough it is to be a teenager and all that garbage. Come on, parents, trust me...even though I've given you no reason to trust me! This is the movie at its slowest and most dull, but thankfully, the story moves along too fast to stay in one place for too long. And back to the killer toys!

One of the coolest things about 'Soldiers' as a movie fan is its knowledge of past movies. Case in point? The Commando Elite are voiced by four members of the cast of 1967's The Dirty Dozen, and it would have been five, but Richard Jaeckel died before filming. The Gorgonites are voiced by the cast of This Is Spinal Tap. Getting in line behind the perfect voice casting of Tommy Lee Jones is Ernest Borgnine as Kip Kallagin, Jim Brown as Butch Meathook, George Kennedy as Brick Bazooka, Clint Walker as Nick Nitro, and replacing Jaeckel, Bruce Dern as Link Static. Along with the calmly voiced Langella as Archer, the Gorgonites include Christopher Guest as Slamfist and Scratch-It, Michael McKean as Insaniac and Freakenstein, and Harry Shearer as Punch-It. It's just fun to hear that many talented actors working together, even if it's only their voices. Also listen for Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci as two Gwendy (knockoff Barbie) dolls.

The funnest and also darkest part of 'Soldiers' comes when the Commandos get loose and go gunning for the Gorgonites. It sounds goofy enough, even a little innocent in the fun department. How could toys kill toys? Well, it gets pretty extreme at times. The Commandos have been built with government chips in them -- thanks Department of Defense -- that turn seemingly innocent toys into brutal killing machines. Yeah, seriously, killing machines. They want to kill their rival Gorgonites, but also the people protecting them, like Alan, Christy and their families, including Christy's goofy Dad (the always fun Phil Hartman). They build assault vehicles out of bikes and skateboards, make weapons out of chainsaws and toasters. There's a cool factor involved in seeing these toys go on the offensive, but it gets pretty dark too, many moviegoers complaining the movie was mismarketed upon its initial release.

Also joining the cast are GloboTech's money-minded, condescending CEO (Denis Leary) and the developers of the Commandos and Gorgonites, Jay Mohr and David Cross. It's a fun movie with some pretty big flaws, but it is entertaining with some nice touches in the cast.

Small Soldiers (1998): ** 1/2 /****   

In the Valley of Elah

Maybe 15 or 20 years down the road, there will be a wave of movies in theaters about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, much the way movies about WWII and even Korea and Vietnam were released. I doubt it, but who knows. For now, the wounds may be too fresh so we get movies kinda about the war, related but not directly about the fighting, like 2007's In the Valley of Elah.

A former army veteran and military policeman, Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) lives in Tennessee with his wife, Joan (Susan Sarandon). He is more than surprised one day to get a call that his son, Mike, recently back from a tour in Iraq, has gone missing and is days away from being reported as going AWOL. Curious what's going on and sensing something suspicious, Hank drives to the army base in New Mexico to look into it himself, investigating what's happened to his son, if anything. He gets various responses, some more helpful than others. Hank is stonewalled by some, greeted by others, and gets some less than willing help from a local detective, Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), who joins him in the investigation. It doesn't take long before clues mount up, but it might all be for naught. Mike's body has been found, dismembered and burned. What was Hank's son into?

Over the last ten-plus years, there hasn't been too many things more divisive than the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some support it wholeheartedly, others question why American forces are there at all. This film from director Paul Haggis goes down a different part -- mostly -- by having the fighting serve as a jumping off point for a police procedural. What happened in Iraq affects the police investigation. We follow Hank and Emily as they investigate Mike's disappearance, eventual murder and what led to it. The movie is at its strongest in those moments, a low-key but tense mystery that keeps us guessing. Hank, Emily, local police and army investigators all search and pursue each and every clue, anything that might lead to answers. Most lead to nothing, just dead ends, but all it takes is one clue to bring it all together.

What the movie is more focused on -- via the investigation -- is how the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan has impacted the lives of the soldiers involved. A nasty little sub-genre of war movies dating back to The Best Years of Our Lives through Born on the Fourth of July and many more all deal with Post-traumatic stress disorder following their deployments. Through some videos and photos recovered from Mike's phone, Hank sees what his son and his fellow soldiers went through on a daily basis. Much like Vietnam was a new war, the Iraq war was unlike other conflicts. It becomes almost impossible to identify who your enemy is. Anyone and everyone could be trying to kill you. Thankfully the script and story from Haggis and Mark Boal doesn't hit us over the head with its message (for the most part). What the soldiers see, do and experience affects them in horrendous ways, ways that they can't just shake off because they're not overseas anymore.

Taking two familiar-ish characters and making them more than a cliched, cardboard cutout are Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron. Who better to play a world-weary, semi-retired MP and army vet than TLJ? He's quiet and understated, knowing the answers he's looking for will almost certainly bring nothing positive. Just the same, he goes about his investigation so he knows what really happened to his son, and maybe more importantly, what drove him down that path. Theron's part is more familiar, a female detective who gets no respect from her colleagues, also a single mother with a son at home. She takes on this case for a couple reasons, to show she can, a little out of spite, and sometimes even against her better judgement. It's two really good performances, both with chances to show off dramatically, but neither actor overdoes it. Like their characters, they just go about their business.

Supporting Jones and Theron is an equally impressive supporting cast. Sarandon nails a smallish part as Jones' wife, waiting at home for a phone call she doesn't want to hear. Jason Patric is a scene-stealer as Sgt. Kirklander, an officer with Army intelligence trying to do his job as best he can while also seemingly trying to cover the Army's butt just in case. James Franco plays an Army officer who meets Hank early on while Josh Brolin plays the Chief of police, two small parts that didn't seem to justify the star power associated with them. Cool to see, just odd. Barry Corbin and Frances Fisher have quick appearances as people Hank meets/contacts during his questioning. Playing some of Mike's buddies from his squad are Wes Chatham, Jake McLaughlin, Mehcad Brooks and Roman Arabia with Jonathan Tucker playing Mike via flashback. 

It's funny how one scene can change your feelings about a movie, and how quickly it can happen. Obviously, this is an anti-war movie, but I thought for the most part, Haggis did a good job getting his message across without screaming "THIS WAR IS BAD!" at us as viewers. Then there's the final shot of the movie which came across as heavy-handed and awkward. It's too bad because the build-up got that message across. The war is bad, and the effect it is having on our soldiers is horrific. I thought he got that message across building up to the finale. Too bad because the final reveal about Mike is a whopper, shocking and uncomfortable to hear. Still a really good film, but the ending left me with a sour taste because of one single shot. Go figure.

In the Valley of Elah (2007): ***/****

Men in Black 3

Released in 1997, the original Men in Black is the rare film. It's really smart, but it's really entertaining too, a great example of what a summer blockbuster can be. It made a whole lot of money -- some $589,000,000 -- and naturally led to an inferior sequel that couldn't live up to the original's success. Not surprisingly though, that sequel made a whole lot of money too. Not exactly an immediate follow-up, but here's yet another sequel, 2012's Men in Black III.

Working for Men in Black, Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) have been partners for 15 years now, working together to police extraterrestrial issues all over the Earth. Their partnership has just been dealt quite an issue though. A former Boglodite assassin, Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement), has escaped from a prison on the moon, shaking off 40 years of a sentence. He wants revenge on the man who put him away back in 1969....Agent K. After one run-in with Boris though in NYC, J wakes up one morning to find himself in a world where K never existed. What happened? Did his partner up and disappear? How about a solution? J has to go back in time to 1969 when these "new" records indicate K was killed. Who does he quickly find upon arrival in 1969 New York City? His old partner, but he's far younger. Hopefully J and Agent K (Josh Brolin) can work together to save the world in time.

I grew up watching the original Men in Black so after not especially enjoying the first sequel (to put it lightly), I was skeptical about a second sequel. Maybe the 10 years apart from the series was a good thing, but this was a really good continuation of the series. Director Barry Sonnenfeld gets back to basics, putting together an entertaining mix of science fiction, action and comedy that made the first movie so special. And let's be honest, how do you make science fiction better? Duh....time travel. J going back to 1969 adds a cool element to an already pretty solid story. Overall, that mix is there though. There's some gross-out moments, some good action scenes with all sorts of futuristic technology, and a surprisingly emotional ending. This is a movie that sat in my Netflix queue for most of eight, maybe nine months, but I'm glad I caught up with it.

It's pretty cool, even a little odd, to see Will Smith return to the series that helped make him a huge international star. When this film had been released, it was 15 years since the original hit theaters. 15 years for goodness sake!!! Maybe I'm just feeling old. In the years since, Smith has shown he's not just a movie star, but an actor too. Here, he's a movie star. Smith is a fun, cool movie star, his smartass and deadpan delivery landing just as well in 2012 as it did in 1997. Unfortunately, Tommy Lee Jones looks to be here because of some sort of blackmail obligation. He looks downright bored, no energy at all. I love TLJ as an actor, but this is almost painful to watch. Thankfully, he's only around for about 15 minutes of actual screentime.

As for the rest of the movie....Smith and Josh Brolin show the kind of chemistry that Smith and TLJ did in the original. It ends up being the best part of the movie by far, but there's a twist. Brolin isn't doing an impression the way commercials/trailers would have had you think although to be fair, he does a spot-on Lee Jones. The best twist is that we're meeting the Agent K character before the event that turned him into the Agent K we know. What is that event? We never find out for sure, but it's cool to see K crack a smile, make a bit of a joke, and basically not be the emotionless K we do know. There is a natural chemistry between the duo, and it plays well anytime they're on-screen together. Clement too is a great sci-fi bad guy, creepy alien rival. Also in the cast is Emma Thompson as Agent O, the new head of Men in Black, with Alice Eve playing her 1969 self, Michael Stuhlbarg as Griffin, an alien with the ability to see countless futures in an instant and holds the key to the universe's survival, and Nicole Scherzinger as an associate of Boris the Animal.   

While the movie is never slow, things pick up when J heads back to 1969 in a cool time-bending sequence when he jumps off a skyscraper to jump back in time. The technique is used again later with similar results. The look and style of the films come through back in 1969 as J explores the hippie, druggy subculture of the late 1960s. We even meet Andy Warhol (Bill Hader) but with a twist. The story twists and turns as J and K bond -- K assuming J's ridiculous time-traveling explanation is true -- and try to save the world from Boris' wrath. The timing is solid too, letting the story deal with the Apollo 11 launch and the eventual moon launch, the MiB agents heading to Cape Canaveral in a cool final sequence, with Mike Colter playing an army officer in charge of the launch's security. It is an ending that surprised me in not just delivering a solid twist, but how effective emotionally it is.

That's the movie. It was a big surprise, getting back to what the original Men in Black was so good at. It's fun, exciting and I enjoyed it throughout. I suppose that's a good thing because a fourth MiB flick is in the works. Yeah for sequels! Oh, and Pitbull sings too so we've got that going for us. Listen HERE.

Men in Black III (2012): ***/**** 

JFK

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was traveling by motorcade in Dallas when he was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. Or so some think at least. One of the most tragic events in U.S. history, Kennedy's assassination has sparked hundreds and thousands of theories. Was Oswald working alone? Was it a government conspiracy to kill Kennedy? Maybe no one will ever know for sure, but the conspiracy theories abound. Enter stage right, 1991's JFK.

The district attorney in New Orleans, Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner) is stunned like so many Americans when news of President Kennedy's death hits the airwaves. He watches with morbid curiosity and a desire for answers as Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) is arrested for the murder and summarily shot by Jack Ruby two days later. Several years pass, but by 1966, Garrison is bothered more and more by the details of the assassination. With help from his staff, Garrison begins to do his own investigation, and the results are startling. What exactly happened in the days and months leading up to Nov. 22, 1963? More importantly, what happened after? The more they find out, the more Garrison smells a government cover-up.

From director Oliver Stone, this is quite the ambitious project. For starters, because it involves such a touchy subject as the JFK assassination, everyone has at least somewhat of an opinion on the subject. More than just viewer opinions, the amount of info, theories and evidence involving the assassination is endless. Type in 'JFK Conspiracy' at Google, and see how many results you get. So walking through a virtual filming minefield, Stone takes on a gargantuan task. The end result is a thought-provoking, somewhat meandering (at 206 minutes) story that throws a lot at the viewer, but if you pay attention, it's not a difficult movie to keep up with.

The goal from the beginning is simple; Stone intends to put that bug in your head that the lone shooter theory -- Oswald shooting Kennedy -- just isn't the way it happened. Recent studies show that some 60% of Americans believe there was a conspiracy involving the shooting. Stone has always had an aggressive shooting style, but it's a positive here. The entire movie is basically one interview after another -- quick cuts, fast editing, flashbacks galore -- as one piece of evidence piles up one on top of the other through Garrison and Co.'s investigation. The story is based on the true-to-life efforts of Garrison and his staff (with some tweaks here and there), but it plays like All the President's Men or any number of other films detailing an investigative report.

Ready to be impressed? This is one doozy of a cast, starting with Costner who delivers a likable, human performance as the D.A. driven to obsession to find out the truth. The subplot with his family (including wife Sissy Spacek) is one of the few weak points the movie has. Seeing him only in flashback, Oldman is frighteningly good as Oswald, and a dead ringer physically to boot. Garrison's investigative staff includes Jay O. Sanders, Laurie Metcalf, Wayne Knight, Michael Rooker and Gary Grubbs. Don't go anywhere. I'm not to the halfway point yet. There's also Ed Asner, Jack Lemmon, Brian Doyle-Murray (as Jack Ruby), Walther Matthau, John Candy, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Joe Pesci, and Tomas Milian. Some are nothing more than a scene or two cameo, but their presence alone legitimizes their scenes. Jones, Sutherland, Bacon and Pesci are the most memorable of the group.

Presenting all sorts of what ifs and could bes, the movie builds to a courtroom scene where Garrison puts someone on trial for conspiring to kill JFK. The scene is a gem, capping off all we've heard, sene and learned through their investigation. Costner is highly effective in this scene, both pointing out the flaws in the lone shooter theory (later referenced famously in Seinfeld with the Magic Loogie, watch HERE) but also addressing the jury for what they should do. It shows one man's frustration at what he believes the government has been up to, doing something for extraordinary amounts of money rather than what's good for the country. The whole movie is enjoyable and extremely polished, but the court scene (about 35 minutes at the end) is the best thing going.

So did Oswald shoot Kennedy? Were there other shooters? We'll probably never know. But I have to give Stone's film credit. Say what you want about your own thoughts on the assassination, but Stone cleanly lays out the potential for at least one possibility. Maybe Oswald was a patsy, one man set up by larger forces at work. It's something you will have to think about yourself, but as a director, Stone does an admirable job at least making us question what really happened.

JFK (1991): ***/****

Captain America: The First Avenger

For several years now, there was talk of an Avengers movie, a team of superheroes united to help defend the world. I've seen most of the movies by now with a couple exceptions, but when I first saw the trailers for Captain America: The First Avenger -- released to huge business this past weekend -- I was especially psyched for the release. It seemed like one of those rare movies where everything came together to work perfectly; story, action, cast, anything and everything. In a rare departure though from a lot of the crap that hits theaters, this one actually lives up to expectations and then some.

What immediately caught my eye with the trailers released over the last few months was the World War II setting. Now I read comic books growing up, but never religiously, picking them up here and there.  I knew who Captain America was, knew his basic storyline, but in general I was pretty vague about him. As a relative non-fan, I can say safely that it doesn't matter how much/little you know about the character. Just go and enjoy it. 'First Avenger' plays like a good old-fashioned action movie, a throwback to movies of past where the good guys were really good and the bad guys really bad. Imagine the Indiana Jones movies (okay, Raiders and Crusade) but with a superhero. Just a fun, highly entertaining movie all around.

Weighing just 90 pounds and always under attack by constant ailments and diseases, Brooklyn youngster Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) just can't get into the army as he meets constant rejection wherever he tries to enlist while World War II rages all over Europe and the Pacific. His persistence catches the eye of Dr. Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who likes what he sees out of the young man, enlisting him in his own special outfit headed by army Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones). Undergoing a new scientific medical treatment created by Erskine, Steve is transformed into a super soldier, earning the name Captain America as he encourages Americans to support the war effort by buying war bonds. The Army wants to unleash him against the Axis, but someone is gunning for him. A splinter group of Adolf Hitler's science team/program, a fanatical officer, Col. Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), has created their own brand of super weapons with his organization Hydra, and their intention isn't just taking out the Allies, but the whole world...unless Captain America can stop them.

One of the biggest concerns reviewers/critics/fans had as the movie was being made was the casting as Chris Evans as Captain America. I've long been a fan of his and think he's one of the real rising stars in Hollywood so I can't say I was too worried. I think any worries people had with Evans being cast were unfounded. He is more than capable of carrying an action movie like this one. Seeing so many dark, cynical superhero movies, it is also rather refreshing to see a character like Steve Rogers, a physically weak but incredibly strong-willed, stubborn individual who just wants to do what's right and join the war effort. Early scenes with Evans' head digitally placed on a much smaller stand-in's body are flawless (even creepy), only to have Steve transform into a ripped, jacked up super soldier. I look forward to seeing Evans continue with the character in next summers Avengers movie, especially with this strong debut now under his belt.

A continuing trend in this recent wave of superhero movies are these ridiculously loaded supporting casts.  We're not talking action stars who can't act a lick either, we're talking reputable, hardcore, serious actors. Tommy Lee Jones takes a role he could do in his sleep and nails it, throwing one-liners left and right. Tucci is a scene-stealer in his too short appearance, a German doctor who left the Nazis behind to work with the Americans. Dominic Cooper plays Howard Stark, engineer/inventor extraordinaire and Tony Stark's father (Iron Man for those newbies around), the very beautiful Hayley Atwell is Agent Peggy Carter, a liaison and PG-13 love interest for Steve, Toby Jones is Dr. Zola, Schmidt's chemist and science specialist, and Weaving makes the most of his underused part as Colonel Schmidt, the fanatical German officer who eventually becomes Red Skull. Some parts are obviously bigger and better than others, but not a one among them disappoints.

Like I needed another reason to like this movie, but I got it as the story developed, Captain American becoming a bona-fide war hero. He liberates some 400 prisoners of war from a Schmidt camp, six of them becoming his expert, international fighting team. A team of specialists?!? Men on a mission! America's group includes his best friend growing up from Brooklyn, Freddy Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Dum Dum Duggan (Neal McDonough), the Irishman who favors a heavy shotgun, Gabe Jones (Derek Luke), a commando, Jim Morita (Kenneth Choi), a Japanese-American soldier, James Montgomery Falworth (JJ Feild), the proper Englishman, and Jacques Dernier (Bruno Ricci), the Frenchman. For the most part, they're given no development other than a quick introduction before being unleashed on the Nazis in a very cool action-heavy montage. Lack of a better description aside, I'll just say they're very cool.

With action movies more than maybe any other genre, I don't always need a lot of things to happen. I'll look past a movie's flaws as long as I'm entertained. There are good movies, and there are good action movies. Captain America? It's just a good movie with some action. Chicago Tribune movie critic Michael Phillips commended the movie for allowing characters to have actual scenes of dialogue, and he's got a point. This is a well-written script that allows all the talent involved to have some fun with the superhero in the WWII setting. A World War II movie with a superhero might seem out of place or even cheesy, but no worries here. Sit back and enjoy this one, a throwback to a different time when movies just wanted to entertain.

Characters, setting, and story? Triple check. Bring on the action! Finding that appropriate mix of action and story, director Joe Johnston never goes overboard. His action sequences are impressive and fun to watch without being mind-numbingly repetitive. He gets into the scenes and does what needs to be done, content with putting together a solid scene as opposed to going overboard. Steve's first scene post-transofrmation is a great chase scene, a pleasure to watch as Steve realizes what he's now capable of. Steve/Captain America taking on a Hydra base with Schmidt's special soldiers to free hundreds of POWs while an assault on a train snaking through the mountains works in its quickness and effectiveness.  The finale is nothing special, just entertaining and exciting like the rest of the flick.

I realize as I write this I'm not exactly doing a great job selling the movie. There is nothing particularly groundbreaking or new about this most recent superhero movie. It...is...just....good.  Is that so bad?  I loved the cast and all the characters brought to life, the story is familiar but always interesting, and the action comes in somewhat smaller doses but never disappoints. The ending is surprising too (with Samuel L. Jackson playing Nick Fury), mostly because it doesn't go for an easy, happy ending. A classic on the whole? Maybe not, but a damn entertaining movie. And stick around through the credits for a teaser trailer for next summer's Avengers movie. Well worth the wait.

Captain America: The First Avenger <---trailer (2011): *** 1/2 /****

The Missing

A child actor turned huge star director, Ron Howard has directed a variety of movies that make it hard to peg him down.  The movies are all over the place in terms of time and place setting, but maybe more than anything else Howard has focused on period pieces from Cinderella Man to Apollo 13, Frost/Nixon and several more.  But as wide-ranging as his films has been, he's only done one western, 2003's The Missing.

This is a movie that struggled in theaters -- making about $30 million in the U.S. -- while receiving some lukewarm reviews from critics.  It's a difficult one to put into any sort of category because it features so many different elements from old west mysticism to an estranged family working together after years apart.  The movie was shot on location in New Mexico and is the better for it.  If we were judging on the look of a movie alone, this would have been a huge critical and box office success.  You get the sense of a journey through the wilderness, but then you keep on traveling.  A story that at times doesn't move along too fast clocks in at 137 minutes.  Potential? Sure, but it's hard to find at times.

Living in 1885 New Mexico with her daughters Lilly (Evan Rachel Wood) and younger Dot (Jenna Boyd), single mother and "healer" Maggie (Cate Blanchett) have a tough life but a good life. One day Maggie's estranged father Sam (Tommy Lee Jones) arrives on their doorstep having abandoned Maggie and her mother and siblings as a child to live with an Apache tribe. She wants nothing to do with him at all, but when Lilly is abducted by a gang of renegade Apache scouts she has no one else to turn to.  With Dot along, Maggie and Sam ride south tracking the gang, hoping to catch up before they can cross the border into Mexico where all the women/girls kidnapped along the way will be sold to the highest bidder.

At its most traditional, 'Missing' deals with a kidnapping plot that has been used fairly often within the western genre.  There are good guys and there are bad guys, the lines pretty clearly dividing them with no middle ground.  The added element of an estranged father trying to fix a rift between himself and his daughter works surprisingly well if at times unnecessary.  We've got a band of murdering Apaches selling women, and Blanchett's Maggie still shoots daggers at Jones' Sam whenever she gets a chance.  Thankfully this isn't pushed down our throats with Sam admitting he's not looking for forgiveness, he just wanted to explain himself.  Helping bring back his granddaughter though is his chance at redemption, and he's going to take it.

Where that part could have been overdone and obnoxious, the two stars just don't let it happen.  Jones doesn't push it too far, and Blanchett is able to reel it in instead of being a stark, raving lunatic.  This is Tommy Lee Jones' movie with a quiet, understated performance.  After years away from his family, he just wants to explain himself and all his actions (or lack of) over the years.  He's a very capable man on the trail and isn't going to let anything slow him down along the way.  Other than my issue with so many foreign actors starring in westerns, Blanchett's part as Maggie is very strong.  Anytime a female character in a western can be a strong woman capable of handling herself, I'm all for it.  Other supporting parts include Val Kilmer as a cavalry officer, Aaron Eckhart as Brake, a ranchhand and Maggie's live-in boyfriend, and Jay Tavare as Katiyah, an Apache working with Sam.

For a movie that is basically one long chase, the story tends to drag in certain places.  Most of that can be chalked up to the story's reliance on Indian/Apache mysticism with a hint of witchcraft thrown in.  The leader of the renegade Apaches is called El Brujo (Eric Schweig) which Sam translates as 'an Indian witch.' The character is able to put curses on people, seems to have some link to evil and the devil, and has an all-knowing feel that he's aware of everything.  His look alone is scary, and he's a more than capable villain on his own.  The story would have been just right with him as a renegade Apache looking for blood and money without the mysticism and voodoo.  Cut those segments out, and you've got a more mainlined 100-120 minute movie.

Working with this story with so many different elements, Howard never gets graphic in his depictions of wild west violence, but he always is able to paint a picture of what's happening.  Sometimes not seeing the violence is more effective than seeing it.  We know what's going on, and actually witnessing it would be overkill.  That said, the last 30 minutes is full of action that makes up for some of the movie's slower portions.  Like most of the rest of the movie, the ending doesn't preach or make any sort of judgment, it just ends.  It is an uneven movie, but with enough positive elements to recommend it.

The Missing <----trailer (2003): ** 1/2 /****