donzilla

I thought I saw some character development that resembled Valdez Is Coming, but didn't know why. Thanks to Wizard-8, I now realize that the same pen couldn't help but leave a few crow's feet in the characters. The youth in this one, and the fact that it was created by a director 30 years after the 1950s filmmakers, helps me to visualize the direction Westerns are taking nowadays. Thanx again, Wizard-8. I saw the story on the Encore Westerns Channel late on the Saturday of daylight savings, and got a kick out of the simplicity in which the 19th-Century protagonists lived. Directors now seem to play more with the personal side of each character, discarding the age-old idea that action and reaction are the main drives of an entertained audience. But... I guess the future is going to be even more loaded with feelings than with feelingless action. Hallmark Channel has a lot of these stories, and is happy to banner them for today's viewers. Oh, HBO's Deadwood has dealt another personal-side blow, too.

Sorry this is so short, and I'll say a lot in a few words: sham is the order for the day. SIXTH SENSE and SIGNS had (1) Science Fiction (2) Paranormal (3) Psychic (4) Space Aliens or (5) The Dead after Death. This has none of the above, but there are shades of "Now that you're down here in South America with me - Kool-Aid anyone?" It also has shades of "Now that the planets have all aligned, anyone want to celebrate in San Diego, California?"

I give this film 3 stars for one reason, only. It is a good template for films of the second millennium. The James-Stewart/Henry-Fonda/Shirley-Jones movie, THE CHEYENNE SOCIAL CLUB, treated the same phenomenon: a person inherits a club of ill repute and is determined to work with it to make it a success. Because the Cheyenne Social Club was in the 19th Century, though, it dealt with a lot of negative "press" from the townspeople. Janey Hopkins' gentleman's club, DIAMONDS, has only the hurdle of a hyped crew of female dancers vying their professional talents against the boss who can't decide whether or not to keep it going.