klaramee-1

This is the most frustrating of bad movies...(e.g. Black Dahlia). A strong cast, good director, decent source material - awful result. They seem to have intentionally made this movie terrible. It is so implausible, obvious and overwrought as to be laughable. I wanted my money back immediately after seeing this train wreck. The characters make decisions that should mystify any reasonable person watching. The opening scene is interesting...after that, its all downhill. Ed Harris is decent, but William Hurt is a mess. How he got nominated for this is a crime (and R. Crowe didn't get a nomination as Bud White in LA Confidential? Please...). I don't mean to bash a child actor, but the son was so phony, it was distracting.This movie is like a bad joke. I hope David Cronenbum retires after this abortion. If you want to see a movie where these themes are well addressed, rent Unforgiven.

This movie falls into the same category that History of Violence did for me. Good actors, talented director and lousy result. It seems to me that this movie was 1 or 2 rewrites away from being very good (as was HOV). The male leads, Aaron Eckhart and Josh Hartnett were good, though not great. The actresses were almost universally bad. Mia Kirshner was the only exception, but she's used sparingly (sadly). I hope she gets more work, fast - based on this performance. Kirshner was the only actress who seemed remotely natural. Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Swank both turned in stilted, affected performances. Maybe that's what the director wanted, I don't know - but it didn't work at all. I still fail to see the intrigue with Johansson. Aside from her (obvious) physical attributes...she has turned in nothing bu average performances time and again. The story got to be a muddled mess requiring numbing exposition. The writer and director should have re-watched LA Confidential to get a better sense of the movie they were trying to make, but didn't. De Palma now has more misses than hits at this point. He (and Cronenberg after HOV) should take a long holiday and come back in several years after having a creative enema. I can only imagine what Chris Nolan or Darren Aronofsky would have done with this source material. A shame.

Strikes all the right notes of humor, adventure, gun fights and most of all, authenticity. Eastwood is impressive in front of and behind the camera. The script stays reasonably close to the book (Gone to Texas).

Chief Dan George is truly a treasure and was perfectly cast. The great Will Samson is imposing and utterly believable as Ten Bears. Bill McKinney (from the "Eastwood acting collective") is great as Terrill. Although, Sandra Locke is typically forgettable in an otherwise well cast film.

This along with Unforgiven will forever be branded classic "Cowboy" movies in my mind. I still recall Orson Welles on the Tonight Show telling Johnny he had just seen "the greatest Western ever made" after viewing The Outlaw Josey Wales. Brilliant film.