is the latest from Touchstone. Staring Robert
Duvall as cowboy Boss Spearman, Kevin Costner as runner-up loner cowboy
and long time friend to Boss, Charley Waite and Annette Bening as the not
wanting to be a spinster Sue Barlow.
The background story is free grazing of cattle, which
Boss does well. The corrupt Sheriff is pushed about (as are most of the
town folks) by the wannabe kingpin rancher who hates the free grazers.
For you movie lovers, this is the plot point and conflict setup.
Now, this is a big picture, be patient with it—the
photography and cinematography are fabulous, Duvall as Boss is wonderful;
Costner as Charley is Costner; and Bening as Ms. Sue fits—she falls for
Charley. The bad guys (Sheriff and wannabe kingpin) do their best to
break all the codes of honor of the Wild West. The show down is a mix of
High Noon and Tombstone, the town folks found their courage, and you come
away with a “that was good flick” feeling.
Who Should See It? —Anyone
who likes Duvall and/or Costner, if you like westerners or if you like the
Big Sky ranges. 4 Golden Eggs.
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by Fine Line Features was the Winner of the 2003
Sundance Grand Jury Prize and the International Critics Award at this
year's Cannes Film Festival. Now, with that said, understand that lots of
these winners are truly off the wall movies.
AMERICAN SPLENDOR is no different.
Not knowing anything about the life of underground comic book writer
Harvey Pekar, my first thought was, “what the hell is this?” Several
people at the screening I attended must have been thinking the same thing
and they exercised their “let’s get out of here” option.
I hung in there and actually was intrigued by this
goofball mundane dude who creates the underground comic book American
Splendor (true story) about himself—from getting in the wrong lines,
boring work and boring people (not to mention Mr. Pekar—who is an
obsessive comic book collector and a cantankerous personality) and just
everyday stuff. Starring Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis—this movie is
different.
Who Should See It? —If
you like David Letterman (footage is shown from shows that Pekar was on
plus the meltdown he had on it) and stupid pet tricks, this may be your
cup of tea. 3 ½ Golden Eggs.
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