Ed's Review Dot Com

Evenstar Films, Film Science, Harmony Productions

Paul Dano, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Zoe Kazan, Tommy Nelson, Will Patton, Rod Rondeaux, Michelle Williams

The year is 1845 and a group of settlers are travelling the Oregon Trail. They’ve hired Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood) to lead them. Meek says he’s familiar with the area and knows a shortcut across the Cascade Mountains. Taking an unmarked trail, and blazing it most of the way, Meek gets them into a lot of trouble. The become horribly lost, and many people died as a result of a lack of water and the extreme hardship of the trail. As things become worse, a native american crosses their pass, and since Meek has proven to be unreliable, the men are considering trusting the Native American to be their guide and help them find water. But the Native Americans are fierce warriors and enemies of the people and they’re not sure who to trust. Based on a true story, this is the story of some of the first pioneers to cross the Oregon Trail.

This is a western adventure. It should have been much better, but there are several problems. First is the historical accuracy of the story. The travelers are very cruel and mean to the guide. There is no indication that this was the case. Also it builds to a very anticlimactic and abrupt ending which is not warranted. There is a bit more to the story that should have been told and there should have been an ending. There is a point where one of the boys discovers some gold. This is what has been come to be knwn as the Blue Bucket Lost Mine. For years afterward people tried to rediscover this location that was filled with gold, but it has never been found. In order to learn of the history, you have to look outside the film. There is only a single scene here that is never revisited, but it was one of the great mysteries of the trip across the mountains.

That being said, it’s not all bad. The scenery is beautiful and the acting is certainly acceptable. It’s a good western adventure and worth watching. But be sure to look up the facts of Meek’s Cutoff and the history of these people for the background of the story. It’s a fascinating story. The movie is relatively exciting, and fun to watch, and it got me interested in studying more about the events of the story. Decent adventure and well worth my time.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Lava Box Entertainment Group, Noble Productions Ltd

Brett Moses, Ryan Hurst, Dominique Swain, Michael Parks, Lee Ann Womack, James Parks, Ron Canada, Wes Brown, Tracy Byrd, James Bobinger

Jimmy Wayne Collins (Brett Moses) is a country star with a career on the rocks. He decides to head bck home to Texas to nurse his dying father, Pete (Michael Parks, and ends up learning a lot about himself and the ties he left behind in his youth. He’s got lots of burned bridges to try to repair as he learns that there’s more to life than fortune and fame and many ways to live an honorable life.

First and foremost, this is a western. But it is much deeper and darker than most. Jimmy has been carrying a secret for many, many years which is eating him alive. When his Dad is really sick, he feels an obligation to take care of him, but neither he, nor his dad, enjoy each other’s company. But he still tries to do what it right. It is clear he is deeply depressed. The secret he is hiding is too much to bear. Plus the stress of being a one hit wonder is pretty tough. This is a well acted morality play of right and wrong. Will Jimmy be able to right the wrong he did years ago and make things right? It’s a deep movie, but pretty good.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Fuse Media, Sad Flutes

Dong-gun Jang, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston, Tony Cox, Lung Ti, Analin Rudd, Markus Hamilton, Rod Lousich, Matt Gillanders

Yang (Dong-gun Jang) has been trained from childhood as a samurai warrior. He’s the best. His clan was at war with another clan, and the other’s were defeated. The last remaining member of the other clan is a baby girl. Refusing to kill the child, Yang becomes the number one target of his clan, requiring the shedding of his blood to make up for disobeying the order. Yang takes the baby in tow, and heads to the old west to visit a friend who settled there long ago. Alas his friend has passed on, but Yang meets a young woman, Lynne (Kate Bosworth) who is a knife throwing circus performer, and the town drunk, former gunslinger Ronald (Geoffrey Rush). It seems everyone is after Lynne for a terrible secret she is hiding, and Yang’s clan is not willing to forget what he failed to do as well. All this leads to an unbelievable showdown in the street.

This is a Samurai Western, much like the original Kung Fu with David Carradine. But this is a very beautiful film. A lot of it is dream-like and very artistic. It is a grand battle that we get to witness, but by the same token, it has the magical, mystical feel of many of the great Chinese Kung-fu films. I was very impressed with the drama and the beauty of this film. It is not really literal, but very visual treat that is hard to forget. It’s funny and suspenseful, but above all, poetic in the telling of the story. This is a very, very good film, and I really enjoyed it very much. Don’t expect a pure kung-fu film, nor a western. It’s a blend of the two done with a lot of artistic license, but if you stick with the film, it is very, very beautifully done. Very worth watching!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog