Saw the Movie

My son and I went to a late night showing of Cowboys and Aliens on Tuesday. I thought it was great. And it reinforced my belief that all movie reviewers should seriously consider running for Congress. They have no more idea of what "real" people like than our Congressmen and women do. One reviewer for Associated Press actually said the movie was a bust because it barely made more money than Smurfs. Barely? So making more money by just a little puts you in the bust category, yet the movie that made less is considered a great success? See what I mean...movie reviewers and Congressmen...they actually do think alike.

Harrison Ford played a great role of the crusty old army warrior now running a successful ranch in Arizona. Daniel Craig is the leader of an outlaw gang who found himself abducted by aliens. The aliens are in Arizona mining for gold. And they aren't the cute E.T. aliens, or the little gray men we hear so much about, they're the typical mix of some kind of beast with hands reaching out of his stomach and insect eyes. But they looked pretty good for computer created aliens. I wouldn't want to run into one.

The movie was quick, lots of side stories and relationships going on, a ton of great characters, and an actual plot. The aliens want the earth's gold and they don't like humans. In the end, which I won't spoil completely, outlaws, townfolks, Indians, and an alien from yet a third planet, join forces and fight the boogers that are here causing havoc and chaos in Arizona. All-in-all I'd give it four stars and a thumbs up. And guess what, there was nothing graphic, nothing vulgar, nothing said I didn't understand. I will be able to take my 9 year old grandson to see this one, and his dad will like it too. It did a wonderful job of mixing the western genre with the science fiction. Go see it and let me know if you agree.

Conspiracy Theory?

In St. Louis, our newspaper has a Sunday section called A & E. Honestly I would have given up taking the paper if not for the small pleasure I get every Sunday morning while drinking my first cup of coffee and reading about the films and books our newspaper deems worthy of valuable column space. I sometimes agree with the book reviews but almost never agree with the ones written about the movies I've seen. I haven't seen Aliens and Cowboys yet, but this mornings review of it might just drive me to discontinue the paper...which I threaten to do almost daily anymore. Here's the review.

"Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford star as two cowboys who have to rescue humans from alien spaceships invading Arizona in the 1870's. Jon Favreau directs this genre-mashing story and provides some exciting sequences, but the film falls short ultimately because of its lack of originality."

I am totally perplexed and blurbubbled. How much more original can you get! I've not seen a movie set in Arizona with alien invaders before. Stephen King wrote the Dark Tower series, but it was such a mishmash of genres I don't think it could be considered aliens meet cowboys. It had fantasy, horror, science fiction and western all rolled into one. So it came to me as I stood over the garbage disposal shoving todays edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch down the hole into oblivion, maybe it's a conspiracy to destroy westerns. 

I never see a review of a western book. Come to think of it, I don't think in the 25 years I've taken the Post, they've reviewed one single western novel. When they review the western movies they are never favorable. Yet movies like Jackass 1 and 2 get rave reviews. That's it. It has to be. It has to be a conspiracy against westerns. And probably against cowboys too. We need to stand up and revolt. Take it to the streets and voice our complaints. And as for the guy who wrote today's review that got all this started, he should run for congress. Anytime I see someone who doesn't seem to be thinking very clearly I think they're great congressional material.