Finally saw it. Fantastic. Stayed within itself and didn't try to do too much.

No complaints at all. That's how movies should be made.

TCTTS - so we all love it because we are from Texas and it is a good movie.

What does the rest of Hollywood think? Will we get more movies in this vein that are just good?

From what I can tell, "Hollywood" absolutely loves it as well. I've seen multiple critics mention it as the best of the year so far, and a lot of people I know personally have really enjoyed it as well.

Whether or not we get more movies in this vein that are just good is TBD. This wasn't a box office smash or anything, and it's not like studios are going to rush to get more movies like this made just because one is getting good reviews. Trends are based mostly on box office, not reviews.

For those seeing a connection to No Country for Old Men, the T-bone waitress, Margaret Bowman, played the motel clerk in NCFOM who wonders about the room Llewelyn chooses.

I would have loved to see Tommy Lee Jones in Bridges' role, but it would be so close to the NCFOM role he probably wouldn't want to repeat himself.

I thought Bridges did very well, particularly in the part when his partner is shot and thereafter, and in the final scene. Minor complaint: He couldn't decide whether to enunciate "g" or to leave it off, as in "giving" or "givin'." Obviously the latter is the way it's said in West Texas among his social class. He also pronounced "Brazos" as it is pronounced in Spanish, which, again, does not fit his character. I agree with those who said that Bridges has come to believe that a country accent consists of pretending his mouth is full of chew or marbles and trying to speak through it.

Chris Pine's son didn't sound very West Texas.

I had never heard of Ben Foster, but he was excellent.

Very good movie. Thanks for the recommendation.

You know, I saw he was in that, but I don't remember him at all.

I've watched it just once. I prefer the original version.

quote:

---

For those seeing a connection to No Country for Old Men, the T-bone waitress, Margaret Bowman, played the motel clerk in NCFOM who wonders about the room Llewelyn chooses.

I would have loved to see Tommy Lee Jones in Bridges' role, but it would be so close to the NCFOM role he probably wouldn't want to repeat himself.

I thought Bridges did very well, particularly in the part when his partner is shot and thereafter, and in the final scene. Minor complaint: He couldn't decide whether to enunciate "g" or to leave it off, as in "giving" or "givin'." Obviously the latter is the way it's said in West Texas among his social class. He also pronounced "Brazos" as it is pronounced in Spanish, which, again, does not fit his character. I agree with those who said that Bridges has come to believe that a country accent consists of pretending his mouth is full of chew or marbles and trying to speak through it.

Chris Pine's son didn't sound very West Texas.

I had never heard of Ben Foster, but he was excellent.

Very good movie. Thanks for the recommendation.

---

Ben Foster was also in

3:10 to Yuma- the 2nd in command of Russell Crowe's crew named Charlie Prince
Lone Survivor - one of the 4 in the unit with Mark Wahlbergs character, played Matt "Axe" Axelson
Alpha Dog - the brother of the kidnapped kid seeking revenge

He is always seemingly the kinda crazy and intense guy.

I've seen all three of those movies, but I don't remember him except slightly in Lone Survivor. I'll watch for him if I ever run across those movies again.

One more try...

(NSFW - language)

Edit. Read the post wrong.

quote:

---

I've seen all three of those movies, but I don't remember him except slightly in Lone Survivor. I'll watch for him if I ever run across those movies again.

---

not sure how you could see 3:10 to Yuma and not remember him - Russell Crowe may have been the lead but Ben Foster killed about 30 people in it....including burning the guy in the wagon, etc...

Always pissed me off that Russel Crowe killed him in that movie. I've only seen it once and it was years ago, but if I remember correctly, he is loyal as hell to Crowe's character, and does everything he can to rescue him. Then Crowe just shoots him when he frees him.

Russel Crowe is a ****

quote:

---

Always pissed me off that Russel Crowe killed him in that movie. I've only seen it once and it was years ago, but if I remember correctly, he is loyal as hell to Crowe's character, and does everything he can to rescue him. Then Crowe just shoots him when he frees him.

Russel Crowe is a ****

---

Crowes character Wade kills him because he had rescued him already and then he killed the rancher played by Christian Bale even though he didn't have to. Wades character had grown to respect him and didn't like that. He specifically told him to stop but he killed bales character anyway. So wade killed him. I didn't have a problem with it.

Christian Bale died in that movie?? Man I need to watch it again.

My admittedly weird/semi-embarrassing Ben Foster story from a Ben Foster thread a couple years back...

quote:

---

I once ran into him - literally - at concert years ago. Friends of mine were playing at a bar called Molly Malone's here in LA and Foster was friends with one of the girls in the band, so he came out to support. I had seen him years prior on Conan, and thought he was the biggest weirdo/actor-nerd ever. So much so that I began to actively dislike him.

Anyway, he was up by the stage at the concert and started walking back in my direction to head to the bar or bathroom or something and, for whatever idiotic reason, I quickly told my friend to half-push me into him as he passed. Again, I don't know what I was thinking. He'd always just bugged the sh*t out of me and I wanted to bug him back, I guess, spur of the moment. My friend actually did it, causing me to kind of elbow Foster as he passed, knocking him a good foot or two "off course." But then Foster apologized to me in the nicest/most concerned way possible. Like it truly caught me off guard how courteous he was.

So, as stupid as this whole story is, that little gesture swayed me a bit. And then he started killing it in bigger and bigger roles, and now I'm definitely in agreement that he's pretty phenomenal. But I also kind of get the argument that he should maybe just remain an amazing character actor. I don't know if he's quite leading man material. Not from a lack of talent, obviously, but more because of a vibe he puts off. Though, I'm absolutely open to both the Armstrong pic or Warcraft proving me wrong.

---

http://texags.com/forums/13/topics/2441939

Iirc, Ben foster is also the human helping the vamps in 30 days of night.

Another recent movie that is really good in theaters is Blood Father with Mel Gibson. The setting feels familiar out in a desert and old man Mel kicks ass. These two films have been a pleasant surprise considering most of the movies this summer have not been good.

quote:

---

Another recent movie that is really good in theaters is Blood Father with Mel Gibson. The setting feels familiar out in a desert and old man Mel kicks ass. These two films have been a pleasant surprise considering most of the movies this summer have not been good.

---

As much as people like railing against Mel, even the leftist movie critics regularly acknowledge his greatness in front and behind the camera. Hacksaw Ridge is supposed to be Oscar material.

I just got out and my immediate reaction: holy **** WHAT A MOVIE.

I know I'm repeating a common opinion on this thread but as someone who grew up in West Texas they really got this movie perfect. I mean even the mannerisms, sayings, and atmosphere. Jeff Bridges was just like my cattle ranching granddad outside of his faux Texas Accent. All the way from the boots and starched clothes to the racial comments. What a well done western.

The Washington Post / "Actor-turned-screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, on his love letter to Texas"

Read that article and *******, I love seeing someone with that type of passion for storytelling, real stories with purpose and meaning and thought, actually succeed in a Hollywood bent on ****ty comic book movie franchises and stupid, leave your brain at the door action movies.

Pay site. Can you post excerpts?

I really hope this comes to the streaming services soon. I don't get a chance to get to the theater much at all (2 small kids).

Really? I'm not a paying member, nor do I have an account, and I can see it just fine.

Same. I was able to read it just fine.

quote:

---

Pay site. Can you post excerpts?

---

Yeah, I had no problem reading it either. Try it again.

You get so many free views per month. I've used mine up.

quote:

---

Actor-turned-screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, on his love letter to Texas

By Michael O'Sullivan August 11

For a budding screenwriter, Taylor Sheridan has certainly hit the ground running. The square-jawed former actor, best known for playing a straight-arrow lawman on the FX series "Sons of Anarchy," made a splash with his first screenplay for the 2015 drug-war thriller "Sicario." His next film, "Hell or High Water," which opened this weekend, is the story of soon-to-retire Texas ranger Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) in pursuit of two bank-robbing brothers (Chris Pine and Ben Foster). Critics have praised the film, which is set against a backdrop of home foreclosures, for its grit and social consciousness.

The 47-year-old's directorial debut, "Wind River," is due out next year, and his "Sicario" sequel, "Soldado," begins shooting this fall. Sheridan spoke recently about the social relevance of his film and his successful move from screen to page.

Q: How did you make the leap from actor to screenwriter?

A: I made a very conscious decision to quit acting. I was on a series and we were in the process of renegotiating. They had an idea of what they thought I was worth, and I had an idea that was quite different. My wife was pregnant. I wasn't a movie star. People have a misconception of what a journeyman actor makes not a lot of money. You can maybe make 150-grand a year before taxes on a show like that. You can't get rich.

Q: Some would say that screenwriting isn't exactly a road to riches either.

A: Look, if you want to get rich, sell Learjets. There are a lot easier ways to make money. It really came down to telling stories, and I wanted to tell my own. My situation made it easy for me to go, "Well, maybe that is what I'm worth, as an actor." At least I'm not telling someone else's story.

Q: There are some heavy political themes gun rights, racism, the home mortgage crisis baked into the plot of "Hell or High Water." Why are you interested in such hot-button issues?

A: I wanted to do things that I thought were socially reflective and that made people ask questions about issues. There's such a divisive society now. It's like there are two Americas. I just wanted to explore the world I know, because I'm from Texas. My family had a ranch an hour west of Waco that we lost in 1993, as the casualty of a divorce. I'm acutely familiar with what that feels like. I witnessed my mother suffer by drinking the Kool-Aid with some of these loans. But I wouldn't call them political issues. I'd call them social issues. I'm just trying to hold up a mirror to the world.

Q: You've said, "If anyone can understand my politics, I've failed." What did you mean?

A: I'm in a business that seems to think it knows best, and we have a pretty alarming amount of power to speak without being interrupted. I try hard to only ask questions and to do it in an entertaining way.

Q: But "Sicario" and "Hell" seem designed to rattle viewers, as well as entertain.

A: Shouldn't movies rattle you? I have a hero in Marcus, whose affection for his friend [Alberto, a Native American Texas ranger played by Gil Birmingham] can only be expressed through insulting him and choosing the most superficial and harmful insults to do it. Does that make him an evil man? He seems like a pretty good guy, but he says some pretty rotten stuff, which I think is pretty representative of man as a whole.

Q: "Sicario" was noted for its unconventional five-act structure and shifting protagonists. Aren't screenwriting rules there for a reason?

A: I see them more as guidelines than rules. As a television actor, I was held to a tight, rigid structure. A lot of it was childish rebellion. I sat down to write a script, and I thought, "I'm going to break all these rules I've been held to for so long." When I was working on "Sicario," I realized how rule-breaking alters the expectations of the audience, how it changes the journey. It makes it feel like you don't know what's going to happen next.

Q: What did you bring to screenwriting from your acting career?

A: You only have to look at my rsum to know that I wasn't doing groundbreaking work as an actor. I paid the bills. I worked on largely procedural network shows, and then I did some really small, really bad movies, and auditioned for thousands more. I don't know how many scripts I've read in my life. When I sat down to write "Sicario," I had to be humble and honest and say, "You have no idea how to do this, but you certainly know how not to."

Q: How does the idea of the West inform your work?

A: All of my films are explorations of the modern American frontier. As a boy, I was fascinated with the West and cowboys and trappers. I became fascinated with Native Americans who were there, who we took it from those battles and that assimilation and the consequences of that. It's been romanticized and vilified and glossed over. Looking at the consequences of American expansion is really fascinating to me. How much has the frontier changed in 150 years? How much has it not changed?

Q: There's a great line in"Hell" where an old codger remarks that the good old days of robbing banks and living long enough to enjoy the money are long gone. Where does that nostalgia for lawlessness come from?

A: There's a real sense of freedom in the West. Some of the resistance to dealing with contemporary social change is because of a sense that real freedom is being taken away.

Q: Is it possible that this sense of freedom is an illusion?

A: There was a time in the late 1800s when you were pretty free to do whatever you wanted. You were free to die of starvation. You were free to be attacked. It was total freedom. But I think it's more a notion, a sense that you can effect change. When the old-timer says that, he says it as if we've reached a place where you can't really effect change anymore. It's ironic that it's applied to a moment of theft. It's a romantic not intellectual, not logical parallel that he's drawing.

Q: The director of the new film, David Mackenzie, is Scottish. Denis Villeneuve, who directed "Sicario," is French Canadian. Were you concerned about non-Americans directing quintessentially American stories?

A: I think because they are not Americans, they see things that we don't see because we are so used to seeing them that we don't notice anymore. They're also not tethered to an opinion on our politics. They're not personally invested.

Q: The character of Marcus, who's being forced to retire, was inspired by your uncle Parnell McNamara, a former U.S. marshal and old-school lawman. What about him interested you?

A: He was a federal marshal for 30 years and very capable. One day he is knocking down a door arresting some drug dealer, and the next day he's got a letter saying, "Turn in your badge and your gun." I thought that the notion of suddenly having your purpose in life taken away from you was really fascinating.

Q: Both of your screenplays are extremely violent. Yet you've called "Sicario" a meditation on the rule of law, and you describe "Hell" as a love poem to Texas. Where is that love poem, beneath all the bloodshed?

A: You see that love poem in the ancillary characters, in the sort of Greek chorus of people that you meet as Marcus and Alberto move through west Texas. The film is really a meditation on failure. It's a study of morality as well, of the shifts that take place in you as you change your mind about the things that you think are okay or not okay. I explore that, in an extreme way.

---

Saw it tonight, liked a lot. Spent a lot of time in Post growing up and was surprised to see a fictional version of the town feature prominently in the climax of the film!

I do think they laid on the predatory banking angle a lot thicker than they needed to--could have made the same point and even the same plot without being so ham-fisted with all of the "fast cash" billboards in the scenery, etc.

Agree that Bridges accent was a bit off, as noted by others.

Regarding comparisons to No Country for Old Men, I think NCFOM was a significantly better film, although this one felt more like something that could actually happen.