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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Nov 30, 2007 20:34:41 GMT -5
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Just saw this at the cinema and I have to say unless you really like your arthouse style cinema then this really isn't going to be your cup of tea.
General consensus from my buddies and myself was that it was very slow and long winded. It's also nearly 3 hours so you go and see this you are in for the duration.
Pitt and Casey Affleck were good in there roles (Jesse James and Robert Ford) but the film just dragged. Plus for a western (Even if it was a biopic) it was short on interesting action moments. Lots of discussion, narration and sweeping shots of landscape and fading in and out.
Overall it was tiring to watch.
2 out of 5 stars from me.
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rra
King Koopa
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Post by rra on Nov 30, 2007 21:26:58 GMT -5
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordJust saw this at the cinema and I have to say unless you really like your arthouse style cinema then this really isn't going to be your cup of tea. General consensus from my buddies and myself was that it was very slow and long winded. It's also nearly 3 hours so you go and see this you are in for the duration. Pitt and Casey Affleck were good in there roles (Jesse James and Robert Ford) but the film just dragged. Plus for a western (Even if it was a biopic) it was short on interesting action moments. Lots of discussion, narration and sweeping shots of landscape and fading in and out. Overall it was tiring to watch. 2 out of 5 stars from me. Western is just action? My man, how do you stand Leone's westerns then? Do you fast-forward? Anyway, I'll review JESSE JAMES sometime this weekend, but I do think the film drags in the middle....but damn, the 1st and 3rd Acts are excellent. That said, Casey Affleck was great and Brad Pitt proved an old hypothesis of mine. When Pitt gives a damn, he can be a great actor. His Jesse James with the sociopathic, homicidal eyes....awesome. The cinematography deserves at least an Oscar nom. Overall, JESSE JAMES is a movie that will shoot up some audiences with its running time and for not co-operating with them. If people are patient take the movie in as a Terrence Malick-esque picture, but without the Malick grace. I probably give it 4 out of 5. |
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Post by texaswhopper on Nov 30, 2007 21:29:38 GMT -5
As a history buff I would like to see it.
I got back into the western movies again from watching Young Guns and Open Range.
I almost bought Young Guns while I was out.
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Nov 30, 2007 21:35:46 GMT -5
I love Sergio Leone westerns, this just didn't compare to them. The Pacing of this movie was tough going in my opinion and they could have easily cut an hour of it.
To me this came across as more a film about Robert Ford than Jesse James.
If you compared this to Open Range, they are like two completely different movies with only the western setting as a similarity.
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rra
King Koopa
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Post by rra on Nov 30, 2007 21:36:41 GMT -5
As a history buff I would like to see it. I got back into the western movies again from watching Young Guns and Open Range. I almost bought Young Guns while I was out. In pacing, its similar to OPEN RANGE, but its not a gun-trotting narrative. Almost a docu-drama in JESSE JAMES' approach, about a guy who wanted to be famous, and gets it....immortalized with infamy. That and Casey Affleck's Robert Ford wanted to be Jesse James, but can't. To quote Brian Cox in MANHUNTER: "If one wants to be God, they act like a God." |
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Nov 30, 2007 21:43:15 GMT -5
As a history buff I would like to see it. I got back into the western movies again from watching Young Guns and Open Range. I almost bought Young Guns while I was out. In pacing, its similar to OPEN RANGE, but its not a gun-trotting narrative. Almost a docu-drama in JESSE JAMES' approach, about a guy who wanted to be famous, and gets it....immortalized with infamy. That and Casey Affleck's Robert Ford wanted to be Jesse James, but can't. To quote Brian Cox in MANHUNTER: "If one wants to be God, they act like a God." Yeah that's the kind of words I was looking for .. it did feel more like a documentary than a film. (Which is probably why I felt it dragged as I went into it hoping for a entertaining western not a dramatised history lesson  ) |
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rra
King Koopa
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Post by rra on Nov 30, 2007 21:45:41 GMT -5
I love Sergio Leone westerns, this just didn't compare to them. The Pacing of this movie was tough going in my opinion and they could have easily cut an hour of it. To me this came across as more a film about Robert Ford than Jesse James. If you compared this to Open Range, they are like two completely different movies with only the western setting as a similarity. (1) I agree that the middle-section drags, but what scenes would you have CUT OUT? The only sequence I've considered was the whole affair with the younger wife. Its nice, but not necessary I guess. In a way, I'm reminded of a movie that few of you have seen, if any of you.....HEAVEN'S GATE. Like JESSE JAMES, Cimino's GATE grooves for better or for worse on its own wave, whatever the audience can keep it or not, it doesn't give a damn. (2) You can't blame the movie for false advertizement. I mean, how can one make a George Washington drama without Benedict Arnold? Jesus without Judas? Ford is essential to the Jesse James myth, and why he became an American myth in his demise....shot in the back. James was a bad man, and Ford was a hero. Selfish motives, but still blasted him away. Ever seen Sam Fuller's I SHOT JESSE JAMES? If Pitt's JESSE JAMES movie tried to go Malick on us, Fuller's JAMES was a pulp melodrama take with the same basic concept: Ford demonized for killing a legend. (3) Are they really? Costner takes his sweet time with OPEN RANGE, which I think suffers in the epilogue after that climax but otherwise a damn good movie. The only difference was that there was gunfights all over the place. Westerns aren't just about gunfights. Again, I won't hold it against you for not liking this movie but for some people who stick with the movie, even through the ass-dragging middle-section, I think they'll be rewarded. Or at least get one GORGEOUS looking movie. |
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rra
King Koopa
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Post by rra on Nov 30, 2007 21:47:07 GMT -5
In pacing, its similar to OPEN RANGE, but its not a gun-trotting narrative. Almost a docu-drama in JESSE JAMES' approach, about a guy who wanted to be famous, and gets it....immortalized with infamy. That and Casey Affleck's Robert Ford wanted to be Jesse James, but can't. To quote Brian Cox in MANHUNTER: "If one wants to be God, they act like a God." Yeah that's the kind of words I was looking for .. it did feel more like a documentary than a film. (Which is probably why I felt it dragged as I went into it hoping for a entertaining western not a dramatised history lesson ) JESSE JAMES was what Kasdan's mediocre WYATT EARP tried to be....Reality behind the myth. The difference is that JESSE JAMES didn't throw the myth baby out with the bathwater. BTW, what did you think of Mangold's 3:10 TO YUMA remake? |
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Nov 30, 2007 21:52:14 GMT -5
Yeah that's the kind of words I was looking for .. it did feel more like a documentary than a film. (Which is probably why I felt it dragged as I went into it hoping for a entertaining western not a dramatised history lesson ) JESSE JAMES was what Kasdan's mediocre WYATT EARP tried to be....Reality behind the myth. The difference is that JESSE JAMES didn't throw the myth baby out with the bathwater. BTW, what did you think of Mangold's 3:10 TO YUMA remake? Haven't seen it, so couldn't tell ya. |
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CM Dazz
King Koopa
Chuck
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Post by CM Dazz on Nov 30, 2007 22:03:17 GMT -5
The History Channel did an hour special on the assasination of Jesse James that I really enjoyed.
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Post by CM Punk's Favorite Boobs on Nov 30, 2007 22:17:15 GMT -5
I really want to see this movie, but I think I'm going to wait to rent it first, mostly due to the duration of it. Since seeing a teaser of it some time ago, I've had an interest in the movie. I also think Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are good actors, so that just adds to my interest.
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Post by Jason Todd Grisham on Nov 30, 2007 22:35:38 GMT -5
How was the music?
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Post by DASH 243✅ on Dec 1, 2007 0:24:26 GMT -5
I don't know about Jesse James but there have been many Jesse Jane movies I have enjoyed.
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Lick Ness Monster
Dennis Stamp
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Post by Lick Ness Monster on Dec 1, 2007 2:23:44 GMT -5
On average I see two movies at the theater per week, so yeah, I saw it.
And on the whole I liked it, but it was nothing I would go out of my way to recommend to anyone. *** / *****
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Post by "American Cream" Dusty Loads on Dec 1, 2007 2:42:33 GMT -5
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