I love a good Western. Stories of good against evil or people overcoming incredible odds is something I find appealing. Who wouldn’t?!
But it is not a genre that needs to be set just in the past or contain grounded elements. You can do them in present or the far flung future. Be it here on earth or a world at the edge of space, you can do the standard cowboys or toss in aliens or even the supernatural.
Presented are three Westerns of the more grounded variety. Hopefully there is something for you to enjoy.
Saddle up, pilgrim!
—————————————————————————————————————-
The Good Bad Guys
- Written and Directed by Michael O’Donnell
- November 22, 2019
Two amateur thieves come across a seemingly easy target.
The Good Bad Guys was a short film that I fully expected to be much more comedic than it really was. It wasn’t a deadly serious story, but it wasn’t as funny as I assumed it to be. And it felt like the beginning of a story and not a complete story unto itself.
Our two main characters decide to rob what looks like a town to them, or at least a bar. Based on the actions of the people there they assume there’s something valuable. They find a map in a strongbox. They take the map and decide to go dig it up where the map leads and that’s the end of the story before a trio shows up and discovers the dead bodies.
In other words it feels like part one of a multi part story. I’m not upset that they want to continue it, but that they have what amounts to a teaser coming right after what felt like an ending does bother me. There is enough of a beginning, middle, and end that while not a great ending felt like a complete story.
The acting is okay and the dialogue is good. I was entertained so I did enjoy myself, but this film suffers from a poor ending. If they were going to include those three guys then maybe another five or 10 minutes worthy of film would’ve helped things, but as it is we don’t get that. It created so many questions that were not answered and instantly created multiple threads that were left dangling.
Were those three gentlemen bounty hunters? Were they outlaws themselves and were these two guys their compatriots? Were they compatriots of the dead? Don’t know. We don’t even get an inkling of anything.
The Good Bad Guys is a promising short that screws itself. While it may not have been great it could’ve been good, but a few seconds too much undoes that potential.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Cantina
- Directed by Connor Ficcadenti and Jonathan Ficcadenti
- August 22, 2013
A man travelling to a card game stops at a small cantina and his past finally catches up with him.
Cantina is a tale about a bad man who finally does something good because of…love? Most likely but because of certain weaknesses it falls a bit short of its goals. Yet this film’s biggest sin is that it uses green screen. Painfully so.
The overall effect is to make a cheap film look ridiculously cheap. While it allows for easier establishing shots which would otherwise cost some serious money, once you notice the green screen you can’t unsee it. And in some moments it looks like the background is drifting slightly when the camera and characters are static. Gave me very mild motion sickness.
Then there is the length. Cantina is far too short. It only barely sets up the central character but doesn’t delve into the relationship with the woman enough to make it fit why he did what he did. It only gets to the edge of it.
While there is some good direction and the beginnings of a very good script but the previously cited elements really hurt the overall effort. I think if they had used physical sets at the minimum it would’ve improved my overall reception of this. Once I noticed the green screen-and I noticed it quickly-I had trouble paying attention which took away from anything the people behind this were developing. And I know I’m not the only viewer who is susceptible to such an occurrence. If you can’t pull in your viewers anything you do will not be as effective as it otherwise could be.
Because of the green screen and a lack of characterization Cantina never gets quite to where it should be. I personally won’t see this out again, but I can’t quite say it’s terrible viewing. It just slides over that.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Retribution
- Directed by Christopher Claxton
- December 12, 2018
A trusting man tastes the life of the outlaw.
Visually Retribution is a very good film. It certainly immerses you in the Western era. The problem is everything else. It falls short at many points. What should be a complete story is only part of a story.
Our hero goes into town to buy some medicine for his ailing father and takes along a watch to trade. The watch isn’t worth nearly enough to cover the medicine and he eventually falls into working with a criminal who plays a simple game of choose a card with his victims and if they choose a jack they die.
Great idea but it never gets to where it should be. Not dark or sinister or anything. Mostly because of the acting of the cast. It’s my understanding this is a student film and I’m guessing they’re all virtually inexperienced actors. The movie itself feels like only part of the story. I was even left thinking we would get a fight club twist where it turns out. The card guy is actually the other guy and he’s crazy. But none of that came. Because of more to come there’s just no point. The story is just some stuff happens and then the end. While it’s competently directed and very well shot that’s all I can say for it.
Retribution is an okay idea that just never found its footing. Competently directed and visually pleasing, but nothing worth digging up.
—————————————————————————————————————-
Not the strongest of offerings this time around. That does not mean that YouTube does not have something good to offer.
Warren Watched A Movie 