Add to Queue 73: Print the legend

[[image:vs090113_header.jpg:Blu-ray Releases | January 13, 2009:center:0]]
Media | A2Q Archives | A2Q on Twitter | A2Q #72 | January 13, 2009

Featured Title: Appaloosa

[[image:vs090113_appaloosa.jpg::left:0]]Directed by Ed Harris and based on a novel by Robert Parker, Appaloosa is the latest attempt to breathe some life into the sadly moribund western genre. There have been notable westerns over the past decade, but by and large the genre seems unlikely to ever again obtain the hold on American film audiences they once had. I count many classic westerns among my favorite films of all time, including Shane, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Searchers, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly among others, and I’m always willing to give a modern take on the genre a shot. In recent years, I’ve liked the Australian “western”, The Proposition, as well as The Assassination of Jesse James… and 3:10 to Yuma. So it’s understandable that I’ve high hopes for Appaloosa, a film that I haven’t seen yet. I’ll rectify that very soon and post any additional thoughts in the comments.

Also Out This Week
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Even mediocre, low-budget comedies are getting even-lower-budget direct-to-video releases. A sequel to Without a Paddle, without any of the original “stars” seems like a losing proposition to me. Still, I’d rather watch a comedy with people I’ve never heard of than one starring Dane Cook… or yet another entry in the “why isn’t this trend dead yet?” parody movie dead-horse-beating. Stargate has legions of loyal fans, and I’m sure that they’ll be happy to see the BD release of Ark of Truth. I’m curious about Mirrors, the Keifer Sutherland horror movie out this week. It’s nice to see Keifer, so effective in genre films Lost Boys and Dark City, doing something that doesn’t involve him single-handedly saving the world with his shouting, shooting, and torturing skills.

Thanks for reading Add to Queue, GameSpite’s weekly round-up of US Blu-ray release highlights. Sorry, rest of the world; region locks are the industry’s way of saying they still don’t understand the Internet. Cover art courtesy of Amazon. No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. Follow Levi Tinney on Twitter, or add him to your PSN or XBL friends list: VsRobot. You can also contact him via e-mail via levivsrobot [at] gmail [dot] com.

6 thoughts on “Add to Queue 73: Print the legend”

  1. Supposedly my parents-in-law are in the corner of the screen somewhere in Swing Vote. It is the one and only reason I’d consider seeing it (and I haven’t done so yet, so…). Is The Good, the Bad… your favorite of the Leone westerns? Mine is probably Fistful of Dollars.

  4. You’re wrong about Mirrors not involving Jack Bauer yelling and torturing people. He beats up a nun.

  5. Mirrors gave me a “Silent Hill” vibe. It’s sort of a spiritual sibling to the games in the way it uses atmosphere and scares. Probably a better film version of Silent Hill than the one we actually got.

  6. Adam, I don’t know what’s up with the big font. It only shows up on the front page, not on the permalink, and I don’t see any HTML that I can change.

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