I had missed the screening earlier in the week, & I asked a fellow reviewer about it. He replied, in a masterly bit of faint praise, “Well, it was it better than Wild Wild West.” Certainly true, but unhelpful, as my most recent stubbed toe was better than Wild Wild West.
Actually, Barry & I both quite enjoyed Jonah Hex. I wouldn’t say it’s a classic, but Josh Brolin cuts a baleful figure in the title role, a gruesomely scarred bounty hunter, & he delivers his lines with a growly, dark-souled authority.
John Malkovich takes a nice restful nap through his role as the villain, an embittered Confederate general, but the movie has an effective cartoon/Spaghetti-Western look, & the scenes involving Jonah’s ability to talk to dead people are imaginative.
Megan Fox plays Jonah’s hooker love interest, & even allowing for the fact that she’s corseted, she’s freakishly thin…
RIP to Ronald Neame, director of The Poseidon Adventure, who has passed on just shy of one hundred years old.
Huh, well, it's nice to hear SOMETHING positive about the movie. Me and my friends are big Hex fans, and even paid tribute to the character, using his name as one of ours in our Spaghetti Western Concept Rap album, called "Showdown at the BK Corral." (basically an epic Spaghetti Western over 9 tracks - very influenced by Leone and Morricone - you can download it for free at sunsetparkriders.com ) When we started, he was totally obscure, and now that the movies out and getting such terrible reviews, we're not sure how to feel about it.
ReplyDeleteI'd been really mixed about seeing it at all, but if it's at least enjoyable to sit through, then, clearly we have to check it out.
Well, if you're a big Jonah H fan,you may actually have a harder time than I did--I remember the book from back in the day, but I wasn't a devoted reader. But Brolin's performance is really good, & that plus the cool look of the film will probably make it worthwhile for you.
ReplyDeleteThanx for the link, & good luck with your album; sounds cool. If you're into Leone & Morricone you're obviously above-average to start with. Are you familiar with Morricone's score for "Two Mules for Sister Sarah?" That's my all-time favorite film score.
I know the theme from "Two Mules" and it's fantastic, I'll have to see if I can find the whole thing somewhere. Actually, I should probably check out the movie, too - have you seen it? Of course, Morricone was awfully generous with the films he chose to score, so I know that doesn't mean it will be great, but they are always worth checking out.
ReplyDeleteYes, "Two Mules" is very good; not quite on the level of the Leone westerns but still worth seeing. I actually was mostly referring to the 2 Mules main title theme, with the braying leitmotif, as my favorite, but as I recall the whole score is superb. James Coburn's theme in Leone's "Duck, You Sucker" is also splendid.
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