Burt Reynolds stars as Gator McClusky, who feels like he may be a more rough and tumble relative of the Bandit. And speaking of Smokey & the Bandit, Hal Needham, who went on to direct that classic film, served as the second unit director on this film. Gator is in prison, and he’s a model…
Tag: sheriff
They Call Me Trinity (1970) – Enzo Barboni
They Call Me Trinity is a spaghetti western that riffs slightly on the classic Seven Samurai story, but is filled with lots of comedic moments, and is led by a pair of charming actors, Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer. It gently pokes fun at the tropes of the genre, plays to them, and enjoys them,…
Raw Deal (1986) – John Irvin
I knew not all of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s early work were going to be winners. And there was a reason I never wanted to take a chance on Raw Deal. From everything I’d seen, trailer and image wide it looked pretty horrible. Surprise, surprise I was right. It has a horrible soundtrack and score, and the…
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) – Burt Kennedy
James Garner is at his charming best in Support Your Local Sheriff! Jason (Garner) rides into a small gold rush town, which we see spring up through the opening credits after Prudy (Joan Hackett) and her father, Olly Perkins (Harry Morgan) discover gold partway through a funeral – and that should tell you all you…
Mississippi Burning (1988) – Alan Parker
Mississippi Burning was relevant when it was made in the late 80s (it was relevant when I watched it nine years ago and wrote about it then), and sadly, here in 2024, it’s still relevant, because racism still seems to be way too rampant. The Oscar-winning film (Cinematography) has a stellar cast and is based…
The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016) – Andre Ovredal
Andre Ovredal’s first English language film is a very well-crafted and viscerally terrifying film starring Biran Cox, Emile Hirsch and Olwen Catherine Kelly. Cox and Hirsch play father and son, Tommy and Austin Tilden who run a morgue and crematorium. Austin has dreams of getting out of the business and town, and taking his girlfriend,…
No Country For Old Men (2007) – Joel and Ethan Coen
I remember watching No Country For Old Men when it first came to home video, I was hip-deep in discovering everything that the Coen Brothers had made, and loving every single one of them. Unfortunately, my first time through it, I didn’t pay lots of attention to it, though some moments are burned into my…
Bone Tomahawk (2015) – S. Craig Zahler
Kurt Russell saddles up for another western, and though the basic premise of the story may sound familiar, where that narrative takes you may be a little too gruesome for some viewers, but it’s a helluva ride. Russell is Hunt, the sheriff of Bright Hope, and he and a couple of locals are about to…
Young Guns (1988) – Christopher Cain
A fun cast gives a bit of a young update on a classic western tale as Emilio Estevez climbs into the saddle as Billy the Kid in Christopher Cain’s Young Guns. Featuring a high-profile cast that included Lou Diamond Phillips, Kiefer Sutherland, Dermot Mulroney, Terence Stamp, Jack Palance and Terry O’Quinn. John Tunstall (Stamp) has…
The Gift (2000) – Sam Raimi
The Gift is definitely an underrated entry in Sam Raimi’s filmography. It lacks the frenetic energy in a number of his films but is completely engrossing in the way it unfolds. With a ceaselessly moving camera, Raimi tells a captivating ghost story that was written in part by Billy Bob Thornton, which was based in…
The Mind Reels 