Calamity Jane (1953)

The musical Western from 1953 starring Doris Day as Calamity Jane with Howard Keel, Allyn Ann McLerie and Philip Carey. Sees Jane agree to bring a big female star from the city to her town of Deadwood. Jane is very much a Tomboy and dresses as a soldier, shoots and drinks with the men and wants to be accepted as one of the boys. The film follows her as she discovers more about what she wants from life and why being a woman can be good.

This film is a lot of fun and the songs including "The Deadwood Stage (Whip Crack Away)" and "Just Blew in From the Windy City" are catchy, memorable and I am sure you will have heard them before. Musicals are a strange type of film as they can be more about the music than the story, this I think can be an issue for some people who are looking to watch a film rather than segments of music videos. The older Musicals including this really use the songs well to help emphasise the story and be a set piece within the film.

Musicals are a genre of film that I have naturally avoided but having seen this and recently seeing "Singin in the Rain" for the first time and really enjoying it, I am going to try and watch more Musicals. Overall this is a strong 3 stars I would recommend checking if nothing else to see a solid film star in Doris Day.

Fort Apache (1948)

Film of 2012 #69


From 1948 starring John Wayne and Henry Fonda with a small part for an Adult Shirley Temple as the daughter of Lt. Col. Owen Thursday played by Henry Fonda. Lt Thursday is posted to Fort Apache at the end of his career and he has a point to prove. John Wayne plays Capt. Kirby York and this film is really a look at the conquering of the Apache Nation and the end of the film looks at how history remembers American Heroes. Henry Fonda plays Lt Owen Thursday as an arrogant soldier obsessed with military order and glory and against the advice of his colleagues goes after the indians in a destructive final battle.

If you like westerns this is a good version it is more about the Calvery than Cowboys but is still Cowboys vs Indians. The story does revolve around the idea that Thursday wants the glory that he thinks he deserves and this plays through as he does what he wants, how he wants and does not really care for the consequences and how it impacts his men. It is interesting as it revolves around military rules and how they are actioned and it takes a look at how the leaders of the past are measured and John Wayne sums it up at the end of the film as he was there and knows what the man was like and how differently he was remembered.

This is a good film and one I have watched it a few times, I am not a big fan of Westerns but this film captures everything that a good western needs. I would say that this is a strong 3 star recommend and would say that if you want to view a film from the 40's you could do a lot worse than giving this film a go.

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Finally watched the Mel Brooks classic from 1974, the Western spoof where a Black Sheriff played by Cleavon Little is appointed to a town by Harvey Korman who wants the land, because when the railway goes through it will be worth a fortune. With Gene Wilder as the Kid and Slim Pickens as Taggart this is a brilliant comedy film.

I have to be honest and say that several of the jokes are out of place and the use of the N word in today's society is unacceptable so there is a jarring call when it is uttered in the film, however the film addresses this itself and makes a fool of it really well. I love one of the first scenes with the sing off "Camp Town Races" makes me smile every time just to think about it. The jokes mainly hold up, the camp fire scene is one of the most famous and is still funny even if this is on a totally base level.

I have to say even though some of the comedy and references are a bit out of date and out of place this is a solid 4 star film and everybody should watch it at least once.

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Went to see the Western/Sci-Fi cross over film from John Faverou, starring Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde. There were some good Cameo's from Sam Rockwell and Clancy Brown, two actors who always make any film better. Now I am not a fan of Westerns but I love the Sci-Fi genre so was watching this film with a bit of trepidation as half of the premise was not for my tastes. This is actually a Western film with a Sci-Fi element, normally when a film has any element of Sci-Fi the film automatically gets classed in that genre as it is the strongest genre there is, as the simple premise of Sci-Fi is usually unbelievable and can take you out of a setting.

So you have Daniel Craig wakes up in the desert with a bracelet on his wrist and no idea who he is or where he is. Harrison Ford plays essentially the bad guy of the piece. His son Percy is an arrogant show off that gets away with everything simply because his Father is the richest man in the locality. Daniel Craig is like the lone drifter that wanders into town, and then the Aliens turn up. Now from this point onwards this is teh Sci-Fi film that I wanted, the Western element was good by my standards it was basic and simple and did not get to carried away. The characters trying to bring you back to the Western theme was a bit clunky especially the scene when Daniel Craig is coming out of the water and what he says to Olivia Wilde it feels very, oops lets remind everyone that this is the 1800's.

Overall I enjoyed this film the Western element is small enough and the Sci-Fi is strong enough that it maintained my interest so overall I give this 3 stars, worth watching especially if you like the action Sci-Fi films.

Cowboys & Aliens (2011) Trailer

I have highly anticiapted this film since I heard about this film, Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in a Western that has aliens in it what is there not to love about this film idea. In watching the trailer it would appear to be somewhere along the lines of Daniel Craig being abducted and returned to the wild west with some sort of weapon attached to his arm.

He has to team up with Harrison Ford who indicates that some people from the town including his son have been abducted. I am a bit worried having seen the trailer that I have basically seen the full plot of the film and I am wondering if there will be any twists that will keep us interested up to the end.

The trailer makes me want to see this film more and more and i hope that it lives up to the hyoe and expectations I have for it and I am not disappointed, will endeavor to see this film at the cinema when it comes out.

UK release Date - 17th August 2011