2_TwoJewsOnFilm
"'Cowboys & Aliens' 'Two Jews On Film' Fly In Different Directions With This SciFi Western (Video)"
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A Fantasy Western film directed by Jon Favreau.
< read all 16 reviews'Cowboys & Aliens' 'Two Jews On Film' Fly In Different Directions With This SciFi Western (Video)
-
Jul 28, 2011
- by 2_TwoJewsOnFilm
- posted in Movie Hype
Rating:
+5
The year is 1873. The place...New Mexico...A man (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the middle of nowhere. He has no idea who he is or where he is. All he knows is...there's a thick metal bracelet on his wrist and he can't remove it.
After fighting off some would-be robbers with a few swift kicks and punches, the Man wanders into the town of Absolution where he finds...
Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano) picking fights with anyone in his path. Percy's dad is a big cattle baron and Percy is a big bully. But this time Percy goes too far. He winds up accidently shooting the town's Deputy. Not good...
The Sheriff, John Taggard (Keith Carradine) has no choice but to arrest him.
Meanwhile the Man finds out that his name is Jake Lonergan and he's wanted for robbery and murder. Well, at least he knows his name.
The Sheriff arrests Jake and handicuffs him to Percy. He's just about to cart both these men off to the Marshal in Santa Fe, when Percy's daddy, Cattle Baron aka Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, (Harrison Ford) comes galloping into town to rescue his son.
But before Dolarhyde can finish saying...'Sheriff, what the hell do you think you're doing arresting my boy'...there's a series of major explosions destroying...well, everything.
To say that the people of Absolution are shocked when they discover that the explosions are coming from...
UFO'S...many, many UFO's, would be an understatement. The aliens have arrived and they're not here to sightsee.
Oh, besides exploding everything in their path, the aliens have this nasty habit of scooping up the townsfolk (including Percy) using these long, steel harnesses that extend out of their ship...Note: This is a very cool effect.
Anyway, Jake quickly finds out what his metal bracelet is used for.
As the title suggests, 'Cowboys & Aliens' is about Cowboys & Aliens...(And some really cool Comanches). There's also very interesting supporting characters such as Sam Rockwell as Doc who's wife has been abducted and the mysterious, Oliva Wilde (Ella Swenson) who is not quite what she appears to be.
The aliens in this film are some of the most scariest, ugliest, meanest, aliens I have ever seen...in a film that is. These folks from Outer Space think of us Earthlings as...mere 'insects' and they are here for only one thing...Gold...and what better place to find some, than...the old West.
I absolutely loved this film. Jon Favreau did an excellent job directing. Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig created complex, interesting characters who you care about.
The film has great tension, great action, great special effects and yes...there were many writers...five or six...and usually that is not a good sign...But in this case, it definitely paid off.
The 'Two Jews On Film' once again disagreed. I gave Cowboys & Aliens five bagels out of five. Check out our video to see how many bagels John awarded this film.
It opens in theaters this Friday, July 30, 2011.
By Joan Alperin-Schwartz
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More Cowboys & Aliens (2011 film) reviews
An alien invasion happening during the late 1800’s when mankind had barely gotten in touch with their potentials for technology is an interesting premise. I mean it represented a classic “David vs. Goliath” theme as well as having a huge amount of potential to work on. Granted I wasn’t that impressed with Scott Mitchell Rosenberg’s “Cowboys and Aliens” (see review of the graphic novel here) but I thought it may make a good translation into film; seeing as … more
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Compliments (120)
Heres the two things I thought of as I watched this movie: 1. The idea of gold hungry aliens has come a long way since Battlefield Earth and 2. I can only imagine that when Harrison Ford signed on, the script was re-written to have him rescue his family. oh, I guess a third would be that this is filling the void for Favereau instead of getting an Iron Man 3 from him. I guess it could have been … more
Comments (7)
Compliments (36)
I walked out of C&A today shrugging my shoulders. It was a pleasant enough way to spend two hours on a hot summer night. Daniel Craig (who looks like Harrison Ford used to look 30 years ago) and Harrison Ford (who looks remarkably like Neil Young today) play to type and off of each other well, and the setup is classic cowboy movie--so classic that when Craig, Ford, and the townspeople, native Americans, and Craig's old outlaw gang encounter the aliens (who lasso human subjects … more
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Cowboys & Aliens (2011) - Yeah, the title looks and sounds stupid, but don't judge this one too fast
Taking place somewhere in the desert, a man awakens with a wound on his side, and some type of armlet locked onto his wrist. He seems to be suffering from amnesia. He later ends up in a town called Absolution, and after a brief scuffle with a town bully by the name of Percy Dolarhyde (Paul Dano), who uses his father's credibility to work his influence on the townsfolk. The local sheriff notices the man's face on a wanted poster, and he's revealed to be an outlaw by the name … more
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Compliments (72)
COWBOYS AND ALIENS Written by Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby Directed by Jon Favreau Starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Olivia Wilde Jake Lonergan: I don’t want any trouble. Aliens have tried to take over our planet dozens of times in the movies already. Every time they do, it seems like they always choose major metropolitan areas and the setting is … more
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Compliments (60)
Walking into this movie you know what you are going to be getting, and if you don't it may be time to stop reading this blog. Jon Favreau promised his audience both cowboys and aliens and by god that is what you get, just not much else. Favreau could have taken this movie in a couple different directions, he chose to take the mixing of two genres that have been lampooned in more recent history and decided to make it a serious action movie. Then there was the decision … more
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Compliments (28)
Picture this… James Bonds wakes up in the Wild West unable to recall how he got there and then ends up in a town were Indiana Jones and his son have been terrorizing its citizens into doing anything they want… Wait, that’s not right. Granted Cowboys & Aliens does star Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, as well as share executive producer Steven Spielberg (Indy franchise), there is little else these heavy hitters bring to this futuristic/sci-fi western. If only … more
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Compliments (24)
A genre blend that starts off strong despite the adherence to a multitude of western cliches, it all falls flat in the second act with the introduction of a lazy plot twist created for no other reason than to save the screenwriters the trouble of advancing the story through dialogue and character development, and give them an easy out for a typically lame Hollywood Happy Ending.
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Compliments (3)
Not the Best Western or the Best Sci-Fi Film I've Ever Seen, but the Best Combo of the Two I've Seen
I’m generally a big fan of westerns, and I’ve been known to dabble in the science fiction genre from time to time. So on paper, Jon Favreau’s latest Cowboys and Aliens is a perfect fit. While I can definitely come to appreciate the general ridiculousness of it all and end up having a blast with it as the fun late summer film it is, the abundance of hands tweaking the script turns out being one of the movie’s biggest struggles. It’s not the best execution of a solid … more
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Compliments (12)
No matter how you slice it, 2011 has not been a very fun-filled summer. Most of the movies have either been very forgettable or they haven't really had much of an impact. Cowboys and Aliens doesn't do much to change most of this. It's certainly a lot more fun than most of the movies around this summer, but it doesn't quite leave the lasting impression you'd hope for it to. We all understand that not every movie has to be this artistic … more
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About the reviewer
Joan & John Schwartz (2_TwoJewsOnFilm)
My husband (creator of the cult classic films FACES OF DEATH) andmyself (actress/screenwriter) are ex New Yorkers, see alot of films and usually disagree. So our friends decided that we need a review … more
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About this movie
Cowboys & Aliens is an American fantasy- Western film starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde. The film, directed by Jon Favreau, is based on the 2006 graphic novel of the same name created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Cowboys & Aliens was released in the United States and Canada on July 29, 2011 and in other countries on ensuing weekends.
1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.
But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.
Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella, he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and ...
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1873. Arizona Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.
But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.
Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella, he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents—townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and ...
Cast:
Daniel Craig,
Keith Carradine,
Harrison Ford,
Sam Rockwell,
Clancy Brown,
Paul Dano,
Ana de la Reguera,
Olivia Wilde,
Walton Goggins,
Noah Ringer
Director:
Jon Favreau
Genre:
Action,
Adventure,
Thriller,
Western
Release Date:
July 29, 2011
MPAA Rating:
PG-13
Screen Writer:
Roberto Orci,
Alex Kurtzman
Runtime:
118 minutes
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2_Jews -- you have sparked my curiosity along with Woo's review about this movie!! Thanks....
I fixed your topic to be in the main topic...