September – Yes, No, Maybe

So, in advance of each month I am going to post my Yes, No, and Maybe picks for the month.  I will try my hardest to make Yes movies.  I will pray for No movies to crash and burn.  Maybe movies?  Maybe I’ll make it to them, maybe I won’t.  The order in which the films appear in each category are based only on release date and not my overall expectation for them.

YES – 09/20/11 – Pearl Jam Twenty

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I’m a big fan of Rock Documentaries.

YES – 09/23/11 – Moneyball

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I was sold when I saw the Trailer.  (Also, I like Baseball movies)

YES – 09/30/11 – 50/50

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A comedy about cancer starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt?  Who am I kidding, a movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt?  I’m always there.  I will also probably be there by myself.

YES – 09/30/11 – Dream House

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I didn’t know anything about this film until I read about it in Entertainment Weekly.  But now that I have seen the trailer and poster–which I love–I am there.  I will be there by myself, but I will be there.  Does this mean I am going to do a solo double header on the same day?

NO – 09/23/11 – Abduction

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Taylor Lautner cannot act.  He may be pleasing to the eye, but he can’t carry a movie.

MAYBE – 09/16/11 – Straw Dogs

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If I do go watch this movie, I’m pretty sure I will be by myself.  Which means that would be three solo movies in September.  This is a remake of a Sam Pekinpah film starring Dustin Hoffman.  Normally a remake would send me running the other way, but based on the comments from Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald, I may be at the theatre.

5 Best Cowboy Movies (Westerns)

Picking the 5 Best Westerns was very difficult, but here was my criteria.  First, no star could have more than one film.  Second, no director could have more than one film.  And third, it could not be contemporary western (i.e. No Country for Old Men or Brokeback Mountain).  So here goes:

#5:  The Searchers

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One of the Duke’s best performances in one of John Ford’s best films.  Due to the casting of caucasians in red make-up as Native-Americans, the film feels a little dated.  But the great story makes up for it.

#4:  High Plains Drifter

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John Wayne once asked Clint Eastwood if he could make one normal Western.  The answer is no.  This movie proves why.  Among other things, the ending is Surreal.

#3:  True Grit (2010)

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The dialogue in this film is brilliant, and thanks must be given to the author of the book – Charles Portis.  What also must be said is the John Wayne version is equally loyal to the book but is only beaten out by the Coen Brothers update because of the supporting cast and, more importantly, Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross.

#2:  The Wild Bunch

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In it’s time considered one of the most violent movies ever made.  It still holds-up today, especially the small moments of cruelty–a group of children using a magnifying glass to burn ants, for example.  A great film about men facing their own oblivion, both from life and their way of life.

#1:  Once Upon a Time in the West

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Even if you take away the great vistas, performances, and musical score, thanks to one icon shattering moment this film would still be #1 on this list.  The best Western ever made was directed by an Italian (Sergio Leone), filmed in Spain, and starred Americans.  Though the story can be difficult to follow, this movie is proof positive that a film does not have to be perfect to be great.  Watch it and you will see what I mean.

What are your picks?