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Reviews
Dark Canyon (2012)
A Cool Movie With Some Depth
So I saw this movie last fall at the Austin Film Festival when it was called "To Kill A Memory". They had a special showing. Kix Brooks was there with the Director and some of the Actors. In short, the film really surprised me. Not so much because they pulled off a cool movie on a small budget, but because the film wasn't your typical western. It was told as a flashback and really took you on a journey. After the festival, I wondered what had happened to it and was happy to see that it will be out as a limited theatrical in January. Their website also says it'll be out on DVD as a 2 disk set with the soundtrack CD included. The music in the film was awesome!! Kix Brooks talked about doing the music for the film at the festival. If you're a fan of country music, or great music in general.. you'll love this. Coincidentally, I reviewed another film the director did a few years ago called the Gundown. I liked it because they dared to try and make a movie on a shoestring, but this movie is a cut-a-bove it. Give it a shot, you won't be disappointed. Great Cast, cool locations. The indi-film spirit is alive and well with this film.
August Rush (2007)
Only a few this good are made each year...
So I know this film is a few years old and since I rarely find the time to make review posts, I kind of lump them all together. Anyway, this film was magic for me. There's only a few movies a year that you watch and you just don't want it to end.. or when it does, you leave the theater (or your home theater) completely satisfied... and this was one of them. To talk to much about the plot or the story would be to give it away, but essentially it centers around a gifted orphan in search of his parents (and that's stripping it down to its most base theme).. The complete use of sound and score that accompanies this movie is amazing as is the cinematography. Beautifully shot, well made, well acted movie. Enough said!
The Gundown (2011)
Cool Indy Western!
Okay, so I love westerns. There aren't enough of them made today. So when I took a chance on this film "The Gundown" (despite the B-Movie Artwork) on the cover, I found myself really glad I did. Now, before I go further, I will admit that this film definitely had a modest budget. Not because of the costumes (great), sets (great), acting quality (great).. but mostly because the town appeared small, and their weren't a lot of wagons, horses etc.. like you saw in films like Tombstone, Wyatt Earp, etc.. (then again who has studio sized money these days). Still, what the film lacked in budget, it made up for in heart. The Director made you care about the characters, who did a good job making you want to like them with their performances. The movie has a gritty quality to it, with a simple story, yet one you wanted to see play out. One of love, and one of redemption. Overall, I think most people will like this film, especially if they like traditional westerns. Don't expect Jon Wu (like the cover may indicate).. Think more Tombstone, or maybe even Deadwood.. (cause there's a lot of language in this film!). I applaud the filmmakers for taking a chance with the western genre. I looked them up after I saw this and saw that they have another one in production.. will be there with bells on. Kudos for keeping the western genre alive... at least for a little longer anyway!