3:10 to Yuma - 2007

What It Is: Russel Crowe is the baddest outlaw in the west and Christian Bale plays the desperate farmer who volunteers to escort Crowe to the prison train, when no one else will.

Why I Watched It: Aside from the desire to see anything with Christian Bale, the plot hit enough of the right buttons to intrigue me.

What I Thought: The movie was way better than I hoped!

If character is a big part of every western, then 3:10 to Yuma had it in spades. I could rave about Christian Bale, but the same praise applies to 98% of the films he does. The guy is always amazing. Russell Crowe on the other hand, although very watchable, hasn't really blown me away since Gladiator. Until now. Crowe's outlaw in 3:10 to Yuma was one of the most enjoyable villains I've seen in ages!

There's a healthy amount of gunplay in the movie, but you really come to expect that from a western. What you don't expect is a film overflowing with moral dilemma and ethical introspection. In the movie, Dan accepts the impossible job of escorting Ben Wade, completely aware that Wade's bloodthirsty gang will constantly try to free him. Dan is repeatedly presented with the choice to give up and, as the movie continues, the reward for setting Wade free increases along with the risk for continuing to guard him. Meanwhile, Wade skillfully manipulates his captors, trying to turn them against each other even while he struggles with second thoughts over his own choices.

Does Dan ultimately give in, choosing the safe and prosperous path over the painful but "right" one? Does Wade have a change of heart and rebuke his violent lifestyle? Well, you'll just have to watch the movie to find out. The answer may surprise you!

Highlights: Amazing performances by Christian Bale and Russel Crowe, Ben Foster (Angel from X-Men 3) as the perfect evil lieutenant, thrilling gunplay, tough moral questions, and a healthy helping of wooden leg quips!

Who Should See It: Action fans, western fans, philosophy majors, and fans of Crowe or Bale.

How Soon: There's a lot of interesting movies coming out this month, but if you're looking for the sure thing, this is it!

A Fistfull of Dollars (Per un Pugno di Dollari) - 1964

What It Is: The first movie in the classic Clint Eastwood / Sergio Leone trilogy of westerns.

Why I Watched It: I'd never seen it and it's such a classic!

What I Thought: If you didn't know, A Fistful of Dollars is Leone's adaptation of Kurosawa's Yojimbo. The original is still my favorite version of the story, although this one wasn't bad at all.

Clint Eastwood's portrayal of the, now iconic, "man with no name" was more than enough reason to make me glad I watched the movie. It's easy to see how the character spawned two sequels and a bit of film legend.

Other than Eastwood, nothing about the movie specifically stands out for me. It was good, but I felt so familiar with the story that the plot itself didn't hold anything new for me. I've seen Yojimbo several times and I've seen the newer adaptation, Last Man Standing, of the film quite a few times as well.

Highlights: Eastwood's "Man With No Name"!

Who Should See It: Western fans, Eastwood fans, and other film buffs. As for the story itself, I highly suggest you see Yojimbo instead.

How Soon: It's over 40 years old already, I don't think it's going anywhere.

The Man with No Name Trilogy

Unforgiven - 1992

What It Is: The hardcore western penned by Clint Eastwood that won Best Picture.

Why I Watched It: It's one of my favorite Eastwood films.

What I Thought: A truly awesome film. Well written and even better performed. Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood are great! Lots of people get shot. Drew Barrymore gets slashed. What's not to love?

Seriously, if you haven't heard of Unforgiven then you need to relocate your rock to somewhere within earshot of civilization. The movie kicks ass. Eastwood plays a hard as nails retired gunfighter that's been farming pigs for the last 10 years. He was trying to leave his old life behind until he got word that some women are offering $1000 to kill the cowboy that slashed up a woman. Eastwood plays up the geaser-getting-back-into-gunfighting bit nicely, almost as if he was tapping into a little geaser-getting-back-into-acting stuff.

Highlights: Eastwood's lines, my favorite Gene Hackman performance, the final shootout scene.

Who Should See It: Western fans should watch it again and anyone else that hasn't seen it should definitely watch it once.

How Soon: Save it for the right mood. When you're in the mood for a heavy western with a lot of story, pop in Unforgiven and you won't be disappointed!

Unforgiven (Two-Disc Special Edition)

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. - 1993

What It Is: A comedy/western show on FOX starring Bruce Campbell.

Why I Watched It: Bruce [fucking] Campbell!

What I Thought: How can you go wrong with Bruce Campbell? Well, you can't! Brisco County is a great show with a great cast, lots of fun guest appearances.

The show is light on action, but heavy on the witty dialogue, innuendo, double entendre, cheeky jokes, and just plain fun. A zany professor adds a bit of sci-fi to the western theme in the tradition of the "Wild Wild West". The majority of the show follows Brisco as he searches for the man that killed his father, Billy Drago plays the delightfully unsettling villain John Bly.

Highlights: The show is surprisingly funny and fun. They don't really make fun TV anymore...

Who Should See It: Fans of westerns, comedies, or Bruce Campbell. Anybody that appreciates the chance to shut off your thinking brain and enjoy some good television.

How Soon: It's on DVD so... anytime you like!

The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. - The Complete Series

Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid - 1969

What It Is: A classic western loosely based on the pair of infamous bank robbers.

Why I Watched It: It's a classic that I've never seen, it was written by William Goldman (author of The Princess Bride), and it features Paul Newman before he wrinkled up and started selling salad dressing.

What I Thought: This movie was funny, dramatic, and very quotable. It was everything I wanted from a Hollywood classic and considerably more than I expected from a film made in 1969.

Paul Newman played an excellent Butch Cassidy, the 'thinker' and the leader of the Hole In The Wall Gang. His always clever character reminded me a lot of all the things I loved in Cool Hand Luke. Robert Redford played the lightning quick gunslinger known as the Sundance Kid. The movie didn't feature too much quick-draw action, but the bit of gun play it did have was more than satisfying.

Overall, the absolute coolest thing about Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid was onscreen chemistry between the two leads. They functioned as an awesome team, always watching the other's back, but they still shot each other wisecracks and snarky comments the whole time. It reminded me of some of my own favorite friendships, where the most heinous accusation possible is always known to be meant jokingly and the trust is unwavering.

Highlights: "Guns or knives Butch", the train employee with the worst luck, Sundance's lovely way of sugar coating everything, too much dynamite, and an awesome ending!

Who Should See It: Western fans, Newman fans (the acting, not the dressing), film buffs, and most others.

How Soon: Whenever you want!

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)

Afro Samurai - 2007

What It Is: A bad ass, adult oriented anime blending blaxploitation, hip-hop, and samurai goodness.

Why I Watched It: Sam Jackson baby!

What I Thought: Afro Samurai, at its heart, is a very decent revenge tale about Afro (Yes, that's his name.) dedicating his life to finding his father's killer. If that's all the 5-episode anime was about, however, it would be simply lost within the torrent of so many other excellent samurai animes. What makes Afro Samurai really shine, is it's inclusion of so much awesome.

"What sort of awesome," you ask. Well, I'll tell you.

Afro Samurai seamlessly blends fantasy, sci-fi, comedy and too many other genres to mention. (Just check out the Genre tags at the bottom!) The show features excellent voice talent by Samuel L. Jackson (Afro), Samuel L. Jackson (Afro's imaginary friend, Ninja Ninja), Kelly Hu (Okiku), and Ron Pearlman (the lisping gunslinger that killed Afro's father). For those of you that weren't paying attention, Jackson lends his voice to both lead characters. In my book, twice the Samuel L. equals 10 times the awesome!

Afro Samurai is very bloody and very funny. What more do you need in an anime?

Highlights: Ninja Ninja's shit-talking, Ron Pearlman's lisping villain, and Sam Jackson baby! Bloody, action-packed, funny, sexy, anime goodness!

Who Should See It: To borrow a line from a review on Amazon.com, "Bottom line: if you like afros, if you like samurai, if you like animation, if you like violence, if you don't freakin' suck, then this show is for you."

How Soon: Whenever you think you're ready to turn of your brain and let your Id enjoy some quality TV.

Afro Samurai (Director's Cut)