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Awix (3310 KP) rated How the West Was Won (1963) in Movies

Jun 24, 2021

How the West Was Won (1963)

1963 | Action, Western

7.5

(6 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Sprawling account of fifty years of American history, as encountered by various members of one pioneer family. Starts with the initial settlement of the west, takes in the Civil War, the coming of the railroads, and concludes with the triumph of law and order (well, sort of).

At least partly sold on the sheer number of stars involved, but in the end there's hardly any John Wayne, not much more Jimmy Stewart, and probably a bit more George Peppard than you'd honestly care for. It's quite naive, sentimental stuff, in many ways, and the technical side-effects of it being shot in VistaVision are very obvious. There's some magnificent photography, the odd effective cameo, and very occasionally a moving moment - but too often this is stodgy and episodic rather than a stirring saga.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Riders of Justice (2020) in Movies

Jul 24, 2021

Riders of Justice (2020)

2020 | Action, Comedy, Drama

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Danish revenge thriller. A veteran soldier teams up with a gang of geeks to find the man responsible for his wife's death. Looks like yet another attempt at something like a Liam Neeson movie, but this is much defter and funnier, and more emotionally articulate.

Great performance from Mikkelson, playing the straight man as he is surrounded by comic performances from his various sidekicks - but this is a serious film about grief and how the world works and how people attempt to make sense of this. The director manages to slide the film from farce to thriller to drama without any of the changes in tone jarring in the slightest, even if the plot is a bit reliant on the occasional contrivance. Lots of fun but also undeniably moving.