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Plot:
Set in the Old West territory of New Mexico, “Appaloosa” revolves around a pair of hired guns (Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris) who come to clean up a dangerous town run by a ruthless, powerful rancher ...( read more 
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:November 17, 2008
Interesting adaption of Robert Parker's book. Some nice, but not ground breaking character bits. The plot eventually turns somewhat into what the major story line was for the 4th season of Deadwood. Unfortunately Jeremy Irons doesn't get the time to develop his character much. Harris and Mortensen do make a good pair. You do believe it when they talk of thier time riding together.
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MCT:November 17, 2008wow...i want more wild west movies! this was even better than 310 to yuma! amazing characters and good story!
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MCT:November 17, 2008A huge dissapointment. Great stars and a great beginning leads no where. A shootout near the end is a joke....and the story is slow you can't wait for it to be over.
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MCT:November 13, 2008not as good as I had hoped...
love both the male leads...they were good
Story was a bit slow, and hard to hear dialogue... -
MCT:November 12, 2008Excellent Western. A must see for the fans of this genre. The relationship between Viggo's character and Ed Harris's is mesmerizing.
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MCT:November 10, 2008
An olde fashioned western tale about law and order, and like The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford from last year, this film is more of a character study.
Must resume critique laters... :p -
MCT:November 7, 2008Appaloosa is a great old fashioned western. Its bout a Marshall, Virtual Cole (Ed harris) & his deputy, Everet Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) who get hired to enforce the law by taking down a rancher named Bragg (Jeremy Irons) who killed the last marshall who was protecting the town. Now Virtual & Everet must scope out the town by looking for Bragg before someone else gets killed by him. A long the way Virtual & Everet meet a mysterious woman by the name of Allison French (Renee Zellweger) who is very interested in Virtual & wants to get to know him. As they r getting to know one another, they decide to keep seeing each other & settle down in the town. After they do that, strange things start to happen in the town when Bragg & his men start causing trouble. It's up to Virtual & Everet to make sure nothing gets killed in the town & they will stop at nothing to do what they were hired to do & that is kill without warning. This was a very entertaining film throughout. it had some nice gunfights & suspense. I enjoyed every minute watching this film. u really get into the characters & enjoy their performances. Ed & Viggo still cease to impress me since i saw them in History of Violence. They made a great team in this movie. Everyone elses performances are great. I cant wait for the sequel for this movie. Its gonna be freakin awesome just like this movie was. I recommend this movie to all Western fans. Its one not too be missed. go see it & enjoy this great motion picture, 4 stars.
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MCT:November 7, 2008
The acting was simply superb all across the board!
The directing was good too. My one (and only) complaint is that the pace was way to SLOW!
This is a story where ?you know that he knows what she has been up too? just with one look. A story of friends and real people. Even if it?s not a true story, you still feel like you know who these people are.
But it?s still a keeper! -
MCT:November 6, 2008
I'm just noticing that Daniel Day-Lewis's performance in There Will Be Blood is close to a Jeremy Irons impersonation!
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MCT:November 4, 2008
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Appaloosa, is a decent western movie with great/outstanding actors. It wasn't what i was expecting. I'll just say it wasn't no action/western flick. I couldn't really tell what kinda flick it was because it has romance mixed into the genre. I think the genre should of been western/crime/drama/romance.
The story takes place in the old west of New Mexico, where Randall Bragg, (Jeremy Irons) kills Appaloosa's town marshall. When two new-coming gun-men, Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Morentson) that's been best friends for a long time come to the dangerous town and take over as Marshall and deputy to find out who is responsible for shooting the old town marshall. When they find out that the town is runned by a ruthless cowboy, Randall Bragg they stay prepared day and night. As Virgil and Everett are walking through the town they run into certain cowboys that are disturbing the peace. Virgil as the Marshall always takes care of the situation by either taking them to jail, so they can cool their heels in the cells or shooting and killing them. While they are protecting the town they run into this beautiful young woman, Allison French (Renée Zellweger) that's in love with Virgil. As Virgil and Allison are seeing each other, they both decide to build a house in the town. They both want to spend their whole life together/forever. As Virgil, is making a life, a certain cowboy, Joe Whittfield (Gabriel Marantz)comes to the town and tells Virgil and Everett who killed the old town marshall. When they find out the mysterious information, they go outta town to find the killer and bring him back for questioning to see if he's guilty or innocent. It just got serious when Whittfield, testify's against Bragg; which made him guilty. Bragg, doesn't let them get away with putting him in jail for days and turn out to be guilty in his town. Bragg, will do all he can to kill Virgil and Everett. If a certain cowboy tries to shoot at Virgil, Everett will have his back. Wherever Virgil goes, Everett follows him. They aren't afraid to die. If they die, they will make sure the corrupt dies with them.
It has lots of suspense thats predictable throughout. Its also highly entertaining. I don't know about buying it, but its sure worth a rental.
3 1/2 stars -
MCT:November 1, 2008
It's great how the western genre is coming back, gradually. I believe last year was the start of all whole new western era in film and that start was 3:10 to Yuma. What a teriffic movie that was, a western that reached to different audiences and gained respect for the genre that started dieing when Clint Eastwood started directing, or when John Wayne died. Whatever the case, Yuma was one of the best films of 2007 and the best western since Unforgiven. Not that there hasn't been a whole lot of westerns in between those two movies, like Open Range and Assasination of Jesse James, etc., but those are what I call, good but forgettable. Appaloosa, looked to be another epic cowboy adventure, not Brokeback adventure, I mean the normal kind of cowboy adventure. With Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen at the lead, there seemed to be a strong hype to this one and many hoped it would be this year's Yuma. For me personally though, this isn't this year's Yuma, not even close actually, not even in the same league. Sure, there are some things to admire about this movie, but a film that feels unevenly balanced, can be a tough sit through at the movies. The strong points with this one mostly involves the acting and art direction. Everyone here is fantastic, Harris, Mortensen, Zellweger, the whole bunch brings on superb performances that really grabs the mood of the era, as does the brilliant art direction that takes us back to that point in history we just love to watch. Problems come in pretty quickly in Appaloosa, then they go out, back in, back out, this pattern continues throughout the entire film. It can be extremely slow and sometimes, nonsensible with the funny but completely random comedy moments. When this movie slows down, it REALLY slows down, even slower than last year's Jesse James. And that creates an unbalanced storyline that mostly shines when the actors are pourung their hearts out. Some elements to the story are fascinating, like the love triangle and others just don't work. Then there's the lack of intensity, guns blazing horses running, guys screaming "YEE-HAW!" or something like that, but there's not much traditional western moments that really make this a great western. Still, when the movie gets back on track, it's a rather enjoyable experience, thanks to the perfomances. And for that reason, I would watch it again, but maybe just one more time. Appaloosa is not as good as 3:10 to Yuma, but better than most others of the genre that have tried to do a great western and failed. This one requires more thinking than wathcing just for entertainment pleasure, so if you're up for a movie like that, why don't you check this one out.
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What starts as a more than average western with inappropriate comedy points. Turns into a crime who-done-it before your eyes.
With that said, the kick-ass plot twist kept me wanting to see more of the old days with young laws. villians and bad guys, and at times....lady whores.
Yes, I now love movies with lady whores.
Should you see it.. Hell Yeah -
I generally like the movies Clint Eastwood produces but this one sucks bottom so badly. The only way it could have been better was if it was quieter so i could have slept through it.
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MCT:October 31, 2008
Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen give excellent performances, which is no less than to be expected. The movie is entertaining with some memorable and quotable lines. In the end there is a lack of satisfaction. The character of Bragg just does not seem like a formidable threat without his gang of thugs, who are not present for the last half of the movie and Jeremy Irons portrayal of the character seems to be a reenactment of Daniel Day Lewis' oil tycoon in There Will Be Blood.
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MCT:October 30, 2008
Directed by Ed Harris a solid 'classic' western surprisingly green lighted as there isn't much of a demand for such today. Had the Duke feel with a Tombstone presentation.
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MCT:October 30, 2008
Appaloosa is a solid, Instant Classic Western. ?Worth seeing, twice. Top-notch performances by, well, everyone! I?ve read reviews complaining about the pacing, but I think it?s spot-on, deeply consonant with the time and the territory; it?s not a freaking music video or MTV fodder. There?s a lot going on, if you bother to actually watch it, and quite a treasure if you relax and immerse yourself.
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MCT:October 27, 2008
Pretty solid western. I like Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen team up. The story is a little different than your typical western. Good acting, strong script.
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MCT:October 26, 2008
I was disappointed with the film, especially after seeing the trailer which made the film look really good. The pacing was off. It was also a little predictable. The problem with the film came in the 3rd act, it builds up to a showdown that turns out disappointing. The film reminded me of westerns like Silverado, Open Range, Tombstone, and 3:10 to Yuma, however those films were much better. On the positive the cinematography was really good. The performances from Harris, Mortensen, and Irons are top notch. Although I did like Mortensen and Harris in A History of Violence better than their performances in this film. Rene Zellweger is the weak link in the film. She is miscast and feels out of place in this film.
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MCT:October 26, 2008The western genre happens to be one of my absolute favorites so Appaloosa seemed to be getting solid reviews and I love Mortensen, and Harris is a great actor, while being a pretty strong director as well. Naturally all of this easily got me out to the theater to check out the film with fairly mid-range expectations.
The direction in the film is very simplistic and I enjoyed it for much of the film. However this simplistic style slows things down, which works when the characters are developing but it's kind of annoying when the movie becomes slightly tedious towards the end. At 1 hour and 53 mins it's not a good sign when you feel bored 20 minutes before its over, however it's not a bad show of direction at all. I think Harris is a fine director, but really it's the script that seemed to kind of botch things up. I'll critique that later.
The cinematography is very still for much of the film, but its a great way to really show off how beautifully you can light as a Director of Photography. The film is done by veteran Cinematographer Dean Semler, best known for his work on "Dances With Wolves". He does a fantastic job of framing those simple wide shots and making the colors and lighting pop right off the screen.
The acting in the film is pretty solid from most of the cast. Ed Harris plays Virgil Cole (who's name is repeated a fairly ridiculous number of times throughout the film) and gives a very stereotypical manly performance in which he's kind of stupid, but he always try's to be smarter than he really is. He ends up stuttering on words and having to ask for help from his more educated partner, Everett Hitch, played by Viggo Mortensen. Virgil inflicts brash, manly destruction when he gets angry, has a tough time understanding and being romantic with women, and seems to be an oaf of a man struggling to become a more intellectual man. He's got very old fashioned straight forward values and while this may sound very stereotypical, to a certain extent, his character is handled very well and that was not part of the film that I took a large amount of issue with. Mortensen gives a much calmer, controlled performance as his partner who is everything that Harris is not, except that Mortensen is still not someone to be messed with while he's holding a gun. Renee Zellwegger gave a decent performance, but her character wasn't all that interesting, and it didn't seem like there was much for her to play around with. She played a kind of typical women part, and both Harris's masculine role and Zellwegger's feminine role play off of stereotypes of each gender as they clash together. Jeremy Irons gives a fairly typical bad guy performance in the film, except that it was a bit odd that he was a British outlaw in the old west. That was not so typical (or believable but who cares?).
The writing is where I think Appaloosa had it's major issues. It's got some golden lines, and many of the man/women relationship aspects are amusing as well, but much of the movie is slightly hokey and it felt as though I was watching a bloodier, longer, color episode of "Gunsmoke" at times. The films second half is likely it's weak link. As soon as the outlaw Bragg (Irons) makes an escape from a transport train I'd say the movie turns for the worst. It still continues with the rugged man archetype aspect which as I said seemed to work fine, but it just got so slow after that that it was a bit difficult to sit still in some scenes. This is coming from the guy whose favorite movie last year was the 3 hour "The Assassination of Jesse James" so that should tell you just how tedious "Appaloosa" becomes. The very end is fairly satisfying, however Mortensen's voice over is a bit cheesy and unnecessary. Both at the beginning and end he has a few lines of voice over that make your eyes roll a bit.
My biggest complaint about the film however is the fact that I can't answer the question, Why was this made? When a stupid movie like "Date Movie" comes out and makes me want to throw up because it's so bad I can say "It was made to make the studio money." and as sad as that is, it is still a reason. There were two western's last year that were very very different from each other. One was "3:10 to Yuma" and the other "The Assassination of Jesse James". "3:10" was fairly fast moving, entertaining, and in the end, a fairly commercial crowd-pleaser of a film. "Assassination" was a work of art, that showcased some of the best cinematography of all time, as well as giving the viewer some very interesting insight into history that can easily teach us lessons about fame and obsession, linking to our fame enthralled modern day society. "Appaloosa" is kind of entertaining sometimes and kind of serious sometimes. It doesn't give much insight into history, and it moves as slow as a snail other times. I don't understand what drove Ed Harris to say "I want to write and direct this film." What was so interesting about it?
Is "Appaloosa" a bad film? No, it's just not a very good one. It's a modest film that gives viewers a few chuckles and showcases some very solid acting from a talented cast of artists. The style is refreshing at times, but it slows the film down and ultimately, if the material was more new or interesting the style shouldn't have bogged it down or made it tedious at all. This just isn't fresh or engaging enough to grab my attention and while the first hour is cliche, but charming, the next 40 or so minutes after that are annoyingly cliche and don't seem to work like the beginning of the film does. The last bit of the film were Mortensen comes to the conclusion that he has to make everything right, is actually a fairly satisfying ending to an otherwise oddly dissapointing film that happens to be part of a genre I keep ever so near to my heart.
4.5/10 -
MCT:October 26, 2008
This could have been SOOO much better. The actors and story were there and on hand, but sorely underused. Instead of being a blockbuster it ended up being just another TV show on the big screen.
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MCT:October 24, 2008
Awesome. I loved the lighting...most of it was natural, but the indoors scenes were lit fantastically; especially the light on Alli when she sees Virgil beat the crap out of the one guy for the first time. I liked how it ended, but was expecting a little more of a fight put up on Bragg's end. I loved how brotherly Everett and Virgil were to each other and was a little sad at the very end of the movie. It was really hard to tell if Jeremy Irons was supposed to have a accent. That threw me off; I wasn't sure if he was supposed to have a Western twang or if he kept his English accent...it was a mix of both, I think, and that bothered me. Still, it was awesome.
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MCT:October 24, 2008
Very interesting characters and situations all the way up until when Ed Harris' character is crippled. After that the plot sort of languished and the movie tended to drag itself into some form of ending. Harris is an absolutely remarkable actor, and his and Mortensen's characters throughout most of this movie were great fun to watch. I think that the love interest issue, though central to the conflict, started to distract us from a compelling plot somewhere about half way in, mostly because Renée Zellweger's character shows fewer and fewer redeeming values all the way through until the end. So it was a good movie, but could have been better.
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MCT:October 24, 2008
Harkens back to the good ol' fashioned buddy western flicks. Ed Harris does a solid job directing this excellent cast.
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MCT:October 24, 2008
A bit dull, but if your looking for light old fashioned entertainment, this is not a bad way to kill a couple of hours.
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