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Moriarty Mulls Over The Legend And The Truth Of THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD!

Good stuff by Col. Tigh-Fighter	Sep 21st, 2007 06:56:19 AM
Im so looking forward to this one :)
Looking forward to this now by CeefaxTheCat	Sep 21st, 2007 07:18:29 AM
For some reason it wasn't tickling my fancy but Mori has talked me round.
Sounds amazing... by tile_mcgillus	Sep 21st, 2007 07:21:07 AM
Can't wait! Thanks for the great review!
But did Elton John do the soundtrack?!?! by chrth	Sep 21st, 2007 07:43:20 AM
And I feel like a bullet in the gun of Robert Ford ... I'm low as a paid assassin is ...
Pitt's Holy Shit roles by arrangedletters	Sep 21st, 2007 08:14:04 AM
Do include True Romance. Do NOT include Legends of the Fall.
Pitt's outstanding mediocrity. by all	Sep 21st, 2007 08:29:43 AM
One of the best of this generation? Are you fucking kidding? Don't you notice him more often than not laboring under the effort of his chosen profession? When I see Brad Pitt acting, that's exactly what I see: Brad Pitt acting. I'll give him credit for having chosen good roles in good popcorn flicks, but most of his efforts to prove any kind of range (ugh, Seven Years in Tibet) have been embarrassing. That being said I think Casey Affleck is great and I'll go see this because it was filmed in my home town...
sold by LegoKenobi	Sep 21st, 2007 08:36:36 AM
i was already marginally interested in this movie, but your review has sold me. i'm in. and i'm in the "best of his generation camp" regarding brad pitt, too. when he's good, he's very very good, and when he's not, he's at least watchable.
Another great review by PotSmokinAlien	Sep 21st, 2007 08:44:44 AM
don't worry about missing FF mori, it will be quint and harry sniping at each other about each other's Diary of the Dead reviews. while merrick sits there getting drunk and giggling... or whatever he does, i am basing that judgement off of his posts
Casey's always been good, I think by abcdefz7	Sep 21st, 2007 08:54:16 AM
He put nice spark into GOOD WILL HUNTING, gets sort of wasted in the OCEAN'S movies, but then I saw GERRY and it just confirmed that -- hey, this guy's good. I checked out LONESOME JIM, and he was fantastic in that -- a pretty brave performance; he has a scene or two where you just can't believe what a selfish little shit this guy is. Anyway, he's been the draw for me on the JESSE JAMES project since I first heard about it. I'm really looking forward to this one.
Jack McCall by Al Swearengen	Sep 21st, 2007 09:43:33 AM
I actually met that droop-eyed, cunt Jack McCall. Cowardly cocksucker. Somehow Jack thought it was a good idea to run his fuckin' mouth at Wild Bill Hickock, playin' poker and the like. Then one day, over at Tom Nuttall's, he thought it was a better fuckin' idea to blow a hole behind Hickock's fuckin' ear. Funny how afterwards Jack didn't think but had to be told to run for his fuckin' life. Never did meet Jesse James. But he sounds like my kind of rogue.
Is this the first Pitt movie to open limited? by jones1899	Sep 21st, 2007 09:53:17 AM
Any clue when this opens wide?
Agreed, I've been waiting for Casey to get his due. by brokentusk	Sep 21st, 2007 10:04:13 AM
This film sounds fantastic. If the performances are as good as you say they, Moriarty, I hope the Academy takes notice. It's time Casey Affleck became a star.
"Get some beer.....and cleaning prducts" by gride9000	Sep 21st, 2007 10:08:34 AM
Yes the man is mostly a doooshbaig, but god dam if he doesn't make me laugh (see previous artical about Troy). Give it up to the guy, My girlfriend asked to go see Fight Club. He keeps showing up in baddass guy films like 12 monkeys,Snach, True Romance, i guess also Kalifornia and that Tales from the crypt episode. My girlfriend likes all of these, because of his cute ass. Watching fight club is better when it proceeds some hot sex (and shes fucking like a champ because she fantasizing bout Tyler Durden.)He's doing all us boyfriends a favor.
Wow, sir! by Archive	Sep 21st, 2007 10:10:35 AM
How am I supposed ot ignore a review like that? I'd written this one off. Hmm...
Yo, fuck Casy Afleck you dum fuks by gride9000	Sep 21st, 2007 10:11:47 AM
That dude is garbage, like his Mongaliod big brother. I hope he chokes on a dick. I hope you choke on one two if you like this guy.
No No No by Renholder	Sep 21st, 2007 11:01:49 AM
This film was beyond mediocre. It was long, uninspired and convoluted. They couldn't have possibly muffed it up any more. Don't see this. Go to Eastern Promises instead.
How can you have Aint-It-Cool News without mentioning.. by IAmLegolas	Sep 21st, 2007 11:04:18 AM
that Nick Cave (with Warren Ellis) does the soundtrack and has a cameo?
Sounds like something special. I am sold on it, too. by JDanielP	Sep 21st, 2007 11:12:00 AM
Just one question: Has greedy HBO dropped the price on those DEADWOOD dvds yet???
wrong about Dillahunt by srh1son	Sep 21st, 2007 12:06:31 PM
"Garret Dillahunt didn't play Jack McCall, Wild Bill's assassin, on DEADWOOD. He played Francis Wolcott, the high society psycho who liked killing whores and eventually hanged himself. He also played Matthew Ross, one of the Marked, on seasons 2 and 3 of "The 4400".
Welcome to the Fold by Ohiofile	Sep 21st, 2007 12:09:56 PM
Thanks Moriarty for reviewing this and bringing it in for the people who read this sight and only trust your opinion. Your spy "The Rider" said almost the exact same thing the other day as did Joblo.com, but it's your opinion that people hold onto. Having seen the film, I agree with these positive reviews and am glad that you took the time to write about it. Where's your THE LAST WINTER review that you promised? There's another good film these people should know about.
srh1son by Ohiofile	Sep 21st, 2007 12:11:34 PM
Garret Dillahunt played both Jack McCall AND Francis Wilcott on Deadwood. Amazing in both roles.
Now that is a fucking good review by IndustryKiller!	Sep 21st, 2007 12:21:40 PM
It gave me chills reading it. I think I might take in a double feature of this and Into the Wild at the Landmark at some point this week. Thanks Mori.
Dillahunt by DeadPanWalking	Sep 21st, 2007 12:26:19 PM
Ha, that's awesome, everytime I tell someone that those two characters on Deadwood were played by the same guy it blows his or her mind. He's seriously going to blow up. Pay attention, Hollywood suits.
IndustryK, that'll be a hell of a double feature. by SkeletonParty	Sep 21st, 2007 12:57:21 PM
I don't know if I'm brave enough. Two epic emotional adventures back to back. Let us know how it goes.
Great review Moriarty by kwisatzhaderach	Sep 21st, 2007 01:13:27 PM
Been looking forward to this one for the better part of two years. Can't wait.
Saw the film. EXCELLENT review Moriarty. by NoPIX	Sep 21st, 2007 01:42:50 PM
I went in wanting to love it and maybe expect it to be slow, but I was NEVER bored. I felt the length, but everything (acting, cinematography, set design, sound) all fall into place perfectly. It's mesmerizing. But the SOUND people...it's integral you see this at a good theater. A certain gunshot in this film scared the shit out of me. Pitt and Affleck are amazing with the subtle facial ticks they can reproduce. Career best performances for both of them. I can't wait to see it again.
Great review. by TattooedBillionaire	Sep 21st, 2007 01:50:18 PM
I'm probably looking forward more to this film than any other this year. I LOVE Westerns.
Actually, Dillahunt played THREE roles in DEADWOOD. by MaxTheSilent	Sep 21st, 2007 02:18:53 PM
He also played the unfortunate 'Crop-ear', who mouthed off once to often to Dan Dority and got his throat cut. The producers of that show certainly got their money's worth out of him.
Man... by Tourist	Sep 21st, 2007 03:44:08 PM
...That review got me excited to start with. I'd heard nothing terribly positive about the film before. But the source material, the director and especially that supporting cast had me wowed. Even Brad Pitt didn't worry me, since it seemed somewhat tailor made for him. However, Mori lost me with his Good Or Holy Shit Fucking Great assessment of Pitt, which makes me wonder about this film overall. I'd put Pitt on Inoffensive to Okay ranking wise. Was he amazing in Fight Club? Fuck no. He just didn't ruin it, is all. Still, what does it matter, I'm gonna roll into a cinema to see this regardless.
Awesome Review by SpawnofAchilles	Sep 21st, 2007 03:49:00 PM
This is my most anticipated movie since the fountain, the trailer blew me away. And I whole heartedly agree with your take on Pitt's ability to display subtle insanity, fuck the haters he's a great actor
Francis Wolcott by Al Swearengen	Sep 21st, 2007 03:57:20 PM
You mean that high society-type of Hearst's from back East? Turns out that foppish, cocksucker had a taste for cutting whores' throats. S'posed to get his fuckin' prick stiff. Now, I've been known to cut a few throats in my time. But it weren't for no fuckin' sexual fuckin' jollies. When it comes to that, I prefer my whores to suck my prick.
best review i've read by The Real MiraJeff	Sep 21st, 2007 04:34:13 PM
Mori, why do I have to write for a site that has you reviewing too? Frankly, I'm embarrassed. That was a hell of a review. I was trying to think of the word leisurely last night to describe the pacing but I couldn't. "It must be horrible when your fiction eclipses your reality... and "When Robert Ford stopped him, he had to be imagining himself in the role of the hero to some degree" perfectly capture what this film is all about. And I never thought about the title being like one of the 10 cent paperbacks Bob reads. I also completely forgot about the great Sam Rockwell. His performance is unlikely anythig I've ever seen him do and it convinced me he's the perfect guy to play Victor Mancini in Choke. Thanks for making me rethink my take on it. I feel like I need a second viewing to fully appreciate what Dominik's done. Maybe I didn't give him enough credit...
FUCK ME! by FILMFUNK	Sep 21st, 2007 04:48:02 PM
If it's 'On a par with the Godfather, Better than Chopper! and has Brad Pitt in Holy-Shit-Great mode I'm already there more than I was when I thought it looked better than Terrence Mallick good! very nice review too! wordy and flowing and somewhat poetic without being preachy or up ones own bum which is a feat and skill of reviewing in short order in these them part.
LENGTH by THE KNIGHT	Sep 21st, 2007 06:08:25 PM
Never bothers me when you have a great story, interesting characters and lovely atmosphere to look at. As long as the movie has those things, I'll sit there for hours! Count me in Jesse James!
TomBodet by Renholder	Sep 21st, 2007 09:30:50 PM
The film moves along at a woefully slow pace. I repeat, this is not a good movie. What's wrong with you people!?
renholder by nimagirl	Sep 21st, 2007 10:18:19 PM
is wrong on all fronts. This movie is incredible. Eastern Promises is great, but it's pulp. TAOJJBTCRF is masterful on every level. A truly wonderful film. If you want slow and lame, go see In the Valley Of Elah.
Look by Renholder	Sep 21st, 2007 10:28:42 PM
I've never been one to not get "it." If it's good it's good. But for the life of me I can't figure out what you people like about this film. It could have been incredible, but it wasn't. It should have been about an hour and 45 minutes, and it shouldn't of had any of those weird flashback narration moments with the blurring on the sides.
jesse james by nimagirl	Sep 21st, 2007 10:50:39 PM
don't worry man, I won't give you any more grief about it. there are some movies that this crowd would crucify me for hating.
That could possibly be by Turd Furgeson	Sep 21st, 2007 11:24:21 PM
The best review I have ever read. That was so perfectly written in every way. I would say the same thing if you said you hated it too.. Nice work Mori, really. You summed up Brad Pitt in a shot glass.. I am going to look for this as soon as it gets here!
very good movie by applescruff	Sep 22nd, 2007 06:19:31 AM
I think I disagree with Mori on this movie being accessible to anyone. It's a nearly three-hour period piece (I find it hard to call it a Western as it's so far removed from what a Western is accepted to be) that's intensely personal and very much dialogue driven. I'm sure that many people will be turned off by the narration (I thought of Kubrick and last year's "Little Children") and the visual gimmicks, but I'll be damned if I wasn't completely sold on the whole enterprise. Some truly Fantastic acting is in this one and it's one of the few three hour pictures I want to see a second time.
Couldn't they have jusy called it by Internet Thug	Sep 22nd, 2007 06:47:16 AM
Jesse James VS Robert Ford? Man I really don't want to gear that long ass title 500yimes on oscar night
Ford by Cobbio	Sep 22nd, 2007 10:21:51 AM
Thanks for the review, Mori. Your take on it was different from everything else I've read. I'm excited to see this now.
Serously though... by Tourist	Sep 22nd, 2007 03:50:01 PM
...Since thinking about it, despite Brad Pitts barely there abillity as an actor, and the grumblings some have about its pace, I'd not be able to pass up this cast. Jeremy Renner and Paul Schnieder, two guys who haven't broken through yet, Casey Affleck, who I thought nothing of until seeing lonesome jim, and of course Sam Rockwell, who still hasn't got the best roles he deserves yet. Short of Shoehorning Ryan Gosling and Joseph Gordon Levitt in, you've got the best cast line up I've seen in years. Well, except for that blank slate Pitt in the lead.
Mori, your review is better than the movie... by Boxcutter	Sep 22nd, 2007 08:14:08 PM
Crisply written and very smart, as usual. Have to differ on this one, though. It struck me as a painfully laboured attempt to recapture the glory of the elegaic Western be it of the late 60s, 70s or 80s - Peckinpah, Hill, Altman, George Roy Hill, etc - right down to the self-consciousness of the title. Magnificently mounted and well performed (Pitt has somehow moved to iconic status without actually doing much "acting", and so it's natural and right that today's star should play that era's), but I didn't feel it. Wanted to. But it left me empty and itchy (cue gags). What a strange day: for once, I disagree with you and find myself nodding to Armond White in NY Press. I'll see it again though - you are bang-on, some of the set-pieces are thrilling. But those do not a whole movie make.
Easily the best movie of the year by TequilaMocking	Sep 22nd, 2007 09:52:15 PM
No contest. That is, until No Country For Old Men.
Liked what I saw by Ditch Brodie	Sep 22nd, 2007 11:06:54 PM
That is, until the fire alarm kept going off at Arclight and they had to evacuate the place. The cinematography and the music were gorgeous. Oh well, I'll get a free ticket and see this tomorrow.
Liked the rest of it, too by Ditch Brodie	Sep 23rd, 2007 09:58:53 PM
This is not one of the more active Talkbacks, it would seem.
Americans by Johnny California	Sep 24th, 2007 02:14:52 PM
Saw the movie at the Arclight in Hollywood last night. Excellent film that captured a couple things I haven't really seen much of in "westerns." Really, it's a MIDwestern set mostly in the stretch between Kentucky and Missouri. One thing that is very clear is how nervous and alert everyone is - especially around Jesse. Considering most of these people are living as outlaws and surrounded by armed killers, you'd expect the general anxiety to be through the roof - especially around one of the few true gunslinging killers still left at that time: Jesse James. Also, this movie dares to present Americans as the generally poorly educated, dreamy and self-important strivers that we've been since the founding of the country. Overblown legend and overinflated promises of "Go West, Young Man" greatness have always been much more important driving the "American Dream" than historical truth and moderate reality. In the novel, it's made clear that Jesse considers himself an authority on nearly every subject but is in fact mostly incorrect. Even so, he is shown as something of a mystic invoking out-of-body experiences and extrasensory perception. The Fords are also portrayed as nincompoops who are dumb enough to embark on a career as outlaws when even Frank and Jesse have called it quits. It becomes clear that Jesse believes his former compatriots are more dangerous to him now than Pinkertons and government agents, and almost anyone who considers himself Jesse's friend can now look forward to a bullet from James' gun. In the end, Ford comes to see the difference between the truth and the legend but even then he fails to create his own legend and even before his own ignominious death finds his life easily folded into the legend of the man he admired and killed.
an essentially american film.... by jezza	Sep 25th, 2007 09:11:18 AM
...written and directed by a NZ-born Australian.
Ameristralian by Johnny California	Sep 25th, 2007 10:00:17 AM
Yeah, and it feels a lot like a resonant outsider look at a legendary American era. I think there are a lot of comparisons to be made between American and Australian outlaws, though. They didn't have an all-out Civil War to drive violent men westward, but the harsh, vast wilderness combined with clannish and often criminal Irish, Scottish and British immigrants led to a society filled with people similar to the American Westward expansion.
Johnny California... by jezza	Sep 26th, 2007 12:20:44 PM
...an erudite comparison sir (Does that kind of thing really belong on an AICN talkback board?). I haven't seen 'The Assassination' yet, but Dominik's previous film 'Chopper' is also concerned with outlaws and the myths that gather around them.

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Moriarty Mulls Over The Legend And The Truth Of THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD!

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