Hell or High Water - No Country for Any Man
- Thread starter Bob_McMillan
- Start date
What the hell is "Hell or High Water"!?!?
This is the second movie you've given huge marks to that I never heard of until your review (and therefore are added to my queue to see). Am I just not paying attention like I used to or did these movies just appear out of thin air?
This is the second movie you've given huge marks to that I never heard of until your review (and therefore are added to my queue to see). Am I just not paying attention like I used to or did these movies just appear out of thin air?
I mean, Don't Breathe is a nationwide release horror movie that's had lots of trailers and TV spots and stuff. So I think that one's on you.tippy2k2 said:
Hell or High Water opened limited and has just expanded into a wide release (900ish theaters). I don't think I saw a single trailer for it at the cinema, and I've seen just one TV spot for it. So that one's on it (although it did relatively well at the box office this weekend).
I love this movie! I saw it in the past week. I have been recommending this movie to everyone. The best description of Hell or High Water is that it's a western set in present times.
The only thing I disagree with about this review is about Chris Pine. I'm still not sold on this guy. He is how people describe, in football, a mediocre quarterback who doesn't make a lot of mistakes: A game manager. Chris Pine doesn't do anything great with his role. He just didn't mess it up.
The guy who owned the movie was Jeff Bridges. It showed why he is The Dude of leading men. He took the trope of a veteran law officer, who has one case left before retirement. He gave that character a lot of heart and depth.
Overall, I think what the movie portrays is something a lot of people need to see and understand. Too many people malign white people as racist whiners when they complain about the personal hardships they have to endure. This shows that assumption isn't true.
The only thing I disagree with about this review is about Chris Pine. I'm still not sold on this guy. He is how people describe, in football, a mediocre quarterback who doesn't make a lot of mistakes: A game manager. Chris Pine doesn't do anything great with his role. He just didn't mess it up.
The guy who owned the movie was Jeff Bridges. It showed why he is The Dude of leading men. He took the trope of a veteran law officer, who has one case left before retirement. He gave that character a lot of heart and depth.
Overall, I think what the movie portrays is something a lot of people need to see and understand. Too many people malign white people as racist whiners when they complain about the personal hardships they have to endure. This shows that assumption isn't true.
So, the movie came out in Australia recently. I don't really disagree with any of the sentiments of this review, but at most, I'd give it 4/5.
In a way, this movie reminds me a lot of Winter's Bone, a movie that I didn't enjoy, but this one is certainly a net positive. In terms of plot, it's nothing to right home about, and I feel the film drags on a bit (i.e. it should have ended with Pine's character at the bank, not on the farm). That said, it gets top marks for visual storytelling and atmosphere. It's an interesting case of taking a Western, utilizing all its tropes, and setting it in the modern day. Also, never been to Texas (or anywhere in the US besides California and Hawaii), but taking its presentation as writ, it certainly captures what I could imagine to be the 'essence' of what was once the Wild West, of the isolation of Texas, and the culture that develops in such a place, for both good and ill.
So, do I reccomend it? Yep. That said, don't go in expecting an action-heist movie, or one with a particuarly deep plot. Enjoy it for its themes, atmosphere, style of delivery, and what it has to say about the quiet injustices of the world.
In a way, this movie reminds me a lot of Winter's Bone, a movie that I didn't enjoy, but this one is certainly a net positive. In terms of plot, it's nothing to right home about, and I feel the film drags on a bit (i.e. it should have ended with Pine's character at the bank, not on the farm). That said, it gets top marks for visual storytelling and atmosphere. It's an interesting case of taking a Western, utilizing all its tropes, and setting it in the modern day. Also, never been to Texas (or anywhere in the US besides California and Hawaii), but taking its presentation as writ, it certainly captures what I could imagine to be the 'essence' of what was once the Wild West, of the isolation of Texas, and the culture that develops in such a place, for both good and ill.
So, do I reccomend it? Yep. That said, don't go in expecting an action-heist movie, or one with a particuarly deep plot. Enjoy it for its themes, atmosphere, style of delivery, and what it has to say about the quiet injustices of the world.