The Princess Bride

Year of Release:  1987
Director:  Rob Reiner
Screenplay:  William Goldman, based on the book The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Starring:  Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage, Peter Falk
Running Time:  94 minutes
Genre:  Fantasy, adventure, comedy

In the magical land of Florin, young farmhand Westley (Elwes) must battle villains and magic to rescue his true love, Princess Buttercup (Wright), from the evil Prince Humperdink (Guest).

This is a genuinely magical film, which works as a fairy-tale and as a spoof of fairy tales.  It's funny throughout and full of endlessly quotable dialogue ("Hello.  My name is Inigo Montaya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.").  It features great action, particularly the impressive dueling sequences.  It also has great, funny performances, including cameos from a number of well-known comedians (such as Mel Smith, Peter Cook, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane).  The film also has a fun post-modern element with the story being framed as a fairy-tale that a grandfather (Falk) is reading to his ill grandson (Savage) who would rather be playing videogames.  The movie balances it's various elements perfectly with the comedy working along with the romance and the fantasy adventure, and none of them drowning out the others.   Even for people who don't like fairy-tales, like the grandson, it's almost impossible not to get swept up in this hilarious magical adventure that is just as much fin for adults as it is for children.

Robin Wright and Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Year of Release:  2018
Directors:  Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Screenplay:  Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Starring:  Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Zoe Kazan, Tom Waits, Tyne Daly, Brendan Gleeson
Running Time:  133 minutes
Genre:  Western

This is an anthology film consisting of six unconnected short stories set in the Old West:  A singing gunslinger (Nelson) meets his match; A condemned bankrobber (Franco) tries to escape his fate; An elderly impresario (Neeson) and his artist, who has no arms and legs, scratch out an existence travelling from town to town; A prospector (Waits) dreams of riches as he searches for gold; Following the death of her brother, a young woman (Kazan) undertakes an arduous journey in a wagon train; and a group of travelers in a stagecoach encounter a pair of bounty hunters en route to a strange destination.

This film is funny, dark, profound, violent, occasionally lyrical and often beautiful.  As with all anthology films, some segments work better than others, although they are all impressive, well-written and well-performed.  The Coen Brothers are no strangers to the Western genre, and here they make full use of their gift for dialect and witty, absurdist dialogue.  The first story is the most traditionally "Coen-esque" being a violent and funny take on the "singing cowboy" genre.  The second story starts as a simple hold-up tale before becoming something much more poignant.  The third story is a dark tale of cruelty, with a disturbing conclusion.  The fourth story which is almost entirely a single-hander, featuring a great performance by Tom Waits, is dramatic and beautiful.  The fifth story, which features a powerful performance from Zoe Kazan, is possibly the most traditional, until it's heartbreaking conclusion.  The sixth story marks a turn almost into "weird west" territory with a strange and ambiguous tale set in a stagecoach to a surreal town.  This film had a limited theatrical run before being released onto the Netflix streaming service.  Personally I loved it, and hopefully it will to another revival of the Western genre.     

Tim Blake Nelson saddles up for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs