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

Darkman

Year: 1990
Director: Sam Raimi
Screenplay: Sam Raimi, Chuck Pfarrer, Ivan Raimi, Daniel Goldin and Joshua Goldin, from a story by Sam Raimi
Starring: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Larry Drake, Colin Friels
Running Time: 96 minutes
Genre: Superhero, action, horror, science-fiction, crime, thriller

Summary: Dr. Peyton Westlake (Neeson) is a scientist working on synthetic 'liquid skin'. However, one night Peyton is attacked in his laboratory by a mob led by vicious gangster Robert Durant (Drake) who enjoys cutting the fingers off his victims. Peyton's assistant is killed and the laboratory is blown up with Peyton inside. However, he survives, although he is horribly burned. After radical surgery in hospital, Peyton is left without the ability to feel pain, bursts of superhuman strength and also sudden violent rages. Escaping the hospital Peyton returns to his laboratory and resumes his work on liquid skin which allows him to impersonate anyone he chooses, as well as allowing him to appear 'normal' to his attorney girlfriend Julie (McDormand), who is also being romanced by billionaire tycoon Louis Stack Jr. (Friels). However, there is a severe drawback in that the liquid skin can only exist for a total of 99 minutes before becoming unstable and melting. However, Peyton now has the ability to take violent revenge against those who attacked him.

Opinions: This is a hugely entertaining superhero action movie with elements of horror, romance and humour. Director Sam Raimi brings the same energy and verve to this film that he brought to The Evil Dead (1983). The film was inspired by, and pays homage to, the Universal Studios horror films of the 1930s and also the pulp fiction heroes of the same period. The cast all perform very well, with Neeson in particular obviously having a great time in the central role. Horror fans will also want to look out for cameos from genre directors John Landis and William Lustig, as well as an appearance from Raimi regular and star of the Evil Dead movies, Bruce Campbell. Jenny Agutter also has a brief, uncredited role as a doctor in the hospital scene. The special effects are beginning to show their age now, but the action scenes are well staged and are genuinely exciting to watch. It's frequently very funny, but there are also some moments of real heart. Despite not actually being based on a comic-book the film does, at it's best, capture the feel and fun of them better than many other films. Admittedly there are very few surprises in the film, and you'll probably be able to work out what is going to happen well in advance. However, it is a well-paced, consistently entertaining action-thriller.
It's now become something of a cult film, and has been followed by, to date, two sequels.



Liam Neeson in Darkman