Robert Duvall – Ramana's Musings

Open Range.

I doubt very much that, in 2003 when this film was released, I would have enjoyed it as much as I did watching it yesterday. Thanks to a friend who after reading my post on Silverado insisted that I see this to see how a Western can be made with very little, but effective gunfights but with a lot of dialogues.

Throw in Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner, I was hooked and readily agreed to and saw it at home. I am glad that I did.

Both Duvall and Costner produce absolutely stunning performances with able if somewhat subdued support from Annette Bening. Despite it running for 140 minutes, I would say that it is an attention grabbing and compactly made film.

Effective photography, subtle humour, great dialogue deliveries and superb direction pushes me into giving it a five out of five rating.

If you have not seen it, please do. A very unusual Western but Western nevertheless.

Ned Kelly – The Movie.

I cannot remember quite how I got persuaded to purchase a DVD of a film with Robert Duvall and Michael Caine called Second Hand Lions, but it must have been a strong recommendation from a friend. I had bought it bought it way back in April of this year and it just piled up with the various other DVDs that I have been buying over the last few months without finding the time to see them.

I finally got around to seeing it a couple of days ago and was quite pleased with it. I am not about to bore my readers with a review about it, but let me just say that I quite enjoyed seeing it.

When I opened the parcel, I discovered that I had in fact bought two DVDs to avail of a free delivery offer and so found another DVD inside. That turned out to be Ned Kelly a movie on a true story about an Australian outlaw of the late 19th century. The film was based on a novel Our Sunshine by the Australian writer Robert Drewe.

I am glad that I bought the DVD though I had no clue as to what I was getting into when I ordered for it. I am particularly impressed because it is an Australian movie and I haven’t seen many of them.

This is a remarkable story about how high handed misuse of authority by police officials drives a young man and his mates to becoming outlaws. Though full details are not shown, apparently in his lifetime Kelly had become a legend. The viewer cannot help getting involved with the underdog and wishing him success when injustice after injustice keeps piling up. The director has succeeded in that effort and till the end one keeps the faith that justice will prevail. That it does not in the end is neither here nor there, but the viewer is hooked from the beginning till the end. I have no hesitation in giving the film a full [rating=6] rating.

A very well made film with tight editing and some very good acting. There are moments when the background music becomes too loud and that is the only criticism that I have for the movie. If you get an opportunity to watch it, I recommend that you do for some emotional roller coaster rides.

The Judge.

If I had anything to do with it, this movie will get the Oscar for best film of 2014. Yes, it is that good.

Two actors who I think are absolutely brilliant, Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr. bring their roles alive with some superb acting. The story, the dialogues, the direction, photography everything falls into one whole remarkable package worth spending a cool 142 minutes of screening time. I normally dislike movies that run for longer than 120, but this one kept me glued to the seat and asking for more.

The story resonated with me for its portrayal of the difficult relationship between the father and the son with which I could identify. The other characters who come in to play minor roles do their part and I only wish that they could have been shown as more powerful characters, but I suppose that the running time had to be kept in time and this is where some very tight editing has come in making it worth watching for a rather unusual time.

No question about it, it fully deserves a [rating=6] rating. Don’t miss it.