Cowboys & Aliens
A western sci-fi movie. That’s a first.
Pairing the current James Bond with Indiana Jones, that’s also a first..
Unfortunately the movie doesn’t live up to the first-rate prospects on paper….
Set in 1875 against the backdrop of the town of Absolution which has fallen on hard times, the trailers of this movie had fans like me salivating for more. While the movie builds up really well it’s the sci-fi part that doesn’t really mesh. The aliens seem completely unnecessary and clichéd, to use a cliché, like a third wheel on a bicycle. And obviously since its Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford playing the cowboys, the aliens pale in comparison.
As the movie begins, a stranger (Craig channeling Eastwood’s signature man-with-no-name) stumbles into the New Mexico Town, with a mysterious shackle around his wrist and an intriguing case of amnesia. This town is run by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford playing a no-nonsense gruff guy). When the town is attacked by mysterious marauders from the sky, no doubt the two unite to fight.
So far so good, but the second half is riddled with clichés, bullets, more clichés, inconsistencies and still more clichés. “Let’s be friends” – check, “Rag-tag search group” – check, “Cut off by bandits” – check, “Surrounded by Indians” – check, “Clichéd alien intelligence” – check and so on.., culminating in a completely predictable battle at the end. Olivia Wilde who plays the love interest looks good but sadly the good part ends there. Her role is very poorly written and she seems out of her depth in the presence of the veterans.
Jon Favreau who previously helmed Iron Man may have the right ingredients but doesn’t mix them properly resulting in wastage and an unsatisfied audience. Maybe it’s a case of too many cooks spoiling the you-know-what as the story is credited to no less than six writers !!!
Rosenberg’s graphic novel on which this movie is based does come to life in the scenes of the Wild West shot lovingly and realistically on location by Matthew Libatique, but sadly the alien CGI seems outdated and generic. In fact the alien of Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie is much more menacing. So while the concept suggests something out of this world the result is definitely terrestrial.
While we all know the fact that science fiction killed off the western genre in Hollywood, so this movie where the roles seem to be reversed is definitely a good idea. But an idea is only as good as its execution. (“If you had invented Facebook, you would have invented Facebook” – Zuckerberg to the twins). The movie seems to play out like a rough draft and I’m sure could be remade and reworked to be brilliant.
If a movie at the multiplex costs Rs. 300, I would pay only Rs. 150 to watch this one. Watch it only for the Cowboy part !!!!!

THE TREE OF LIFE
“There are two ways through life: the way of nature and the way of grace,”
First things first, this is a movie unlike anything anyone has ever made. Its less of a movie (dictionary meaning – a narrative seeking to inform/entertain) and more of a vision (dictionary meaning – a series of vivid images open to interpretation).
Terrence Mallick (who incidentally has made only five movies so far ) is less of a story teller and more of a poet in this epic saga of how both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only our lives as individuals and families, but all life. Saying this movie is indulgent is like comparing the Stanchart Marathon to a stroll in Jogger’s Park. Its an inside-Terrence’s-mind essay on family, remembrance, atonement and above all Nature. Like a painting the movie is gorgeous and abstract at the same time and like a symphony it leaps around in time and space unlike a conventional narrative. In fact it reaches a crescendo very quickly as within 20 minutes the film shifts to a stunning visual representation of the creation of the universe. We go from a spark to the big bang, to the creation of earth, to the age of the dinosaurs, and everything in between. Unlike other films which build up to the big finish, this virtuoso scene comes pretty early. Like someone said it is more ambitious than Mayor A.M.Bitious of Ambitiousville.
Now to the story within the macro picture. Kicking off with a quote from the Book of Job, we meet Mr and Mrs O’Brien (Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain) learning of the death of their 19-year-old son. Elsewhere, the dead boy’s brother Jack (Sean Penn), now middle-aged, tells his dad he thinks about the lad every day, prompting a series of flashbacks to his childhood, set in American suburbia in the 1950’s. This template of Texas family life forms the hub from which various tangents are explored. The vignettes of life in Waco are easily understood but the conclusions are completely random. No two people will feel the same way about the film. “Feel” – that’s the operative word because that’s what the filmmaker hopes his audience will be throbbing with at the end of the 140 odd minute look at existence.
A word of caution though, this is not a “multiplex” film. There maybe less than half an hour of dialogue for the 2 hour plus duration. Although the acting especially of the young boys (Hunter McCracken and Laramie Eppler) is pitch perfect, a point to note is that the Grandmother who appears as the seventh-billing in the credits appears on screen for less than a minute !! The co-stars here are the grass, the trees, the fireflies… Indeed Nature herself. The original music/soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat is awe-inspiring and in sync with the sublime content. But again with the contrast, the movie ends extremely abruptly and the credits in fact roll without any sound. So, the movie is alienating and frustrating yet at the same time (depending on your mood) sumptuous, spiritual and spectacular.
Whether it deserves a Palme D’or not is, like the movie, open to debate. But this I can say is that its that sort of movie that if you feel bored you’ll feel its your fault !!! (Somewhat allegorical to the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes)
Unlike other movies which encourage you to go and see them with no pre-conceived notions, for this one do go with the knowledge that its going to be tedious and incoherent but no doubt about it – A work of Cinematic ART…
If a ticket at the multiplex costs Rs. 300, this movie is worth at least Rs. 600. Watch it and then watch it again !!! After all on the first viewing the Monalisa may also appear to some as just another woman !!!!