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stanevans16
Reviews
Gunsmoke: The Pretender (1965)
Compelling to the end - disregard the other review
This is one of the better "Gunsmokes" of the '65 season. It features fine acting, a Cain and Abel story with deep emotion and fully fleshed out characters. Despite what the other reviewer wrote about this episode, it's not hard to follow and it's always emotionally on point. I'm not sure if he saw the same episode as I did. No doubt there are some clichés here, the convict who can't get a break, the noble brother who hides his brother's sins, the ignorantly angry father and the local girl charmed by the bad guy. But it is also very involving with an emotional payoff and metaphor with wild horses. Tom Simcox was a welcome cowboy in the early 60s. Nehemiah Persoff an experienced character actor. And if that weren't enough, the show has a happy ending, which didn't happen often in the early to mid 60s "Gunsmokes" which were almost like cowboy noir, full of sad cases with sad ends. A show worthy of your time.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Overheated Style Over Substance
I can't believe all the good reviews for this movie. All the little flourishes, endless graphics and quick cuts deflect from the fact that there is very little story or character development. This is cutesy, precious, look-at-me filmmaking at its worst! The humor is sophomoric. Just putting up silly graphics every two seconds doesn't mean that the content of the graphics is remotely funny. It's like the writers saw the first ten minutes of "Fight Club" and thought if they added a bunch of bells and whistles, that would be extremely clever. It's not. Plus, Michael Cera looks like an ostrich or a young Sandy Duncan. I weep for the younger generation if this is their idea of a classic.