Writer: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Elmore Leonard (based on his short story)
Director: James Mangold
Cast: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Peter Fonda, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Kevin Durand, Luc Rains, Gretchen Mol, Luke Wilson
Rating: R
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: January 8, 2008
Whenever I hear the name Mangold in any capacity, I think of my elementary school principal, Mr. Mangold. He was a terrifying man who, when I was a Kindergartener, towered over me, Slimfast can in hand and a sour expression on his face. I had to go to his office with my best friend once to report that Greg, a hyperactive, out of control classmate, broke all my crayons in half. I can only hope the cast of 3:10 to Yuma dealt with a much happier, friendlier, director in James Mangold, because if these two Mangolds happen to resemble one another, I feel sorry for them.
Luckily, James Mangold has more skills than my principal ever had, especially when it comes to directing a good movie. He did it with the freakishly entertaining Girl Interrupted and the cinematic, award-winning Walk the Line. So, why couldn’t he do the same thing with a Western?
I don’t know what it is about this year, but a slew of Westerns came out all around the same time; from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford to No Country for Old Men. I guess you could say 2007 was the year of the Westerns, again. Well…sort of. The way I see it, the Western really hasn’t made a comeback since the height of its popularity back in the 1960s, but there have been many valiant efforts to revive the genre and these last three films have definitely given it a new wind, albeit briefly.
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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
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Dominick Evans is in his late 20’s. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!