It’s not what you say, but how (and when)
The shotgun would ignite, and Ella Mae would scream, but Robert Ford would only lay on the floor and look at the ceiling, the light going out of his eyes before he could find the right words. Finding “the right words” is a quest all writers are intimately familiar with. Everyone knows that it’s not … Continue reading
Roger Deakins, coming to light
The train robbery sequence that opens The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2006) is breathtaking. Jesse and his men stand in the woods as their target approaches, its light piercing through the trees temporarily illuminating their hooded faces before they slip back into darkness. Soon, the train slams headlong into the … Continue reading
Most girls like to play pretties, but you like guns do you?
Three things occurred to me while watching the Coen brother’s latest film, True Grit: 1) Hailee Steinfeld’s Best Supporting Actress nomination is pure silliness given that this is clearly her film, however, I’ll take a silly nomination over no nomination. 2) Jeff Bridges is, without a doubt, one of the finest actors of our time, and … Continue reading
The decade’s best in film villainy
There is nothing like a truly great villain. Heroes are simple. You get the kitten out of the tree because it’s the right thing to do. But what kind of diabolical mind would even think to put the kitten there in the first place? Great villains peel back the layers and reveal our darkest nature. They make us think.
And so, with my “kitten in the tree” argument in place, I submit that the past decade has offered us five truly phenomenal movie villains. Here they are, in order of haircut originality:
