Idiocracy, Walk Hard, 3:10 To Yuma

Idiocracy (2005)

Imagine a world where the likes of Luke Wilson is considered the smartest man on Earth.  Not a pretty picture, but is a fairly decent movie.  Mike Judge  (Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill) brings us this comedy.  The story is weak to say the least, but it holds together for the 90 minutes or so to tell it.  The main characters are put in a sleep until the year 2505 and a world that has been dumbed down so much that the top entertainment is a TV show ‘Oww, My Balls’.  It’s America’s Funniest Videos gone to the natural extreme.  The satire is well done.  Not a great movie, but worth the time.

 

Walk Hard (The Dewey Cox Story) (2007)

John C Reilly plays the title character in the biography of Dewey Cox and his influence on music.  Kind of like a musical version of Forrest Gump.  There were lots of cameo performances and some really funny scenes.  Pretty uneven throughout, though.  Jenna Fischer is easy to watch and Tim Meadows handled his role well.  

 

3:10 To Yuma (2007)

What?  Another movie with Luke Wilson, in one weekend?  And he was pretty good, as a minor character.  The real stars were Russell Crowe (Ben Wade) and Christian Bale (Dan Evans).  I have to start this by saying that I am a fan of the original 3:10 To Yuma (1957).  Glenn Ford (Wade) and Van Heflin (Evans) played the same roles and made me feel the characters more tangibly than their modern counterparts.  In many roles, I just can’t get past Russell Crowe being Russell Crowe.  Bale blended into the Evans character much more easily.  Even with those prejudices, the 2007 version was worthwhile.  The action was well done and used a minimal amount of CGI to make a clean looking film.  The photography was gorgeous and it felt ‘gritty’ enough to be authentic.  

It was good to see Peter Fonda appearing to be so relaxed in his role as McElroy.  In fact, all of the characters felt real.  Of special note was Ben Foster as Charlie Price, Wade’s right hand man.  The strut and arrogance seemed right on.  Foster may be on to a good career if he gets roles as meaty as this.  Very forceful without being overstated.

Now my nit picking with the remake.  Their can always be an argument for (and against) the graphic violence that we have become used to.  There were scenes that were changed just to add bloody shots.  Not really necessary.  The expansion of the role of William (Evans’ son) made the ending a little more messy than required.  I much preferred the way the original ended.  I didn’t hate the remake, but I found the conclusion to be a little too condescending, but that is what are getting used to.  You are left with nothing to ponder after watching it.