![]() Each story is preceded by a a drawing, the title, and a few key words, and it's fun to find out how they play into the story to follow. Liam Neeson has one chilling moment you won't soon forget and James Franco, who looked just like Dominic West in his opening tight closeup, has the best line in the bunch when he looks over at his fellow doomed man next to him. Tim Blake Nelson uses his physicality and down-home country chops to create the disarmingly dangerous title character, and Tom Waits has the final word on playing grizzled as a gold miner who just might be digging his own grave. While I loved each segment, Zoe Kazan broke my heart as a single woman on a wagon train searching for a way to pay her driver in "The Gal Who Got Rattled". In this anthology of short Westerns, the Coen Brothers mine the subject of death for all it's worth, producing a thrilling, at times hilarious, ominous, tragic, dazzlingly shot experience. Itâ(TM)s a collection of stories worth listening to. ![]() ![]() Lastly, âThe Mortal Remainsâ? resembles the stagecoach-based First Act of The Hateful Eight, albeit with a supernatural twist.īuster Scruggs may not make top ten lists of the greatest westerns ever made or even rank in the upper tier of the Coen Brothers own work, but itâ(TM)s still an interesting watch with some great performances and dark humor and plenty of violence for all you vicious cretins. Oh, and it has a BARNBURNER of a shootout on the open plains toward the end. The longest and closest to a short film is "The Gal Who Got Rattled," about an unlucky young woman stuck in a westward bound wagon train and tragically unable to stand up for herself. Deep themes about nature and hard work await. Arguably the best, âAll Gold Canyon,â? features Tom FUCKING Waits as a prospector willing to go through hell and high water to find everyoneâ(TM)s favorite precious metal. James Franco is game, but its chief contribution is a now ubiquitous meme featuring the doomed protagonist sardonically saying, âFirst time?â? "Meal Ticket" is a cold and near wordless yarn about a sleazy con-artist/business man played by Liam FUCKING Neeson using a theatrically trained amputee traveling the chilly north. "Near Algodones" concerns bank robbery and hangings. This opening bit may be jarring for some, with its mixing of horrific violence and outlandish humor, but it works and the other 5 tales are of a moreâ¦grounded nature. Tim Blake Nelson kills it, literally, and it serves as a parable for never underestimating your opponent. The first and titular story is an off-beat send up and homage to the singing cowboys of early to mid-20th century imagination, such as Roy Rogers. Personally, for me, I thought the second half (or latter 3) of the 6 tales were the best, yet all have some interesting factor going on. Furthermore, like the dime novel frontier tales it emulates, all the stories have a central moral theme. And as youâ(TM)d expect from the Coen Brothers, almost all of them have a tragicomic edge. ![]() Though often bizarre and odd, Scruggs is an anthology of western vignettes, each with its own themes and tones. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs belongs to the former. That chasm separates films and television of innovative and great material from utter dog shit. And Iâ(TM)ve noticed even within the last few months a gap has formed and widened. Iâ(TM)ve mentioned before that Netflix has acquired a checkered history in regard to its original content.
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