NativeGuilt's Movie Reviews

1879. The Civil War is over, and the resulting economic explosion spurs the great migration west. Farmers, ranchers, prospectors, killers and thieves seek their fortunes. Cattle drovers turn cow towns into armed camps with murder rates higher than those of modern-day New York or Los Angeles.  Out of this chaos comes legendary lawman Wyatt Earp, retiring his badge and gun to start a peaceful life with his family. Earp’s friend, John ‘Doc’ Holliday—a Southern gentleman turned gunman and gambler—also travels west, hoping the dry climate will relieve his tuberculosis.  Silver is discovered in Arizona. Tombstone becomes queen of the boomtowns, where the latest Paris fashions are sold from the backs of wagons. Attracted to this atmosphere of greed, over one hundred exiled Texas outlaws band together to form a ruthless gang recognized by the red sashes they wear. They emerge as the earliest example of organized crime in America. They call themselves ‘the Cowboys.’ Directed:   Ge...

My grandfather Hector O. Valencia  was born in April 1932 (probably) and  died in April 2015. He never could go out to the movies all that much due to his PTSD, but he loved westerns.  So I decided that this month, I wanted to spend it how I've spent his birthday every year for the last ten years: watching westerns, and thinking about him. This year, I saw one western a day for the entire month of April ; fifteen that I have seen before and fifteen completely new to me*. So why do I love westerns? I think they are such a fascinating intersection of so many themes: outlaws vs lawmen, the veneer of sophistication next to aboriginal tradition and values, male violence and female isolation, poor & impoverished immigrants and Civil War veterans of both sides looking for that oft promised american dream, and the simple brutality of the West—where the laws of god and man don't mean much when you're staring down the barrel of a Colt Peacemaker. Like everywhere in the world, t...