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Visitors Review

napierslogs 2012-05-24 21:57:39

Action heroes versus cowboys and aliens where thinking is not allowed

"Cowboys & Aliens" is actually just Daniel Craig versus cowboys andaliens. It's very handy that he has an alien countdown timer braceleton his wrist that doubles as a special alien killing machine. It worksbetter than guns and knives which is all that real cowboys have. ButJake Lonergan (Craig) doesn't know how he got that bracelet, or whathis name is, or who he is. He does know English.It's lucky for us that he knows English because at every break in theaction he can utter every cliché line imaginable — but then again, whataction movie is complete without "Let's get outta here!" being said atleast once? The horrendous dialogue gives way to Indians speaking amade up language and disgusting aliens who don't speak but prod at youwith three gooey fingers.The aliens are here to discover our weaknesses. Although we, as humanbeings (and especially the cowboys that are passed off as human beingsin Hollywood movies), have a lot of weaknesses, at no point is there anexamination of our weaknesses or how the aliens are going to exploitthem. Obviously it was just said because that is what is supposed to besaid in an alien movie.The mystery surrounding Daniel Craig's character in the beginning isthen completely solved with a simple flashback soon after. I think atthe 30 minute mark after we had a big battle between the cowboys andthe aliens, the filmmakers then realized that Hollywood movies aresupposed to be two hours long. So they then started a new nonsensestory. This time surrounding Olivia Wilde's character since the targetaudience would rather see her naked than Daniel Craig. But justkidding, it's PG-13, there's no nudity."Cowboys & Aliens" is a mix of western, science fiction and action, andyou'll just have to watch to find out how they add vampires to thatmix. No popular movie is complete without them. Olivia Wilde'scharacter tells us the secret on how to view this, "you have to stopthinking." Literally. But why should I have to?

Edward Allchin 2012-05-24 11:02:52

Unique premise, great acting, awesome movie.

The fresh idea of this movie is what brought a couple of friends and Ito watch it a few days ago, and we left feeling very satisfied. I hadbeen counting down the days until C&A was released since I saw thefirst trailer, and in my eyes it delivered.Despite a few plot holes, it had pretty much everything you could askfor in a summer movie: persistent action, characters that you came tocare about, realistic western environment, terrific acting from top tobottom as you would expect from the all-star likes of Craig, Ford,Rockwell, Wilde, as well as an almost scene-stealing performance byDano, but the lesser names also were very solid.Daniel Craig pulled of a terrific American accent when needed, althoughthe "strong and silent" approach fit his character perfectly, he cameacross as a total bad ass.Harrison Ford was very believable as the gruff, weathered old colonel,in what is his best performance that I have watched.Olivia Wilde. Need I say more? She naturally pulls off the sultry,soft-spoken demeanor that was required for her part, yet still managesto be someone who's bad side you wouldn't want to be on. And of course,she looks ridiculously sexy even while dressed from head-to-toe in atablecloth of a dress.Overall, as long as you don't go into the cinema expecting an extremelydeep and brooding plot, you will come out feeling as though your moneywas well spent. It doesn't out-stay it's welcome, and the great actingand well paced action will leave you wanting more. 9/10

rannynm 2012-05-24 01:03:07

Would You, Should You Take Your Child to It?

14-year-old Raven Devanney, a KIDS FIRST! Film critic reviewed it thisweek. Here's a link to her videotaped reviewhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxEwtAIfczE and below is her writtenreview: If you love action packed adventures then 'Cowboys and Aliens' is theperfect film for you!I'm actually pretty impressed with this movie because I think theconcept of throwing together two separate genres like westerns andSi-Fi is an interesting idea but I didn't think there would be muchmore to the film then explosions and gun fights. However the story lineis much more entertaining than I expected.I think the visual aspects of this film are good because the aliens arerelatively creepy and the design of their ship is really cool. Ifyou're into horror films (like me) then the aliens won't be thatimpressive to you, but if you are easily frightened then some scenesmay seem a bit intense.My favorite character is the preacher because he seems a lot morecompassionate and caring then most of the other characters. Somethingthat I think is very unrealistic is in the final battle scene when thehumans start defeating the aliens. In the beginning of the scene thehumans are totally getting crushed by the aliens (which makes sensesince they are practically killing machines) then the humans startwinning which is odd considering their weapons are far inferior to thealiens. Obviously there isn't be much of a movie if the aliens conquerthe world; it just seems a bit unrealistic.This movie is for ages 13 and up because there is some inappropriatelanguage and it is very violent. Overall, I give 'Cowboys and Aliens' 3out of 5 stars because personally I'm not that into Si-Fi, but if youare, you'll definitely enjoy it!Raven Devanney, age 14, KIDS FIRST! Film Critic

Jackal 2012-05-23 11:39:32

Lackluster

I was pretty excited for this movie cause it had two amazing things fora movie: Cowboys and Aliens. And I love Harrison Ford. But after I sawsome lackluster reviews and Ford's angry review rant on Conan, I was alittle wary of spending money on it.I went and saw it and I can't say I regret it cause there are someamusing parts and Paul Dano is crazy good as the whiny son of Ford. Butit seemed like just a summer movie with a simple plot but a convolutedback story. Nothing is ever really explained and there are plot stringswaving in the breeze by the end of the movie. It also seems to be tornbetween a action film and a geek fest with its huge action scenes andsnippets of information. Its like they couldn't decide what audiencethey were going for and, in the end, didn't really capture anyone'sattention.About the actors: Daniel Craig can't act apparently cause he doesn't inthis and he's almost too cool like it would be nice for him to lose atsomething. I felt it was a bit annoying and compared to Harrison Ford'sdepiction of a flawed cattle rancher, it was unfortunate. Anotherdisappointment was Olivia Wilde. I watched her on House and I liked herthere. In Cowboys and Aliens, she follows Craig around like a puppy andits kind of creepy how little acting she actually does. And the thrownin naked scene is sadly very short and not very explicit. If naked backturns you on then go for it but that's pretty much it.

2012-05-22 15:05:28

Ok, not great nor memorable

This review is from: Cowboys & Aliens (Extended Version) (Amazon Instant Video) Okay movie for a rainy weekend and nothing else to do. Acting is okay, well it is just an ok movie all around.

2012-05-22 03:02:50

As silly as it sounds

A movie with a title and a premise this goofy had better at least deliver some fun, so I will give Cowboys & Aliens a little credit in that department. I had really been looking forward to this crazy sounding genre mashup. Even with the mostly negative reviews, I still had hope. My main issues are with the weak story and just a general lack of amazement from any of the CGI and action sequences. The plot is just your typical western for the first 30 minutes or so (which was the best part), until the aliens show up. Then the cowboys become friends with some indians and they must combine resources to fight the aliens. That about sums it up. If you see a movie called Snakes on a Plane or Cowboys & Aliens, don't expect anything other than that. The visuals are not bad, they just didn't show us anything new or inventive. Well, I guess you could count the sight of a dude on horseback from the 1800's being chased by an alien spacecraft as something new.Daniel Craig is pretty good as the Charles Bronson like character. Mostly silent but deadly in an instant. Harrison Ford is okay as a gruff and tough cowboy, even though he was not always believable. Olivia Wilde is here to look at and Sam Rockwell is wasted, though he does have a couple of good lines.There is not really more to say about a movie this basic. I hope this decline presented in both Iron Man 2 and Cowboys & Aliens does not continue for Jon Favreau.

2012-05-22 02:06:52

Pretty good

I enjoyed this film although I had hoped it would be much better. The concept is original and I'm surprised it hasn't been done before (that I know of). All of the cast are very good and the special effects are excellent too. Overall it's a good film but it probably could have been a lot more fun with a slightly better plot.

rjhooverwon 2012-05-21 15:02:13

Much better than I was led to believe by the trailer and a review

I heard about this story being made into a film years ago and loved theidea. It fell off my radar until I saw the trailer. The trailer was a aletdown though and I didn't like the fact that it was starring DanielCraig (a good actor but not my first choice) much either. This wasfollowed by a pre-release online review that was less than favorablealong with the recent flop Battle LA which I had high hopes for (getreal, invading earth to boost water?) so I really didn't expect muchbut paid my $ anyways. So much for the trailer, Daniel Craig, and thebad review and my angst over the recent run of bad Sci Fi plots. Nowfor the actual movie: Bottom line it was highly entertaining and I leftthe theater feeling more than satisfied. The alien motivation for beingon earth actually made sense for a change and other than a fewnon-realistic moments it really worked. And my original interest in theconcept I'd heard about years ago was sated and Daniel Craig turned outperfect for the part!

jeffstevens38 2012-05-21 00:42:59

Please no more

I am a Daniel Craig fan,I was a Harrison Ford fan. On thisshowing,Harrison should retire and Daniel should never again ride ahorse. The mixed genre was neither in Craig or Ford's comfortzones.Production values and special effects were average and I swearsome of the fight scenes were filmed from the wrong angle showing theactors anticipating the blow.Perhaps I am being over critical but itwas hard to suspend the necessary amount of belief and enjoy the movie.It was an uneasy balance of Horse Opera and Sci-Fi movie and my bestadvice would be for all you undecided fans is that you should avoid themovie and cherish the memory of Ford's Indie performances!

samkay1 2012-05-20 15:06:55

Guns and no glory

Cowboys and Aliens takes itself way too seriously for a movie entitledCowboys and Aliens. Thats even more surprising when taking into accountthat this is a Jon Favreau movie. Unfortunately he brings very littlemerit to the project. What should have been a light breezy early summerblockbuster instead feels broody, lumbering and overlong.It doesn't help that nobody in the cast looks like they are enjoyingthemselves. Daniel Craig is no cowboy and his accent is verychallenged. Olivia Wilde has no business being in this movie; and notsurprisingly, she looks way too clean for the wild west. Paul Danomeanwhile can't decide what he's doing. Harrison Ford is the onlymemorable performance in Cowboys and Aliens. He has reached an age,where he can convey a little bit of John Huston robustness, when he sodesires.As an action movie, Cowboys and Aliens is not incompetent. Itscoherent, it's just not that interesting. The battle scenes are spreadout across a very confused plot line with an overlong middle sectionwhere nothing happens. It's a shame that none of the characters everbecome enjoyable company given the amount of time we have to spend withthem. Cowboys and Aliens leaves you with a flat feeling, and I can't think ofany reason to recommend it.

skybear97 2012-05-19 23:44:41

Summer Flick

Not anything to worry about at Oscar time, but a very good popcorn andsoda Summer flick. It doesn't take itself too seriously, some laughs,some scares, some romance, so on and such. The Aliens were aninteresting take on our own immoral acts for things we think arevaluable and our lack of seeing other humans as valuable, but its nottoo preachy.I wouldn't take little kids. Sadly, there's more violence of a gorynature than I expected, so its too intense for youngsters.The acting by the main characters was very acceptable, and the specialeffects didn't overwhelm the movie.

wolfy67 2012-05-19 07:44:30

not worth a penny.

Given the cast I thought it's worth going to a movie theater. I decidedto ignore that 4 weeks after release several large multiplex theatersquit broadcasting this film. Well, it was a very intimate moviesession: the whole audience was a grand total of 3 couples.Bottom line: unless you are a hard core aficionado of one of theactors, go spend your time with something else. None of the actorsmakes a big role. None of the actors makes even a medium role.Everything is just a large mumbo-jumbo, neither SF nor western. To behonest, I've seen better C-series movies.Bottom line: only 4 words can describe this movie: not worth a penny.

pahaake 2012-05-19 03:03:00

OK, all the negative reviewers just didn't get it...

I am sick of people going to a movie like this and expecting Oscarcaliber performances and stories that rival Schindler's List. Get a grip, this is a mindless action film that combines cowboys andaliens. It was a great film, it wasn't boring, and the action wasgreat. If you want to go watch some sob story about vampires and theirgirlfriends go right ahead - that wasn't this movie. It had some goodhumor, lots of explosions, and very little sap. Well cast, well acted(for what the movie is), and well done.Ignore the haters and go see this movie! Unless you prefer movies aboutteen girls and vampires - then skip it.

bradywebster 2012-05-18 21:36:12

I wish I could lose my memory..... of this film that is!

After viewing Cowboys & Aliens, I've come to one conclusion...I wish Icouldn't remember anything. This movie is almost as upsetting as GeorgeClooneys "The American" The previews deliver more than the movie does!There are some good pieces to the story, but that's all they arepieces. Blah, Blah, Blah, The effects were good but there were holes inthe story the size of the New Mexico territory! Poor characterdevelopment and no definitive information concerning the aliens. Andwhy do most aliens portrayed in film have to look like insects with noclothing? Giant Grasshoppers with blasters! This is more of a kiddieflick than an adult flick. The predictable "feel good" relationshipswere cliché. This film would have served better had it been more alongthe lines of a thriller, or better yet if it simply had someone towrite a story for it. It really feels like they created a moviecompletely from a concept and never really thought through the story.Also, the movie starts very dark, violent and serious,and then developsquite literally into a campy Disney film! Great concept...epic fail onexecution! Also the names of the characters were campy "Loner-gan" isobviously Craig The "loner"and "Dolarhyde" is the cattle rancher (Ford)(one last comment) No one in the film seems amazed at the creatures orthe fact that these things could fly in a machine! Pre-flight Americanswere not amazed or shocked at seeing a flying machine! The best theycould come up with was this deadpan quote from the movie, "hey, we wereflying.

Killa42 2012-05-18 05:33:50

What's your problem Scott Mitchell Rosenberg?

Look, I get that you were going for an action-packed story about ananti-hero cowboy (Daniel Craig) who tries to get back at aliens forkilling his lover with the help of his friends (played by HarrisonFord, Olivia Wilide's etc). I get that you like explosions, fights, andtrue grit! But what is your problem, Dude? YOU wrote this and decided for whatever reason to call it "Cowboys &Aliens." By that you were obligated as a "writer" to make it funny.Then Hollywood's Jon Favreau (really good at "funny-action") came alongand helped you make that comic of yours into a film. Marketers evenadvertised it as an action-comedy! Heck, at that point you could havesaid something about the dishonest title you picked.It isn't hard to make something funny, even this review / message toyou is somewhat (arguably) funny. Yet, your movie was not one bit funnyas the title or ads suggested. You did not try to make this comic ofyours a comedy. Instead, you went with some dull cowboy concept thatanyone who liked John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies has seen and youadded aliens too. This in unacceptable behavior from a "writer." And Idemand that you either apologize to your fans for this LIE or you stopwriting. P.s. I will be emailing this review / message to your marketingassistant.

nickmesafilms 2012-05-17 16:48:47

Cowboys & Aliens (2011) - Cowboys + Aliens = PERFECT POPCORN ENTERTAINMENT!

This western sci-fi mash-up, directed by Jon Favreau, mixes two of thebest genres in film, and stars two of the best leading men in cinema.The movie begins with Daniel Craig (being best known as James Bond)playing an outsider who wakes up with unexpected amnesia, with an aliendevice strapped to his wrist. Not knowing that aliens are invading theOld West, this outsider teams up with Harrison Ford (being best knownas Indiana Jones) as a cattle rancher, and Olivia Wilde as a mysteriousfemale accomplice, to help defeat these extra-terrestrials, and savetheir friends and family. The movie begins like you're in the middle ofan entertaining adventure. Director Jon Favreau has done a terrific jobof mixing these two classic genres, and he made it happen in such acool way. The art direction, recreating the Old West, is beautifully"picturesque". The special effects showing the alien invasions aresuper breathtaking. But I really didn't like the way they portrayed thealiens, when they looked more like "District 9" aliens, instead of theclassic "E.T." type of thing. I enjoy watching Daniel Craig andHarrison Ford play iconic roles, and the thought of watching them in amovie together is priceless. But neither of their performances werethat special, but they do make the movie fun. Rounding up thesupporting cast is newcomer Olivia Wilde, who is so beautiful to watchon screen with her incredible blue eyes. But she doesn't reveal anyback-story to her character, it's like she has no personality. But shestill does a pretty good job. Anyways, if you are in the mood for aclassic summer movie with cowboys, extra-terrestrials, pretty ladies,cool special effects, and beautiful landscapes, you will not bedisappointed. "Cowboys and Aliens" is the perfect example of a classicpopcorn summer flick. "Cowboys and Aliens", in my review, "a funadventure, classic summer entertainment".

2012-05-17 08:45:52

Blu-ray Review C & A

This review is from: Cowboys & Aliens (Blu-ray+DVD+Digital Copy in Blu-ray Packaging) (Blu-ray) The movie basically had a dumb premise but contained a lot of action and was entertaining. Kind-of a Sci-Fi comedy...

2012-05-16 19:56:45

Entertaining combination of two classic genres.

I rented this movie with some trepidation due to the mixed reviews. I love Westerns and I love Science Fiction movies from both genres that are fun. Conceptually this is a great idea mixing the genres as they have done. My initial review is that it begins very well, sags in the middle, then picks up in the final few acts.The special effects are very well done. I really enjoy the design of the aliens. They are menacing and threatening with no regard for human life. The acting is very well done. Both Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig offer believable characters that are not one dimensional. Both men are tough, full of pride and though they are on different sides of the issue at the start of the movie it is not so easy to distinguish the typical western good guy from the bad guy. The plot is creative and they way typical adversaries in western movies all come together to battle the aliens flows well into the story and is not forced and artificial.Once the aliens arrive and the back story of Daniel Craig's character is explored is when the movie begins to sag. Other things also happen that slows down the pacing of the movie. One event is the revelation of another alien which is used to explain the motive of the invading aliens. I think they could have found another way for exposition and it would have quicken the pacing. The other reason the middle of the movie sags is that many scenes take place in the dark and it is difficult to view what was happening. I wish movie makers would lighten night scenes just a bit so we the viewer could see a bit more of what is going on.The final confrontation with the aliens is when the movie come back to life and returns to the pacing and quality story telling that it began with. Although a bit uneven all in all the movie does deliver an exciting, fun and gritty combination of the two genres.

judy 2012-05-15 18:34:40

Big disappointment

Glad I didn't pay extra for the 1201 showing on Friday morning becauseCowboys and Aliens is the biggest disappointment of the Summer. I wasreally looking forward to seeing this movie since it starred a few ofmy favorite people, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Clancy Brown and SamRockwell. It was directed by Jon Favreau. I guess it's hard totranslate some graphic comics to film. A history of violence did itwell but Cowboys and Aliens is not humorous enough to be fun and notdark enough to be so serious. All of the actors try to do their bestwith the material but the dialog is so bad that it makes you cringe.Favreau should have paid more attention to older westerns instead Ithink he saw the recent remake of True Grit one too many times as thefilm reminds me of that film. The aliens were scary, whoopie. We'veseen so many aliens on film we're immune. Its the cowboy story we weremore interested in and that failed to live up to our expectations.One final note, I got a chance to review the synopsis of the comic bookstory. Like the Prince of Persia too bad the writers didn't use theoriginal storyline which of course is much better than the mess theycame up with for this movie. When will Hollywood writers learn, its thestory your fools.

y-f-a-goddijn 2012-05-15 09:29:27

Epic Confusion

First of all i wanna start with telling i did like the movie, but therewhere some things i cant explain.The story starts of with this epic scene with some very nicepunchlines, quotes and a lot of sentimental stuff which i like now andthen. But then the sh¾t hits the fan, and the movie hits the fan to isupposed. The story gets so crazy that they just stopped explainingthings, for instance why is there only one alien with a weapon in themovie. And why is this alien to dumb to put i on such a stupid place.Another thing is that if Ella Swenson(Olivia Wilde) would be fromanother planet why would she have human emotions, or even be sexualattracted to a human. Just like the dog, everyone in the movie knowshis name. Daniel Craig, your still bad ass your facial expressions evengive me the chills.I can really recommend this movie to people who are using dope. Thanksfor listening,