Movie Review

When it comes to westerns, Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner are pretty good choices for acting in such a movie. The movie was "Open Range", which involves free grazers grazing their cattle on the prairie, and some town folk not taking politely to them doing that. Even though this was made in Hollywood, and Lonesome Dove would have ben a better choice to watch, since it is way more realistic, Robert Duvall also plays in this one, and it was longer which would take up more class time. But Open Range was easy to follow, and kept every thing moving along to it wasn't too boring, and that was made possible by Kevin Costner himself. you cant make a show without some romance in it so they threw in scenes of Sue Barlow (Annette Bening) and Charlie Waite (Kevin Costner) falling in love.
The plot takes place throughout the vast prairies with Boss Spearman (Robert Duvall) and Charlie trying to defend their life and belongings from people who do not like free grazers. The find themselves in the midst of gunfights and romance when Sue and Charlie falling in love. Before this Charlie was just a loner needing some love. In the end, Justice prevails, and the free grazers go on living their life.
I think they portrayed themselves well in the roles they were given. throughout the movie there was some humor thrown in and I think that's what made Costner and Duvall work well together in the movie. They both also have acting backgrounds in previous western movies, so they had an idea on what to direct and what should be in the film. If their goal was to entertain us, then they succeeded. The only thing I didn't like was the romantic part because it was the slow point of the movie. But overall I think they were able to get their point across that free grazers were not welcomed, and they had to defend for themselves that they had to fight to keep what they owned.
Well the music definitely makes a movie more dramatic, but also at the same times fill sin the empty spots during that movie so it won't be too boring. I think the music helps draw the watcher into the movie and into the scenes. Certain film techniques were used in a lot of stunt scenes in Open Range. Gun fights, jumping out of barns, and riding really fast on horses all need to be taken care of in a safe manner, but also must be real enough to persuade the viewer to watch and be drawn into the awww of the movie.
Since this is a western, they have to make the people look older than they actually are, and that showed through with Sue. She looked like she was 50 when she was maybe only in her 30's. They also have the spurs, the cowboy outfits, the 2x4 constructed buildings, muddy streets, and revolvers. I even picked up on on how they called the shot gun a scatter gun. Today we just call it a shotgun because that is what is being shot out of the shell. So little old details like that also make a Hollywood film seem more realistic. Seth said "This is one of the only movies that it sounds like they are actually shooting their guns." So either they had great sound effects, or they were actually able to make the movie even more realistic by actually shooting guns.
Overall if you are looking for a good Hollywood western, and you are a fan of action with some romance and drama mixed in, this is a good movie for you to watch. I have watched it a few times and have liked it every time. I do not think you can go wrong with the movie due to the fact they have to great actors; Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner.

Best Advice Given to Me

Hmmm... there has been a lot of advice given to me. From hunting to life advice I have a few I could share.
My dad once told me that "If you work hard, and are willing to work, there are going to be a lot of opportunities in the future to get a job since the upcoming generation are not really wanting to work." This has held true due to the endless job options I have received. I have worked at Stephens machine now for three years, and a lot of people come in and out of that place and see me working. Lately, I was trimming my boss's hedges, and I had his neighbor ask me if I wanted to trim his, I said yes, so we worked out a deal to trim them for $250. One of my dad's friend's dad asked me if I wanted to help move him to a new house, and he could pay me for it. I have business for selling firewood during the winter. Also during the winter, I trap bobcats, and that is pretty easy work for what it pays. Last year I trapped a cat and got $750 for its hide. So willing to work hard or even work at all has it's rewards. Doing work now as a young teenager helps aid to being use to and willing to work as an adult.

American Aspirations

Well he was not around the ranch to help out, especially since is dad was getting older and still had to manage the ranch. The could no longer see their baby boy but in the end I think they were glad that he went to college and receives an education that gave him a job that pays more than ranching, and he did not have to work as hard. So going to college defiantly paid off in the future. I know Ivan would not want to work as a ranch hand after he saw what other opportunities were out in the world. The American dream made  the Doig family work hard to be able to hold onto the American dream of owning a ranch and being able to live in the land of the free. That leads me into saying since Ivan does live in America, he is able to pursue his dream and become a writer, because in most countries it is ten times harder to find a good education like Ivan had. I think this goes to a lot of Montana families who want to live a good successful life.

Comparing

Yes I definatley think the landscape is similar. We have wide open spaces with steep rugged mountains that use to be very popular for sheep herding. Poeple from places like California and Texas move up to Montana thinkin git is going to be very romantic and easy. Well the truth is, it is not always warm, you have to have a four wheel drive rig, you need firewood, a way to plow your self out of snowdrifts, and know how to live off the land in despriate times. Oh and just for the record, owning 20 acres with a dog and a house is not a ranch lol. They choose to settle here because it is beautiful and they love our recreation places but again, they have no clue what they are getting themselves into by not being prepared.

Favorite Character

In this book, I enjoy reading about Angus. He is a very responsible and caring man for taking care of Charley, and Angus is Charley's favorite Uncle. This may sound strange but another reason  I like Angus is because he reminds me of beef. To a teenage guy, food, especially beef such as steak or a medium rare juicy burger or meat in a taco really makes me hungry, and it is also very mouth watering... especially during fourth period which is right before lunch. Angus just seems just like a really cool dude, and he is my type of guy.

Childhood

Breaking News

In recent studies I believe that there are no myths in one's childhood. I think that everyone goes through childhood, and they live or have lived it in the moments of truth. What I mean is, most people have learned from childhood of advice, what right and wrong, when you can get away with something, and even a few rules of life. There is no myth to that. We have learned and moved on from the past.

Mrs Lannen asked what the author is trying to say, and Chris Emter responded to this question by saying, "I really do not know what he is trying to say, if the author is saying what I think he is saying, that childhood is a myth, than I am going to have to disagree with him because my childhood was no myth. It was real, and I learned a few of the guidelines I mentioned above from childhood, and that is the cold hard truth."

Indian Country

They have not changed much for me since in the book, the author describes a lot of the roles that are were popular in the West that are also portrayed in movies. Such as Little House on the Prairie and how they men did most of the outdoor work, like fixing fences, hunting, milking the cows, and shooting guns, where women stayed inside and baked, cooked, and even teaching Carrie how to sew. Frontier homesteading was very difficult in the past, just by what was available to make a successful life on the frontier. It took days in cover wagon to reach a town 5 miles away, the Indians always wanting to raid houses and set fire to homesteads because of the dislike of the new homesteaders, and even the medicine they had was not that advanced so getting sick could lead to major deaths or infections, so under these circumstances, it made living in "Indian Country" very difficult. In my opinion the most difficult thing for the homesteaders was the Indians, because not knowing when they will attack, and how they will attack left the homesteaders on their toes.

Movie Critiques

        Chris Emter
         Front Lit
         10/7/11




          When in comes to reading a book, then watching a movie made from that same book, there are probably going to be a few differences int he characters, settings, and plots. This can make a movie or story more interesting or disappointing depending on how well the producer mimicked the story made.
          After reading the story and watching the movie, I found out that there are a lot of things different between the two. Things from character change to length and even settings for the story were changed between the two. For example the town in the book was called Twotrees and in the movie it is called Shinbone. In the book, Bert was the John Wayne character in the movie, but he was called Tom Donafin. However in the book, the author portrayed Ranse as being an outcast and very arrogant, but in the movie he was portrayed as being a hero, and a smart man that would be good in the government system. Like I said in my last blog, the reason why things were added or taken out was to make a longer story and more entertaining.
          I do not think the author cares if the producer switches things up, just as long as he or she gets paid. The film was filmed as old western style  with black and white film, old west settings in the desert, and the costumes. I thought the costumes were represented well with the time period. I think that is what they would have worn back then. I definitely like the movie version better because it gave the short story in the book more energy and sort of what really happened. it was more entertaining see what they did then trying to imagine it.
          In conclusion when watching a movie based off a book, there are going to be changes made, count on it. Just go with the flow, watch it, and have a good time.

So many more questions

I think the director has to put in more characters or change the set so he can shoot an hour movie. In a short story the reader just gets a taste of what happened but in the movie, things hve to be remodified. For example if a shirt fits one person and doesn't another, the taylor has to modify the shirt so it fits the other guy. Sometimes this can make or break a movie. It can make it by giving it more action, detail, and drama which is what critics love, or it can be exactly the same, so if the book was boring to people, and they make the movie the same way people are not going to watch it as much. I do not know anyting about what an author thinks if a movie is way different from the movie. I think if the director did not include the author's input in the movie, the author has no say in the movie scenes. I think some authors are just happy they are making money and having his or her story made into a film.

So many questions

I think the goal of the movie was to show that a small man can take down a big man.  I think they went back in time in the movie, almost like a dream after they  showed  the part of the house that got burned with all of the cactus roses. They showed the events that led up to that scene in the movie. I thought the goal of the story was like the goal in the movie ecept without all the details like the movie had. I think the senator was basically saying to keep his pride or reputation that he was great friends with Bert, but really he didn't like him, so it kind of comes out that they were like friendemies.

Sacajawea

I can only think of one thing that I have come to be a part of, and that is hunting. Going elk hunting since I was 10 to our annual place South of Livingston has made me apart of what it truly means to elk hunt. Not only how tough the terrain is to traverse and how challenging it is to down an elk and pack it back to camp, but to hang out with my dad and a few of our good friends to talk tactics about a day's hunt or visiting about life outside camp while in the cool mountains in a tent with the stove going and dinner cooking. Because of this I feel like I have been apart of the hobby, and it is who I am. Sometimes my inner city boy comes out when I'm not doing something that has to deal with working on our place or hanging with friends, but when it comes to hunting season, i ready to saddle my horse and ride into camp ready to work hard knowing that it might or might not pay off on getting an elk. That is what makes it so fun is that every weekend is different so it keeps me on my toes. I feel this is a connection to Lewis and Clark becuase they explored the West for so long, it became a part of them and not knowing what was on the other side of that river bend, hill, or mountain range kept them on their toes to any obsticles that was thrown in their way. I knew what they felt like when they topped a mountain range, because they were so anxious to see that Pacific Ocean of that river going down to the ocean, just like me when I crest a ridge in hopes that I will see elk in the bowl below it. It really keeps things exciting, and if we see what we are looking for we are happy, but if not we may get a little dissapointed, but we still push on to reach our ultimate goal.

Friendship for Lewis and Clark

I think that working as a team did insure success. Think about other things that require a team to accomplish things, and if done correctly will portray good results, such as sports team or even hunting. I don't know how things would be different if Lewis and Clark were the face of literature... who is now? I think Western Literature would still go on, however it would be nice to know who made the face of Western Lit so I could make a comparison. Like I said above freindhip was crucial to the expedition especially when it came to survival. With a friendship, people could trust each other, and trust is a major factor when it comes to surving just because you know each other limits which better prepares a single person or group to better adapt to a situation thrown at them.

Lewis and Clark expedition

This not being my first time learning about Lewis and Clark, I don't know quite what to write about.  I think their friendship was a crucial factor in the success of their expedition.  Them knowing what they were doing or knowing ehat to do in a hairy situation made their journey a success.  I also think since they were the first white people the Indians saw, they did not know what to think of them. Because of this, most of them did no act hostile.  They were more in wonderment of maybe even had some confusion going on. Maybe they were thinking what a white man is doing this far West?  But having the Indians help them out by giving them horses, provisons, and advise, kept them alive and helped them complete their journey.