In pre-Civil War Nebraska Territory, a homesteader (Hillary Swank), tasked with escorting three women, driven mad by their experiences, back to a sanctuary in Iowa, recruits an experienced escort (Jones).
Although this is a decent enough drama, and certainly well acted by Swank, Jones and the other cast members, it's not really a western in the classic sense. For that it would require an ultimate antagonist, and the only real one in the film is the wild and randomly dangerous Frontier.
Next up, Brute Force, a prison drama starring Burt Lancaster. Driven to desperate measures by a sadistic and ambitious prison guard captain (Hume Cronyn), Joe Collins (Lancaster) and his fellow inmates attempt an escape from the notorious Westgate Prison.
A classic noire from the 1940's by Jules Dassin, Lancaster is at his toughest in this gritty drama where nobody wins. Fantastic stuff.
Netflix release it's own creations in job-lots and they've done that with one of Marvel's more ambiguous characters, Daredevil. In the aftermath of the attack on New York, depicted in The Avengers film, Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) investigates seemingly unconnected criminal activities in Hell's Kitchen and the shadowy figure behind them.
It looks pretty good, avoiding the usual cliches, and the martial arts looks top notch. Only available through Netflix, though, which is a shame.
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