The Lone Ranger

Through my LoveFilm subscription, after his brother is killed in an ambush, and left for dead, John Reid (Armie Hammer) seeks revenge with the help of Tonto (Johnny Depp), a Commanche outcast.

A superior pizza movie, Depp is a likeable and sympathetic Tonto, unrecognisable in old age, and is well supported, especially by William Fitchner giving it both barrels as the despicable Butch Cavendish, but also by Hammer, as the rube transformed into a western hero, Tom Wilkinson and Helena Bonham Carter. The film isn't too overwheled by the special effects and the plot zips along, so why it wasn't a box-office success I don't know. Maybe it was a Depp too far for some people. As the reporter at the end of "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" says, "This is the West, sir: when the legend becomes fact, print the legend!".

Drive Angry and Winter's Bone

With having a subscription to LoveFilm, I get to watch the occasional movie on DVD. Upon Mr. Glitz's recommendation I got Drive Angry.



Although not quite as enthusiastic, I too thought it wasn't bad for something to watch over pizza on a Saturday evening. Notable was William Fichtner as the Accountant from Hell (literally) sent to bring back Nicolas Cage's character to the Underworld and also, typically understated, was David Morse as Cage's old friend. Either of these could act Cage off the screen without too much effort, and proceeded to do so, Fichtner especially. Maybe the Devil doesn't have all the best tunes, but his accountant certainly had all the best lines.

Contrasting with this is Winter's Bone.



This is a modern crime drama centered around a young woman in the Ozark's struggling to keep the house she lives in from being repossessed. There's not much to the film, a bit slight, but it has one of the scariest anti-hero's I've seen in a while in the form of Teardrop, the protagonist's uncle and self-appointed guardian angel. Played by John Hawkes, this is a performance that makes Nick Cage look like Doris Day. If there was an Academy Award for Supporting Actor in a Scary Meth-head Role, I know who my money would be on.