Two westerns on AMC show strong men grappling with the loss of freedom and dignity. The Shootist is John Wayne’s last film, and though the Duke is normally invincible in his movies, this one begins with the premise that he’s dying of cancer. He sets one last goal for himself–to die in a shootout.
Then there’s Open Range, the rare film that Kevin Costner is perfect for. Costner plays a haunted Civil War veteran of a killing persuasion, which he unleashes when a friend is cruelly beaten by a group of trigger-happy thugs. Also featuring the excellent Annette Benning and Robert Duvall, and one of the most intense gun battles I’ve ever seen on film.
If westerns aren’t your thing, you’ve got the classic Jason and the Argonauts playing on TCM. Not everything about the film has aged well, but Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion skeletons still give me the creeps.
Also playing tonight is the Samuel L. Jackson vehicle S.W.A.T. I only saw the last twenty minutes of it at a drive-in, but if that’s supposed to be the exciting climax I’d hate to see what comes before it.
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