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Posted on: July 23, 2024 at 12:20:53 CT

1. Horizon - This is part 1 of Kevin Costner's partially self-funded epic Western. As expected for the genre, cinematography is fantastic. Staging and feel is accurate to the time period. Great performances by some good actors Danny Huston, Sam Worthington, Michael Rooker, Sienna Miller, among others. I didn't mention Costner, because, surprise, he's not in this film for all that long.

There are several intersecting storylines here: a shooting in Montana that has a woman on the run being chased by some bandit types, slaughter of a fledgling white settlement in the Arizona desert by Apaches and the US Army's struggle to convice new settlers to stay away. Also, refreshingly, is the Apache point of view of the struggle internally between factions of how to deal with the white man. It's very good. Wouldn't say it's great. I appreciated the violence without the gratuitous violence. We get it, it's the Wild West and we know what a scalping is, but we don't need to see the scalped forehead. Grade: B+ Gyro recommends. Minor titties in a bathing scene.

2. Bikerider - Austin Butler and Tom Hardy star in this movie about a bike gang (the Vandals) set in 1960's Chicago. The story is told through the eyes of one Butler's girlfriend whose thick Chicago accent hits you repeatedly over the head like Chris Farley talking about "Da Bears", but it provides a decent vehicle for moving the story along.

The gang evolves over time to attract a rough element (alluding to the Hell's Angels type scum that would later represent bike gangs of the 1970's), but the Vandals mainly want to just ride, drink and have a good time. These factions provide the conflict that every movie needs though, culminating in a sudden violent end for one of the main characters.

Butler is very good and finally washed away that stupid Elvis Presley voice in playing a heartbreaker. I don't buy him as a badass but he manages to pull it off a little bit. That's his role in this film.

Hardy overacts painfully in this one but the role does thankfully play to his one strength, which is that of a stoic mumbler with a violent temper.

Michael Shannon has a bit role which should have been expanded. Shocked he took five minutes of screen time but he did.

It's a solid movie. I appreciate the director's naked attempt to copy Scorcese's style, including the Rolling Stones tracks. Grade: B No tits that I can remember.

3. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - This is the prequel to 2015's Mad Max Fury Road and takes the story literally to the day of that movie.

Let me tell you...this is an end to end action film and it's a fun watch. The movie centers around Furiosa (played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road / Anya Taylor Joy here) and the story of her arrival at the Citadel. Along the way she meets Dr. Dementus, played by Chris Hemsworth, the leader of a Wasteland bike gang (he's Humongus from Road Warrior basically).

Hemsworth is terrific. I'm not a huge fan of his, but he finds a way to be diabolical and funny at the same time.

I don't want to give the plot away but this is two hours amazing action scenes and great performances. It's just as weirdly entertaining as Fury Road. I loved it.

Grade: A Gyro recommends. No titties. :/