She Likes to Watch

Here’s my take on “Appaloosa,” “RocknRolla” and “W.”

I watch a lot of movies. A lot of movies. So many, in fact, that I’ve fallen badly behind in actually writing about them.

Since it’s difficult to find time for full-fledged reviews, I’ve settled on a compromise: Mini-reviews that give a clear, concise take on the latest titles.

Here are three brief reviews of films currently playing in theaters.

“Appaloosa”

Sixty years ago, moviegoers would have loved “Appaloosa.”

Co-written and directed by star Ed Harris, “Appaloosa” follows two gunslingers who ride into town to take care of business — namely, the murderous rancher who’s been hassling the locals.

Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) keeps our heroes busy enough, but there’s more trouble on the way. It comes in the form of a winsome young widow (Renee Zellweger, looking perpetually puckered) who sets her sights on one buckeroo, then the other.

“Appaloosa” explores the friendship between Virgil (Harris) and Everett (Viggo Mortenson), exploring themes of loyalty, pride and purpose.

It’s the kind of solid film that would have appealed to moviegoers reared on John Wayne and Gary Cooper.

This is the 21st century, however, and the much-examined Western has moved past majestic sunsets and strict moral codes. In the face of films like “The Wild Bunch,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” and “Unforgiven,” “Appaloosa” feels a mite musty.

“RocknRolla”

Director Guy Ritchie is back with a crime caper that captures some, if not all, of the frenzied energy of “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch.”

Like its predecessors, “RocknRolla” features a typically convoluted plot, this time centered around a multi-million-pound real estate scam engineered by London crime boss Lenny (Tom Wilkinson) and his supposed prey, a Russian billionaire.

Lenny’s crafty accountant Stella (Thandie Newton) wants a piece of the action. His estranged son, a drug-addled rock star, wants to make trouble. The low-level crooks who owe Lenny money, One Two (Gerald Butler) and Mumbles (Idris Elba), just want to save their skins.

Fans will spot several familiar elements in “RocknRolla”: a Cockney voiceover (courtesy of Mark Strong), unkillable thugs, a gangster with an unusual method of torturing people and an irresistible McGuffin. Yet despite the usual guts and gunplay, Ritchie keeps the mood light and fun — tempering darker elements with a very silly dance number.

“W.”

Ambitious at points and downright boring at others, Oliver Stone’s “W.” is a surprisingly sympathetic portrait of a controversial president.

Josh Brolin portrays George W. Bush as a man desperate for approval from his stern father and his peers.

Stone spends plenty of time detailing Bush Jr.’s transformation from hard-drinking, hard-partying frat boy to born-again Christian conservative, yet glosses over some of the most important elements of his presidency.

We witness the Gulf War but only get glimpses of the current conflict in Iraq. We watch Bush Sr.’s 1992 presidential but skip his son’s controversial journey to the White House in 2000 and 2004. Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks also get short shrift.

Brolin is uncanny as George W. Bush, but the cabinet of actors backing him is more uneven. For every devious Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss) and conflicted Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright), there’s a strident, scenery-chewing Condoleeza Rice (Thandie Newton).

***

Photo courtesy of MovieWeb.com.