I thought it particularly brilliant the way it draws out our sympathy for the Howard brothers. For a large part of it, the movie is a condemnation of the broken system that reduced them to this circumstances. We go along with them, wishing they'd come out of this ahead, knowing they won't, and we root for them -- until we can't. In my theater, there was an audible gasp among the audience when Alberto got shot.

I was kinda shocked to learn that the director was a Brit. The place where the drama was unfolding (West Texas and part of Oklahoma) felt like as big a character as the humans.

discussing ethics and where the ending left the characters to move on to from there.

Yeah. I wasn't sure what kind of ending we were in for. What we did get was perfect.

I was kinda shocked to learn that the director was a Brit.

I did not know that! He really had a great read on this script, then.

The place where the drama was unfolding (West Texas and part of Oklahoma) felt like as big a character as the humans.

Yes, you felt like they were fighting the land as much as they were fighting for it. It wasn't just the fact that they were fighting for their own property, but that they were fighting the vagaries of what the land both gave and took away.

He really had a great read on this script, then.

I read that the screenwriter, Taylor Sheridan, was from Texas. This is only his second filmed script. His first was for Sicario, which was one of my favourite movies of 2015. Clearly someone to watch.

That reminds me of the way Taiwan-born Ang Lee used the landscape in Brokeback--as a character itself. Hell or High Water definitely sounds interesting from both of your descriptions.

Enjoy capsule reviews of Straight Outta Compton, About Time, My Neighbor Totoro, Girlfight, The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy, The Last Five Years, Kiki's Delivery Service, Pitch Perfect 2, Cape Fear, The Hateful Eight, Jackie Brown, Prisoners and The Lobster.

So I saw Kubo and the Two Strings this afternoon, and it was lovely and there were lots of people in the audience. What a marvelous little movie: it was gorgeously made, the characters were great (especially Monkey and Beatle), and the themes of love and memory were really nicely done.

It reminded me thematically of Avatar: the Last Airbender, especially the end.

Such a nice little movie. (Although Kubo could have been a girl, with no change in the plot!)

Shoot, I thought Kubo WAS a girl.

Saw an interesting oldie over the holiday weekend: Illegal, starring Edward G. Robinson as a D.A. with political ambitions. He resigns as D.A. after convicting a man of murder, then finding out he's innocent when it's just barely too late to stop the execution. After a bit of heavy drinking, he goes into private practice and catches the eye of a local gang boss (Albert Dekker). Then his right-hand attorney from his D.A. days (Nina Foch) is accused of murdering her husband (Hugh Marlowe) -- and our former D.A. has to defend her while also not disclosing information that the gang boss wants kept non-public.

The plot itself is fairly predictable, but the movie moves fast enough that things aren't boring. Also, this is Robinson's movie -- he's front and center of most scenes, and the part fits him like a glove. And if that isn't enough, you can pick out the actors that later became famous in parts like Bones McCoy, Maxwell Smart's Chief, and Grandma Walton. Oh, and yes, that is Jayne Mansfield in a featured role as the chanteuse/mistress of the gang boss.

I saw Hell or High Water this afternoon, which is a terrific little film with great performances, about a pair of brothers driven to bank robbery out of desperation and Jeff Bridges as the Texas Ranger after them.

Agreed. It was a good way to break the cycle of pretty crappy summer movies.

It was a good way to break the cycle of pretty crappy summer movies.

They were pretty lackluster, huh. I don't think I liked any summer movie as much as I liked Civil War. I did enjoy Ghostbusters, though.