A much needed movie break..

3:10 To Yuma

After a long day of dealing with crappy weather, Traffic and work CG and I sat down in front of the TV to watch a movie, while eating Pasta. No better way to spend a night if you ask me.

A great western is a joy to watch. You can expect (with the better ones) scenes of natural splendour. Some great action set pieces. Heroes that you can depend on to defend the moral high ground, and a suitably evil villain who you can't help but admire as they embody the freedom of the frontier. As a genre, westerns have come and gone. Every few years someone comes along and revitalizes them enough so that you have a reason to watch again. Sergio Leone did the archetype so well, that you have to shake it up a bit to make it relevant.

3:10 casts the hero as a broken man. Not looking to defend the weak, or fight for what is right, but, merely to be able to ensure his family's most basic survival with only one foot left to stand on. A small rancher on a drought plagued farm, with an evil land baron dogging his attempts at basic subsistence. He is pitted against a man who is so rotten to the core who believes all men have their price, and to whom killing is just a part of business... unless of course he just wants to enjoy it. In the end, our hero learns to stand tall again (for the first time) and earns the most important thing that he has needed... the respect of his son and of all those around him.

Its a great film, and presents some intriguing ideas about what respect really is, and where it lies in all men.

Thats' my read anyway. Some people may dig it for the gunfights and horses... that's cool too.