Late August, Early September: My recent views, reviews and interviews online

Just in case you missed it:

Instructions Not Included : Judging from remarks on the comment thread for this one, my take on Eugenio Derbez's mawkish dramedy was not a popular one. Hey, what can I say? I'm a critic, not a pollster. Must admit, though: I find it amusing that, whenever I say less than complimentary things about a film made by anyone who isn't a Caucasian male, some people automatically assume I must be a conservative. Or, worse, a Republican. Come to think of it, my less-than-favorable review of Lee Daniels' The Butler generated a similar response.

Furthermore: Didn't think much of either I Declare War or Savannah. On the other hand: I thoroughly enjoyed Blue Jasmine (featuring Cate Blanchett, pictured above) and In a World..., and had an absolute blast talking with the wild and crazy guys who made The World's End. And I highly recommend Herblock: The Black & the White -- a warmly celebratory documentary about the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist -- as a film well worth tracking down and checking out.

Last but by not means least: Hail and farewell to Elmore Leonard.

Review: Killshot

It’s hard to argue that Killshot is some sort of mishandled masterwork that didn’t deserve to wind up as, for all practical purposes, a direct-to-video release. On the other hand, it’s very easy to conceive that, as people stumble across it on video store shelves and in basic-cable reruns, a common reaction will be: “Hey! That was pretty good!” Many bigger movies with much wider theatrical releases have generated far less enthusiasm. You can read my Variety review here.

The Tonto Woman

As we approach the final countdown for the 80th annual Academy Awards, it's worth noting that 3:10 to Yuma isn't the only Western based on an Elmore Leonard short story among the nominees. While the two-fisted, straight-shooting drama starring Russell Crowe and Christian Bale competes in the Original Score and Sound Mixing categories Sunday evening, an adaptation of Leonard's The Tonto Woman will be vying for the Live Action Short prize. You can see clips from the 35-minute flick here and here, and a trailer here.

R.I.P.: Lee Hazlewood (1929-2007)

Judging from his amusingly spooky performance as Richard Widmark's dim-but-deadly trigger man in Richard Quine's largely forgotten The Moonshine War -- a 1970 oddity which scriptwriter Elmore Leonard adapted from his own novel -- Lee Hazlewood conceivably could have had a career as a character actor. But I think it's safe to safe that pop culture was better served by his decision to remain focused on music. As a songwriter, he achieved a kind of immortality with the oft-covered '60s classics "Some Velvet Morning," "This Town" (recently included in the soundtrack for Ocean's Thirteen) and, of course, "These Boots Are Made for Walking," which sold about a jillion records for Nancy Sinatra, and has been used in movies as diverse as The Mexican, Full Metal Jacket and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. The reason for its enduring popularity? Well, with all due respect to the dearly departed, maybe it's the singer, not the song. According to The Guardian: Back when he and Sinatra were in the recording studio, Hazlewood reportedly instructed her to sing it "like a 16-year old girl who fucks truck drivers." Hey, whatever works.