the movieGOOMBA

3 GOOMBAS

Brad Pitt definitely cannot pull off black hair. The dark mane replaces his charming good looks and kind eyes with plainness. It roughens up his features and it basically makes him look kinda ugly. Now, I don't drool over Mr. Pitt. Sometimes I think he's kind of abnormal, even as a blond haired, blue eyed bona fide stud. I mean, come on. Hooking up with Angelina and sharing the rainbow children family lifestyle. Only in Hollywood I guess. But despite his personal life, you can't help but enjoy Brad's movies, even when he's a mental, disturbing, Old West kind of killer.

If you haven't heard of the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, don't feel bad. The long-length titled film wasn't even popular enough to get an acronym or mnemonic, and it sure needs one. This third person narrated Western also stars Casey Affleck, younger brother to Ben Affleck, as Robert Ford, a young, naive kid who idolizes the tough evilness of Jesse James. Robert Ford manages to secure a place in Jesse James' gang, but through train robberies, murders, and hold ups, he grows to resent the outlaw and eventually helps execute a mutiny.

This is actually some high quality cinema. The cinematography is beautiful, and the matter-of-fact way of storytelling makes this film. The movie has a foreboding, morbid tone, and though slow-paced, the suspenseful anticipation of the inevitable and the curiosity that is evoked from Pitts performance as the disturbing character, Jesse James, kept me interested enough. I also thought Casey Affleck did a superb job as the cocky yet pigeon-hearted, infamous bandit fan. BUT, as strangely beautiful as this The Assassination of Jesse James is, I struggled to keep my focus on the screen. I turned the movie off about four times. I just couldn't watch it straight through. It was too drawn out, and half the time I didn't understand why Jesse James wanted to kill most of his posse, one by one. In the end, I got that it was because he was just seriously unhinged and paranoid, half of his insanity stemming from his unpredictability, but I didn't have the patience to stick with it or the characters in one sitting.

A sophisticated cinemaphile will want to watch this film to see how a movie can be different, out of the box. But for the normal, average Joe, popcorn flick viewer, this might not be his/her cup of tea. I kind of see myself in both these roles, hence the score of 3 GOOMBAS. I'm on the fence, people. Maybe let me know what you think.