CALL ME SNAKE

Who ever figured I’d be writing three posts about “3:10 to Yuma”? I never did. First I saw the original movie last year and made note of it (first post). Then I heard a new movie was in the offing (second post), which I finally saw last night (third post). Not as good as the original–a very shaky start–but it picks up in the second half and builds to a satisfying conclusion. The main reason I bring this up is to get back to our discussion of actors and cowboys. Some younger actors, I’ve argued, lack the gravitas to pull of a convincing cowboy turn. They just look like kids in a costume playing with toy guns. But Russell Crowe, who has been good in many other roles (the Irish-American boxing movie, for instance), is more than up to the challenge. Christian Bale put in a solid performance, as well, but it was Crowe’s acting that held this picture together and made it worth checking out if you go in for the cowboy genre, which I do though I know it’s not everyone’s thing.