In a Valley of Violence (2016) Reviews

• Screw the haters, this is a real fine Western

  vcgraves2017-01-25

  If you are a fan of classic Westerns, you'll find yourself glued to the screen enjoying every minute of this film. Disclosure: I am 62 years old as I write this, so I've seen 'em all. And watching this one, I couldn't help feel like it was 1967, or thereabouts, what with the steady camera-work, the superb cinematography capturing all the dusty glory of New Mexico, U.S.A. And the soundtrack! Not some canned muzak, not some minimalist guitar scratchings, but a full-blown beauty of a musical composition that took me right back to the Spaghetti classics. Now, this won't win an Oscar, but dang if it didn't make my Friday night popcorn and beer movie night. "In A Valley of Violence" is a total winner. p.s....the dog is an unbelievably good actor.

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• A Well-Acted, Exciting Western

  SquigglyCrunch2017-04-13

  In a Valley of Violence follows a travelling cowboy who, after stopping by a small town, unintentionally starts conflict among the more powerful members there. Let's start with the obvious part: Ethan Hawke. He's fantastic, as per usual. I don't think I've ever not been impressed by this guy, and that trend continues here. John Travolta pulls off a solid performance as well, playing one of the most interesting characters in the movie. And James Ransone does the same, pulling off a good ol' western hothead. Personally I don't think that Taissa Farmiga was very fit for this role, but she did her best and thankfully fails to take anything of significance away from the movie. The writing is good as well. The movie builds the characters and conflict for a while before anything of real significance happens, and it makes it all the more effective. It excels at building tension, making the last 40 minutes of this movie just that much better. Speaking of the last 40 minutes, they're awesome. After an hour of solid build up, we are treated with some great western action. It's tense and exciting, yet not over-the-top. It's just right. Overall I really enjoyed In a Valley of Violence. The acting, writing, and action are all great, and in the end I would definitely recommend it.

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• Horrible and humorous, just the way I like my Westerns.

  jdesando2016-11-02

  "A town run by sinners." Priest (Burn Gorman) Yep, Denton, Texas, is all that and more. It resides In A Valley of Violence, the titular warning to all of us that beside the dust, nothing is going to be pretty. But don't be so gloomy, for this oater is a genre hooter, a tongue-in-cheek satire of the Western generously seasoned with absurdity and dark comedy. From the serious take of Clint Eastwood (think The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Unforgiven; or whatever) to Quentin Tarantino (think Pulp Fiction and The Hateful Eight), this Valley is temporarily governed by an ambivalent Marshal (John Travolta) and a stoic drifter, Paul (Ethan Hawke). They are bound to clash as the Marshal tries to protect his lame-brained but hostile son, Gilly (James Ransone), from Paul's vengeance. Not so much because Gilly and the resident thugs employed by the Marshal are robbers or even lazy but because they have murdered Paul's ever-so- cute dog Abby (Jumpy). Because that mutt is more adorable than The Artist's Uggie, we shift our sympathy immediately to him and forsake the humans. Talking about shifting realities, the town is set in Texas but filmed in New Mexico, whose landscape thankfully looks nothing like Texas's. Writer/director Ti West, best known for horror films but just as much at home with this genre, has an especially good eye for the contradictions in the Marshal, who is a saint next to Gene Hackman's menacing Sheriff in The Quick and the Dead. But then, our hero Paul has his own contradictions, best to be enjoyed while watching the film, for character development is not West's primary goal. No, he is interested in spoofing the Western while he crafts a blood and guts mini thriller. Along the way we can enjoy Jeff Grace's Morricone-like spaghetti Western music and titles and credits worth of the playful Tarantino and James Bond franchise. He does this all to produce an enjoyable black comedy whose absurdity is in check while its comedy wins the day.

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• A "Quick and Dirty" Review

  A_Different_Drummer2016-10-21

  (The title of this review in honor of the 1995 Sam Raimi flick "The Quick and the Dead," yet another director who decided to take the Italian Western genre out for a spin, wind her up, and see what she can do.) Now it is Ti West's turn at bat, a director known for "fringe" pictures but, to be fair, this type of film probably qualifies as fringe too. Although a great many directors (including, believe it or not, the great Tarantino and even Eastwood himself) have taken on the challenge of this genre, the truth is that Sergio Leone -- the man who invented the category -- is the only director in history to have fully mastered it. (Have seen the Man With No Name trilogy a half-dozen times so far, and I am not done yet.) Which does not mean -- as the other reviewers have already noted -- that the attempt, even if it falls short a mite, cannot be fun. And this movie definitely qualifies as fun. Hawke is a great choice, at the same time skittish, taciturn, and yet also strangely dangerous. Travolta will always be Travolta. He has been playing the same role since Kotter, and audiences never get bored. The most fun is watching Taissa Farmiga chew up the furniture. Clearly the young lady wants to show the world that she has her sister's acting chops, so she does not merely enter a scene, she attacks it and wrestles it to the ground. In different circumstances, this strange brew might have missed the mark. But it didn't. Clearly West's main goal was to entertain. And that is exactly what he did.

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• a pleasure for genre fans

  Quinoa19842017-01-14

  Considering this is basically what Ti West cooked up following a double viewing of John Wick and any given Sergio Corbucci flick, it's... really f***** good! Damn I'll just go ahead and say it: I was more entertained by this than John Wick (some of that I simply chalk up to Hawke being a more emotional and curious presence than Reeves, personal preference, and beyond the premise and some key moments it's not exactly the same as that). This is no masterpiece or anything, and I don't necessarily think it was trying to be. West clearly loves this genre, and wants to do his own twist on it, which carries some especially graphic violence (if you had trouble with movies like The Thing, don't watch this), and some strong supporting work from Karen Gillan and John Travolta (the guy who plays Travolta's son, the real main bad-guy, is one note but the actor plays him for all his worth). This kind of well-produced, surprisingly and wildly funny straight-faced homage western (especially near the super intense and, as the title says, violent climax, that threw me for a loop, such as everything with the one guy who protests being called by his nickname by John Travolta and demands to be called 'Lawrence') is something that pleases me. If it's ever on TV I'll stop and watch it. 7.5/10

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