The Alexandria Papers
The Kommandant's Mistress
The Kommandant's Mistress, chapters 1-3
M is for Munchers: The Serial Killers Next Door, chapters 1-6
Love in the Time of Dinosaurs
Auggie Vernon and the Eclipse
Field Trip to the Serpent Mound
The Lies Our Parents Tell Us
Should, Should Not
Portrait of the Poet as a Woman
While the Music Lasts: Poem to My Younger Self
The Butcher Birds
Where Lightning Strikes: Poems on The Holocaust
The Dead Bodies that Line the Streets
Lager-Lieder (Camp Songs)
Survivor: One Who Survives
Letter to Sylvia
The Day the Snakes Came
Naked, with Glasses
Naked, with Glasses (the story)
St. Jerome Emiliani Comes to the Church Picnic
Golgotha, Mon Amour
In the Path of the Juggernaut
Rebellion in the Promised Land
Only with the Heart
Only with the Heart, chapters 1-3
Love is a Many Zombied Thing
Love is a Many Zombied Thing, chapters 1-8
Mastering Fiction & Point of View
Migraine & Chronic Pain
Free Classic Scary Horror and Suspense Stories
Art Saturday
Horror and Suspense Films
RockWay Press
Tag Archives: jeffrey dean morgan
by Alexandria | 7 May 2017 · 11:38 am
You Are Now Entering the Cruel World: Texas Killing Fields, the Film
You are now entering the cruel world
bridge sign near The Killing Fields
Since the 1970s, at least 30 young women and girls have been abducted, disappeared, or been found murdered in an isolated and spooky 50-mile area of Texas bayou country dubbed "The Killing Fields." Based on the true and never solved serial killings in that area, the screenplay for the 2011 film Texas Killing Fields, (also known as The Fields), was written by federal agent Don Ferrone, who investigated the killings and missing girls. Texas Killing Fields, despite any writing and production flaws, is an intense and creepy film, with strong performances by its principals.
Based loosely on investigators Brian Goetschius and Michael Land, respectively, Detective Brian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Texas Killing Fields ©
and Detective Mike (Sam Worthington)
Sam Worthington in Texas Killing Fields ©
become deeply involved in the cases of the missing and murdered girls after Mike's ex-wife Pam (Jessica Chastain),
Jessica Chastain, Texas Killing Fields ©
who is also an investigator, albeit in another county, contacts Brian for help when a missing girl's car is discovered at the boundary of the desolate area known as "The Killing Fields."
Detective Mike, short-tempered and alcoholic, is initially not interested in getting involved in these cases since it is not in their jurisdiction. Detective Brian, however, feels more morally obligated to investigate them, as evidenced by the map and photos of missing girls he has hanging in his office.
Chloë Grace Moretz, Texas Killing Fields ©
The story of the murder investigation is interwoven with the story of Little Anne (Chloë Grace Moretz), whose mother Lucie (Sheryl Lee) flirts with prostitution, and whose brother Eugene (James Hébert) works and parties with his spooky pal, Rhino (Stephen Graham).
Stephen Graham, Texas Killing Fields ©
Detective Brian is familiar with Little Anne since he has clearly been attempting to save her from sinking into the moral and criminal abyss already inhabited by her abusive family.
Chloë Grace Moretz & Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Texas Killing Fields ©
The detectives get more emotionally involved in the case when Little Anne disappears, causing them to plunge into the wilderness of The Killing Fields in a desperate attempt to save her and to stop the serial killer.
The Killing Fields, Texas, © CBS News
Though compelling and creepy, Texas Killing Fields isn't perfect. It's never clear why Jessica Chastain's character is in the film in the first place, and her character, although she provides some very minor backstory for Detective Mike, could have been completely eliminated without the film's suffering from her loss.
Worse, the film has some serious lighting issues. While it might be "atmospheric" to have much of a serial killer film taking place in the dark, at night, in a desolate area that has no lighting whatsoever, when an audience can't see what's happening onscreen, especially during one of the climactic scenes involving Detective Brian, that's a problem. In fact, the lighting problem may be one of the things that earned the film some of its lower reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.
Sam Worthington & Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Texas Killing Fields ©
The real killings on which Texas Killing Fields was based were never actually solved. Though law enforcement had a strong suspect, authorities were never able to find any evidence definitively connecting their suspect to the disappearances or killings. The film deviates from this fact, as well as from the facts about what happened to the character on which Little Anne is modeled, but that's Hollywood: even in a movie about serial killers, Hollywood wants an (almost) happily-ever-after ending.
Even with its flaws, Texas Killing Fields is intense and worth watching. The performances of the principal actors alone, including young Chloë Grace Moretz, are strong and well-done.
If you've seen season 1 of True Detective, you'll wonder which came first: TKF or TD. No matter that some of the viewer-reviews compare the film to True Detective season 1, Texas Killing Fields predates the HBO series by quite a few years, and it gets credit for that, at the very least.
Available on Amazon ($4.99 or free with a 7-day trial subscription to Starz) and YouTube ($5.99). Free for Starz subscribers.
Shutter Island, the Film, is Shuddery Good
When Movies Tell Great Stories:
5 Classics from the 19502
Top Crime Films:
Told from the Criminals' Perspective
When Murder Smells Like Honeysuckle:
3 Noir Film Classics
Filed under Actors, Crime Drama, Film Videos, Films, Films/Movies, Movies/Films, No Spoilers Review, Official Film Trailers, Official Movie Trailers, Official Trailers, Review, Review/No Spoilers, Serial Killers, Suspense, Violence
Tagged as chloë grace moretz, jeffrey dean morgan, jessica chastain, sam worthington, stephen graham, texas killing fields
by Alexandria | 29 December 2016 · 1:35 pm
I Ain't Never Been No Hero: More Great Westerns
I love Westerns, though most of the Westerns I favor fall into what are considered the sub-genres, with some of them not even taking place in the American West, for example, but containing iconic character motifs and themes present in Western films. My Top Ten Western films have characters, storylines, and themes make them powerful films that I watch over and over. They don't always end happily, but they end honestly, with the finale of the movie developing out of the characters' natures, their conflicts, and the decisions they've made previously — either in the film itself or in their lives before the events in the story take place. Here are more of my favorite Westerns, films I can always watch one more time.
The Long Riders
Starring sets of real-life brother actors as historical brother outlaws, The Long Riders explores America's violent post-Civil War past in a unique way. The most factual of any film about the James-Younger Gang, it covers the activity of Frank and Jesse James (Stacey and James Keach); Ed and Clell Miller (Dennis and Randy Quaid); Cole, Jim, and Bob Younger (David, Keith, and Robert Carradine); and Bob and Charley Ford (Nicholas and Christopher Guest).
Jesse is the titular head of the Gang, but after he disapproves of Ed's behavior during one of that raids/robberies, rifts begin to form among the Gang members. Pursued by posses and the Pinkertons, the Gang is nevertheless protected by family and neighbors, who consider them local heroes rather than criminals. When hiding out, the brothers court women, and are courted by them in turn, which causes added stress in the Gang. As the Gang's crimes escalate, so does the Pinkertons' determination to capture them. After innocent people begin to get hurt and killed, the Gang loses its local support and goes further afield to rob stages, trains, and banks, increasing the Gang's notoriety and fame, but also increasing its risk.
Even if you know the story of the James-Younger Gang, this film is engaging and worth watching. The cinematography is very effective and powerful, especially as the Gang escalates its violence. The Long Riders is available for rent $3.99 from Amazon (free with a 7-day Starz trial) or free from Starz with a subscription.
Four American "specialists," i.e., mercenaries (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, and Woody Strode), are hired for an extremely dangerous but potentially lucrative, once-in-a-lifetime mission: deliver a $100K-in-gold ransom and rescue the beautiful young wife (Claudia Cardinale) of an older, wealthy rancher (Ralph Bellamy). Because two of the professional soldiers fought in Pancho Villa's Army during the Mexican Revolution, they're willing yet wary, if only because they know the ostensible kidnapper Razza (Jack Palance) intimately, and "kidnapping doesn't seem like his thing."
Fighting the desert, weather, rogue bandits, self-doubt, and each other, the Professionals use their individual skills — with dynamite, knives, bow-and-arrow, guns — as they head for Razza's presumed hide-out. When they come upon Razza derailing a train and executing soldiers, they realize their mission may be more dangerous than they'd originally than anticipated because "something's dicey about this set-up."
Lancaster as the woman-loving wit is especially entertaining. With surprising (and satisfying) plot-twists, The Professionals is an often-neglected gem of a Western. Available from Amazon available for rent $3.99 (free with a 7-day Starz trial) or free from Starz with a subscription.
The Shootist
Opening with a montage of John Wayne's film roles as the "history" of gunslinger J. B. Books (Wayne), narrated in Voice-Over by The Boy (Ron Howard) who idolizes him, The Shootist is my favorite role by both of these actors. Diagnosed with advanced cancer, with only about 6 weeks to live, Books settles in for a last stay in the lodging house of Widow Rogers (Lauren Bacall), mother of The Boy. Though Books wants anonymity and privacy, The Boy discovers his identity almost immediately and proudly trumpets that a famous Shootist is staying at his house. Books wants to keep him terminal illness secret, too, but he's forced to tell people in order to stay quietly in the town till he dies.
When the stories of Books' impending death begin to spread, other gunslingers who want to improve their own reputations by killing the famed Shootist arrive. Books' instinct for survival and self-preservation combat with any desire he has to die quietly. Worse, he decides he doesn't want to be alone, and the Widow Rogers and her son have caught his eye.
The chemistry between Wayne and the impressive line-up of guest stars — James Stewart, Henry Morgan, Richard Boone, Scatman Crothers, John Carradine, Hugh O'Brien, Sheree North — is surpassed only by the chemistry between Wayne and Bacall, and by that between Wayne and Howard. This is the role that should have won Wayne the Oscar: he's better by far as the fighting-fading Books than as True Grit's cantankerous Cogburn. The Shootist is available from Amazon ($3.99 to rent).
Based on an Elmore Leonard short story, and a remake of the 1951 film of the same name, 3:10 to Yuma packs powerful Western icons with clever dialogue and strong performances. Civil War hero Dan (Christian Bale, in one of his best roles) is about to lose his ranch because he didn't have enough money to pay the mortgage and to buy feed for his cattle, purchase water during the drought, and to obtain the drugs for his consumptive youngest son.
When attempting to retrieve some of his cattle scattered by ne'er-do-wells, Dan and his sons run into escaped Bad Guy Ben Wade (Russell Crowe, below R) and his Gang, who have just ambushed the Pinkertons to rescue one of their Gang members. After rescuing the wounded Pinkerton McElroy (Peter Fonda), Dan, who is determined to save his ranch, offers to help escort the proverb-quoting escaped convict Wade to Detention so he can be put on the 3:10 to Yuma Prison.
The treacherous journey turns into a contest of wills between idealistic Dan, whose oldest son idolizes the criminal, and the notorious Bed Wade. As Ben's Gang attempts to rescue its leader, Dan tries to earn his own son's respect by completing the job he was hired to do. 3:10 to Yuma is filled with excellent writing, rousing action, and memorable characters. The scenes between Bale and Crowe are exquisite. Available from Amazon ($9.99SD-$12.99HD to purchase, or free with a 7-day Showtime trial), or free with a subscription from Showtime or DirecTV.
(sometimes translated as The Salvation)
Salvation, sometimes translated as The Salvation, is the Danish tribute to Sergio Leone's classic Spaghetti Westerns, exploring some of the genre's classic icons: The Man with No Name, The Town Besieged, The Cowardly Townspeople, The Man Seeking Vengeance. Jon (Mads Mikkelsen, below R) has come the the American West, from Denmark, with his brother Peter (Mikael Persbrandt, below L) after the disastrous War of 1864.
Seven years later, Jon has enough money to bring over his wife and 10-year-old son. Though these two characters are not developed — existing only as a reason for Jon to seek revenge for the heinous crimes against them, the film doesn't suffer from that weakness. Instead, it plunges into Jon's story as he and his brother seek revenge against the Bad Guys, led by DeLaRue (Jeffrey Dean Morgan).
Terrorizing a town where no one is willing to stand up to the villains but where everyone wants a Saviour, DeLaRue and his Gang rule the populace with the aid of a corrupt Mayor (Jonathan Pryce) and a milque-toast Preacher-Sheriff (Douglas Henshaw). Eventually joined by "The Princess" (Eva Green), who appears to have been the captive "wife" of one of the rapists/murderers and who had her tongue cut out by Indians when she was kidnapped as a young girl, Jon fights for justice.
The addition of the mystery-suspense sub-plot makes this Revenge Tale one of the more interesting Westerns. Everyone in the film is more realistic than iconic, as they are in some of the classic Spaghetti Westerns: it usually takes Jon several shots to put down an assailant. Moody and atmospheric, with artistic cinematography, Salvation is available from Amazon ($4.99 to rent, or free with a 7-day trial from Showtime), is available for purchase for $14.99 from iTunes, or for $12.99 from GooglePlay, and YouTube, and is available free with a subscription from Showtime, IFC, or DirecTV.
If you know of any other classic Westerns that I might enjoy, please feel free to tell me about them in comments.
My original Top 10 Westerns post
If You're Going to Shoot,
Shoot: Don't Talk
is now divided into two posts,
updated with official trailers and film availability:
We All Have It Coming:
Top 5 Westerns
I'm Your Huckleberry:
5 More Top Westerns
(originally films #6-10)
It Ain't How You're Buried That's Important:
3 Western Coming-of-Age Films
I Ain't Never Been No Hero:
More Great Westerns
No One Gets Out Alive:
Why You Need to Watch HBO's Deadwood
Deadwood Strikes Gold!
Again! Still!
The Sutherlands' Forsaken Is No Unforgiven,
Though It Tries to Be
My Favorite Film & TV Villains
Filed under Actors, Classics, Film Videos, Films, Films/Movies, Movies/Films, Official Film Trailers, Official Movie Trailers, Review, Review/No Spoilers, Videos, Violence, Westerns
Tagged as 3:10 to yuma, 3:10 to yuma 2007, bob ford, bob younger, burt lancaster, charley ford, christian bale, christopher guest, claudia cardinale, clell miller, cole younger, david carradine, dennis quaid, ed miller, elmore leonard, Eva Green, frank james, harry morgan, hugh o'brien, jack palance, james keach, james-younger gang, jeffrey dean morgan, jesse james, jim younger, john carradine, john wayne, jonathan pryce, keith carradine, lauren bacall, lee marvin, Mads Mikkelsen, nicholas guest, ralph bellamy, randy quaid, richard boone, robert carradine, robert ryan, ron howard, russell crowe, salvation film 2014, scatman crothers, sheree north, stacey keach, the long riders, the professionals, the salvation film 2014, the shootist, woody strode
Dr. Alexandria Szeman
Author. New York Times Book Review Notable Book and Top 100 Books of the Year, Kafka Prize: The Kommandant's Mistress. Finalist, Santa Fe Writers Project Literary Awards (2017): M is for Munchers: The Serial Killers Next Door. Elliston Poetry Prize, Neff Creative Writing Fellowship, Writer's Digest Honorable Mention (non-rhyming) Poetry Competition: Love in the Time of Dinosaurs and Where Lightning Strikes: Poems on The Holocaust. UKA Press Grand Prize: Naked, with Glasses. Writer @ TheMighty and @ MigraineMantras. Childhood sex abuse survivor. Advocate.
I keep your data private and share it only with third parties that make this service possible. See my Privacy Policy for more information.
Subscribe to my newsletter and get unique content available only to subscribers. No spam ever, I promise.
Pain Relief for Migraine,
Neuropathic Facial Pain
(Trigeminal Neuralgia),
and Other Chronic Pain
Sound Vitality
Infratonic 9 for Pain Relief*
The Chi Institute
(formerly, Sound Vitality)
Infratonic 9
for Pain Relief
via Amazon*
Note: though marketed for different kinds of pain on Amazon, these are all the identical product, and The Chi Institute (formerly, Sound Vitality) will be sending your device. This is the I-9 sound wave device that I use for the pain of migraine and neuropathic facial pain (formerly called "atypical trigeminal neuralgia")
Sports Injury Recovery
Menstrual Cramps &
Abdominal Pain Relief
My Most Popular Article
From Salvation to Hannibal to Outlander: One Man's View of Men in Films and Television
Some of My Recent Articles
More Gifts for People with Migraine or Other Chronic Pain 16 December 2019
Gifts for People with Migraine or Other Chronic Pain 8 December 2019
Writing Prompts 121-130 30 November 2019
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë 19 November 2019
Balthasar van der Ast 9 November 2019
Writing Prompts 111-120 6 November 2019
Free Scary Stories 26-31 (October 2019) 30 October 2019
Free Scary Stories, Novellas, and Novels for Halloween (October 2019) 28 October 2019
Maria van Oosterwijck 26 October 2019
Lifestyle Changes and Alternative Natural Relief for Migraine and Neuropathic Facial Pain 20 October 2019
Willem Claeszoon Heda 19 October 2019
Free Scary Stories 6-10 (October 2019) 13 October 2019
Writing Prompts 91-100 6 October 2019
Dutch Golden Age Flower Still Lifes 5 October 2019
Free Scary Stories 1-5 (October 2019) 2 October 2019
*This is an affiliate link: if you click through and purchase an Infratonic 9 from The Chi Institute (formerly, Sound Vitality) or via Amazon, I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Copyright and All That Jazz
Copyright 2012-2019 by Alexandria Constantinova Szeman, Ph.D. All rights reserved. No content may be copied, excerpted, or distributed without express written consent of the author and publisher, with full copyright credit to the author. Please, don't support the piracy of Intellectual Property.
The Alexandria Papers RSS feed
The Alexandria Papers · Entertainment Reviews / Migraine & CSA Advocacy