Movie #401 - Legends of the Fall

Legends of the Fall

1994 - Rated R - 2 hr 13 min
Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond, Henry Thomas, Karina Lombard, Gordon Tootoosis, Paul Desmond, Tantoo Cardinal

Lovers of Greek tragedy listen up: this is one to watch for you.  Lovers of happy endings beware: this will make you cry. A lot.

Really, Pitt's character just deals with one heartbreak after one bear fight after another heartbreak (after another bear fight). Could any more bad stuff really happen to this guy? He's like a Hollywood-ized Job, taking God's punches in the face, jaw set, eyes blazing. And surrounded by a fantastic cast, he still manages to give a stand-out performance.

This has always been one of my favorite roles of his.  It requires such deep grief and hardened emotion to carry it off and young Pitt does it well.  For me, this movie is what made him an actor not just a hot guy with a cute butt.  Although the latter is still very, very true.

Movie #360 - Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 41 min
Director: Walter Hill
Starring: Bruce Willis, Bruce Dern, William Sanderson, Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly, Karina Lombard, Alexandra Powers, Ken Jenkins, Leslie Mann

If you like 20's-era gangster movies that feature a "modern" 90's action hero... tada!  Bruce Willis puts on his dapperest attire to play this gunslinger who gets caught up in a mob war in Jericho, Texas during prohibition.  There are prostitutes, lots of guns, and some gratuitous violence. Delicious!

For me, the action is fun. And Willis is always good at the gritty hero-who's-no-hero role, so that works.  But the plot feels a little convuluded at times.  There's some chicks involved that Willis tries to save, but mostly he destroys all the mobsters to save his own neck. 

And yeah, he's the "last man standing" in case you were wondering.