Have a Good Movie

We close out our Westerns series with a review of dueling Wyatt Earps. On one side, we have an absolute shitshow of a production saved at the last moment by two powerhouse actors and some absolute perfect melodrama. On the other side, we have Kevin Costner giving the most soulless performance of his life. This is a real contrast, one destined for cable classic status and one that really could just be wiped from the face of the earth. Take the long walk to the OK Corral with us as we watch Tombstone and Wyatt Earp on Have a Good Movie!

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Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from "Main Theme" from the film Tombstone, written and composed by Bruce Broughton. © 1993 Hollywood Pictures.

Excerpt taken from "Main Theme" from the film Wyatt Earp, written and composed by James Newton Howard. © 1994 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

It's rare to have two 80s movies back to back that encapsulate the entirety of the 80s, but boy does this get there. Take the best of the Brat Pack, throw them in a shockingly historically accurate western, sprinkle with some truly wild accents, and you get a rootin' tootin' good time. They're not good movies, but they are enjoyable to watch. Round up, Regulators, as we watch Young Guns and Young Guns II on Have a Good Movie!

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Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from "Main Title" from the film Young Guns, written and composed by Anthony Marinelli and Brian Banks. © 1988 Morgan Creek Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts taken from "Blaze of Glory" from the film Young Guns II, written and performed by Jon Bon Jovi. © 1990 Bon Jovi Publishing/PRI Music, Inc. (ASCAP). ℗ © 1990 PolyGram Records, Inc.

Excerpt taken from "Claudia's Theme" from the film Unforgiven, written and composed by Clint Eastwood. © 1992 Unforgiven Warner Bros.

A movie with this reputation and this level of talent should be expected to at least be a competent film. But somehow Clint Eastwood chose the most tepid, non-committal way to tell a story that has more in common with great existential novels than Westerns. And that might be interesting, if it weren’t for the fact that this movie is also convinced it’s a western. Gene Hackman is acting his ass off and being just about the meanest son of a bitch you’ve ever met. But everything else in this movie just feels totally and completely missed, and that’s a problem we can’t solve because it happens to be one of the most lauded films of all time. Time to grab your guns one last time as we watch Unforgiven

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Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from "Claudia's Theme" from the film Unforgiven, written and composed by Clint Eastwood. © 1992 Unforgiven Warner Bros.

Excerpt of “Mr. Lucky” written and composed by Karl Jenkins. Copyright 1980 Music De Wolfe, De Wolfe Ltd.

Excerpt taken from "Main Theme" from the film Tombstone, written and composed by Bruce Broughton. © 1993 Hollywood Pictures.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of racism, .

Mel Brooks’ now-classic Western spoof is as controversial as it is well-regarded. Mel pulled absolutely no punches making this movie, and assembled a writer’s room that was willing to push the envelope. The only problem is that Mel is too focused on landing the joke and less attentive to the story. It’s funny, because that same year he’d release what may have been his masterpiece, a focused, fantastic parody of classic horror. It’s hard to know what to cut here, but he definitely needed to figure out what story to tell. Grab your Gucci saddlebacks as we watch Blazing Saddles on Have a Good Movie!

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Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from "Signature / Main Title (Instrumental)" from the film Blazing Saddles, written and composed by John Morris, Max Steiner and Mel Brooks. Copyright 1974 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts taken from "Blaze of Glory" from the film Young Guns II, written and performed by Jon Bon Jovi. © 1990 Bon Jovi Publishing/PRI Music, Inc. (ASCAP). ℗ © 1990 PolyGram Records, Inc.

We’ve been on a run of serious films, so it was time to mix in a Western comedy. At least, that’s what this movie is supposed to be, but this is a comedy without a whole lot of jokes. We have some diverging opinions on this one, mostly coming down to the script, because this should be a much better movie than it is. But you can bet we both agree that James Garner is one of the most charming cutie-pies ever. Make sure to order the bars for the jail while we watch Support Your Local Sheriff! on Have a Good Movie!

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If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends.

Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpts taken from the main theme to the film Support Your Local Sheriff!, written and composed by Jeff Alexander. Copyright 1969 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpt taken from "Signature / Main Title (Instrumental)" from the film Blazing Saddles, written and composed by John Morris, Max Steiner and Mel Brooks. Copyright 1974 Warner Bros. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of sex work, sexual assault.

Spaghetti westerns are their own unique style, their own flavor, and one of the key issues is the dialogue is almost always sloppy and cheesy. Yet Sergio Leone, a true master of filmmaking, took that to a different artistic height, and really made it perfect with this film. This film is impeccably shot, with spans of John Ford’s favorite locations that would make the father of the genre salivate. The cast is top notch, with a truly evil villain made all the more bad by the fact that they got America’s Dad to play him. The only thing missing is punchier dialogue, but when it comes to Leone, it’s worth the eye rolls to wait for the next incredible shot. Bide your time with a little harmonica as we watch 1968’s Once Upon a Time in the West on Have a Good Movie!

You can email us with feedback at [email protected], or you can connect with us on BlueSky!

If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends.

Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from "Man With A Harmonica" from the film Once Upon a Time in the West, written and composed by Ennio Morricone. Copyright 1968 Rafran - San Marco Production.

Excerpts taken from the main theme to the film Support Your Local Sheriff!, written and composed by Jeff Alexander. Copyright 1969 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of brownface.

If this movie is the rebirth of the Western, it'd be hard to tell because it's a real mess. It's a classic, and it absolutely makes sense why, but it's also a total mess of a film. No one knows what movie they're supposed to be in, the script is missing a ton of connective tissue, and Steve McQueen has the audacity to be bad at acting and an insufferable tool. Still, Yul Brynner and Charles Bronson are total badasses, and this Western via samurai flick manages to be a little entertaining. But really, just go watch Seven Samurai instead. Round up the gunfighters as we watch The Magnificent Seven on Have a Good Movie

You can email us with feedback at [email protected], or you can connect with us on BlueSky!

If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends.

Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from the theme to the film The Magnificent Seven, written and composed by Elmer Bernstein. Copyright 1960 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayers Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpt taken from "Man With A Harmonica" from the film Once Upon a Time in the West, written and composed by Ennio Morricone. Copyright 1968 Rafran - San Marco Production.

Our next film should, by all rights, be one of the greatest all-time Westerns even made. Instead, it's a mealy-mouthed, boring, limp noodle of a movie that's stuck trying too hard to be a Big Deal instead of being the allegory for McCarthyism it was written to be. Fred Zinneman has shots for days, but he can't get convincing performances from his actors, and nobody in the cast can convincingly portray the real tension of this movie. Sure, it makes sense why this resonates today. But overall it's a real slog to sit through. Watch the clocks as we watch 1952's High Noon on Have a Good Movie

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If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends.

Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from "The Ballad of High Noon" from the film High Noon, written by Ned Washington, composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, and performed by Tex Ritter. Trademark and Copyright 2007 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpt taken from the theme to the film The Magnificent Seven, written and composed by Elmer Bernstein. Copyright 1960 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayers Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of racism against Natives, bullying, animal cruelty.

Grab your six shooters and your saddles, we're kicking off our first-ever Westerns series! There's a lot in the genre for us to catch up on, and we start this week with a seminal film, one whose importance is unfortunately the only thing it's really got going for it. John Ford practically created the Western as we know making this movie but the dialogue and the characters are so rigid that it's somehow boring for a 90-minute movie. Still, if you've ever rolled your eyes at John Wayne and wondered "how the hell did he get to be a movie star", look no further than his performance here, smoldering and intense while staying relatable. The cast is pretty great, and the stunts are on par with anything that can be done with wires today. Still, this one is more "important" than a fun hang, so proceed with caution. Load up the wagon as we watch 1939's Stagecoach on Have a Good Movie

You can email us with feedback at [email protected], or you can connect with us on BlueSky!

If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends.

Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from the theme to the film The Magnificent Seven, written and composed by Elmer Bernstein. Copyright 1960 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayers Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts taken from the main theme to the film Stagecoach, written and composed by Richard Hageman. Copyright MCMXXXIX by Walter Wagner Productions, Incorporated.

Excerpt taken from "The Ballad of High Noon" from the film High Noon, written by Ned Washington, composed by Dimitri Tiomkin, and performed by Tex Ritter. Trademark and Copyright 2007 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of sexual abuse of minors by clergy. While no explicit mentions are made of actions or abuse, listener discretion is advised.

This one has been on our must watch list since it came out, and somehow it lingered for 10 years. In fact, you might suspect we did this series just to watch this movie, and you'd be at least a little bit right. Fortunately, the film doesn't disappoint, taking the well-worn movie journalism formula and taking it in a completely different direction. This movie is all about subtlety, accuracy, and most of all, real human storytelling. There's very few frills involved and very few liberties taken, which is the perfect way to tell the story of uncovering one of the most heinous abuses of power and trust in human history. There's no hero worship and no easy answers here, just plain great storytelling. No wonder it won Best Picture. We're finish on a high note with 2015's Spotlight on Have a Good Movie

You can email us with feedback at [email protected], or you can connect with us on BlueSky!

If you like the podcast, please subscribe, rate and review the show on your favorite podcatcher, and tell your friends.

Intro and outro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.

Excerpt taken from "Spotlight" from the soundtrack to Spotlight, written and composed by Howard Shore. Copyright 2015 Howard Shore; Entertainment Rights Holdings, EOT Film Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts taken from the main theme to the film The Magnificent Seven, written and composed by Elmer Bernstein. Copyright 1960 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayers Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.