The Buntline Special and Rango reviews!

While I haven't gotten around to reading Mike Resnick's The Buntline Special, one of the Emporium's readers, Penelopecat, has and unfortunately, according to her, It isn't all that good. The basic problems seem to be the lack of tension in the story and the lack of intriguing characters. Also people tend to get out of situations FAR to easily. It sounds like it lacks focus and even that Resnick doesn't exactly know what Western Steampunk is, or he does but doesn't know how to write it well.

Ashe Armstrong may also be reviewing The Buntline Special when he is able so stay tuned for that, but until then here is Penelopecat's Blogger Page Sinister Urge to read her review.


Its too bad you can judge a book by it's cover, because if you could The Buntline Special would be GREAT...but alas....

There has also been some early reviews of the new animated film Rango. I'm still on the fence on whether its a Weird Western, and Ive heard on both sides for and against. Some reviews have stated that the main bad guy, a rattlesnake character named Rattlesnake Jake has a mechanical pistol on his tail in place of a rattle. Also I was informed by "Anonymous" that:

There are a lot of weird things in Rango, and yes, that includes science fiction references (spot the Star Trek one if you can...) and supernatural elements. Can't say no more, but I figure you guys won't be disappointed...

"Anonymous" says that THIS review at Aint it Cool is very accurate to the film. It is from someone who saw an early screening in Phoenix. There is also a fairly spoiler filled review over at Wegotthiscovered.com if you don't mind that sort of stuff.

Regardless, it looks like its going to be a fun film, and Ill do a review after it comes out. Until then however, check out these quick videos about the recording process Gore Verbinski had the actors go through for Rango. Its actually quite entertaining. I wouldn't mind seeing the live action footage cut together as an extra on the DVD!





Rango opens on March 4th

The Backwater Gospel...WOW!

This film was brought to my attention by one of the Emporium's readers Shonokin, and then later on Facebook by Mr. Gris Grimly. It is called The Backwater Gospel and, my goodness, its REALLY good!

The official synopsis from their website is this:

A drought ridden, dead beat society, isolated in the dust storm plagued parts of 1930's rural America, is paid a visit by the undertaker, an event that always has foretold the immediate coming of death. The Sunday sermon is well on the way, firmly led by the brimstone preaching town minister.

The tramp in the town, the only person not in church, spots the undertaker at a distance and interrupts the sermon to tell the news. A cold draught passes through the church and in desperation the congregation leaves, much to the displeasure of the minister.

At home behind locked doors and barred windows the townsfolk await death, pinned to the floor by fear and anxiety.

But death never comes...

Its true that this film takes place in the 1930's but it is absolutely a Western. From the stark landscapes to the rickety shanty town buildings, the only thing that betrays its time period is the broken down automobile that one of the character uses for shelter. This is Western through and through. and a good one.

The animation style is really strange. It looks somewhat stop motion-like, but more often looks likes CGI. The character's skins are cracked and stained, the preacher's lips are thick and almost look like wood with his deeply lined face. One character even seems to have a wooden nose.

And the story is top notch. As the threat of the Undertaker's arrival looms, the deeply religious town is thrown into the grip of hysteria and things go bad....really REALLY bad.

Their official website states that The Backwater Gospel is the bachelor projects of eight students at The Animation Workshop. It's an animated short about a small, isolated community in the Dust Bowl of the 1930's, a minister hell-bent on ruling his flock and an undertaker who always precedes death.

You can also see a plethera of character designs, animation tests, and concept sketches at their SITE. I wouldn't have guessed that this was a bachelor project, everything from the voice work to the animation and design is incredibly professional.

This film deserves 5 out of 5 Bloody Spurs. Fantastic job all around!

The Backwater Gospel from The Animation Workshop on Vimeo.

Rango...A Weird Western?

I had known about Gore Verbinski's Rango a few months ago. There was a teaser trailer with the main character running around the desert in a Hawaiian print shirt. With Johnny Depp doing the voice, and the way the first poster was designed, it looked a little like an animated version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas with funny animals (which, now that I think about it, would have been pretty darn cool).

A bigger trailer was released today that showed more of the film, and now it looks like something else, an all out Weird Western; or at least a standard western with animated animals. With a name like "Rango" I should have suspected. Regardless, its a gorgeous looking film and I felt it was worth showcasing here. It really seems too get the Western look right.

...but, is it "Weird"? Now you can decide that for yourself! Rango opens March 4th.

DC Showcase - Jonah Hex!

After the disappointment that was the Jonah Hex movie, DC and Warner's take another crack at the character and hit it out of the park. The new DC Showcase Jonah Hex animated short is everything the Jonah Hex movie should have been. Here there is no bringing back the dead "powerz" or iffy origins, just a straight ahead Jonah story with a deliciously dark edge, some great music, and fun performances.

The tough-as-nails bounty hunter always gets his man - until someone else gets to him first - in this case a murderous madam who wants to steal more than just his bounty from Jonah Hex. Based on a story from the award-winning Jonah Hex comic series, and scripted by world-renowned author Joe Lansdale. The voice cast is led by Thomas Jane (Hung), Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Michelle Trachtenberg (Mercy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder).

Currently, the short film is available in two ways, Its a bonus feature on the Batman: Under The Red Hood DVD that just came out last month, and then it is going to be part of the DC Showcase DVD that is coming out later this year.

Honestly I dont know how long it is going to be online, so you should check it out as soon as you can, and maybe even support its release with a purchase! Maybe we'll see more of Jonah's adventure in the future when DC and Warner's realizes that we actually DO care about the character......when he's treated right.

You can see all of the awesome Jonah Hex action right HERE! Enjoy!

BiiiiiiirdMaaan!

I have to admit that not only did I not watch Birdman when I was younger, I didn't even know who he was. However, his next incarnation, as Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law on Adult Swim was a personal favorite. So imagine my surprise when I found out that original Birdman did an episode with a Weird West twist.....I should state right now, however, that this is a modern day story, with a group of Urban Cowboys using, what still amounts to technologically advanced gadgets.

It might be a bit of a cheat, but I thought that this silliness was too silly not to be seen! Enjoy...

Justice League Unlimited - The Once and Future Thing: Weird Western Tales

Its Labor Day, So instead of going out and sweltering in the hot weather you should stay inside and watch some Weird Westerns; or at least one. Its a fun episode of Justice League Unlimited called The Once and Future Thing. It follows Batman, Wonder Woman, and John Stewart (Green Lantern) as they follow the villain Chronos first into the past then into the future as he collects (or rather steals) historical treasures for his own collection.

This is only part 1 of the story (the part that deals with the Old West), Part 2 can be found here.

This marks what is probably the 2nd of the 4 known Jonah Hex appearances in WB animation, and while he isn't the star, Jonah makes his presence known, like always. If I can dig it up, Ill post the Batman episode where he IS the star, its a good one (And written by one of my favorite Weird Western authors Joe R Lansdale, Who Ill be writing about at some point.)

Other great DC Western heroes that appear are El Diablo, Bat Lash, and Pow Wow Smith.

I hope you enjoy it! And have a good and safe Labor Day!

EDIT: The videos I had here were taken down from Youtube and I haven't been able to find anything to replace them. So until I do HERE is a comprehensive synopsis of the episode and some other things.