"HELL OR HIGH WATER" PRESENTS OMINOUS WEAKNESS IN TAYLOR SHERIDAN SCRIPTING

Movie Review - HELL OR HIGH WATER [2016] - [R] - Hulu - Directed by David Mackenzie. Screenplay and writing by Taylor Sheridan. A Lionsgate film. Starring Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, and Gil Birmingham. With a budget of $12M, the film brought in a little over $34M since it's release up to date. It has been noted that both parents of the director died during the films production, but their deaths didn't hinder filming.

Two “Texas Cowboy” brothers [Pine and Foster] set off on a trail of bank robberies, hitting a specific brand of West Texas banks that were responsible for making their dying mother's life even more stressful by threatening to foreclose on her property, denying her future grand children a prosperous future in potential oil mining on the property. The brothers travel to Oklahoma to launder the money after each heist and then return to Texas to continue hitting other banks. During their crime spree, two Texas Rangers [Bridges and Birmingham] step up to investigate the robberies and close in on the duo who have suddenly started to leave dead bodies in their wake.

THE GOOD - Location spotting for the film was a complete surprise as I actually believed that the production produced the entire film in West Texas, when it was actually shot in Clovis, NM. This is one of Pines better movie roles where he doesn't portray an idiot trying to figure things out as the film goes along; instead, Pine is intelligent and delivers a solid performance that I was actually impressed with. The action scenes and few fire fights are well delivered and orchestrated in realistic intensity. Special Kudos goes out to the best scene in the film where a waitress - played by Margaret Bowman - presents a now notorious performance at a T-Bone steakhouse.

THE BAD - The pacing to the film is all over the place. The screenplay is atrocious and the pattern of character development, even though sometimes brilliant with a few secondary and glorified extras, Taylor fails to develop a few characters who are intentionally killed off for "shock value" and instead deliver their deaths with an unexpected thud. Bridges seems to have plateaued in his style/methods of acting, especially while delivering his lines between his teeth and often making his dialog a little difficult to understand.

POST MORTEM - Taylor has proven time and time again that he has the ability to create scripts that have a ton of flair [or flash], so long as there are big names involved in their production, women to disrespect, and high stakes to procure. However, even though all of his stories start off strong, they land flat when the time comes to bring the film to end and give  a solid climax to the ending and this film is no exception. It's quite obvious that Taylor loves many of the characters he creates on script and has a hard time making the big decision to see some of them fail or get killed off; so many times in his film productions the bad guys often win or get away. His scripts are truly transparent and he often feels the need to hype his movies (and series) up with big explosions and fancy "military style" shoot outs. It’s no wonder why many of his television shows are falling apart now.

⭐️⭐️💫[2.5 of 5 Stars]

"YELLOWSTONE" SEASON 5 PROVIDES GLIMPSE INTO CREATORS TRUE WEAKNESS

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - YELLOWSTONE [2023] - Peacock - [PG13] - Created by Taylor Sheridan. Written by John Coveny, John Linson, Brett Conrad, Eric J. Beck and Ian McCulloh...but don't let any of those names fool you, Sheridan is in charge of all the scripts, screenplay and the dialog. Stars veteran actors Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser, and upstart actors, Luke Grimes, Kelsey Asbille, and Wes Bentley.

The series covers the life of Montana Rancher, John Dutton, whose family history has established one of the largest ranch in the United States; there are several spin offs that have flourished over the development of the series backstory to present the power and growth of the fictional Dutton family. There's a lot of dirty business that has helped a cluster of the family maintain control of the land against government officials, a local Native American tribe, environmentalists and some dark "mob-type" family rivals who have also established a foothold in the area of the ranch, known to all as Yellowstone. Even though Sheridan created & developed the show, most of the show's impact on viewership has been built by the prominent popularity and addition of Costner as the leading character. Sheridan makes a cameo appearance in the series, but his addition did not boost an increase in viewership.

THE GOOD - There are moments in the series where the drama is thick, the action is super heavy & intense, and the emotions run high. Many of the upstart actors get prime limelight in the series and are given story arcs to help develop their characters; several characters splendor off and are planning to have their own series[?]. The cinematography can be extremely breathtaking, being able to capture a multitude of epic open scenery, nature, wildlife, and environmental atmosphere that can only be described as "magnificently captured."

THE BAD - Costner has lived a life of movie making where completed scripts have given him a sense of direction where the project is going; what the final goal of the project is being developed to reveal. In contempt, he may have confronted Sheridan over the course of the series, which was obviously only planned for five seasons, but it's been alleged that Sheridan has indulged himself in a money grab movement against Paramount, wanting to expand the series to six seasons which apparently angered Costner - who has contracts with other movie studios & working on a new film - and had Costner demand that production on the series end during the fifth season. It's no secret now that Sheridan has shut off production to re-write the scripts to close out the series in the November [2023]. Each season has arranged a large volume of story and plots that seem to jumble about and throw off the series tempo. There is a large array of what I call "cowboy videos" which presents a track from a local country singer, some views of cowboys parading about doing rodeo stunts, and some colorful panoramic views of daily cowboy life. Even though the addition of these cowboy videos may seem to bring a love for the culture, but the fifth season, these little additions to the series have become nothing but filler; red taped video to extend an episode because of a lack of story. There's no doubt about it, and you can sense a little tension and dismay over these filler scenes by watching Costner's performance in the later episodes; he seemed to be dropping the same dialog over and over again. The worst parts in the series is Sheridan's constant presentation of dread that follows any spark of positive reinforcement in the show. At the time of this review posting, Costner has refused to show up for production efforts and his estranged wife was not happy with the progress of the series.

POST MORTEM - In my opinion, Season Five has been a complete waste of time and even though some of the plots tend to build some interest, the writer[s] shift the season in a different direction, completely ruining any momentum the last plotline was producing. This has been a constant weakness that all of Sheridan's projects project during their run. It's seriously becoming tiresome and a wast of series resources. Inner drama will destroy YELLOWSTONE before the final episodes of the series post in November and it's a damn shame too - the blame will be put squarely on Sheridan's shoulders; shoulders that have some big chips propped up on them.

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫[3.5 of 5 Stars]

COSTNER'S ISSUE WITH "YELLOWSTONE'S" SHERIDAN IS TOTALLY UNDERSTANDABLE

TROUBLE IN SHANGRI-LA - As the finger pointing has started to take center stage on the production of the final season to one of the biggest shows being presented by Paramount, many people have lost sight on who started the whole thing to get Kevin Costner to want to leave the show. YELLOWSTONE [YS] is one hell of a series, but even though it has it's many faults, story telling with character developments that has so many cracks, that the toughness of just a few characters make the fans of the show forget that the series truly has no ending...or a lack there of. And for a series that was allegedly written in 2013, why is there a sudden shock that the leading actor [and Executive Producer] is complaining that the series has long run it's course and that the series creator is just now stalling to end the show?

The YS plot establishments are all over the place, so much so, that the series writer has had to try and develop several off-shoot shows to tell the whole family history, leaving many to wonder "who is related to who?" and "how does this tie in with that?" - I presented a theory in a recent blog review of one of Taylor Sheridan's earlier works, WIND RIVER, a movie that had it's moment of wonder, but then a complete failure with an ending so bad that, I was completely confused about how Sheridan sold this film to anyone. Especially since the cast of the film was filled with some talented veterans, i.e. Elizabeth Olson and Jeremy Renner; and some actors that eventually were entrusted to perform brilliantly on YS. To put it clearly, Sheridan has a reputation for writing bad endings to good ideas.

Costner has made it clear that YS was never intended to go beyond five years of production and that he's felt that Sheridan has dragged the the show in so many directions that it's impossible for the series to end after this fifth season, that is currently on hold as Sheridan has been forced to rewrite a ton of it. With only a handful of episodes left, there's no doubt that Costner's character [John Dutton] has to be killed off to make any sense of the irregularity of story arcs that the series currently presents to it's fans. I'm sure Sheridan is under a lot of pressure now and Costner called him out on his previous work and told the now cocky show's creator, "Lets get this thing done!" - Especially since it's no secret that Costner is back to working on full feature films and is now claiming that he will never work outside of that medium again.

Sheridan's reputation in Hollywood has been under fire lately. Insiders say that the writer/creator is full of himself and holds an ambitious attitude against anyone that questions his writing. His ego is costing many of his other streaming series to take a ride on the back burner until he finishes scripting the screenplay on YS. Many feel that he has too may pokers in the fire and he can't control the pacing of writing for each series under his control. It could be true, I've watched most of his series and I feel that all of them have the same motif in constructive writing; bad guys that take a turn for making good decisions while staying bad guys. Not that it's a bad idea, but over time, the stories become dull and then he tosses in another story arc to loosen things up and prolong the series for another episode or two. One thing is for sure though, Sheridan has top names of veteran actors working on all of his projects and that formula keeps his work alive on the streaming circuit.

The question now is, when will the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, or Jeremy Renner get tired of Sheridan's ambitious ego and take a leap from his series work like Costner did?

EVERY GREAT WRITER HAS A BAD BEGINNING, TAYLOR SHERIDAN WAS NO EXEPTION

🎥🎞️Movie Review🎞️🎥 - WIND RIVER - Amazon Prime - [2017] - Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan. Starring Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olson, Jon Bernthal, Graham Greene, and Kelsey Asbille. This movie was billed as an answer to the countless numbers of Indigenous Native American women that are reported missing every year in staggering numbers and mysterious circumstances. This was a planned dramatic feature film with a message to open up the investigations to the many missing women who are still missing to this day. If produced right, this movie seemed like it could make make waves in the history, and now urban legend, of why females are missing in the western regions of the United States.

With the recent successes of all of the current writings created by Taylor Sheridan, I decided to do an in-depth look into his career as a writer and filmmaker. First, I was surprised to learn that Sheridan was a film director and that he had an $11 Million film under his belt with a heavy star studded cast. Even though this film had a tremendously dramatic trailer, the film was anything but dramatic and I'm surprised that Sheridan was able to bounce back from the obvious failure of this film. I have to admit, that after watching all of the recent works written by Sheridan already released through streaming services, I was not completely impressed by this film. I truly expected a far better production and message from this film.

THE GOOD - I mentioned that there's a big lineup of infamous actors in this feature film; the talented Elizabeth Olson from the recent fame of "Wanda Vision," Jeremy Renner from the MCU's "Avengers," and the rugged Jon Bernthal from "The Punisher." There's a slight glimpse of the mountainous beauty and vast landscapes of Utah and Wyoming. The film won an award from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, but I'm not sure why.

THE BAD - Where dramatic films are concerned, this film drags on and on with sketchy pacing and lackluster cinematography. Most of the actors seem to just be on set to earn a check and put no other energy in performing their roles which makes for a lack luster presentation in the final product of the film. The screenplay and editing of the film are almost horrific, giving an almost amateur pacing to the film and not giving a solid development of worry for the story to make its point. The explanation why the FBI sent an agent to help with the investigation of a body being found on Indian territory was very dry and Olson's part of the film feels a little far fetched. Sheridan tries to develop tension in the film, but his limited skill in directing scenes truly makes RIVER seem like a wasted effort in telling a significant story that needs explaining.

POST MORTEM - This film would have better served as a mini-series or maybe a full series production on a streaming service. Furthermore, the opening credits billed this film was a tiny, little look into the disappearance into local women in the Native American culture, but there was no tie to the actual long list of names that have been abruptly removed from the local communities. Sheridan was smart to leave the directing of his scripted creations to the professionals. His other series work wouldn't have been as successful as films and his writings are proving to work on longer running productions. WIND RIVER might have been the awakening that Sheridan needed to focus more on his writing.

⭐️⭐️💫[2.5 of 5 Stars]

STALLONE MAKES HIS MARK IN STREAMING WITH "TULSA KING"

🎥🎞️Series Review🎞️🎥 - TULSA KING - Paramount+ - A series written by Taylor Sheridan. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Andrea Savage, and Dana Delany. This is another series created and written brilliantly by Sheridan, creator of YELLOWSTONE, 1883 and 1923, who has gone out of his way in the last three years to release some refreshing new shows on the Paramount network. TULSA KING [TK] is his new installment, and once again, he has a strong cast filled with veteran actors to build up a fantastic first season to the series.

Stallone plays a "General" in the New York Mafia who spent the last 25 years in prison for murder. Upon his release, his "family" of gangsters order him to leave the city of New York and head out west to Tulsa, Oklahoma to start new business ventures. He reluctantly leaves New York and his family for a new start, and upon the first day of arrival, he gets off to a great start spotting crime running free in the streets of Tulsa and making money from side hustles in the legalized marijuana trade. Keep in mind that Stallone does not play a physical monster in this series, instead he's in a role where his leading character is a thinker and planner, outsmarting all of the potential & established criminal competition and law enforcement agencies in the city. To make things even worse, he's pissed off members of his old mafia family back in New York and they want him dead.

THE GOOD - Stallone carries the series well. There are several story arcs in TK that help develop supporting characters and they are performed brilliantly by some talented new actors. Most of the scenes in the series are actually filmed in Tulsa, OK and a tons of scenes are filmed at outside locations, giving the series a broad look at the local territory. Sheridan even takes the time to add a little Native American zest to the series and develop a plotline where [of course] a gambling casino will be eventually involved. I know that none of this sounds brand new or overly interesting, but with the addition of Stallone still settling his feet with the idea of slowly developing characters with patience and precious time on his side, his acting prowess is starting to promote a better way of him delivering his performances.

THE BAD - There are times where the series makes Tulsa seem like a small town, with people who think backward from a time long gone. The addition of Delany was a little weak; her character hasn't developed well and she is mostly seen hanging around the horses at a stable. Giving Delany top billing for a small role seems a little like "big name dropping." She plays her mysterious role well, but he real energy of the show should be spent elsewhere. Action scenes are too sporadic and some of the motions of the story are filled with long speeches and drawn out dialog. Plus it doesn't help that Stallone still mumbles his line from time to time. The final episode of the season was a little too transparent and seemed a little rushed, but I am sure that Sheridan strongly felt that the rushed ending to the first season just meant that a second season was gong to be approved.

POST MORTEM - This is another fantastic edition to the powerful line of Taylor Sheridan writings that are building up an impressive universe of drama, murder, intrigue, and of course, action. The series has already been approved for a second season and I am sure that Stallone is more than happy about that.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [4 of 5 Stars]

1923 WILL BECOME AN INSTANT "CULT CLASSIC" FOR SERIES TELEVISION

🎥🎞️Series Review🎥🎞️ - 1923 - Paramount Plus - Starring Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren. Created by Taylor Sheridan, writer and creator of YELLOWSTONE. This mini-series is a fantastic period piece production, taking place shortly after World War I and follows a prequel path [and background] to the Yellowstone Universe. The show takes place in Montana and at the cusp of Cowboy Justice beginning to lose it's flavor as a more civilized America begins to grow.

What you can expect from this mini-series is some true grit, some very valuable dramatic storylines, and of course, some nail biting action sequences that help develop the Dutton Empire which is cursed with outside sources always trying to take their land away. Being a mini-series, the directors have very little time to set forth character development, but it is done with a style all it's own and in my opinion delivers at least two characters [played brilliantly by Brandon Sklenar and Julia Schlaepfer] who dominate the mini-series with a torrent love affair that occurs in the then wild African landscapes that is perfect for the Dutton lore when dealing with passion and love. Mirren performs brilliantly with an Irish accent, that existed heavily during 1920's America when immigrants filled the land with their stubborn pride and need to share their homeland wisdom. She's come a long way once playing the role of "Morgan Le Fay" in 1981's EXCALIBER.

THE GOOD. This series has a superior cast; adding to that the talents of James Badge Dale, Jerome Flynn, and Timothy Dalton, all who are veteran actors and have been part of some previous huge productions. The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking and the detail to bringing back 1923, crossed with a western "cowboy" feel with a touch of the roaring twenties is just a sight to behold in itself...why?...because this is how it actually happened in history; no need to tear it down. At the time, the American culture was taking shape and many people were forced to change their ways to become more civilized. There's a taste of this new way of purging the "old ways" with a side plot concerning how Native American women were sent to schools in an attempt to force them to abandon their on culture and become "American." Sheridan apparently did his study and brought a new insight into U.S. History and the constant struggle to control and maintain what as earned to blood and sweat.

THE BAD. There are just too many plots and stories going on at the same time. Just when your getting the handle on one story, your thrust into another, then back and forth, and then you won't see what's happened with the story you truly want to follow until the next episode. And of course, this being Dutton lore, don't get used to seeing a character you like for far too long...some of them people you like might get killed off.

POST MORTEM. Taylor Sheridan has brought forth a new and fresh breed of scripts to the Hollywood Universe and his “Urban Legend Tall Tales of Yellowstone” are surely the best things being taken from script to screen in a unique, down to earth style, that many have been hoping to see for a long time. 1923 was way better produced, acted, and presented than the 1883 series launched two years ago. There's quality here, not only with big names, but the trust to present good storytelling with veteran actors who actually give a damn about how their performances can make a mini-series show BIG!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ [5 of 5 Stars]