Cowboys & Aliens

I would have never imagined watching a movie about cowboys and aliens. That would have seemed really far fetched and out of this world; and that is exactly how it was :) Cowboys & Aliens was released in Singapore last week and what a ride it was. Totally entertaining and enjoyable, and I would most definitely catch it a second time.

Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, giving a summary that "It sounds kooky on paper but on the screen cowboys and aliens make beautiful, fun music together." Honeycutt felt that the success of the film's blend of aliens and western themes was due to "the determination by everyone involved to play the damn thing straight. Even the slightest goofiness, the tiniest touch of camp, and the whole thing would blow sky high. But it doesn't." Honeycutt appreciated the casting and performances in the film, giving particular mention to Ford, Wilde, and Craig. I cannot wait for the DVD to be out.

Looking at the cast of characters: Daniel Craig as Jake Lonergan, a wanted outlaw with amnesia; Harrison Ford as Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde, a powerful and rich cattleman who controls the town of Absolution; Olivia Wilde as Ella Swenson, a mysterious traveler; Sam Rockwell as Doc, a saloon owner; and Adam Beach as Nat Colorado, Colonel Dolarhyde's right-hand man; I couldn't help but imagine what a potentially nice collection of 1/6 figures they would make.

Well, while waiting for some 1/6 manufacturer to make 12-inch Cowboys & Aliens figures, I thought it would be interesting to put these three 1/6 scale characters together to get an idea of what they could look like as a trio i.e. Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Adam Beach.

Daniel Craig is like James Bond (Agent 007) transported back in time to the old wild west. He still has his cool gadget and he's still as cool as Bond would have been while playing Jake Lonergan.

This 1/6 scale Daniel Craig as James Bond Agent 007 12-inch figure kitbash was done in 2009 and posted HERE. You can view more pictures at my earlier entry. Daniel Craig did exceptionally well as Jake Lonergan in Cowboys & Aliens. He made the film FUN to watch and kept the audience entertained.

Harrison Ford has gotten much older but as least he's acting his age as Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde. This time around, he's not trying to do another Indy (less stunts) although he's still out searching for aliens (remember Indy's last outing? looking for crystal skulls? it was kind of anti-climatic for me, after waiting so long for the fourth Indy film and then realizing that Indy has gotten really old and wasn't as energetic as before).

This was my attempt at kitbashing a 1/6 scale Indiana Jones in German disguise 12-inch figure using the extra Sideshow Indiana Jones head sculpt from their "Raiders of the Lost Ark" release. I had posted pictures of this figure earlier HERE.

Adam Beach will always be stuck playing Native American roles because that's what he is. In "Windtalkers (2002)", he's a WWII USMC Navajo code talker Private Ben Yahzee and in this film, he's still playing the communicator role, acting as translator for Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde.

This 1/6 scale Private Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach), USMC Code Talker 12-inch figure was released by Dragon Models Limited (DML) and was part of the 200-piece limited edition "Windtalkers" promotional boxed set produced and released in Hong Kong, together with Nicholas Cage as Corporal Joe Enders (actually Joe was promoted to Sergeant for the Saipan operation). You can view more pictures HERE as well as the Nicholas Cage as Corporal Joe Enders figure HERE.

Another great western that I thoroughly enjoyed was the 2007 released  "3:10 to Yuma", a Western film with Russell Crowe as Ben Wade, an infamous outlaw and Christian Bale, a Civil War veteran Dan Evans who volunteers to put Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma, where Wade will stand trial. It was touted as "The best Western since Unforgiven!" Check out my post HERE for more pictures

I was really looking forward to seeing Johnny Depp as Tonto but alas, the Walt Disney Studios' much-anticipated big-screen adaptation of "The Lone Ranger" starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer has been shut down due to budget issues, according to a source close to the production. Jerry Bruckheimer was set to produce the film with a script by Justin Haythe. Hammer was expected to play the title character, and Depp was set to be the Lone Ranger's partner, Tonto. Unfortunately, the magic touch of Captain Jack Sparrow appears to be a one-franchise deal :( source: cbs news