travisbroy

I think that this movie achieves its aim in demonstrating to the audience the tragic wastefulness of nineteenth centuries bison hunting. It doesn't really touch on the racialized element in the destruction of bison, in that it was in part based on the belief that "one less buffalo meant one less Native American." But it does aptly portray the greed. It also portrays the monotony of hunting bison, which makes for a movie that is sometimes downright boring and repetitive. There is a lot of attention paid to accurate historical details and Nicholas Cage is excellent as the brooding, disturbed, obsessive Miller. Xander Berkeley also puts in a noteworthy performance. Overall, a powerful message wrapped in a somber and kinda dull film in the "we lost ourselves in the wilderness" genre. Worth the watch.

If I could give this a 5.5, I would. This was a bland film, I don't know what else to say. By the end I was checking the clock every five minutes or so to see how much left I had to get through. Yes, the performances are strong. Absolutely. It is competently directed and the plot, on paper, is compelling. But as for what I actually watched, I truly don't understand what people are all excited about. I can handle a slow film if it pays off, but there's no payoff here. There is a lot of courtroom tedium, the occasional flashback, a scene with a really sick dog that is disturbing, and that's about it. Underwhelming and overrated.

I am not getting the hate that a lot of reviews seem to have for this movie. Is it great? No, no it is not. But it's a decent little Christmas movie that is very short and takes an occasional interesting turn. It is nice to see Jason Biggs again, Brandy is charismatic as hell, and Heather Graham is a very good actor that turns in what is certainly not one of her best performances, but it's fine. The whole thing is fine. It has a few fairly stupid moments, particularly the ending, but it's got genuine sentiment behind it and is earnest. If you're tired of watching the same Christmas movies over and over and wanted to give something new a shot, you could do worse.