James D. Best

Last night we rented Crazy Rich Asians based on the book by Kevin Kwan.  I had heard a lot of good things about the film, but I was disapp...

Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly This weekend I saw Sisters Brothers . I write westerns, so I’m critical of Hollywood ventures i...

Sam Elliott is one of my favorite actors. Although he has done outstanding work in Western films, I first became a fan after watching t...

Every novelist wants a memorable first sentence. There are innumerable lists of great and dreadful first sentences. (#95 at the great lin...

Us Old Guys Don't Like Change I rented Man of Steel last night. When I saw it in the theater, I was disappointed. Actually, more t...

Several book reviews have criticized Steve Dancy as barely better than the bad guys. Seriously? I believe vile villains make a story wo...

Kimberly Turner published a piece on Lit Reactor titled, “ 7 Horrifying Ailments Named After Literary Characters .” I believe she missed a ...

Bonanza, 4th Longest Running Series What makes a good television series? You probably already guessed that I would say writing. Some mi...

Robert Duvall is one of my favorite Western actors. (Others on my list include John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck, Gene Hackman, Sam...

Western writers are like other fiction writers in that they have super powers. They can bend time, compress space, and sweep away boring pe...

I object when computer generated imagery overwhelm the story. Actually, I've objected when CGI is substituted for storytelling. About.c...

Good books can make good movies. This is especially true if the script is true to the book. This doesn't mean a movie should doggedly f...

Previously I wrote a blog posting which questioned whether Western mash-ups worked. I personally dislike mash-ups because they rely too mu...

Bender General Store and Inn In the early 1870s, the Bloody Benders were a family of serial killers on the Kansas prairie. The four m...

Edison's Black Maria, West Orange New Jersey Edison’s first movie studio was in West Orange, New Jersey. It was nicknamed the Black...

I was wandering around YouTube and found a fun video of Eleanor Powell tap dancing her way through some impressive rope tricks. Reputed...

John Wayne was a lucky man. As the leading man in 142 films, he had the honor of working with somewhere near 142 leading ladies. Ink Tank do...

The Lone Ranger has ginned up a lot of controversy. It’s not a homage to the 1950s television series, nor should it be. Reinvigorating t...

Superheroes are the polar opposite of a slice of life. Killing lifeless zombies, evil vampires, extraterrestrial aliens, or bad witches is ...

Images is a great site for film and popular culture. They have a number of articles on Westerns, but I suggest you start with "The W...