"Appaloosa" Is Out

Ed Harris's directorial return "Appaloosa" is out on two fronts: It's out in theaters and out of the Oscar race. The movie has received a limited release this weekend. This is likely because word-of-mouth helps movies like this more then major opening weekends. That said, the word-of-mouth for this film is fairly average. Lot of people and critics saying it's a "good but not great" effort. Some have even gone on record to say they hated the movie, and Renée Zellweger seems to be getting the lions share of the critisim. This is why I always tell people not to judge a movie before you see it, and why I don't put potential nominees on the sidebar until I see the movie. When all you've got is a trailer and a few screenshots anything, and I mean anything, can look like Oscar material.

And trust me folks, I was one of the people who was thinking this would be a contender come Oscar time. Critically acclaimed cast, a return to directing for an Academy Award nominated actor, lots of cool screenshots that promise something epic, and let's face it: Westerns have been making a comeback. This weekend it all came crashing down. No, I'm not saying the movie is bad. It's probably decent. But decent just isn't good enough to get nominated these days. There may be a costume or set decoration nomination in the cards for this film, but any chances for nominations in the top categories died thanks to it's lukewarm reception.