M. Michele Phillips

I rarely miss this film when it's on--it's a Western with an irresistible twist. William Wellman is a director with singular cinematic vision. In WESTWARD THE WOMEN, he does not sugar coat one second of celluloid. The person who becomes star Robert Taylor's trusted side-kick and "pocket conscience" is completely unexpected in a classic Western--a diminutive Japanese man, Ito, who signs on simply to get to California. But he becomes the heart and soul of the film. All the more amazing when one considers the end of WWII was less than four years prior. The women are magnificent and it does not look like it was an easy shoot under any circumstances, so that makes them all the more remarkable. Truly worth the time.

Given the subject matter, this film is incredibly disturbing--but it is is directed and acted with the utmost sensitivity. Still, I know that parents will have a difficult time with it. Jeffrey DeMunn, as the infamous Russian Serial Killer, Andrei Chikatilo, turns in a tour de force performance, as does Stephen Rea, the tenacious investigator who is held up at every breakthrough in the case by the rigidity and short sightedness of the Soviet bureaucrats he answers to. I have watched this film many times and each time it is just as riveting as it was when I first viewed it. The performances, the writing and the production values are simply stellar. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

WOW! Not an Adam Sandler fan. And I can't say I "enjoyed" the film. But I can say I was blown away by it. Certainly not for the faint of heart. If you seek to understand the mentality of the addicted gambler, Sandler's portrayal makes it clear as glass--it is truly an illness. Even the eminent threat of death cannot turn him away from the possibility of a big score. Sandler commits fully to this frenetic and punishing pace from beginning to end, as do his superb cast mates. The writing, direction, acting, editing, filming and soundtrack are phenomenal. And disturbing. And truly not everyone's cup of tea. But it is profoundly affecting.