KnotMissPriceless Why so much hype?

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

andyp335 Pseudo-voodoo/mock-shamanic mextern. Vapid females of reproductive age, moronic male models, fourth-rate actors, celebrity sellouts, cynical producers, lazy writers, inebriate (?) directors and journeymen technicians - this film has it all. Utter crap from beginning to end. What was anyone thinking of ? Surely not the money.

classicsoncall Another reviewer states that no reason was given why the body of Ransom Pride (Scott Speedman) was being held captive by the disfigured bruja (Cote de Pablo). Actually there was. In the narrative, it was mentioned that Ransom killed a priest who was her brother, so she was keeping his corpse in recompense until Ransom's brother could be brought to her for revenge. By the way, 'bruja' means 'witch in Spanish, which goes a long way to explain why de Pablo's character seemed to be mystically inclined.The contrarian in me wants to completely disagree with virtually all the other reviewers here who slam the film as miserably bad. Although I can't go all the way on that, the picture is hampered by a film making style that wants to be stylistically clever, but winds up getting in it's own way very much of the time. The vertigo inducing jump cuts tend to confuse more than clarify, and add no coherence to the story. And when the story introduces characters like the Dwarf (Peter Dinklage) and the drug addled Siamese twins, it feels more like a Western episode of 'Carnivale' than anything else.I think I mentioned it in another review that there must be some unwritten rule somewhere that states that every Country singing star has to appear in at least one Western movie. This time it was Dwight Yoakam's turn, and even though he's fairly competent as the vengeful preacher of the Pride Clan, I can't say that it was an auspicious role. Kris Kristofferson of course has been in more than his share, and I get the feeling that he's offered these roles because he just naturally looks the part of a grizzled old cowboy.It goes without saying, even though almost all the other reviewers said it, that this film won't appeal to everyone. I didn't think it was terrible, but for those of a short attention span, enduring it might invite The Preacher's admonition of knowing the torment of hell.

Chris King Seriously, too many arty farty reviews here. Sure it's not High Plains Drifter or A Fistfull of Dollars but it's a steady Western. Enough action to keep you watching, a plot which while not being outstanding is simple to follow and a bit of sex appeal in the form of Lizzy Caplan. A large proportion of big(ish) name character actors bring life to what could have been pretty bland characters. All in all an enjoyable flick which really doesn't need over analyzing. View it for what it is. A fun western. If I had to be critical though, I'm not a fan of the single frame cut scenes which seem to be there to flesh out what would be a short story.

elmoworx Another in a long line of pretentious Canadian films. Too often, I see Canadian film makers who think they have to display all manner of pseudo-intellectual, artsy nonsense in order to convince the viewer that the Canadian movie experience is more cerebral and enlightening than those gauche, low-brow US movies. Harumph!And yet they borrow every US-based visual trick to make their films. The result is a lurching Frankenstein monster that sends me running for my torch light and pointed stick.This movie is visually ugly, with jerky cutaway shots that make me think they are trying to do a style job a la Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula." Coppola shows us how it's done when done well; sorry guys, but you show us what it looks like when done badly.This could have been a beautiful, interesting Western if they'd have stuck to some of the more traditional elements of the genre. I'm thinking something along the lines of "The Assassination of Jesse James..." Obviously, they didn't have a Brad Pitt budget, but my opinion is that they wasted too much cash on the unnecessary visual junk.And speaking of cash, I imagine the constraints of Canadian government funding also put the strangle-hold on their efforts. There is little funding to be had for Canadian art unless it screams pretentiousness and faked intellectualism.You want to know something? When I watched this one on Netflix, I never knew it was Canadian by its description. It was listed as a Western and I love Westerns, so I picked it out. Two minutes into it, I had it pegged as a Canadian film. Go figure.And in case you're wondering, I am Canadian, myself, and I do like some Canadian flicks. "The Saddest Music in the World" is one of my faves. It shows that you can be quirky without being a snob about it. That is a FUN movie, filmed (in an old warehouse in Winnipeg) with Vaseline smeared on the camera lenses. Nothing high-brow or snooty, here, folks! HA HA HA!!Ahem...back to the review.The characters in this one are unpleasant. Dwight Yoakam is fun to watch, but he can't carry such a heavy load on his shoulders alone. I'm not going to lay out the details of bad characters - suffice to say there was no character that I could root for, or get behind, or cheer for!In the long run, I guess it's all about personal taste, so I would never tell a person to pass this one by. The fact that people made this movie (presumably with some enthusiasm) is testimony that SOMEONE out there is interested in this type of thing. But it ain't me, Babe. No, no, no...it ain't--Well, you get the idea.Be forewarned, is all. It's called a Western, but doesn't feel like one. Not by a long shot. It feels like you're standing in an allegedly upscale museum, where people are expected to praise every splatter and smear simply because they've been told that it's art.I don't consider my tastes to be low-brow. I am fully capable of appreciating cerebral works. Actually, I enjoy movies of all genres. The only thing I ask is that it entertains me. Entertains my eyes, my ears, my imagination. This one did none of those things.