I just finished watching “Open Range” and really enjoyed it. The premise is pretty simple: A roaming cattle crew is pushed hard by a local rancher and everything goes downhill from there. I agree, not the most original story but it’s OK as far as Western’s go. The best part about this movie is its pace: the director takes his time to tell the story and even the gun fights aren’t fast-paced. Instead of Die Hard-type shoot outs, you get the messy gun fights that are a whole lot closer to real life than anything Bruce Willis does. It’s still a movie, of course, but I liked that touch.

There are also some other points I enjoyed seeing in a big Hollywood production:

• The violence isn’t glorified; it’s ugly.
• Kevin Costner’s character had PTSD and he doesn’t really enjoy killing but is good at it.
• Instead of waiting to get ambushed, the good guys go after the bad guys first. Good thinking.
• But instead of going in blindly, they think about it first. They question their own motives.
• This comes back a few times in the movie: the characters don’t just go in guns blazing but realize they’ll probably die if they do. So they ask themselves: is this worth it?
• The way Kevin Costner opens the big gun fight is excellent. I won’t spoil it for you but I liked it a lot.
• Once the dust settles, you see the aftermath: the wounded get hurried off, retribution, burials, the works. Like Animal says: violence doesn’t begin with the first punch and isn’t over after the last.

All in all, a pretty good movie for a rainy afternoon. Nothing spectacular but I had a good time watching events unfold. Oh yeah, there’s also Annete Bening to drool over. Personally, I think she looks great in it but that’s just me. Her portrayal of a strong, independent woman is good too. Even though she doesn’t get as much screen time as I would have liked.

Annette Bening, looking mighty fine.

.

Related Posts:

• Stock sale on my books and videos
• Big price cut on my videos
• Huge Sale on Pad Man video
• Bolivian women wrestling
• The Last Samurai Fail

Paladin Press just did a big price cut on almost all my DVDs. I’m pretty excited about this as now the videos are more accessible to a larger audience. I doubt there’ll be another price cut like this any time soon so if you’d planned on buying one of those, now’s the time. Here’s the info:

• Combat Sanshou part 1, part 2, part 3 and the full set at even bigger discount. You pretty much get the full three-part set for the price of two videos.
• Hard-Core Heavy Bag Training, now with a $10 price cut. For only $2 more (yup, just $2), you get the book along with the video.
• Pad Man drops $20 down in price.

I think these are some pretty sweet deals. Thanks to the guys at Paladin Press for doing this.

.

Related Posts:

• Open range
• Stock sale on my books and videos
• Huge Sale on Pad Man video
• Bolivian women wrestling
• The Last Samurai Fail

I just received an email from Paladin Press that they made my “Pad Man, a Video Guide to Full-Contact Training” video their “Steal of the Week”.

As of right now through October 9, you get a $40 discount on this FOUR-DVD set! The original selling price is $89.95 but now it goes for $49.95.
I don’t know if there’ll ever be a better deal on that video. So if you’ve been thinking about getting it, now’s the time.

This set is one I wanted to do for a long time, so I was very happy when the video was released. We taped a truckload of material and everything hasn’t been released yet, there’s more to come.

I’m also working on a set of videos that takes equipment training even further than what is on the Paladin products: working with weapons, scenario training, equipment training specific to different martial arts, etc. Lots more fun stuff for the future!

.

Related Posts:

• Open range
• Stock sale on my books and videos
• Big price cut on my videos
• Bolivian women wrestling
• The Last Samurai Fail