About Fort Worth to Montana (1883)

Post 1165:

I like westerns. I just put a western novel out myself. So, obviously. Then I heard about a newish show called 1883. I entered into it with doubts but entered nonetheless. They don’t make a lot of westerns. Maybe they do. I can’t keep up.

How was it? I’ll try to be light on spoilers. Still, stay wary if you don’t want the ruins.

It’s pretty dang good. Brutal. Perhaps a little too brutal. Some definite time wasting and implausible situations. Like the main character who is mulish about defending his family all of a sudden charging heedlessly ahead in the middle of nowhere with a large chance of dying. A tornado scene. Has there ever been a good tornado scene? Of course I’m not talking about Twister, one of the only flawless pieces of film we have. All those tornado scenes were tremendous.

Okay, it’s essentially a story about getting from Fort Worth to…somewhere out west. We know it’s Montana, because this is a precursor to Yellowstone.

So, let me say this. I have a hard time being anything like objective. I live in Fort Worth. I was born and raised here. But I spent my summers in Montana growing up. I want to eventually move back there. So essentially this story is about me. When they are starving to death and being chased down and murdered, that’s me, writing stories in my air conditioned loft.

When they’re dying of cold or because a splinter got infected, that’s me, trying to get people to read whatever book I’m chunking out there today.

It’s so I can get some more money and get back to Montana. Yeah, art and stuff, but money. You know.

For real, this is a pretty good show. Lots of violence. The acting surprised me. Tim McGraw is pretty dang good. They make my hometown look like it was a 24 hour bloodbath. That’s not cool. I don’t know, maybe it was. Anyway, check it out. Pretty traditional western stuff.

See you in Montana. Don’t wimp out like Sam Neill in The Hunt for Red October. Cheers and see you after.