BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS – film review by Cate Marquis

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Joel and Ethan Coen spin not one but six Western tales in their excellent anthology THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS. Starring a fine cast including James Franco, Liam Neeson, Tom Waits, Zoe Kazan, Brendan Gleeson, Tim Blake Nelson and others, the film’s title is actually the name of the first tale in a short story anthology. What connects the tales is their Old West setting and also that they are basically campfire tales – the kind of suspense-filled tales best told around a campfire – sometimes scary, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but often with a twist or surprise and a touch of the surreal or supernatural. These stories evoke both ghost stories and O. Henry tales, with a dash of adventure, but they are transformed into signature Coen brothers tales. That means dark humor, twisted expectations, irony, and a certain amount of violence – basically, anything but ordinary.

Read the full review on WeAreMovieGeeks.com:

http://www.wearemoviegeeks.com/2018/11/ballad-buster-scruggs-review/