Best movie ever!

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

It's 1949 San Angelo, Texas, John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) loses the family ranch after his grandfather's death and his mother sold it to live with her new husband in San Antonio. He convinces his friend Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas) to go with him to Mexico to find ranch work. They are joined by young Jimmy Blevins (Lucas Black) along the way but are uncertain of his trustworthiness. After some trouble with Mexican locals, the boys split up. John and Lacey get hired onto the large ranch owned by Don Hector de la Rocha (Ruben Blades). John takes an interest in the Don's daughter Alejandra Villarreal (Penélope Cruz).Billy Bob Thornton's directions are luscious melodramatic romantic epic. It's a little long and winding. There are certainly ways to tighten it up but Thornton doesn't seem interested. A tighter edit could raise the intensity. The acting is generally good. This is a romance novel spilled onto the big screen.

Released in 2000, "All the Pretty Horses" stars Matt Damon and Henry Thomas as two West Texas cowboys, John Grady Cole and Lacey Rawlins, who are weary of all the fenced-in land in 1949 and so head to Mexico for freer pastures. There they meet up with a foolish, but likable juvenile (Lucas Black) before settling down on a huge ranch where Cole falls in love with the owner's daughter, Alejandra (Penelope Cruze). Unfortunately, unexpected problems with the law surface. Miriam Colon plays the girl's staunch aunt and ranch matriarch while Sam Shepard and Bruce Dern have (very) small roles.Billy Bob Thornton directed the movie based on Cormac McCarthy's novel and the original runtime was said to be around 3 hours and 12 minutes, but was cut at the insistence of distributer Harvey Weinstein to a mere 117 minutes (!). Similar circumstances forced Marlon Brando to cut his sole directed movie, 1961's "One-Eyed Jacks," from 5 hours to half that time and it turned out to be a Western masterpiece, but "All the Pretty Horses" was cut TOO much. Even an additional 20 minutes would've helped immeasurably. As it is, there are gaping holes in the story. For instance, there is little build-up to Cole's love affair with Alejandra. "The Horse Whisperer" (1998), by contrast, is an excellent example of proper romantic build-up. Other questions abound: What did Alejandra experience in her life that made her brazenly risk her honor? What (specifically) was the source of her deep contempt for her aunt, who seemed to be just looking out for her? Why does Alejandra's father stay on close terms with Cole even AFTER it's discovered he lied to him? What led up to Rawlins' suicidal confrontation with a prison heavy and the same with Cole's deadly tassel? Also, it's subtly revealed that Cole, Rawlins and Blevins (the kid) have very different views of the world, but they're never fleshed out.A director's cut has supposedly been looked into (or worked on), but the composer steadfastly refused to license his score (which, unusually, he owns) to any release of the film. I hope they can work it out because the score and soundtrack are outstanding.As far as locations go, it's great to have a Western actually shot in West Texas rather than supposedly taking place in Texas, but being shot in Arizona, etc. It was equally shot in New Mexico.Although "All the Pretty Horses" has a severely troubled post-production history, it's still very much worth catching DESPITE the holes in the story. It has magnificent cinematography and locations, formidable actors (Damon is perfect as the humble, respectable protagonist), a magnificent score/soundtrack, an epic tone and an unpredictable story. In short, it's a unique Western not everyone's going to like because uniqueness polarizes opinion. It's not great simply because it was butchered in post-production, but it's still a quality film and, in many ways, a pleasure to behold. Some criticize it as soporific and that's true in the sense that it's not a rollicking Western, like 2001's "American Outlaws," which plays like "Indiana Jones goes West." "All the Pretty Horses" is a realistic Western drama with the tone of the aforementioned "Horse Whisperer," but with periodic actions sequences. It's a refreshing change from the typical in-your-face, loud, CGI-laden, foul-mouthed, unreal movies we have constantly rammed at us; and, again, the music's great. GRADE: B

BBT is member of my exclusive club of cinema jerks (that also includes Brad Pitt, Jamie Foxx, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow among others) and even if it was so painful, I'm totally happy to say that his movie is a total crap! Scenes after scenes, I waited the movie to wake up, to give a knee-jerk but it was flat as an horizon. There isn't any rhythm, no storytelling and even my sweet Penélope is unable to put fire as there's nothing to burn! Their passion is unbelievable, the prison break is dull as a nightmare. The stories are badly tied together and the dialog seems only to exist to avoid the mute movie. The Mexican landscapes aren't breathtaking. Casting the sluggish, too soft Damon was a sure kill also. The only good thing was to meet again Eliot (Henry Thomas) twenty years later, and he is still a terrific actor who was worthy of having the parts switched! Enough said

I work at a barber shop, and every time this movie has played, not only do I enjoy watching it, but so do all the customers. There is always someone asking for the title of this movie and how is it that they had never heard of it before. The musical score is fantastic and so is the entire scenery. As far as the story itself, nothing goes the way you think it's going to happen, which in my opinion makes it even better! This is definitely a sleeper, one that went under the radar. DO NOT pay attention to what the critics said about this movie. Yes the book was great & no movie ever compares to a great book, but this was a very good effort. I can only imagine how better it would have been if Billy Bob would had have his way.