Rating: 
Summary: Mega Star
Review: Lone star is my favorite John Sayles film. Why? Interesting mystery plot with many flashbacks with interesting transitions between then and now. The yarn: a southwest border town, flash to the past, a mean sheriff, played delighfully by Kris K., then a good sheriff or is he really a good sheriff? Flash to the present a murder is discovered and a good sheriff investigates and the past starts to unravel. Colorful and multi-dimensional characters who discuss many dilemas which can only be dealt with and not solved. Different perspectives between Anglos, Latinos, and African Americans. Twisting plot with a twisted ending. Also great camera work and sound track with some of same songs sung by different singers. What I did not like about the DVD version is that there is no director's commentary. I have viewed both DVD versions of Sayle's Limbo and Secret of the Roan Inish because they have the director's commentary which gives you more perspective in the art of film making and the creativity and story telling of John Sayles. Though I still strongly recommend this great American film.
Rating: 
Summary: Lone Star – It’s Name and its Rating How Convenient!
Review: Movie Summary: A skeleton is found in the desert in Rio County Texas. With it comes a lot of history. The current sheriff of Rio County, Sam Deeds, is the son of the legendary sheriff Buddy Deeds. He has been living in his father's shadow all his life. He digs through old mysteries and lies to get at the truth. Along they was he learns something about himself and his father. My Opinion: Holy crap was this movie slow. The best part of the story is told through flash backs which are separated by dreadfully slow present time scenes and plots. I have a lot of trouble with movies where I don't find anything to care about. It makes the entire experience pointless. I didn't care for any of the characters in Lone Star one way or the other. Sam was way to cold, and Buddy wasn't on screen enough (Matthew McConaughey was the best part of this movie and he was in it for less than five minutes total). As for the social commentary on the Mexican Immigration problem, it doesn't make for very good entertainment. I caught the "fathers and sons" motif, but that didn't make for very good entertainment either. The entire plot line for Big O, his army colonel son, and his son's son seemed forced and unnecessary to me. I think they were going for a Magnolia type feel where there are a lot of subplots going on that may or may not be related but none of them were interesting. When a movie gets too realistic, it just becomes real life and we already know what that is like. We don't need to spend money to see it. When the movie is all over, we don't know much more than when it started. Sam finds that his father isn't as bad as he thought, but he wasn't perfect either. What a shocker. And as for the real shocker at the end, it kinda gross. DVD Quality: ...Picture is ok. Sound is regular surround. Extras consist entirely of the trailer. This is a bare bones DVD release. What You Should Do: Watch it on TNT where it is meant to be watched. The commercials should spice it up. And maybe if you're lucky they will have edited the film for time and fit it into two hours. Related Movies To Check Out: The Spanish Prisoner, LA Confidential, Magnolia
Rating:
Summary: LONE STAR = ONE STAR
Review: Actually, this movie is pretty good. The flashbacks are SEAMLESS. None of the fuzzy-screen flashbacks of the old days of moviedom. There are LOTS of recognizable people in here. The main character played in October Sky. The black Army colonel played in T2: Judgement Day as the scientist-type-guy. Frances McDormand from Fargo. Matthew McConnaughy from U-571. A few other familiar faces. The antagonist is really nasty. In short, the casting is very good. Nothing is bad with the dialogue or the props or whatever. So how can I give this movie only 1 star? I'm not bashing the movie, all I'm saying is that for me, this was a 1 star experience. Do yourself a favor. If you rent or buy this movie LEARN WHO THE CHARACTERS ARE . . . FAST! or you will get lost VERY quickly. Who's who's father? Now is this the guy they're talking about, or . . .? Because I didn't catch onto the characters quickly--there are tons of 'em--the rest of the movie made little or no sense. And finally, I'm just not the sort of Western/Mysteries kind of genre person--despite the fact that I live in Arizona. If it will help you any, the MAJOR MAJOR characters you need to concentrate on are: The 3 sheriffs in the flashback scenes. The mayor, bartender and sheriff in the present-day scenes. Honestly, I felt that this film could have used a condensing job. Now as for the R rating. I really don't see how it got that. The single sex scene is only shot from the shoulders up, the violence isn't even CLOSE to Saving Private Ryan--you could even see worse on Court TV. The language is bad at times, but not chock full of it like some movies. Anyway, that's all folks.
Rating:
Summary: At least one person makes decent films
Review: For a variety of reasons, I lost interest in films about a decade ago. When I tuned in about 10 minutes late on TV, I had missed the credits. But about half an hour in, one name jumped out _ John Sayles. I knew this was a Sayles film because no one else can entwine history, sociology and entertainment in one gulp.(Watch a 25-year-old film entitled, I believe, "Alligator,'' _ a horror movie that Sayles wrote for someone else and his talent jumps out even in a potboiler.) Yes, Chris Cooper and the rest of the cast is marvelous. But put this cast and this plot in the hands of another writer and director and you get pap. Sayles is writing more than the history of one small Texas town. He's writing the history of this country _ its ethnic tensions, its corruption, its politics. Thanks John. You've reintroduced me to the movies.
Rating:
Summary: Funny and Wise, Best of the Best
Review: Lone Star is about a lot of things. It's about a small town sheriff's investigation of a thirty year old murder which may have involved his father, a local hero. It's about his childhood sweetheart, a Latina public school teacher, and her mother, a successful restauranteur who pretends her roots are Spanish rather than Mexican. It's about a black army colonel who is posted to command a closing base near his estranged father's nightclub. It's about his father and his son. It's about a small town on the border between the US and Mexico, and it's about the borderlands between history and legend, between fact and truth, between love and enmity. It's a romance, a mystery, an unblinking portrait of an American town at the end of the twentieth century. It's possibly the most intelligent commentary on American history I have ever seen or read, and the fact that it's so damned smart doesn't make it one iota less entertaining. John Sayles is a master, and this is his best film yet. The cast, the screenplay, the cinematography, the setting--everything is perfect, and everything combines to make a film one can watch over and over and over again, gleaning something new each time. If I could make every US citizen watch one movie, this would be it.
Rating:
Summary: This movie speaks the truth
Review: This is going to be short. I was moved by this film, the performances are dead on accurate. This is the first time I have payed attention to Chris Cooper and I feel I have payed a price for my oversight. Have you ever experienced something that changed your preferences, expanded your horizons, made you step out of your comfort zone? this film is a revalation to me. It addresses racial issues in a way that is totally non-biased, the point of view is human and not white, hispanic, or black but completly true. That is what makes this movie so important to me, the absolute truth that is involved within this film inspires true joy within all the pain that is displayed on the screen. The message to me is that bad things happen and that life has the proverbial ace up its sleeve for every one but these people are real enough to deal with that and this director is wise enough to let that come across in a way that is so unforced that every one that views this film wishes that they could open their door onto Rio County even with all of its imperfections and misunderstandings just to be able to veiw a society that is honest or willing to at least bend the truth if it will lead to some sort of harmony in a intricately woven tapestry of border living in the south west.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most underrated movies of the 90s
Review: What a difficult subject to tackle, and Sayles not only does it, but with surperb grace and stlye. I loved this movie when I first saw it and the second time I liked it even more, and the next I saw its genius. Please, do yourself a favor and see this movie. It is a great example of what movies can do.
Rating:
Summary: Complex human drama revealing some startling truths
Review: This 1996 John Sayles film captures the essence of the changing social conditions and history of a border Texas town. More importantly, it brings out the humanity of a large variety of characters, each struggling with a legacy of the past. When a skeleton found in the desert turns out to be Sheriff Charlie Wade who was murdered thirty years before, the current sheriff, Sam Deeds sets out to solve the mystery. What follows is a complex human drama, with intertwining stories that ultimately reveal some startling truths. To best tell this tale, John Sayles uses a series of flashbacks artfully woven into the modern story, which enhance the viewer's understanding of the internal and external forces which have shaped the people of the town. We see the racism, the corruption, the romantic relationships and tread the thin line between right and wrong. We are constantly led through a series multi-layered series of interpretations. Chris Cooper plays the role of the current sheriff with amazing understatement. He struggles with the thought that it was his own father, now deceased, who was the murderer. Elizabeth Pena plays his Mexican-American former childhood sweetheart with a sensuous sadness. Ron Canada plays the African American owner of a roadhouse with wisdom and insight. In flashback, Kris Krisotofferson is cast as the evil murdered sheriff. All performances are excellent. The sense of place is brought out by the cinematography and the human dramas raise more questions then they answer. This is filmmaking at its best which will leave you thinking long after the video is over.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: The director,writer John Sayles,Macarthur genius fellow,has fashioned his masterpiec with this movie. It is the finest script I have seen in years,telling at least 5 stories,tying them together seamlessly,and bringing in contemporary political and cutural changes. The story surrounds a son of a legendary sherrif of a texas border town{chris Cooper in a terrific turn].himself the sheriff in a very different time and world.Tie in an army base ,the racail strife ,romance,a 30 year old murder,redemption and trying to escape from your past, and you have the barest outlines of this brilliant script. The actors uniformally excellent,from Cooper to Elizabeth Pena,Sayles staple Joe Morton to a cameo from Frances mcdourmand,to Kris Krisstoferson as a bigoted sherrif.The story not only overlaps ,but actually concludes by not having a traditional ending.simply filmaking as it can be. perhpas the best american film I have seen in years. excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing subject matter and a good tale, too!
Review: This restrained but well-paced movie offers an unusual and extremely refreshing look at Texas and how its checkered history affects its present. Sayles is not afraid to spend time carefully building up his characters, all from varied ethnic, social and professional backgrounds. But there is a good strong plot there, too - a murder mystery that has the potential to cause profound disruptions in a community trying to overcome or perhaps just forget its past. Longish, but very highly recommended.
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