Wind River

First Hit:  Extremely well-acted character driven crime film in a stark cold setting.

Jeremy Renner is a fine actor and his turn in “The Hurt Locker” was amazing. In “Wind River” he gets an opportunity to shine once again. Here he plays Cory Lambert an agent with the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Wyoming. He spends most his time alone in the wild hunting down animals that are killing local rancher’s animals. He's divorced, a father and haunted by loss.

He was married to Wilma (Julia Jones) a Native American. They had two children together, however the oldest, a daughter, was suspiciously killed one night while the couple were out together for much needed alone time. Their young son lives primarily with Wilma and she’s looking to move away for a new job.

While tracking mountain lions in the high country, he runs across a Natalie (Kelsey Asbille) who is frozen, dead and barefoot. He can tell she'd been running away from something horrible because of the tracks in the snow, wounds on her body and that the freezing cold air coagulated the blood in her lungs causing them to burst. Cory suspects she was also sexually assaulted because of the location of blood stains on her clothing. He contacts Sheriff Ben (Graham Green) who calls the FBI because they suspect it is a homicide and on government Native American land.

The FBI sends Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen) to determine what happened and if a homicide, resolve the murder. Between Ben, Jane and Cory they figure out how Natalie was killed and who was responsible for her death.

The scenes and scenery were dramatically staged showing the wild, cold, wilderness of remote Wyoming. Camera shots were powerful and added to the suspense of the story. The scenes of Cory with Martin (Gil Birmingham), Natalie’s father are deeply moving as they share the experience of losing a daughter and having to deal with their respective losses.

Renner is amazing. He’s perfect for the role by being rugged, smart and sensitive. Jones is perfect as Cory’s divorced Native American wife who's looking to move on. She impeccably carries the sadness of losing her daughter and the status of her and Cory's relationship. Asbille is wonderful in her small, primary, yet pivotal role. Olsen is flawless as the FBI agent naïve in the ways of Wyoming reservation ways, but focused on getting the job done. Birmingham is priceless. I loved his reserved suffering ways and willingness to take another step. Greene is excellent as the Sheriff who bridges the gap between the native American and white man’s worlds. Taylor Sheridan wrote and directed this film. In both cases, he hit a home run. Some of the shots in the wild made me feel as if I was a voyeur and greatly added to the experience.

Overall:  This is a top-notch film because the story, acting and direction is sublime.

Hell or High Water

First Hit:  Very well acted Texas Ranger crime story that evokes the old west while resolving a modern day problem.

Brothers Tanner and Toby Howard (Ben Foster and Chris Pine respectively) are two bank robbers who clearly have a plan. During the robberies they take only loose cash, only what is in the teller drawers, and only from the small Mid-Texas Midland Bank branches.

As the story evolves the audience learns how Tanner has been a trouble maker his whole life while Toby has been walking the straight and narrow path. So why are they doing this? We eventually find out and that is what makes this story work. Because the amount of money they are taking are small, the FBI isn’t interested in finding the robbers, so the Rangers get the assignment.

Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges) is a near retirement Ranger who is a little long in the tooth while being old time smart and is very loyal to his job. His partner, Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham), is a younger man who is also Indian. The running jokes in the film is that Marcus cannot help himself about making racist and pointed jokes about Alberto’s heritage. However, the audience also sees the love and respect Marcus has for Alberto. In the pursuit of the robbers the audience learns about each of the characters and the story of the ranch Tanner and Toby are trying to save.

The script does a great job of defining the characters and letting the story unfold.

Pine is wonderful as the thoughtful smart brother who finds a way to help his family. Foster is perfect as the on-edge bad-boy brother who wants to help and support his brother. Bridges embodies the old west in the new world with this role. He’s amazing. Birmingham is fantastic as Bridges’ partner. A shout-out to Margret Bowman who plays a waitress in a restaurant. Her 2 minutes on the screen were brilliant. Taylor Sheridan wrote a very strong script. David Mackenzie did an excellent job of directing the actors through this story. The small Texas town feel was very well done.

Overall:  This was a very entertaining film.