`BULL' A NOVEL TAKE ON FRONTIER JUSTICE.Byline: Rob Lowman Daily News Entertainment Editor Except for when Clint Eastwood turns his attention to the genre, as he did in the Oscar-winning ``Unforgiven,'' it seems that westerns - good ones, that is - have hightailed it to cable. A while back we had the clever ``Purgatory'' on TNT TNT: see trinitrotoluene. TNT in full trinitrotoluene Pale yellow, solid organic compound made by adding nitrate (−NO2) groups to toluene. , and tonight we have the morality tale ``The Jack Bull'' on HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy . Starring John Cusack as horse dealer Myrl Redding Redding, city (1990 pop. 66,462), seat of Shasta co., N central Calif., on the Sacramento River; inc. 1872. A principal tourist center for a mountain and lake region, it also has lumbering, food-processing, and diverse manufacturing. , ``The Jack Bull'' is the story of a man obsessed ob·sess v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es v.tr. To preoccupy the mind of excessively. v.intr. with extracting what he sees as the justice due him when he is wronged - and the consequences he pays for it. Redding has run afoul of Henry Ballard (L.Q. Jones), the local cattle baron who has been buying up property in the area fearing that the Wyoming Territory's bid in the 1880s for statehood state·hood n. The status of being a state, especially of the United States, rather than being a territory or dependency. will interfere with his commerce. Redding, who sees statehood as inevitable, is indifferent at first, but when challenged by Ballard, sides with those for statehood. This marks him in Ballard's eyes, and later when Redding is taking his animals to market, Ballard imposes a fee to cross his newly acquired land, which is the shortest route. Lacking funds, Redding is forced to leave two of his beloved stallions as collateral. When he returns to reclaim his horses, Redding finds that they have been abused and that his Indian ranch hand has been beaten up. After confronting Ballard, he refuses to take the horses back until the animals are returned to their former healthy state. He files a petition with the local judge about his case, but the justice, who is in the pocket of Ballard, won't hear it. Like a bull, Redding continues charging, until tragedy results and events take on a life of their own. The handsomely filmed ``The Jack Bull'' was written by Cusack's father, Dick Cusack, and is based on the German writer Heinrich Von Kleist's novel ``Michael Kohlhass,'' which was originally a Saxon legend. By setting ``The Jack Bull'' in a Wyoming on the verge On the Verge (or The Geography of Yearning) is a play written by Eric Overmyer. It makes extensive use of esoteric language and pop culture references from the late nineteenth century to 1955. of statehood, political considerations come into play. Statehood advocates such as the governor see the Ballard-Redding dispute as an embarrassment, showing that Wyoming is not ready to join the Union. Justice, eventually, is tinged with expediency. Directed by John Badham (``Point of No Return''), ``The Jack Bull'' is a finely crafted, entertaining film with a strong cast. Cusack is an actor who projects a likability with an edginess that serves him well as Redding, an easygoing eas·y·go·ing also eas·y-go·ing adj. 1. a. Living without undue worry or concern; calm. b. Lax or negligent; careless. c. , honest man with a dark intensity. And John Goodman is particularly notable as Judge Tolliver, who eventually is given the case and tries to make Solomonic sense of what has become a twisted affair. THE FACTS The show: ``The Jack Bull.'' The stars: John Cusack, John Goodman, L.Q. Jones, Miranda Otto, John C. McGinley John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in NBC's Scrubs and Sergeant Red O'Neil in Oliver Stone's Platoon. , John Savage, Drake Bell, Jay O. Sanders Jay Olcutt Sanders (born 16 April 1953) is an American character actor. Sanders was born in Austin, Texas to Phyllis Rae (née Aden) and James Olcutt Sanders.[1] Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2006 Half Nelson Russ Dunne 2004 and Scott Wilson. Where: HBO. When: 9 tonight. Repeats at noon and 8 p.m. Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. April 25, 5 p.m. and 1:35 a.m. April 28, and 9:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. April 30. Our rating: Three stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: HBO's ``The Jack Bull,'' with Drake Bell, left, Miranda Otto, John Cusack and John C. McGinley, is the story of a man obsessed with extracting what he sees as justice due him when he is wronged. |
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