The Old Way is a cold, uncompromising Western that tracks down suspense and tension by moseying down a conventional narrative trail.

NEAR DARK: 35 years of atmospheric thrills, chills, and challenging expectations with Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire western

For fans of the genre, Dead for a Dollar is an essential quick-draw jolt of B-grade pulp fiction worth unholstering.

Is 1959’s The Horse Soldiers one of John Ford’s better westerns? No. Of course not. But that does not make it any less entertaining.

Spirit Untamed is a lot easier to respect than it is to enjoy, and unlike its predecessor, this isn’t a piece of feel-good animation I’m likely to revisit anytime soon.

While No Man’s Land’s finale is hardly original or unexpected, it still carries a fair amount of emotional weight that stopped my heart cold right at the very moment it was supposed to.

News of the World is a robust, beautifully shot drama, and while little unexpected transpires, the characters are so richly drawn and their travels so wonderfully realized that honestly isn’t much of a problem.

Let Him Go is a quiet meditation on grief, forgiveness, regret and family that managed to leave something of a noticeable impression, tragedy, joy, misery and sacrifice all melding into one, powerfully impactful emotional response richly deserving of a few empathetic tears.

For those interested in a little wild west action inserted into their horror, Aaron B. Koontz’s The Pale Door is worth lassoing.