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Customer Reviews of The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

works hard to be gritty, though it pulls out some wonderful moments along the way
It's hard not to see this movie carrying some uncredited transpositions of Cormac McCarthy--a journey from Texas into Mexico by horseback in a challenge of a man's honor and friendship to another man, and with a not-so-subtle aura of violence along the way. <
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>Still, there's a lot to admire about this film. The beginning gets a little flighty, switching too quickly among time periods in the storyline to introduce situations and characters, but once things finally do get moving, Tommy Lee Jones expertly chugs the film along as Peter Perkins, a wizened old cowboy who prefers staring off at the sun than making speeches, but delivers the weight of his hurt and anger every step of the way. A good friend of his, the character named in the title of the movie, is gunned down by a too-eager border patrolman, and Peter not only wants revenge but to honor his friend's request to be buried in his homeland. <
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>The journey itself presents an intriguing question: just what is home? The answer, of course, is worth watching the movie for. The movie sometimes gets a little too caught up in trying to establish its grittiness, with quick-cut scenes of directionless dialogue. Pardon the analogy, but it's hard not to make _Sling Blade_ references with Dwight Yoakam on the cast list--rather than hold the camera on scenes the way _Sling Blade_ does, to make us go along with the characters a little longer and get a fuller sense of each of them, _The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada_ keeps moving away from the non-central characters and decides instead to let us only get full pictures of Perkins and the border guard, whom Perkins kidnaps to assist with the burial before revenge is taken. Many of the other characters, like Perkins' love interest, a former prostitute who has merely moved away from making johns pay for her services, are intriguing, but in the end haven't been given full opportunity to reveal themselves the way Perkins and his captive are. <
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>This movie is a joy to watch if you're in the mood for a brooding cowboy only out to do the right thing, though there was clearly a larger ensemble here that could have made the movie sparkle. <
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A poignant and atypical western
Tommy Lee Jones was the driving force behind the low budget western formatted tale about the virtues of friendship in the movie he produced, directed and starred in, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada". <
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>Filmed near the panoramic Texas-Mexico border in Big Bend National Park, Jones plays Pete Perkins , a grizzled ranch foreman. Perkins takes on newly arrived illegal Mexican cowhand, Melquiades Estrada, played by Julio Cedillo, as part of his crew. The men soon form a solid friendship. <
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>Tragically Estrada is accidently shot dead by newly commissioned border patrol agent Mike Norton, played by underrated talent Barry Pepper, while on patrol in the remote desert. Due to the "wetback" status of the victim, the crime is covered up by impotent town sheriff Belmont, played surprisingly well by C&W's Dwight Yoakam. Jones learn of the actual circumstances of the crime and abducts Pepper, forcing him to disinter the hastily buried corpse of Estrada. <
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>The two men, Jones with Pepper as his manacled prisoner embark on a perilous journey across the border to bury Estrada in his beloved homestead according to his wishes. The odyssey serves as penitence for the insensitive and often brutal Pepper and also solidifies the bonds of friendship felt by Jones towards his slain comrade.

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Disgusted!! I didn't even want to give the one star!!!
I never thought Tommy Lee would leave me feeling so disappointed. I'm glad I rented this movie first. I was left feeling very empty after watching. Definitely would not recommend this to my worst enemy. Watching this movie was like a punishement. I wish I would have turned this off in the first 10 minutes instead of watching until the bitter end. This was one of those movies for me that I just had to keep watching to see if anything worth while happened. Well I didn't see anything worth watching. I watched this Saturday night, it is now Monday morning & I feel like I'm still recovering from one of the WORST movies I have ever seen. If there was a point it went right over my head!!! Save yourself a whole lot of pain & agony & avoid this one. I actually feel disgusted with myself for seeing this movie through until the end.