{"id":306,"date":"2006-07-05T22:25:46","date_gmt":"2006-07-06T05:25:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/2006\/07\/05\/the-three-burials-of-melquiades-estrada\/"},"modified":"2022-10-26T20:39:15","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T00:39:15","slug":"the-three-burials-of-melquiades-estrada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-three-burials-of-melquiades-estrada\/","title":{"rendered":"Tommy Lee Jones’ almost unbearably gruesome The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tommy Lee Jones<\/a>‘ The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada<\/em> joins Jim Jarmusch<\/a>‘s Dead Man<\/em> as one of my few highly-rated westerns. Like Dead Man<\/em>, its tone meanders from the darkly comic to the melodramatic, and is at times almost unwatchably gruesome. Which does nothing to explain why I liked it, I know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special mention to Barry Pepper for taking what must be one of the most thankless roles in movie history: his character is a onanistic, racist brute; he is beaten, dragged by a horse, forced at gunpoint to disinter a corpse, bitten by a rattlesnake, and not the least of which, spends a good part of the movie with his pants down (come to think of it, so does Dwight Yoakam).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tommy Lee Jones‘ The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada joins Jim Jarmusch‘s Dead Man as one of my few highly-rated westerns. Like Dead Man, its tone meanders from the darkly comic to the melodramatic, and is at times almost unwatchably gruesome. Which does nothing to explain why I liked it, I know. Special mention to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5514,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,2],"tags":[1478,1273,1299,2107,1221,210],"class_list":["post-306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-4-stars","category-movies","tag-1478","tag-barry-pepper","tag-dead-man","tag-dwight-yoakam","tag-tommy-lee-jones","tag-western"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/three-burials.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-4W","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5718,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/tommy-lee-jones-doesnt-bargain-or-negotiate-in-the-fugitive\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":0},"title":"Tommy Lee Jones doesn’t bargain or negotiate in The Fugitive","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"September 18, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"??? Everyone remembers Andrew Davis' The Fugitive for Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones' chemistry (despite rarely sharing the screen) and its iconic action pieces (especially the train and dam sequences). But all of this must hang upon a plot framework, and the lopsided movie's momentum dissipates as it gets\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Harrison Ford in The Fugitive","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/fugitive.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/fugitive.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/fugitive.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/fugitive.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/fugitive.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":755,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/in-the-valley-of-elah\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":1},"title":"David vs. Goliath in Paul Haggis’ In the Valley of Elah","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"April 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"In the Valley of Elah is a dark story about the psychological damage of war, certainly not a recipe for an entertaining night at the movies. This blogger will cop to finding it difficult to work up the enthusiasm to sit down for a movie on such a troubling topic,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/in-the-valley-of-elah-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/in-the-valley-of-elah-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/in-the-valley-of-elah-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/in-the-valley-of-elah-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/in-the-valley-of-elah-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5772,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/double-jeopardy-is-one-rewrite-away-from-working\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":2},"title":"Double Jeopardy was one rewrite away from being a thrilling thriller","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 31, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Not to imply that screenwriting and revision are easy, but Bruce Beresford's Double Jeopardy is only one rewrite away from being a decent action thriller. The elevator pitch is obvious enough (The Fugitive... but with a lady!), but it truly does have a killer hook: jilted woman \u2013 framed for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd in Double Jeopardy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/double-jeopardy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/double-jeopardy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/double-jeopardy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/double-jeopardy.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/double-jeopardy.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5769,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/william-friedkins-the-hunted\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":3},"title":"William Friedkin’s The Hunted is solid but unsatisfying","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"September 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"After watching too many sloppily-made thrillers filling up space on Netflix (including Mercury Rising, Double Jeopardy, and Along Came a Spider), it's a relief the my next choice, The Hunted, is so solidly made. You really can't expect anything less from William Friedkin. So why is it so unsatisfying? First,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Benicio Del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones in The Hunted","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hunted.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1597,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-george-a-romero-zombie-cycle-part-1-night-of-the-living-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":4},"title":"The George A. Romero Zombie Cycle Part 1: Night of the Living Dead","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I haven't had the pleasure of seeing what is now recognized as the first zombie movie ever made: White Zombie (1932), starring none other than Bela Lugosi. But arguably, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) is the actual zombie urtext. It preceded the first of its four\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Night of the Living Dead","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/night-of-the-living-dead-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/night-of-the-living-dead-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/night-of-the-living-dead-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/night-of-the-living-dead-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/night-of-the-living-dead-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1612,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-george-a-romero-zombie-cycle-day-of-the-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":306,"position":5},"title":"The George A. Romero Zombie Cycle Part 3: Day of the Dead","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Day of the Dead (1985) is the third episode in George A. Romero's continuing tale of civilization's collapse in the event of a global zombie epidemic. This and the big-budget Land of the Dead (2005) are tied for the worst entries in the series. What makes the first two (Night\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Day of the Dead","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/day-of-the-dead-1985-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/day-of-the-dead-1985-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/day-of-the-dead-1985-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/day-of-the-dead-1985-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/02\/day-of-the-dead-1985-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7868,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/306\/revisions\/7868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}