Ghost Rock (2004)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Okay so Dustin Rikert has a credit for both Writer and Director of this overly acted film. Oh and did I mention he also has a bit part in the movie with two of his brothers? Ghost Rock is noted as an Action, Drama, Western film but I think it would be more appropriate under the film genre Family Home Movie because it was so staged that I really thought the film was put together by a teenager without a single bit of editing.Western movies have been made for almost the past 100 years with actors like Randolph Scott, Audie Murphy, John Wayne, James Stewart, James Arness, and even Clint Eastwood making a great living from them. But I will say this for Ghost Rock, if you were to place the aforementioned lot of western stars in Ghost Rock, even they could not save the film from being a total dud.So I won't blame this films poor review on Gary Busey, Jeff Fahey or Adrienne Barbeau who for some reason agreed to make this film. I can only surmise that they got paid a ton of money for a week or two of shooting the film with no time or opportunity for re-shooting any of the scenes that did not quite work out the first time around. In this film's case, I think they would have had to re-shoot the entire movie with a more realistic script that was true to the western genre and not a mix of David Carradine's 1970's TV series Kung Fu combined with Charles Bronson's Death Wish series.Stay away from Ghost Rock.

As an extra and conscripted stunt guy in this flick, I've seen this movie more times than I would have otherwise, mostly at the request of friends and family who wanted me to point out where I show up. Having joined the Corps of Unpaid Extras in the second week of filming and sticking around for Wrap-up Day, I was witness to the proverbial sausage-making. Michael Worth wrote a dime-store novel and called it a screenplay. Gary Busey quotes Shakespeare...nuff said. My friends say it's a pretty good movie -- AFTER I tear down their expectations. The martial arts were well-choreographed, the gunplay cheesy, and the T&A gratuitous. What's not to like? Continuity was problematic since much of the movie ended up on the editing room floor. Lindy Teague's part was pared down to almost nothing and who knew the one girl was Japanese until the "Arigato?" When they started running out of extras (and Old Tucson stunt regulars literally ran out over not getting paid), some of us got recycled as other characters.The marshals arrive on the train engine because that's the only train prop Old Tucson Studios had. Remember, a large chunk of the budget must have been spent just getting Gary A-Busey and keeping him supplied with cigars. Cinematography was crisp and bright (they thawed Bernie Abrahamson out of cryogenic storage to put another big name in the credits)...that said, *I* would have dulled down the saloon lighting for a moodier, more realistic atmosphere. But what do I know? This low-budget movie has many faults but still makes for a decent adult night in front of the DVD player. Just tear down those expectations first.

It wasn't an original idea, the thought of combining the martial arts and western film genres into a single project. It's been done before: Kung Fu with Davind Carradine, The Fighter aka Savate (a straight to video film by Oliver Gruner). However, none before were this horrible.For starters, the acting was wooden throughout the entire film. The only recognizable actor was Gary Busey, and I truly pity him for having to resort to this kind of crap to pay his rent. It is such a fall to a truly talented actor.Then there's the so-called martial arts in this. Holy crap, can none of these "martial artists" really do martial arts? It's almost as bad as most of Bloodfist! I've seen children who are more impressive martial artists than these people! The only possible upside to this entire thing is that the two lead actresses were very attractive, and this certainly isn't enough to carry a movie, especially if the viewer has any appreciation for acting talent.At all costs, DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE!! You will waste valuable brain matter if you do! For the sake of your intelligence, do not watch this!!

Busey!!! What else can I say? This movie has all the components you need for a butt-housing night of good fun, including Busey (obviously), a good western atmosphere, sex, wonderful Busey improvised paradoxes/quotes/words of wisdom, that sweet Asian from Wayne's World 2, smoking hot women, one mean black cowboy, and fight scenes with nothing but Asians! (so you know its good) Nothing beats the ultimate acting chemistry of Busey, Fahey, and Worth. Their acting skills combined let the plot flow seamlessly with perfection from scene to scene. At some points I was like, "Whoa Busey's fighting! Wait, no he's not! He's smokin' a stoagie in a chair playin' cards! That Busey, he's so sneaky." If this isn't enough to convince you to buy this amazing piece of art, listen to this: My son had pretty bad SAT scores, scoring 350 in Math and 410 in English, but once he saw this movie, he took them again, and scored a perfect 800 in both subjects. Now he's going to Harvard. Thank you Busey! Listen, if you haven't seen this movie, I think you haven't lived. Go buy this now, and you won't regret it. If you got a couple brews sittin in the fridge, call up some buds and watch this movie, it'll be the best night if your life, I guarantee it.