The Cowboys (1972)

I hadn't meant to watch this so soon after my last '70s western. But when I read the Netflix jacket, the timing seemed vaguely appropriate: chasing a controversial western that John Wayne hated with Wayne's most controversial western from late in his career.

The title may sound generic for the genre, but the emphasis is on the last syllable: In the 1870s, when gold fever has taken all the usual local candidates for drovers out of the running, Wil Andersen (Wayne) resorts to recruiting 11 boys no older than 15 to help him drive cattle 400 miles. Yes, their parents approve. The only other adult on the journey is the cook, Jeb Nightlinger (Roscoe Lee Browne). Some other adults do offer their services, but Andersen rejects them for their initial dishonesty regarding their background. Those men, led by one Asa Watts (Bruce Dern in a well-done yet surprisingly reviled role), decide to stalk the party in the hope of rustling.

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (2019)

Ah, Quentin Tarantino, one of the directors I have the most mixed feelings about. As a rule, I take his name as a warning yet find his movies pretty good, if typically overrated. Why make this the second Best Picture nominee I see for the year? Well, it happened to be showing at a convenient time for me, I didn't trust either parent to want to watch with me, and I'd already watched the 1994 adaptation of Little Women twice.

Set chiefly in 1969, OUaTiH follows Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series; and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his buddy and former stunt double. The biggest contrast between them is in how they handle the decline of their careers: Rick cries at the realization of it and then struggles to recover, but Cliff is content to have become something of a butler to him. Also, Rick hates hippies while Cliff takes an interest in one of them -- until he discovers just how unruly she and her friends are. They are the Manson Family....

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

The title alone was a good warning that this would not be uplifting. When I noted the Depression setting and the year of release, when unhappy endings were all the rage, there could be no doubt. But my curiosity about the high ratings got the better of me.

The story focuses on a 1932 California dance marathon, a staple of the era I'd never heard of before. For weeks, couples -- 102 to start -- seek a cash prize by dancing for hours a day (mostly at a mellow pace), occasionally mixing it up with a joint speed-walking race that eliminates the last three pairs to cross the finish line. As time wears on, the remaining contestants aren't looking so good, and neither is the contest itself.