What donât you understand? Iâd rate this 4/5 which is probably more than most of the peopleâs rating here. Critique is a way to tell what you like about the movie but at the same time what you donât. If you read âofficialâ SW critiques on this site youâll find far tougher critiques than mine.
You seem to be consistently down on the films you have reviewed ⌠thatâs why I asked the question.
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That is totally untrue. I nearly always give positive and negative points.
Well ⌠it comes across as mainly negative - but thatâs up to you.
That might look like that because what is good does not need to be widely explained, does it? I always try to explain why I think something does not work or is not that good imo. I find it far less interesting when people just say âI did not like thisâ and there is no reasoning behind that. It is a pointless post imo because there is just an opinion but no ideas to support it. For example if you read my opinion on A Pistol for Ringo, Massacre Time, Johnny Yuma, etc⌠youâll find hardly any bad words for the movies since the movies are imo that good.
Edit:
I re-read some of my reviews and I donât really see anything too negative in them. I might end on low note here and there but that is mainly just because I start with positive and end with negative points. I usually dont sum up things since it is a very short review and the ideas are already there and it would make the post unnecessarily long. Oh and they are intended for people who like to think a little about things and share ideas. I enjoy the most the reviews where I find some ideas. Some kids might get annoyed by that so maybe I should always put there some âparental advisorâ sign not to make them angry.
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For not so experienced SW-fans, like me, Diamondâs reviving of several old forum threads regarding lesser known SWs is very good, since not only his well expressed opinion but also several otherâs old can be easily read, and since these SWs have their own thread some fans obviously find them worth watching or at least discussing. By also reading negative points of view one gets a rather versatile picture of the SW in question.
All this is practical and in favour for newcomers searching for another SW that is very good entertainment. I guess a couple or several of my latest purchases have been partly caused by Diamondâs and/or otherâs reviving of such old forum threads, and at least in one case or two it has been a 7/10 SW IMO.
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Thx buddy, Im glad someone like it. Iâm after operation so I have some time to go back to some old westerns, watch new ones or think of those that stayed in my mind and write smaller reviews (or try to contribute with some ideas). I hope you liked the movies.
Oh my god, what a film!..a revenge story of a poor, pacifist boy (Peter) who are in love with his bossâ daughter, an impossible love that will be forbidden by the refusal of the father, who wants to set her up with a neighbouring landowner because that neighbour owns the stream on which his land depends (take that, Shakespeare!). Peter is abandoned to his fate in the middle of the desert and a stranger appears to save his life. Then there is a CHINESE MASTER (the film cannot be more exploitation) who teaches to his AWKWARD HANDS the art of war (Kill Bill vol 2??), from here will emerge the warrior who will cry out for revenge because of his misfortune.
A little bit bizarre work by the Spanish director Rafael R. Marchent, it looks good and has good moments, but the problem is that it does not have a consistent narrative structure. There is a more âclassicâ and very interesting first part, with quite a lot of drama, but once the main character is abandoned in the desert, things get out of control. A guy appears by chance and saves Peterâs life and, casually that dude could be the one who killed Peterâs father years ago (or not, the film plays with this absurd coincidence but it doesnât end up clarifying it), CASUALLY this guy knows a Chinese Master who was around there. That old chinese will save the life of the protagonist and teach him to handle the revolver like nobody else. So there is a continuous sensation of Deus Ex Machina that is quite annoying and ruins the filmâs credibility.
On the other hand, after that more dramatic first part, very focused on the family, Marchent completely forgets about them. In the end, Peter consummates his revenge, but the slow pace and the drama and âvisceralityâ of the characters in the first part contrast with such a quick and aseptic revenge.
To round off the play, there is a kind of second climax at the end, an âepilogueâ, which not only does not add much to the whole (because it raises and resolves a conflict that is practically non-existent) but also leaves you with the feeling of an abrupt and incomplete ending.
Not bad, but not good either in my opinion.
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Several complaints above about some of the music I agree upon. The first half hour is slightly boring. Garringo (weak 7/10) and Two Crosses At Danger Pass (weak 6/10), also directed by Rafael Romero Marchent, feel about the same in the mood sometimes, but this filmâs first half hour I probably found to be the weakest part so far of these three SWs.
But Awkward Hands becomes more interesting the last hour and it is also free from comedy. The style or composition is more original here but still with some rather well known elements such as the shooting training.
The locations La Pedriza, sand dunes of Cabo El gata, plagued town Forto Bravo in Tabernas desierto, Hoyo de Manzanares outside of the location of the western town and the train scene Villamanta were some of the familiar locations.
Overall it feels only a little more interesting than Two Crosses At Danger Pass. Another âlove storyâ Fury Of Johnny Kid/Ride For A Massacre (Gianni Puccini) (6/10) also with Peter Lee Lawrence might be more comparable, so a preliminary rating of Awkwards Hands would be a medium to weak 6/10, but I will rewatch it as usual to further refine my impression.
I want to clarify that only the music connected with the lovely Pilar Velazqeuz is unworthy of her in its slightly rediculous lighthearted mood. It should have been more serious, but otherwise the music is more suitable to the plot and the characters. The theme when the somewhat mysterious black clad character Latimore played by Alberto de Mendoza appears is a good example of appropriate mood. Interestingly that theme also follows the Petet Lee Lawrence antihero but only after he has turned into a skilled killer as well.
Overall Awqward Hands has grown for me after having watched it four times within a couple of months. The story is not boring with its different episodes of love story, desert - ghost town adventure, pastoral healing - killing school and then revenge. The exact motif for Latimoreâs actions regarding the antihero may not be 100 percent clear but that doesnât bother me.
Honestly I now like it slightly more than Garringo (weak 7/10 by the same director Rafael Romero Marchent), due to the more interesting and unusual story so I know upgrade it to 7/10 good for 37th position on my SW Top 60.
I have now accepted the lighthearted beginning scenes and the music there, knowing that better times will come in both respects. The changes in mood have even become more appealing to me and overall the different music themes are very effective and mostly likeable for their on sake.
Peter Lee Lawrenceâs character is never part of a comedy so I find his childish style in the beginning just is a charming or at least acceptable contrast to his later tougher appearance with revenge in his mind.
The transition phase at the Chinese guruâs (secret?) forrest place has a nice feeling with the special back ground music. Maybe it not is realistic but some unrealistic ideas and themes could be part of many good SWs.
More difficult to understand are the motifs of the character in black played by Alberto De MendozaâŚ
Finally just the appearance of the beautiful Pilar VelĂĄzquez and her charisma is hard to resist 
For me the entertaining value still renders a 7/10 but now with increased rank 27 after some 5 watchings.
25 Django (Sergio Corbucci)
26 The Dirty Outlaws / El desperado (Franco Rossetti) music Gianni Ferrio
27 Awkward Hands (Rafael Romero Marchent) music AntĂłn GarcĂa Abril
28 Johnny Hamlet/The Wild And The Dirty (Enzo G. Castellari)
29 Death Sentence (Mario Lanfranchi)
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While returning home from a couple of weeks up North visiting the wifeâs family and attending her cousinâs wedding, we stopped at a truck stop/convenience store in LeRoy, Illinois. While she took our dog Elsie to do her business, I filled up the car with gas and then headed inside to do my business and grab a couple of rotisserie hot dogs. As I approached the door, there was a gentleman approaching his car who stopped dead in his tracks and began staring at my t-shirt which featured an Italian movie poster of Any Gun Can Play. I continued inside, completed my tasks, then headed back outside to find the man waiting for me. After commenting on how much he liked my shirt, he told me that he was himself a fan of spaghetti westerns which led to a very nice conversation - up until the time he told me how much he disliked the films of PLL. This was followed by a stunned silence on my part as I debated on whether to punch him in the face and take off running toward the car where my wife was patiently waiting or to call the police and report an insane man driving a blue Toyota Rav 4 with Ontario, Canada license plates. Just as I was about to slowly start edging away from the man, he added, âExcept for Awkward Hands.â
After this, I came to believe him to be only mildly deranged and stayed a safe distance away to have a discussion with him about the film as my wife began to glare at me from the passenger seat of our vehicle.
This conversation, in turn, prompted me to give the film a re-watch this morning and I have to say, as much as I enjoyed the film before, I enjoyed even more this time around. Sure, it is a hodgepodge to say the least, but I think that is part of what makes the film work so well. In many ways, it is a perfect transition film from the 60s to the even more far out movies of the 70s. A pacifist who becomes a gunfighter after being mentored by a Chinese wise man? That is good stuff! 
It has moved up dramatically on my list of PLL films and it is probably R.R. Marchentâs best work in the genre IMHO.
On a side note, if a Canadian with an intense dislike of PLL suddenly shows up on hereâŚwellâŚthat is probably my fault. 
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Great little anecdote, Brian⌠
Now trying to imagine your response if he had said he didnât like Clint Eastwoodâs âDollars Trilogyâ! 
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Or if this guy had bumped into @Dean and said that Shoot the Living, Pray for the Dead was over rated
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I can forgive someone for not recognising perfection when they first see it 
I have every frame of that film on a t-shirt, so if you see me in the streets, you can make-believe youâre watching it.
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Also watched this one for the first time the other night and also liked it. I agree with previous sentiments that itâs a bit uneven, but I thought it was fairly well directed and I thought Lawrence was well cast in the lead. Not my favourite Lawrence film (thatâd go to âŚJohnny Kidd) but as for Marchent I think it was a big step up from the less than average Garringo. Time well spent I thought.
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