The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

  This particular DVD comes with an introduction by Clint Eastwood and it's kind of nice to hear his thoughts on it.  I'm not generally one for all the commentary tracks and special features on a movie (I just want to watch the movie) but a little intro like this isn't bad.

Josey Wales is a farmer in Missouri with his wife and son (played by his actual son, Kyle), when a group of Union artillery men ride through and kill his family, burn his house down, and leave him with a permanent scar down the side of his face.  As he sits on the graves of his loved ones and grieves, another group of men show up.  These are Confederate irregulars, led by a man named Fletcher (John Vernon).  They particularly hound the Redlegs, as the artillery men are known for their red stockings, up until the war is over.  Fletcher comes back from a meeting and offers the entire group amnesty if they'll swear loyalty to the Union.  Everyone agrees but Josey.  It turns out to be a trap and everyone is killed except for a young kid named Jamie (Sam Bottoms) who is only wounded.  Josey and the kid set out to dodge their pursuers.  For all of his gruff exterior, Josey ends up with a bunch of strays including an old Cherokee gentleman (Chief Dan George), a Navajo woman (Geraldine Keams), a skinny red hound, and a wagonload of Kansas farmers.  His attempts at building a new life for himself are put in jeopardy as the head of the Redlegs, Terrill (Bill McKinney) tracks him down.

Boy oh boy do I love me some revenge films.  This one is more mellow of a message than most of the ones I watch but it's a great movie with a respectable bodycount.  I'm a fan of Eastwood's westerns and I own several of them.  Eventually, I'll get around to seeing all the Dirty Harry films.  Also, Eastwood is one of a select handful of directors that I actually make a point of watching.

If you're wondering why there has been such an influx of movies I own, it's because I've been busy watching TV shows.  I finally finished the first season of 24, which was pretty decent.  I can see why people really got attached to that show.  I'm still only halfway through season 3 of the animated X-Men but I only watch them on streaming when I don't have any discs at the house.  I just got two new ones in the mail so I'll probably set those aside for a bit.  New fall programming starts next week.  /sigh

I have the pilots for 2 Broke Girls and The Playboy Club set to record already and I have to program the rest.  It's going to be a busy season.