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Monday, June 7, 2021

Cowgirls vs. Pterodactyls = double genre fun



 Not since "The Valley of Gwangi" have dinosaurs and the Old West met in such a cool way.  Just from the title, you probably know not to expect a very serious movie from "Cowgirls vs Pterodactyls", but what you should expect is a fun time.



I love Westerns and I really love dinosaur movies, so when something offering the best of both worlds comes along, I want to see it.  This movie was made even cooler, in my eyes, by director, Joshua Kennedy's decision to use practical F/X when, well, practical.  Stop motion and puppet Pterodactyls abound!

The cast is a bit of a mixed bag, but all of the leads do a great job of keeping the tone fun while not drifting so far into silly that it doesn't seem like a movie.  (Netflix's recent "Thunder Force" was so much like a bunch of friends just wrote jokes to make each other laugh that it was obvious they had all known each other a long time, and while a comedy, some of it was so silly that it actually pulled me out of the movie and made me feel like a third wheel listening to someone else's inside jokes.)  




I've seen a of movies go for that retro feel and try to mix it with comedy by actually making fun of the genres they're meant to pay homage to, but this film manages to mix the comedy into what appears to be a true love letter to movies from the 50s and 60s.  It's something I appreciate.  

Ryan Lengyel's stop motion animation really brings the film together and gives it the flavor which makes it so enjoyable.

If you're looking for serious science fiction or a hardcore, shoot-out at high noon, gritty Western, keep looking, but if you like your dinosaurs made outside of a computer and your gunslingers to actually be attractive women, then give this one a watch.

Hungry for more retro style sci-fi?
Watch my latest space adventure.





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