One-Liners: Outlaws

HELL OR HIGH WATER (B+) - Ben Foster explodes on the screen like a rock star in this wistful western about a pair of brothers pulling off a series of reckless bank heists across Texas.

Foster is Tanner Howard, a hard-livin' rascal coming off a decade in the pen, and he serves as the point man for the plan concocted by his smarter, quieter brother, the ruggedly handsome Toby (Chris Pine, the latest Kirk in "Star Trek"). The boys have targeted one bank chain in particular, and it becomes clear as the movie unfolds why they are picking on those branches.

Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan (an actor whose first script was last year's "Sicario," which we skipped) has penned a brooding tale, a simple story with satisfying layers that peel away gracefully. He is slick with the one-liners, although some of them sound a little too precise. When asked to describe the robbers, whether they were black or white, a bank worker snaps, "Their souls or their skin?" The best banter is between the brothers. Like this one, after Toby buys the wrong soda for Tanner at a mini-mart:

Tanner: This is Mr. Pibb. I asked for a Dr. Pepper.
Toby: So?
Tanner: Only assholes drink Mr. Pibb.
Toby: (Beat) ... drink up.

Director David Mackenzie ("Starred Up," "Perfect Sense") doesn't always honor the nuance. The bad guys in this movie aren't the brothers but the banksters, the ones who steal houses from hard-working folks struggling to hold onto a job and to pay their bills. Mackenzie needlessly hammers that home with repeated flashes of billboards and road signs for debt relief and mortgage refinancing.

The strong cast also features a classic gruff Jeff Bridges as a sheriff, marble-mouthed Marcus, on the brink of retirement, bantering with his own foil, Alberto (Gil Birmingham) a deputy of mixed heritage.  Marcus spews racist insults at his partner, and he's supposed to be a lovable old coot as he does it. Despite that awkwardness, Bridges, an old pro, finds a few fresh angles in a familiar riff.  Marcus and Alberto take to the brothers' trail in a bumbling cat-and-mouse game.

Foster gradually winds his character into a knot, finally delivering an epic climax. Pine is solid but not great as the thinking member of the duo. He's almost too pretty for the part. His Toby has a wonderful scene about midway through the movie with a jaded, flirty waitress (Katy Mixon from HBO's "Eastbound and Down"), one of the many locals quietly cheering the boys on.

The heist scenes are varied and satisfying. At one point the inevitable happens -- a bunch of the bank customers are armed, and a wild shoot-out ensues, pushing the brothers to the brink of outlaw status. Mackenzie brings it home well, with a subdued coda that leaves an aftertaste. This is a solid, smart movie with pretensions of greatness; at the least, it's a standout summer release.

RIVER OF GRASS (1995) (B+) - This is a restored reissue of the debut film from Kelly Reichardt, who is known for "Old Joy," "Wendy and Lucy" and "Meek's Cutoff."

This curiosity has a film-school shabbiness to it as it follows an unlikely pair on the lam with a gun around the area of the Florida Everglades (which gives the film its title). Cozy (Lisa Bowman) is a dissatisfied housewife who pours Coca-Cola into her toddler's baby bottle. She daydreams about being a gymnast. Her dad is a mopey detective who has misplaced his gun; it's the kind of role that would have gone to Harry Dean Stanton if Reichardt had established a reputation.

Cozy ditches the kids one day and goes to a bar, where she meets Lee Ray Harold (Larry Fessenden), a petty thief who intrigues her and becomes a vehicle for her to escape from the husband and kids. Lee Ray and his buddy, it turns out, have found the dad's gun, and he is packing it. After the alcohol good and settles in, Lee Ray and Cozy wander off, hopping a fence in order to go for a swim in a backyard pool. But the home owner comes out his door just as Lee Ray is showing Cozy how to handle the gun, and it goes off.

The two scram and hit the road. They are a minor-key Bonnie & Clyde, much too lazy and disorganized to be considered true outlaws. More like outcasts. Their adventure is rather underwhelming.

But that's Reichardt's style. In her early films she liked to pair up an odd couple and watch them interact as they meander along a minor odyssey, bringing out some truths from each other. It's not a profoundly moving film, but it gets under your skin. You watch two broken people keep each other company for a while, though they can't seem to cure each other's loneliness.

BONUS TRACKS
From the closing credits of "River of Grass" is this Pavement knockoff, "Evergladed" from a band called Sammy circa 1994: