The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (***)

Bad title. Great movie. Tommy Lee Jones makes his directorial debut with this hard-edged modern western. It's written by Guillermo Arriago, who also wrote Amores Perros and 21 Grams, and like those films, boasts a fractured storyline. Jones also stars in the film and gives one of his best performances in years. The movie reminded me a lot, at least in tone, of A History of Violence. It's funny, dark, violent, profane, and very entertaining. Those who love movies will certainly get their money's worth out of this one. It's probably out of theaters by now, but definitely check it out when it hits DVD shelves.