by Billy Russell, Staff Writer

Tombstone broils under the Arizona sun and A Simple Plan whispers, muffled, in a wind-chilled blanket of snow. Two films, both excellent tales of revenge, madness and fury, celebrate their December anniversaries. They share almost nothing in common, except that they’re both some of the finest films with Bill Paxton in their cast.

I read something recently that explained that the idea of a movie star, as we once knew it, is dead. And while my knee-jerk reaction was to vehemently disagree, it had a point that stuck with me. Aside from Tom Cruise, no one seems to have the draw they once had, where simply being the main attraction in something was an excuse people had to make it to the movies. Movie stars put buts in seats. Today, it takes more. Things come and go in waves—there’s an ebb and flow to the entertainment business—so it may be a phase and the idea of the “movie star” will return.

But all this talk about movie stars, big business draws who audiences flock to, got me thinking about Bill Paxton. He was one of my favorite movie stars, and his death hit me hard. I was sad to hear the news. And his death left a void in the industry. There’s no one quite like Bill Paxton working today, a genuine movie star who could lead a special effects extravaganza like Twister and disappear into an ensemble cast like Edge of Tomorrow. He could lead and support in equal measure.

In Tombstone, Bill Paxton is one of many stars in a massively recognizable cast that includes Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Billy Zane, Billy Bob Thornton, Sam Elliott, Powers Boothe and so, so many more. Paxton plays Virgil Earp, brother of Wyatt Earp—played in the lead by Kurt Russell.

Tombstone was damn-near a disaster. The original director was fired just weeks into production. A long-time passion project of Kurt Russell’s, he volunteered to step it to finish production. The studio shot him down and wanted a director with more experience. Upon the recommendation of friend Sylvester Stallone, George P. Cosmatos was hired to direct, while Russell would effectively “ghost direct” without the credit.

Over-budget and over-schedule, Tombstone was released without being screened for critics. The narrative was a mess, scenes cobbled together from what actors in the cast said were their favorites and didn’t want to part with. It was too damn long, minus the epic, sweeping nature they wanted, and wound up with something that looked nothing like Tombstone was first envisioned. It was even better.

Scaled back and scoped way down, Tombstone was now an intimate, personal film about the Earp family, instead of a sprawling epic about the mining town of Tombstone, AZ. When the Earps arrive in town, a series of events lead them to a violent confrontation with the local gang “The Cowboys” and bloodshed leads to more bloodshed. Murders are orchestrated and blood soaks into the dry, desert ground.

Individual players get to shine. Kurt Russell delivers one of his best performances as Wyatt Earp. Val Kilmer should have been nominated for an Oscar for his legendary performance as Doc Holliday. And Sam Elliott and Bill Paxton both shine as Morgan and Virgil Earp, Wyatt’s brothers.

Tombstone is a western everyone can agree on, from people who love westerns, to those who hate them. The movie is endlessly quotable (“I’m your huckleberry”) and none of the behind-the-scenes drama would be noticeable if you didn’t know about it already. It’s a good-looking, exciting picture that’s always, always moving and never leaves the audience time to be bored.

A Simple Plan, which stars Bill Paxton in the lead, was not without its own pre-production difficulties. At the very last minute, John Boorman, the original director, had to drop out, due to scheduling conflicts and Sam Raimi was brought in to replace him with very little prep time. He saw it as an opportunity to branch out and do something he’d never done before and dove right in.

Bill Paxton, though, was familiar with Raimi’s work. James Cameron had seen Evil Dead II, loved it, then called Paxton and told him he’d be there in 15 minutes to drag him to the theater and show it to him.

If you’re expecting anything like a Sam Raimi movie, though… don’t. It’s Sam Raimi making a restrained film, even darker than his usual stuff, because this time it’s not about monsters that live in the shadows, it’s evil in the hearts of average men. Raimi, who has worked with the Coen Brothers numerous times, and even enlisted their help here for advice on how to light/shoot for snow, weaves a macabre web that feels like the lovechild of Fargo and No Country for Old Men. It’s about three men who find a bag of money, and the horror unleashed because of it.

Paxton plays Hank Mitchell and Billy Bob Thornton plays his brother, Jacob. They discover the money, along with Jacob’s friend, Lou, and right from the start, things go wrong. By the end of the movie, everyone in the cast is asking themselves what evil is, and is everyone inherently capable of it? The movie is far too clever to answer with a simple yes or no, but allows us to observe the results of what could possible happen upon the discovery of a small fortune made up of ill-gotten blood money.

Billy Bob Thornton was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role, but there are no weak players in A Simple Plan. Paxton’s performance is nuanced and subtle—you can see this anxiety and tension boiling right below the surface. He puts in some of his best work here. Bridget Fonda, as his wife Sarah, is the story’s twist on Lady Macbeth. She pulls the strings by using manipulation and guilt. She wants to be above the greed, as it swallows her whole.

Both films are some of the actor’s very best work, and among my favorite films of the 1990s. Bill Paxton was a real star, who could use his starpower to make movies that ordinarily would never see the light of day, like Frailty, and could slip in and out of high-profile productions like Titanic. If you’re looking for an excuse for a double-feature this month, look no further than Tombstone and A Simple Plan.