1978's "Goin' South" represents the last gasp of the 1970s for Jack Nicholson. It was a decade that solidified his reputation as a quality actor and electrifying screen presence, building a resume with achievements such as "The Last Detail," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," and "Chinatown." Nicholson was riding high, using his industry reputation to mount another directorial offering, following up his time on 1971's "Drive, He Said." "Goin' South" returns Nicholson to the realm of western entertainment, recently participating in a genre outing in 1976's "The Missouri Breaks." He takes control of the endeavor, working with four screenwriters (including Charles Shyer, who contributed to "Smokey and the Bandit" and would go on to make audience-pleasers with his then-wife, Nancy Meyers) to explore some relationship messiness in the Old West. The feature is often indescribable, supplying such a slack screen energy, it also seems like Nicholson just filmed rehearsals and moved on. Elements of story do occasionally surface, and the cast is strong, with everyone seemingly on their own to generate a little chaos for Nicholson. It's a playtime movie for the professionals, but only offers limited satisfaction for viewers, tasked with making sense of the writing's many moods and short attention span. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com