Nice to see the enthusiasm from the Tribune review you linked--wow, a critic that actually loves movies. :)
An excerpt:
And yet "Cowboys & Aliens," in which Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford take on creatures from another genre, turns out to be the unlikeliest good movie of the year. The component genre parts coexist, excitingly, without veering into camp or facetious desperation. Alien-invasion aficionados should be pleased. Western nostalgists may be pleasantly surprised. Fans of cowboys-versus-aliens movies, well, it's been a long wait and here's your movie.