Thursday, February 10, 2011

True Grit: 2 minute movie review


Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon are an unlikely avenging trio in this remake of a John Wayne classic.

I loved this movie for so many reasons:
  • the idea of a strong-headed 14 year old girl in the old west seeking to avenge her father's death is unique
  • the characters are really well drawn and they were beautifully acted
  • the Coen brothers did a great job handling the story, which is great because frankly I think they've had some hits and misses recently. 
It really stands out against a lot of the movies being made at the moment too (which is something the Coens do well) because Hollywood tends to make a lot of me-toos. There's never just one disaster movie, there are three all being made at the same time by rival studios, or two similar animated films or several romantic comedies all starring Reese Witherspoon.

In that environment, it's a refreshing change to see a major film genre (the wild west) being represented by a single film, and one that portrays some complex relationships with such understated simplicity. I say it deserves a liberal sprinkling of Oscars all round.
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5 comments:

  1. CaesarFebruary 10, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    But not for Jeff Bridges of course, since he won last year so he's had his turn :rolls eyes:

    (No, seriously. He hasn't been nominated for this year's Oscars).

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  2. leaFebruary 11, 2011 at 9:34 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. leaFebruary 11, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    @Caesar: Oh that sucks! He was so good. It wouldn't have been the same movie without him in it. The scene where he's carrying Mattie - the look on his face - had me in tears!

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  4. CaesarFebruary 12, 2011 at 4:55 PM

    Actually I'm wrong - just saw the nominations list and he's there. Dunno where I got that idea from!

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  5. InjeraFebruary 16, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    I'm such a sucker for westerns, Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and the Coens (although I have to agree that their form recently hasn't been ALL good) so seeing this was a no brainer. Loved the dialogue - it was beautifully written and so well handled by the actors. Not easy to make sound authentic, but the performances were fab.

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