Change Your Image
HarryTrident
Reviews
True Grit (2010)
A good old fashioned romp through cowboy country
Many reviews of the Coen Brothers' 'True Grit' will inevitably focus on the comparison between it and the original John Wayne vehicle released back in '69. Having never seen the older film (gasp), I'm not in a position to say which is better, nor which is more faithful to the book both are based on, having never read it, but what I do know is that the newer film is fantastic.
Spot-on performances from all involved, superb dialogue, beautiful cinematography and a straight forward storyline made for the most enjoyable film I have seen in some time.
Most people are probably aware of the premise of True Grit, but to summarise: 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires US Marshall 'Rooster' Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help her track down and bring to justice her father's killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). That's it. No twists, no turns, just a good old-fashioned romp across classic cowboy country.
Also featuring are Matt Damon as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf and Barry Pepper as 'Lucky' Ned Pepper, who's gang of outlaws Chaney is tagging along with.
Perfect casting throughout, I cannot fault any of the performances. Special mention has to go to Steinfeld though. I've read that she was picked from 15,000 applicants and I'm glad the casting team found her amongst all those hopefuls. She is exceptional as the headstrong Mattie. Steinfeld's up for the Best Supporting Actress gong at the Oscars which I'm sure she'll go home with. In my opinion she wouldn't be out of place in the Leading Actress nominations as she is by far the more central character in this picture. Sadly, as you can see her name is barely visible on the movie poster, but this is quite acceptable given the calibre of her co-stars - I'm sure she'll have top billing in the near future. True Grit will be Steinfeld's 'Leon' - the 1994 movie which catapulted a 13 year old Natalie Portman to superstardom.
Bridges is deservedly up for Best Actor for his superb portrayal of tramp-cum-hero Cogburn, though I think Colin Firth already has that one sewn up.
I'm sure True Grit will pick up a bunch of the other awards it's nominated for. I'd be very surprised if Roger Deakins and Mary Zophres don't win in their respective categories of Cinematography and Costume Design - the movie is visually stunning. Do not wait for the DVD or Blu-Ray - I urge you to go and see this on the big screen.
A straightforward plot in a movie is becoming a rarity these days (I'm still trying to work out what happened in 'Inception'...) so the good old fashioned storytelling in True Grit was nice and refreshing. As said previously, I haven't enjoyed a movie this much in years. The only (very minor) complaint I have is that the pacing could have been a little better (slightly slow to get going and too quick to end) but that really didn't affect my enjoyment.
How Do You Know (2010)
An A-list cast struggle with a Z-list script...
I haven't walked out of a movie since the abomination that was 'The Next Best Thing' ten years ago. That was the first and only time a movie has been so appalling that I've had no other option than to flee. Tonight I came as close as I have ever been to walk out No. 2.
I'll give any movie a chance. Even if it's been mauled to death by the press, I like to make up my own mind. It is this open-minded attitude that has caused me to spend the last 2 hours watching 'How Do You Know.' A brief plot summary: Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is in a bit of an emotional state after being dropped from the national women's softball team. She's having a bit of no-strings fun with Matty (Owen Wilson), a major league baseball star and all-round playboy. Lisa is also set up on a blind date with George (Paul Rudd), a businessman who is being investigated by the FBI over some kind of fraud. George's father and boss, Charles (Jack Nicholson) is tied into the same investigation and coincidentally lives in the same building as Matty. The inevitable love triangle follows. There's also a sub-plot involving George's pregnant assistant Annie (Kathryn Hahn).
I have nothing but admiration for the four main actors in this film. Reese Witherspoon is one of my favourite actresses and before today I hadn't seen her in a bad movie. Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson have both proved to be fantastic comedic actors over the past few years and Jack Nicholson is, well, a legend. So where did it all go wrong? There is no doubting the acting credentials of the cast, so in my opinion the blame has to rest with the shockingly bad script. Though saying that, the writer-director of this mess, James L. Brooks, has more than proved his worth in both film and television over the years. Perhaps he was just having an off day? The problem lies in the implausibility of pretty much everything that happens in this movie. The way the characters relate to each other, the way they talk - it's all so fake and completely unbelievable. I felt embarrassed for the four A-list stars who clearly struggled with the Z-list script.
In the first half of the movie, Lisa becomes very good friends with George. They first meet on a blind date, which does not go very well. They next have a chance encounter in the elevator of the building Manny shares with George's father. Next thing you know, they're best mates. For the rest of the movie, Manny goes from playboy sports star to emotional softie and Lisa spends her time running between him and George, suitcase in tow, fretting about what to do with her life. George ends up deciding to declare his love for Lisa, a woman he has met on approximately three separate occasions, but it comes at a price: If she loves him back, his Dad will have to go to prison for 25 years and if she doesn't, George will get 3 years himself (no, really, that actually is the plot). There's a baby and a marriage proposal involving the supporting character of Annie which should be applauded for doing nothing other than distracting from the abysmal main plot.
I'll remain a fan of Witherspoon, Rudd, Wilson and Nicholson - they're amongst the finest talent in Hollywood, but should all have strong words with their agents after this travesty. As for Brooks, let's hope his next work is more reminiscent of his 1997 masterpiece 'As Good As It Gets' than this garbage.
I've absolutely nothing positive to say about this movie, but am going to give it 1 out of 10 purely because I find Reese Witherspoon pleasing to the eye.