True Grit

Directors: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

Writers: Charles Portis (novel), Ethan & Joel Coen (Screenplay)

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, & Matt Damon
Other notable Cast: Josh Brolin, Barry pepper, Dakin Matthews
Budget: $38,000,000 (estimated)

I’m generally not a fan of remakes or novel adaptations. But that’s usually because I’ve already seen the original or I’ve read the novel and the remakes/adaptations rarely add up. As I had not seen the original version, I wasn’t viewing the movie with a pre-formed bias.

The Good:

Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn – I think every time I laughed in this movie was because of a line this character spat. He’s severely flawed and incredibly relatable.

The animosity between the Marshalls – You have a lot of reasons for these two characters to belly-ache at eachother. One fought for the North, one fought for the confederacy. There’s the whole “I’m from Texas” mentality and then of course you have the old dog vs. the young whippersnapper. Their spats are priceless.

Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney – We don’t get to see Mr. Chaney for long, but he’s definitely a memorable character. Brolin makes you hate him within moments of meeting him, and what more do you want from a murdering scumbag?

The Bad:

Mr. Le Boeuf – Ka-reep-y. Guy comes off very strongly as a creeper with his first lines. I know it was different back then, but Mattie is 14… and the first scene in which she encounters the Texas Marshall was very much a set-up for a romantic relationship.

The Blue Screen at the end – Oh, it was horrible. When I see things like that in a movie (especially one with a budget like this one had) I wonder why no one took the time to do anything about it.

Voice over & ending sequences – I never enjoy voice over narration in these sorts of films. It always seems out of place.

The Final Verdict: Definitely see it. It will certainly have you running the full gamut of emotions.

Run time: 110 Minutes

Buy the Film

The Warrior's Way

When Jang becomes the world’s greatest swordsman, and makes the choice to spare the life of the last remaining member of a warring clan – a baby girl – he climbs to the top of his own clan’s hit list. Fleeing to Lode (Paris of the West) he and the baby settle into a quiet life among the town folk. But Lynn, a girl with her own tragic past, won’t let him for get his, and when the man who killed her entire family and left her for dead returns, he’ll reveal himself by saving her.

My Thoughts:

This movie feels a little as though someone threw Bunraku, Sukiyaki Western Django, and Crouching Tiger into a blender and this is what they came back with. As I like all three of those films, I enjoy this one as well, and it’s different enough in plot that I don’t mind the other similarities.

I appreciate that – with the exception of Jang, his master, and the previous “Greatest swordsman in the world” all of the other clan members are faceless. I enjoy thinking of them as one giant entity that has only a few distinct individuals.

I know why he’s leaving the kid with Lynn… but at the same time that’s kind of a crappy end for her. “Hey, I’m leaving now. You don’t get to come with me and oh, take care of this baby.” I realize, sure she kind of owes him… but at the same time…

The colonel seems to really enjoy torso shots.

Run Time: 100 Minutes