Thursday, January 20, 2011

True Grit


Interesting movie this week. I thought for sure that I liked this one up until the very last scene. It's amazing how easy it is to go from "this is a pretty great movie" to "I can't believe I thought I liked that" for me. Kind of sad, but interesting none the less. 

For those that wonder "why does she keep watching these movies if she hates them so much?", well, I watch for the same reason as most people: Entertainment. What I find entertaining isn't the same as most people, I know, but it's still entertainment.


True Grit
Director- Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Writer- Charles Portis (Novel), Ethan Coen, & Joel Coen
Top Billed Cast- Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges, & Hailee Steinfeld

PROS-

* Hailee Steinfeld did a really nice job with what she was given. Her delivery was excellent and her character well developed. 

* The word usage was really nice and typical of a Coen script. It was insanely formal but with flow.

* Being the Out-West junky that I am, I really enjoyed the scenery and scale of a lot of the shots.


CONS-

* Jeff Bridges...I can't understand you. Seriously, it was pretty much 1 out of every 3 words that I got. 

* This movie is set in the mid/late-1800s, right? Then why the heck are we spouting "I'm only 14..." every five seconds? At that time and age, one should be at the very least courting...if not married with 3 kids under tow. One most definitely should not still be in braids and shorter-hemmed skirts. I read the Little House books, I know how it works.

* I was really conflicted by the Matt Damon character. Was I supposed to admire his bravery? Feel sick to my stomach at his apparent walking-the-fine-line-of-pedophilia? Or just find him a joke all together?

* I'm not completely sure, but I think they might've employed the most out of shape horses in Hollywood. These are lawmen that we are told go allllll over the west in search of outlaws and yet, their horses have less muscle tone than your average trail steed? Right.

* Does NOBODY check continuity anymore? Cup moves an inch, I can understand that. Wisp of hair is moved, I get it. Horse & Girl are COMPLETELY dry after swimming across a river less than 60 seconds ago....that, I don't understand. 

* Apparently they spent so much on the poorly toned horses that they couldn't afford a proper graphics artist. SHOT..(2 seconds later) explosion. It looked like your average TV quality wound (Not even Grey's or CSI level, more like a Lifetime movie). 

* So, you're trapped in a deep hole and you can't wiggle your ankle free. To your left is a dead guy with a knife on his belt. What do you do? Pull the body over, grab the knife and go? Yeah, that would've been my choice too. Apparently not what Mattie Ross would do. Oh no, instead, she'd prefer to pull the body over, open the chest cavity...see some "hibernating" snakes, freak out, and use more energy than it would take to pull the knife out to shove said body down the hole. What a waste.

* Speaking of Mattie Ross....amazing how little "older" Mattie looked like younger Mattie. It can't be that difficult to find an actress that at least RESEMBLES your main character.

* My last (sort of) beef with this movie is the song choice for that very last scene. This whole movie we've listened to a pretty good score. And then, as the now one-armed, Mattie walks into the sunset over the picturesque knoll...we hear it. The BLASTING of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms". I understand the context and the power of the song. It just did not fit in with the overall feel of the film.


Now Mother..

This movie is rated PG-13, mostly for violence and tense scenes. Most of the main characters smoke & drink and there is one scene of drunkenness. Viewer beware..



I give this movie 3/5 stars. Why so many when I obviously had a lot of issues with it? Well, I give it credit for making me think I liked it up until the very end.

I decided to only review one movie this week so you'll have to stayed tuned to see my thoughts on The Dilemma and whichever movie(s) I decided for Time-Warp Tuesday!


No comments:

Post a Comment