#70. True Grit (2010) - Review

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I have never seen the original True Grit. I’ve have been introduced to the classic western through quick clips and John Wayne re-enactments. But even the clearest youtube video or the gruffest “fill your hands” recital cannot give a film its due. Unfortunately, having just watched the Coen Brother’s version of the film, I may never seek out the original in fear of ruining my appreciation for the remake.

Jeff Bridges in True Grit posterIt is no secret I have affection for Joel and Ethan Coen that no other filmmakers could equal. Their’s is a style and particularity that just fits my own sensibilities. Curiously, True Grit is unlike anything these men have made before. This is a western. This is genre filmmaking. This is spectacular. Their single inclination towards that which is everyday oddity has no place in this picture. The dialogue is as quick-witted and entertaining as ever; no doubt this is a Coen Brother’s film. In fact, the dialogue may possibly serve the only reminder, outside of the honestly graphic violence, that this is a Coen Brother’s film at all. To the point, commonplace, judicious, and shrewd. Yep, these are all characters in a Coen Brother’s picture.

But that might be about it. This is the most traditional film I believe the directors have ever made, and although it clearly wears their stamp, I do believe it lacks some of their voice. Their nuance is on screen; their attention to deal is evident. And yet the surreal consciousness that permeates their best work (No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, Blood Simple) is missing.

With that said, even a lesser Coen Brother’s film is still shoulders above the rest. As of now (and yes, I am riding on the high of having just seen it) this has my vote for favorite film of the year. Notice I did not say “best” film of the year – but that is for another time. I haven’t enjoyed a genre picture in the theaters this much since perhaps Tarantino’s war picture. It is everything a western should be, and yet has the decency not to preach or talk down. Like the 14-year-old protagonist Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), the film expects the audience to be able to hold its own. The action and the dialogue come quick, and the Coen’s have no problem leaving you behind if you cannot keep up.Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit poster

The film follows young Mattie Ross, a bold teenager that just lost her father at the hands of the lawless Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Resolute on justice being served, she hires U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help track the murderer down. Early on the duo joins forces with a Texas Ranger (LaBoeuf, played by Matt Damon) also on Chaney’s scent for the murder of a Texas senator, and together the three set out towards dangerous Chippewa country to hunt down their man.

Matt Damon in True Grit posterEarly on we learn that Ross hires Cogburn because he is a man of “true grit,” and so he is. Bridges’ Cogburn is a nasty old son of a bitch. He has killed more men then he can remember, and has no problem shooting a guilty man in the back. He is a filthy cuss, but is not short on common sense or feelings. He begrudgingly accepts the bounty for the $100 reward, but we quickly see the Marshall is sensitive to the young lady and her unfortunate plight. Bridges works the screen like a tired mule, but this is Steinfeld’s film. She dominates every frame, never allowing her larger counterparts to take control. Her Mattie Ross is as every bit world-warn and desensitized as Cogburn and LeBeouf, and yet her young eyes are too powerful to disguise her humanity. She has been put in charge of her father’s affairs, and seeing that his murderer is put down is just one of her duties. She steals this movie away from the likes of two Hollywood powerhouses, and I will be very disappointed if she does not receive a nomination for this performance.

With True Grit the Coen Brother’s have proven they are capable of making the most traditional of films. This is a classic western, where the villains are cold-blooded and the heroes are even colder. Cinematographer Roger Deakins is irreplaceable, offering the same masterful eye that he brought to No Country for Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The Coen’s are capable of redefining the popular culture with their films. While this genre picture may not present the same idiosyncratic fare we have become accustomed to, it does serve to once again prove they are the best at what they do.

#69. Ladies or Gentlemen - Review

Ladies or Gentlemen film posterLadies or Gentlemen is a small documentary on Netflix Watch Instantly that chronicles the history of drag queens and cross-dressers in mainstream cinema. There is a fresh mix of entertaining clips from movies like Glen or Glenda, Some Like it Hot, Tootsie, Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and many others. These scenes are entwined with interviews that are actually funny and interesting. Director John Waters’ (Hairspray, Pink Flamingos) musings on his late friend Harris Glen Milstead (otherwise known as Divine) are some of the most heartfelt and thoughtful moments in a documentary I have watched this year. Tony Curtis, who dressed in drag in Billy Wilder’s Some Like it Hot alongside Jack Lemmon also sits down to discuss both the film’s success and the art of cross-dressing. It’s a great little doc that also educates with several enlightening interviews with professors of Women Studies, psychology, and sexuality. If you have an interest in sexual studies or cross-dressing then this should prove educational, but I would honestly suggest this film to any and all cinema lovers. It is a documentary on Hollywood and filmmaking first and foremost. Check it out and let me know what you think.

EA's (Electronic Arts) "It Gets Better"

Electronic Arts logoI posted the Pixar video last month, and I am in full support of the It Gets Better movement. Electronic Arts just released their own video, and I hope it inspires other video game companies to follow their lead.

#68. Death to Smoochy - Review

Death to Smoochy film posterI try my best not to speak in hyperbolic run-ons. When I get excited for a film I have recently watched, I have been known to say things like, “that was one of the best films I have ever seen” or “this has the greatest script of any film of the last 30-years!” Well, I am going to have the same trouble limiting my excitement for this film… kind of. You see, I want to say things like, “Death to Smoochy is the worst film I have ever seen” or “this has the worst script of any film of the last 100-years!” This movie pushed me to my near breaking point. The story, basically about to different children-entertainers competing for a television time slot, does its best to define the word “inane.” The two entertainers, played by Robin Williams and Edward Norton, have been written to be such polar opposites that their extreme personalities leave little for the audience to empathize with. There are uninteresting subplots and guileless relationships, but this film’s greatest feat was its complete lack of charm. Avoid this film at all costs.  

#67. Saw VI - Review

Saw VI film posterOk, so I watched Saw VI (2009), without having seen Saw III, IV, or V. I was a giant fan of the original Saw, but after the first sequel was a complete let down I just stopped following the franchise. I honestly don’t really remember what happened in the second film, but I am pretty sure the series’ main antagonist Jigsaw either died or was going to die, and that chick from the first flick was going to take over the family business. So now I jump right into VI and low and behold, nothing makes sense. I know what your thinking and I will be the first to say it; even if I had seen every film leading up to VI it still wouldn’t make any sense. In all honestly, I think I enjoyed the sixth entry into the Saw saga more because I had missed three of the five films that came before it. The kills are still pretty inventive, and their extreme dedication to stay clear from both humor and camp entertainment all but guarantees Jigsaw will not evolve into the wisecracking prankster that was Freddy Krueger. All in all if you have put yourself through Saw-Saw V then you practically have to watch this film. From what I can tell the creators have no interest in anything other than the further convoluting of an already incomprehensible plotline. It’s on Netflix Watch Instantly, so have fun? 

#66. Shutter Island - Review

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Shutter Island will be in my top 10 of the year. I have watched it at least four or five times, and with every viewing I find another reason why Martin Scorsese is considered a master. He was one of the few rock-n-roll directors that survived the 80’s and he continues to prove himself with one fantastic film after another. Shutter Island is a film that is very similar to tone as the director’s 1991 remake Cape Fear, but you can definitely see a tighter, more focused feature with Shutter Island. His adaption of Dennis Lehane’s novel I feel only enhances the morbid dread that permeated the book, while enhancing the medical facility and its inhabitants with a life few filmmakers could.

Not a masterpiece, but I do think the film’s plot is as gracefully portrayed, as the source material would allow. I will not get into plot or spoilers, but I will say I was completely intrigued until the end, comfortable with the films respective twists and turns, and was never confused or felt something did not make sense. I would love to discuss certain aspects of the film that would contain spoilers (which is basically everything) so if anyone wants to, leave your opinions or questions in the comments section below.

Shutter Island film poster

I am surprised how completely divisive Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be for so many people. I rarely hear someone say they just like the actor, its either an extreme love or a deep seeded hatred for the star. I am not ashamed to admit that I am totally in love with the guy. Other than that damn accent in Blood Diamond (2006), there are very few movies with DiCaprio that I don’t absolutely love. I have enjoyed everything he has made with Scorsese, and I have no problem confessing he is one of my favorite-working actors. His Boston accent is not perfect in Shutter Island, but it has gotten a lot better since The Departed (2006). Very few performers can emote like DiCaprio can, and I can always feel the palpable ferociousness he brings to each film.

I know I have dodged the film, but I really don’t want to get into the plot. I hope anyone who hasn’t seen this film does seek it out, and I urge him or her to avoid watching the trailer. Just know that you will be taken for a ride like only the director of Taxi Driver (1972) and Bringing Out the Dead (1999) could, and it is obvious he is having a blast. The camera never stops moving. It sporadically scans the asylum like a nervous patient, unable to trust what is right in front of the lens. Scorsese takes cues from classic thrillers, specifically Hitchcock and his Vertigo (1958), and its with these traditional tricks and MacGuffins he is able to maintain both interest and enjoyment. This flick is everything it wants to be, a skittish B-movie with a plot as brittle and sensitive as a true schizophrenic. Let me know what you think of the flick.

Shutter Island film poster