True Grit

[jixmixfix]

Saw this movie on the weekend and I thought it was going to be great but it sucked really bad imo. Being a Coen brothers film I was expecting something similar to No country for old men however it was nothing like it. The plot and story line was particularly boring and characters had no real "greatness" to them. What did you guys think of the film? Critics raved about it, and rotten-tomatoes.com rates a score of 95%. Maybe those familiar with the book will find more appreciation for the film than I did.

 

[ScorpioINTP]

The previews looked awful IMO. I have not heard anything really good about it from friends and don't plan on seeing it. The orignal was on TV a few weeks ago (I saw it as a kid, but don't remember any of it...and no longer am a fan of John Wayne...I prefer Clint Eastwood westerns anyday). I couldn't get into it.

Coen Bros have really slipped. No country had it's moments and good acting/casting, but not a "great movie". Burn after reading was disappointing. The last one I really really liked was "the man who wasn't there". Much more solid story with irony/justice like Fargo. No Country was just a disappointing ending. I did like it more the 2nd time, but the first time we were like "what? thats the end?"

I did not enjoy Oh Brother either. I fell asleep.

Sorry I didn't see it...but this thread looked lonely..

 

[rav3n]

Hailee Steinfeld was pretty good. Jeff Bridges, not bad as Rooster. This was the worst Matt Damon performance I've ever seen and I generally love MD.

But the movie lacked chemistry and cohesion between the three characters. I don't personally feel the Coen brothers were the right choice.

 

[Domino]

Well, dang. I had high hopes for this, even though I was really rather ticked that anyone - including the Coen brothers - would attempt to "remake" a John Wayne movie. I mean, it's John Wayne, for heavens' sake.

 

[Magic Poriferan]

This is interesting. I've yet to see a bad review of the film from a professional critic.

This happens sometimes.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I thought the movie was outstanding. The little girl who played Mattie was tremendous, and I'll bet she gets an Oscar nomination. The film was beautiful to look at and stood out in that respect even among the Coens' other movies, which typically excel in that area. Without giving anything away, I'll say that I especially liked the look of the night scene towards the end.

I had two minor quibbles. In the very beginning Jeff Bridges' accent seemed a bit over the top, but soon enough it felt appropriate. The other was that Josh Brolin played his character a bit too goofy. It felt like a false note.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. Good story, good acting from the three leads, shot beautifully, and just the right amount of humor to leaven it. Thumbs up!

 

[violaine]

I didn't enjoy "No Country.." and had my doubts about the Coen bros as a result but I'm with EffEm on this. There was one thing I found slightly hard to digest at first but once I let myself get past that, I was happily carried along by the yarn. Beautifully shot. A pleasure to watch just from that perspective. Enjoyed the humor in it as well. I also though Mattie was a great character (though moreso in hindsight) and I really liked seeing a young girl with that kind of role.

 

[ExAstrisSpes]

I also thought Hailee Steinfeld did a fantastic job. I enjoyed watching Jeff Bridges, but I wish they had stuck with the revolver and shotgun like in the original film (I think this detail was taken from the book, and it's one of the places where the book and original film differ).

I thought Matt Damon was perfectly cast. I'm not a fan of his, but I thought he did a great job. I couldn't stop laughing when he pulls his jacket back to reveal the Ranger Star, and says, "I'm a Texas Ranger".

I also agree that the cinematography was excellent. There were some shots where I felt my breath was taken away with how gorgeous it was.

I enjoyed the film, but I feel it's a bit overrated. I saw the original years ago and don't feel I'm familiar enough with it to compare the two. I was surprised with how funny it was.

 

[Aquarelle]

I really liked it. Hailee Steinfeld was great, and it was just a beautiful film. I was surprised and pleased with the humor in it as well, but it was also a very touching story. I liked that it didn't have a predictable ending, and that the ending was neither happy, nor devastatingly sad.

 

[Killjoy]

Well, dang. I had high hopes for this, even though I was really rather ticked that anyone - including the Coen brothers - would attempt to "remake" a John Wayne movie. I mean, it's John Wayne, for heavens' sake.

Maybe because John Wayne sucks, and the original True Grit is one of the blandest, schlockiest westerns to come out of the 1960s. Perhaps the Coen bros. thought they could improve upon it (and they did for the most part).

In regards to the Coen's take on the film, I thought it was pretty good... Though, I was underwhelmed by it overall and that rendition of "Leaning on the everlasting arms" at the end made me want to disembowel myself just to distract from the pain caused by that woman's singing.