TRUE GRIT

TRUE GRIT

GENRE - DRAMA/WESTERN

SCORE - 5.5/10

PREMISE - When a 14 year old girl's father is shot dead, she seeks justice by hiring a US Marshal to go after the killer. She chooses Rooster Cogburn an old tough SOB with True Grit, a sick sense of humor and a drinking problem. After reluctantly agreeing to the job he must contend with the hunt, a competitive annoying rival in Texas Ranger LaBouef and the stubborn young lady who hired him and insists on going along.

CRITIQUE - I really expected to like this film but the best I can give it was it was okay. The acting was superb and the characters and dialogue were okay. I guess the only problem I had was the flow of the story just didn't go well for me and most of the things that happened in the film just weren't all that interesting. The girl played her part great and so too did Jeff Bridges but at the same time as brilliant as his character was portrayed he was often difficult to understand. I felt Josh Brolin's character was a weak attempt and a waste of a name actor and I thought Matt Damon's portrayal was pretty good too.

Rewatchability - Seems low but who knows. This may be one of those films like There Will Be Blood where I think it sucks to high hell but after rewatching it I go on to enjoy it immensely and feel it has high rewatchability.

HOLLYWOOD RACIST MOMENT - The scene where the girl is riding her new pony and the young black stable hand is giving her shit about how small she is. She then makes the pronouncement "I shall call him Lil Blackie" right in the presence of the little black stable hand to the point it almost seems she is referring to him not the pony. Hollywood loves to make these little racist jokes nobody seems to notice but I'm on to them.

 

I busted out laughing during that part and I was the only one. There is NO WAY that it wasn't coincedental, especially when the stableboy reponds with "That's a good name".

 

Youre onto them? LOL. The movie is set, when, in the 1870s? Dont you think any racist dialogue would be period-appropriate? How PC would you like a girl raised in that era to be?

 

I tried watching this on Saturday night when it premiered on HBO and fell asleep about 35 minutes into it. I could tell right away I wasn't going to like this movie.

 

The movie just came out on DVD a few weeks back, how did you see it on HBO?

 

The hell are you all talking about? It doesn't come out on disc until June 7th much less on HBO?

 

Whoops,thinking about Jonah Hex:goingmad:

 

I agree with your take 100%. I was ultimately disappointed but it was an okay movie. I laughed my ass off when the girl called her horse Lil Blackie. Might end up being my favourite scene of the movie.

 

i watched the first 30 minutes of the original and the screenplay was almost verbatim except it wasn't narrated by the girl. didnt know that john wayne won an oscar for that role.

 

Keep us up to date. :bears:

 

loved this movie. one of the best in years. clearly so carefully crafted.

 

It's in my top 10 favorite Westerns.

 

One of the best movies in years my ass!

Very mediocre movie.

 

::

 

You were joking just then right? I mean you weren't seriously arguing the PC connotations in the dialogue of a fictional character during a fictional point in time were you? You do realize that film was filmed in 2010 not in 1870 right? That it was Hollywood writers who slapped that shit on the script and told her to say it right? Does that mean had someone made a funny joke about Obama in that film I'm not allowed to laugh because by the films 1870 setting Obama hadn't been born yet?

Reread my post dude. I'm not mad at the girl for saying that. I'm mad at Hollywood for sticking it in the film under the guise of coincidence.

 

Its appropriate to the era. As I read your post, you feel racist dialogue has no place in a film released today, even one set in a by-gone age. Do I have that right?

What is out of place about a passing racist remark in a film set in the 19th Century? Its as legitimate in its inclusion as horses, saddles and cowboy boots.

 

Amazing considering that he was up against Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight from 'Midnight Cowboy'.

"Midnight Cowboy" was a far better movie and the performances by Hoffman and Voight were in a different league.

 

so no bad thing from history should ever be represented ever? 'schindler's list' was wrong to depict the holocaust?

 

there wasn't any pretence of coincidence. the writer made a joke, while making an honest point about the differing values of different historical periods, and you didn't seem to get it.

 

It would be OK to do the movie, so long as Nazis weren't shown as in any way politically-incorrect.

 

I have more than one take on this. For one, I had a cat named Blackie when I was a kid, and I wasn't thinking of any black people when I named it. LOL.

For two, a 14-year-old girl in the old West isn't going to be thinking about being PC, so even though it is unflattering, it IS a more honest portrayal of attitudes at the time. Most people back then would not be aware of racism as most people were relatively uneducated---which means their kids even more so until they grew up and got educated. And even then, those kids would have been elderly in the 1940s, a time when African Americans were still being hung from trees.

 

if lb for lb remade 'amistad' it'd basically be 'love boat'

 

:laughing:

 

You assume it's a joke, the way I assume it's racism. Since neither of us have proof we should agree to disagree. And by the way I have no problem with racial issues being put into films, just don't try to disguise racism with a seeming joke.

 

Yeah, because that sort of thing never would have happened in 1879.

 

Just saw this film and my verdict:

THIS FILM IS SHIT!

How can you take that 12 year old girl seriously? No girl that young has that level of knowledge and maturity.

Anyway the film was just meaningless dialogue after meaningless dialogue until they stumble upon the bad guy and kill up within 5 mins. She gets bitten by a snake loses and arm, the end.

Jeff Bridges got best actor for this shit? So all we have to do is act like a drunk old fool that can't speak properly and Hollywood awards Best actor?

Very disappointing piece of shit. Wasted 2 hours of my life.

 

FINALLY you and I can agree about a movie!

BTW..... Jeff Bridges didnt win best actor for this. Colin Ferth won Best ACtor for Kings Speech.

Bridges won best actor for Crazy Heart the year before.

 

Ah yes. Thanks for the correction. Phew...

 

Why not blame the Coen bros. ?