Film Review: TRUE GRIT (2010)

Co-Writers (Screenplay)/Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Writer (Novel): Charles Portis
Running time: 106 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Adventure/Drama/Western
UK Release date: 11^th February 2011

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 22^nd January 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Having seen, and loved, the original 1969 version of this story starring John Wayne I was intrigued to see the Coen Brothers’ take on it. As is usually the case with these things, it didn’t show at my local cinema and so I waited patiently for it to appear on TV. As you can probably guess, it put in an appearance this week and I’m very pleased to report its well worth a look. I will tell you why after this brief summary.

Fourteen year old Mattie Ross has been sent to claim the body of her dead father, shot by a man employed by him called Tom Chaney. Now Chaney had run for the ‘Indian Territory’ after the event which makes him the responsibility of the U.S. Marshall’s service. To this end, Mattie engages U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn to bring Chaney to justice. A Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf, is also interested in finding Chaney as he had shot a Senator while down there. Cogburn and LaBoeuf plan to find Chaney on their own and bring him to justice in Texas, but they hadn’t bargained for the tenacity of the young Mattie Ross. We follow them into the ‘Indian Territory’ in their pursuit of the fugitive who they believe to be running with one Lucky Ned Pepper. I will leave it there or the Spoiler Police (Western’s Division) will be sending Cogburn after me (again).

Nicely shot, but with a much ‘starker’ feel to it than the original; it also lacks the majesty of the surroundings that the original had. Having said that, this doesn’t detract too much from the story which is very well written and performed. And on that subject, we have to give praise to Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn who, despite a rather mumbled performance, does really well! Also worthy of note were both Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross and Matt Damon as LaBoeuf who both put in great performances also. Honourable mentions must also go to Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney and Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper.

Much has been made of the dialogue and how it more closely matches the original novel. Well, yes it does, but then again the 1969 version wasn’t a million miles away from it either. There are, however, some interesting, and welcome, additions and alterations to the narrative that weren’t included in the original. I really liked these and they gave the film a little extra that I wasn’t expecting. Now I have to talk about the performance of Hailee Steinfeld; while quite different to Kim Darby’s 1969 performance, I found the character grew on me as it went on. I believe Kim Darby was quite a bit older when she made the film and I think is shows in her slightly more polished performance. That’s not to take anything away from Hailee Steinfeld, she’s a fine actress and I hope this performance brings her much success in the future. Over all, I like both films but the Coen’s version slightly has the edge (at the moment). Worth a watch… Hell yes!... Recommended.

My score: 8.2/10.

IMDb Score: 7.8/10 (based on 106,408 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 96/100 (based on 248 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 86/100 (based on 108,965 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/true-grit-2010/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
[first lines]
40-Year-Old Mattie: People do not give it credence that a young girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood. But it did happen. I was just 14 years of age when a coward by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down and robbed him of his life and his horse and two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band. Chaney was a hired man and Papa had taken him up to Fort Smith to help lead back a string of Mustang ponies he'd bought. In town, Chaney had fallen to drink and cards and lost all his money. He got it into his head he was being cheated and went back to the boarding house for his Henry rifle. When Papa tried to intervene, Chaney shot him. Chaney fled. He could have walked his horse, for not a soul in that city could be bothered to give chase. No doubt Chaney fancied himself scot-free. But he was wrong. You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free, except the grace of God.

Mattie Ross: Who's the best marshal?
Sheriff: Hmm, I'd have to think on that. Bill Waters is the best tracker. He's part Comanche; it is a pure joy to watch him cut for sign. The meanest is Rooster Cogburn; a pitiless man, double tough. Fear don't enter into his thinking. I'd have to say the fairest is L.T. Quinn; he always brings in his prisoners alive. Now, he might let one slip by evry now and then, but...
Mattie Ross: Where would I find this Rooster?

Lucky Ned Pepper: What is your intention Rooster? You think one on four is a dogfall?
Rooster Cogburn: I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned. Or see you hanged in Fort Smith at Judge Parker's convenience. Which will you have?
Lucky Ned Pepper: I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!
Rooster Cogburn: Fill your hand you son-of-a-bitch!

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.truegritmovie.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: TRON LEGACY (2010)

Director: Joseph Kosinski
Running time: 125 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

Genre: Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi
UK Release date: 17^th December 2010

Watched on Sky+ Monday 22^nd August 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I admit I was a fan of the original 1982 film TRON and, despite many poor reviews I was still intrigued to see the updated version. Well, visually, it’s quite stunning, but to be honest, the writers of those many poor reviews did have a point. I did like the music though, even a reprise of the song from the original film; “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” by Journey. Most of the original music was produced by Daft Punk, which seemed to fit the technological mood pretty well. But more of my thoughts later, here’s a brief summary first.

Kevin Flynn became a successful businessman at the end of the first film. He later got married and had a son, Sam. Several years later he mysteriously disappeared without a trace. His son, now grown up is disillusioned and refuses to take control of the company that is rightfully his. One of the directors, and friend of his father, Alan Bradley, comes to him one day saying he’s been paged by Kevin. Strangely though, it has come from Kevin’s old games arcade that hasn’t been running for years. Sam goes there and finds Kevin’s old workshop. Turning devices on, he is digitised and downloaded to ‘The Grid’. Now, ‘The Grid’ is run by a program written by Kevin called Clu, who looks like Kevin did 30 years ago. Clu’s mission is to remove any imperfections on ‘The Grid’. Sam is made to play games or risk being killed. He reluctantly plays, but is rescued by the mysterious Quorra. She takes him off ‘The Grid’ to meet his real father. Sam desperately wants to get his father out of there and it’s a race against time to escape the world of TRON. I won’t say any more as I don’t want the Spoiler Police to de-res me.

As I’ve already said, the visuals are quite stunning in this one, I cannot fault most of the CGI. I saw it in 2D so I cannot comment on the 3D-ness of the picture. Decent performances all round; Jeff Bridges did a good job as both Kevin Flynn and Clu, although he was CGI’d as Clu and that didn’t quite work as well as it might. Garrett Hedlund was ok as Sam Flynn, as was Olivia Wilde as Quorra. It was also nice to see Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley and reprising his original role as TRON.

I think the main problem with this film was that it was too much like the original, as far as the story goes. It’s all about getting from one place to another to escape something bad and get home. Very ‘Wizard of Oz’ if you like. Unfortunately, we’re all too familiar with that story and after a while it becomes boring. Yes, the visuals are quite stunning, but that doesn’t make up for a rather predictable an, sadly, dull plot. The dialogue didn’t help matters much either, it was all far too pedestrian I’m afraid… Sadly, the critics were right in this case… Not recommended.

My Score: 5.3/10.

IMDb Score: 7.0/10 (based on 83,476 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1104001/

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50/100 (based on 221 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10011582-TRON_legacy/

FAVOURITE QUOTE:
Quorra: [Quorra is showing Sam the book collection] Just between you and me, Jules Verne is my favourite. Do you know Jules Verne?
Sam Flynn: Sure.
Quorra: What’s he like?

LINKS:
Official Site: http://www.disney.co.uk/tron/index.jsp
Official Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Tron
Official Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/TronLegacy
Trailer:

Film Review: K-PAX (2001)

Director: Iain Softley
Running Time: 120 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 12

Genre: Comedy/Drama
UK Release Date: 12th April 2002

Watched on Sky+ Sunday 10th April 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I remember watching this film when I was younger and being quite impressed with it. It recently came up in the TV listings and so I decided to give it a re-watch. It’s very different to what I remember, or should I say, parts of it are very different to what I remember. I’ll give you my thoughts after this brief summary (summary haters, and those that don’t wish to know about the plot, please hop on a beam of light back to K-PAX while I write the next paragraph).

When mental patient Prot (pronounced Proat) is admitted to hospital, he comes under the care of Dr. Mark Powell. Prot tells everyone that he is an alien from the planet K-PAX but Dr. Powell doesn’t believe him. Unfortunately many of the patients do and they get into a bit of a frenzy when he tells them when he is leaving and that he can take only one of them with him. Now knowing the timescale, Dr. Powell is determined to find the truth about Prot and resorts to hypnotism in order to regress him so he can find clues to his past. He does find something, but is it too late, will Prot leave before he can put all the pieces together… and more importantly, who will he take with him? I’ll end my summary there so as not to bring down the wrath of the K-PAX Spoiler Police.

This film starts out very promisingly with the enigmatic Prot defying all attempts to get to his truth. I was happy in this fantasy world, but the story takes a turn about half way through that kind of shatters the fantasy and leaves you feeling kind of flat. In the end it becomes much more earth-bound and I (for one) felt kind of cheated by the ending, although it is kind of heart-warming.

A great performance from Kevin Spacey as Prot, he fitted the part perfectly. Also worthy of note was Jeff Bridges as Dr, Mark Powell, he did a good job although I felt he wasn’t really stretched by this part. Honourable mentions go to; Mary McCormack as Rachel Powell, Alfre Woodard as Dr. Claudia Villars, David Patrick Kelly as Howie, Saul Williams as Ernie and Peter Gerety as Sal.

Having liked this one when I first saw it, I was a bit disappointed by the second viewing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth a viewing if you haven’t seen it before if just for Spacey’s excellent performance. I found it a bit too long at two hours, but it did have a nice soundtrack and there is some excellent cinematography. Recommended… if just for Spacey.

My Score: 5.9/10

LINKS:
(RT = Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0272152/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kpax/
Official Site: http://www.k-pax.com/
Trailer:

Film Review: CRAZY HEART (2009)

Director: Scott Cooper
Running time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

UK release date: 5th March 2010

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 15th January 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I wasn’t too sure about this one at first. I’m not a great fan of country music for a start, but I do know a good tune when I hear one and those guys at the Academy can’t always be wrong, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m really glad I did! It’s a really great film with some cracking songs and some truly great performances. But more of my praise later, here’s a very brief summary first (summary haters please help unload the gear while I write the next paragraph - thanks).

Bad Blake is a country singer whose best days are behind him. He plays small bars, bowling alleys; anywhere he can get a gig really. Like many on hard times he has turned to alcohol to ease the pain, but it is clearly doing him no good. While playing in Santa Fe he meets journalist, Jean Craddock, who he begins a relationship with. She has a young son, Buddy, who takes to Bad and it seems things a looking up for the Country star. His agent calls him and tells him he has a gig in Phoenix, opening for his former protégé, and a very successful star, Tommy Sweet. At first he’s hesitant, but finally agrees to do the show. He talks to Tommy and Tommy offers to help him out by paying for any new songs Bad has written. The trouble is Bad hasn’t written any new material in quite a long time. On his way back to see Jean, Bad has an accident and is laid up for several weeks. During this time he begins to write again, but his alcoholism is about to rear its ugly head. Is Jean his salvation? Well, I guess that would be giving the game away, so I won’t tell you here.

First of all the music, as I said at the beginning, I’m not a fan of Country music, but I do know a good tune when I hear one, and there are several on show here. The original songs by both Stephen Bruton and T-Bone Burnett are spot on. So good in fact that I bought the soundtrack album. One thing I did note was that there is no incidental music which I found made the film a little sparse. Lots of dialogue can get a bit tedious without anything to break it up. Having said that, I guess it makes the viewer appreciate the performances of the actors more.

I am not surprised that Jeff Bridges won the Oscar for Best Actor for his part as Bad Blake; he is truly excellent in this. I must also give praise to Maggie Gyllenhaal as Jean Craddock; I thought she was really good as well. I will also give honourable mentions to; Colin Farrell as Tommy Sweet and Robert Duvall as Bad’s friend Wayne (he was also one of the Producers by the way). Both Jeff Bridges and Colin Farrell performed the songs themselves which, I think was, first of all, brave, and secondly, excellently done! Both could have a second career some day.

Over all, a really well made film with some great cinematography, the use of the landscape of New Mexico really stood out. Of course, the performances all round were excellent and only added to my enjoyment. It did fall a little flat in the third quarter where the story concentrates on the relationship between Bad and Jean, but I guess that’s because there are no songs in that part. Having said that, this is still a film I would still recommend to anyone! If you haven’t seen it, please do, it’s well worth a look.

My score: 8.4/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1263670/
Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/crazyheart/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi1217594393/

Film Review: THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS (2009)

Director: Grant Heslov
Running time: 94 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

UK release date: 6th November 2009

Watched on Sky+ Monday 10th January 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Having heard the journalist, Jon Ronson, who wrote the book on which this film is based interviewed a couple of times I was intrigued to see this one. Unfortunately, these interviews were all broadcast around the time of the cinema release and I never got the opportunity to see it. Fortunately, it arrived on the BBC just over a year later and so my curiosity was finally satisfied. My thoughts later, but here’s a short summary first (summary haters please stare at those goats over there while I write the next paragraph… sorry, I couldn’t resist that one).

When journalist, Bob Wilton, is separated from his wife in 2002, he decides to go to Iraq to prove himself to her. Here he meets Lyn Skip Cassady, an ex-member of the U.S. Army’s New Earth Army. What’s that I hear you say, well, it’s a special unit set up in the 1980’s to look into using psychic powers as a means of winning a war. The unit was headed by Bill Django who had spent many years studying the ways of the more free-spirited Americans. As Bob and Lyn travel through Iraq Bob learns more about the work of the unit and how he may be involved in the secret mission Lyn is currently on. In flashback we learn that Lyn had a nemesis back at the unit, Larry Hooper, who was to turn up again before the end of the mission.

Although I did find a lot of the humour in this one quite funny, I did find the story a little weak. It’s a pretty well made film with some good performances but I felt a little let down by the plot, particularly the end. Performance wise, George Clooney never missed a beat as Lyn Skip Cassady, Ewan McGregor was ok as Bob Wilton, but he wasn’t really stretched, Jeff Bridges did a great impression of ‘The Dude’ as Bill Django and Kevin Spacey again wasn’t at all stretched as Larry Hooper.

I found it funny that a film starring Ewan McGregor featured an Army unit that called itself ‘The Jedi’. And there are plenty of other little jokes like this throughout the film. If it wasn’t for George Clooney and Jeff Bridges I guess I would have given a lower score, but they just about pushed it to a 6.5 for me. So, over all, if slightly unsatisfying, it’s still worth seeing for Messer’s Clooney and Bridges alone… Recommended (just).

My score: 6.5/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1234548/
Official Site: http://www.themenwhostareatgoatsmovie.com/#home
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/imdb/vi309003545/

Film Review: TRON (1982)

Writer/Director: Steven Lisberger
Running time: 92 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): PG

UK Release date: 21st October 1982

Watched on DVD Thursday 25th November 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

In anticipation of the forthcoming Tron Legacy, I thought I’d go a bit retro and take a look at the 1982 original. I remember being blown away by the whole concept when it first came out, but now I’m a tad older and several tads wiser, it’s maybe lost a bit of its awe. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a pretty enjoyable film… But more of that later, here’s a short summary before I tell you what I really think (summary haters please wait on the game-grid until the end of the next paragraph).

Kevin Flynn is a programmer who has been swindled by his old boss, Ed Dillinger. In order to find evidence of Dillinger’s con Kevin must break into the system holding the data. He is assisted by his friends, Alan Bradley and Lora. Little do they know a rogue Master Control Program (MCP), written by Dillinger, has taken over the system. Flynn is digitised and sucked into the system, where programs take on the form of their programmers. He is forced to take part in gladiatorial games, at the behest of the MCP, but he escapes with two other programs, Tron and Ram. Now Tron was written by Alan Bradley and is designed to take down the MCP. The trio must make their way to the MCP before it becomes too powerful. They are pursued by the MCP’s most powerful warrior, Sark. Will they make it in time? Well, I guess I’d better leave it there, don’t want to give too much away.

Although it does look fairly dated by today’s standards, I think the effects stand up pretty well. You can tell they spent a lot of time and money getting it to look as good as it does. Unfortunately some of the dialogue is a bit wooden, particularly in the first half hour, and the musical score doesn’t exactly set your toes tapping, but I can forgive that. Performance wise, Jeff Bridges did a decent job as Kevin Flynn / Clu, as did Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley / Tron. Honourable mentions also go to; David Warner as Ed Dillinger / Sark / Master Control Program and Cindy Morgan as Lora / Yori.

I found it a little dull for the first thirty minutes or so, but after Flynn is sucked into the computer it soon grabbed my attention. It brought back so many memories, I used to love playing the light cycles game at the arcade. But enough nostalgia, although is seems a little dated, it’s still perfectly watchable today. I really enjoyed it and I hope the younger generation will also get the chance to see this one… Recommended.

My score: 6.8/10

LINKS:
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0084827/
Official Site: http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/tron.html#4063
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi3405709593/

Film Review: THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)

Writer/Directors: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (uncredited as director)
Running time: 117 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

UK release date: 1st May 1998

Watched on DVD Sunday 29th August 2010.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I’ll admit I am a big fan of this film; I’ve loved it since I first saw it on a grainy rental video back in 2000. To me the Coen brothers have made two outstanding films, this one and Fargo (1996), and yes, I know there will be some disagreement out there about that, but it’s only my opinion. Now, before I tell you why I think this is such a great film, here’s a little bit about the plot.

Jeffrey Lebowski (a.k.a. The Dude), is disturbed one evening when two heavies break into his house and demand money that his wife owes their boss. One of them urinates on his rug before they realise they have the wrong Lebowski… This one isn’t even married. The next day The Dude complains about this to his bowling buddies, Walter Sobchak and Donny Kerabatsos. They figure out it’s a case of mistaken identity and The Dude goes to see the man they really wanted, another Jeffrey Lebowski - The Big Lebowski, who happens to be a millionaire. Leaving with a replacement rug, The Dude meets the young trophy wife, Bunny Lebowski. A few days later he is contacted by Mr Lebowski’s assistant, Brandt, because Bunny has been kidnapped and they want The Dude to act as the bag man. I won’t say any more, but that’s basically the set-up. Throw in The Big Lebowski’s artist daughter Maude (from a previous marriage) and some crazy German nihilists and you can see there’s plenty to keep the audience amused and entertained.

This is an exceptionally well made film with a great cast, a great score and some really different and enthralling dream sequences thrown in. To me it’s almost the perfect movie, I say almost, because I like to leave a little margin for improvement. Great performances all round from; Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey Lebowski - The Dude, John Goodman as Walter Sobchak, Julianne Moore as Maude Lebowski, Steve Buscemi as Donny Kerabatsos, David Huddleston as Jeffrey Lebowski - The Big Lebowski, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Brandt and Tara Reid as Bunny Lebowski. Oh, and I almost forgot a stellar performance by John Turturro as Jesus Quintana.

As I’ve already said, this is, to me, almost the perfect movie. I say that because I can only find one scene that doesn’t add anything substantial to the story. It’s the one where The Dude confronts the guy in the VW Beetle (for those that have seen it). Apart from that, an almost perfect movie. Very highly recommended.

My score: 9.3/10

LINKS:
IMDb Site: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0118715/
Trailer: http://uk.imdb.com/rg/VIDEO_PLAY/LINK/video/screenplay/vi4018733337/