Kevin's Watch

True Grit - Im glad they steered away from trying to just re-do this epic John Wayne movie. This movie was very much like the book. My expectations were not large going in since this was one of my favorite John Wayne movies and I just couldnt see them doing it justice. But I am a sucker for a western.

One of the things that you note very quickly is that they dont use contractions in this movie. Which just sounds weird to me but I got used to it pretty quickly. Even the bad guys seemed to have an expanded vocabulary (course that is probably more factual as well, Im just a product of dumbed down govt schools).

What I really liked about this movie was that it is a western and I love western movies (Did I mention that?). It had some elements of drama, comedy, action, and just good ol' fun. It wasnt the best western Ive seen but it was worth the time and money to go see it at the movies.

As someone who rarely is able to get out to the movies anymore, and was forced out of the house to see this with the family, I really wish I could have picked the movie. I would have picked either Black Swan or Tron. Overall, it was fine, though I've not read the book and only had vague memories of the John Wayne flick (mainly the snake pit). I'm not a fan of westerns, however, and think the Coen brothers are pretty hit and miss.

True Grit is right up there with Unforgiven in the western genre. Maybe a hair below. I'll have to see it again.

Definitely a great movie and much better than I was expecting going in.

julie and i loved the movie!

i would rate it just below Unforgiven as well.

thought all the acting was first rate - and would have loved to have seen more of Barry Pepper and Josh Brolin.

Bridegs, Damon and the girl were superb.

and we loved the amount of humor in the film.

It was all right. A true genre picture, to be sure, but it didn't strike me as great as some of the Coen's other stuff, such as No Country for Old Men, Fargo, A Serious Man or Barton Fink. Those films had something very unique about them that I didn't feel with True Grit.

Lord Foul wrote:It was all right. A true genre picture, to be sure, but it didn't strike me as great as some of the Coen's other stuff, such as No Country for Old Men, Fargo, A Serious Man or Barton Fink. Those films had something very unique about them that I didn't feel with True Grit.

Conversely, this was the first Coen picture I liked.

it was very entertaining. and sometimes a film is great by entertaining.

I went to see this out of curiosity and its a good film, but why was it ever made? I really didn't see much that was radically different from the original and in a lot of places the origianl script/dialogue was re-used. In both movies I thought LeBoeff was hammed; the character should (imo) have been much younger, more naive and more of a fish out of water in the wilder parts of the West, but getting by on talent and counterpointing the experience of Cogburn.

Maddie was played better I thought, I found it hard to warm to the original, tho' that may have been idea.

As for the Rooster, well this was a part for John Wayne that he was born for and had in many ways had become that character. Whilst I thought Bridges played it well, I nonetheless felt throughout, that he was playing John Wayne playing Rooster Cogburn.

Again I wonder why a remake like this was necessary (apart from spinning a few dollars out of thin air) or desirable especially if the main bulk of the movie was just a direct imitation of the original screenplay. Good piece in itself, but a "cover version" nonetheless.