TRUE GRIT

Starring Hailee Steinfeld

I had to give the starring credit to the actual star of this remarkable film unlike every poster and commercial used to publicize the movie.
The story is simple, a young wise cracking girl hires a mean yet effective Marshall to track down the man that killed her father. What follows is a deep and honest character study full of ups and downs with a peppering of humour to keep things moving along.
Jeff Bridges plays the ornery Rooster Cogburn complete with a mush mouthed ode to Slingblade. He is good, really good in the role but the film belongs to the 14 year old played to perfection by Hailee Steinfeld a relative new comer to the movies. Hailee holds her own with the likes of Matt Damon and Josh Brolin as well as with the veteran Bridges and might even have a thing or two to teach them. I don't want to dwell too much on how she impressed me at every turn but I will just say that if she doesn't at least get considered for an Oscar nod then something just ain't right this year.
The movie is simple enough in its mission, introducing the idea of justice and good prevailing despite many obstacles much like the thousands of movies that came before it.The difference this time around is that rather than a lack of character development holding the film back, we are treated to a rich background on many of the players and so you actually gain sympathy for their plight and quietly root them on from your seat.
If you are looking for a new turn on an old classic and if you have read the book or are just a fan of a good old fashioned Western with top notch performances than this is the film for you.

Rating 4 ponies out of 5

Little Fockers

Starring a tired Ben Stiller and some of the greatest actors of all time for some reason.

Lets set the mood right away with this one, in the first few minutes we are treated to Jessica Alba's character shoving a couple of fingers up the backside of a large and cranky patient in order to facilitate an enema. With lines like "relax your anus" you know you're in for a cinematic classic. Perhaps miss Alba can look for whats left of her career while shes up there.
This absurd train wreck is apparently centered around the children this time around but you wouldn't know it from how the movie sputters out of control and focus from the onset. We get boner jokes, vomit sight gags and gross out blood gushing scenes. Real comedy gems indeed.
The fact that Dustin Hoffman and Robert Deniro and even Babs herself are in this wretched pile of pablum is absolutely awesome to me. Did they ALL lose the same bet? This movie is an unfunny travesty from start to finish and on top of all this, its sloppy and inconsistent from technical gaffs to simple misfires.
I don't even know where to begin, maybe with the mismatched wig on a stuntman, maybe with the mind numbing scene in which Gaylord cuts his hand while carving a turkey and blood shoots out all over his family and the ensuing chaos and horror of the situation somehow isn't enough to keep him from answering the phone!?! By all means, answer the phone while bedlam erupts in your home, it could be important.
Little things like that really bother me, but not as much as long open ended and rehashed scenes.
There might as well have been a highlight reel from the first two movies injected into this one with all of the unfunny references to them. We get it, you re watching him and hes watching you. Whats the opposite of laughter? Is it tears? Its this movie. My friend treated me to this movie. I need new friends.

Rating 1 fart joke out of 5

TRON LEGACY

Starring Jeff Bridges and the scripts of Terminator 2, The Matrix, Wall Street 2 and The Fifth Element.

Coughing up an extra 3 bucks to see a 3D movie is a hard pill to swallow considering the movie in question was so completely devoid of any visual thrills and any sort of wow factor that it simply leaves you wondering where your money went.
The plot is absurd but then again I wasn't there for plot, I was there to be awed. Jeff bridges was fine in a dual role and that's where the acting lauding stops. The kid in it was straight from a casting call catalogue and the villains were lame at best.
Was I supposed to care about the story and the idea of creationism and evolution skipping steps? I hope not because it all seemed so trite even a tad bit redundant after the first 15 long long minutes. Philisophical debates aside, this movie is just plain flat and fails to engage the viewer on any level.
Now onto a sort of bright spot, the music. There, the soundtrack was good.
I wish I could tell you more but I have a feeling that some will disagree and that's fine but to be honest, I expected so much more and sort of feel cheated in the end. The 3D to reiterate was a complete waste of technology and it was even partially shot in 2D and before the movie begins there is a disclaimer telling you as such but encourages you to keep your glasses on for the entire film. I took my glasses off to scratch my head after one lame scene and noticed that the 2D portion was brighter and more clear without the glasses!!?? Weak.
I've spent 20 bucks on lamer things in life, but it's a short list.

Rating 1 1/2 discs out of 5



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