Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Costume
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
What a feat to take on a movie legend's most famous role, and make the character and film your own. That's exactly what Jeff Bridges and the Coen Brothers do. Jeff Bridges stars as Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit", the movie that finally won John Wayne an Oscar, makes one forget John Wayne, at least it did for me. Bridges has the ability to morph into the characters he plays, so that you believe he is that person. Here he does it again. The nominations for the film are well deserved.
The Coen Brothers, follow the book written by Charles Portis. So this movie is not a remake of the John Wayne version of the story. It seemed like a completely different film, in a good way. The cinematography is great and so is the art direction. This is a very gritty version of the west. There is some pretty country in the film, but the Coens do a great job of using visuals to convey a mood. There is this shot of a double row of trees, that made me think Rooster was entering a dead ominous place. Those kinds of visuals are everywhere in this movie. They really give the film a feeling that the old west was a dark, mean and dirty place. Good job guys, it's not lost on the viewer. I love the symbolism in the film.
This film is the surprise of the best pictures nominees for me so far. Westerns are pretty iffy for me. I don't generally like most of them. Okay, I LOVED "Dance With Wolves", but that wasn't your typical Western. The cast includes the always evolving Josh Brolin and Matt Damon, who is better in his role in this film than Glenn Campbell's version of the character. Then there is the remarkable little newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Mattie. She is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Having seen most of the other supporting actress nominees, Hailee won't win, but she deserves the nod. That race will be between Melissa Leo and Amy Adams.
Had Jeff Bridges not won the Best Actor for "Crazy Heart" last year, he would give Colin Firth a real run for the award. But like I've said before, the academy likes to mix it up and not reward the same people too often. Colin is due for it anyway and he will edge everyone else out. But Jeff does the best job with oddball and craggy kinds of roles. He excels at playing the kind of a shaggy, but almost lovable characters he often portrays. Remember "The Big Labowski'?
Good movie, well worth seeing. Will it win Best Picture? I really don't think so.
Rating - 4 stars
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography
Best Costume
Best Sound Editing
Best Sound Mixing
What a feat to take on a movie legend's most famous role, and make the character and film your own. That's exactly what Jeff Bridges and the Coen Brothers do. Jeff Bridges stars as Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit", the movie that finally won John Wayne an Oscar, makes one forget John Wayne, at least it did for me. Bridges has the ability to morph into the characters he plays, so that you believe he is that person. Here he does it again. The nominations for the film are well deserved.
The Coen Brothers, follow the book written by Charles Portis. So this movie is not a remake of the John Wayne version of the story. It seemed like a completely different film, in a good way. The cinematography is great and so is the art direction. This is a very gritty version of the west. There is some pretty country in the film, but the Coens do a great job of using visuals to convey a mood. There is this shot of a double row of trees, that made me think Rooster was entering a dead ominous place. Those kinds of visuals are everywhere in this movie. They really give the film a feeling that the old west was a dark, mean and dirty place. Good job guys, it's not lost on the viewer. I love the symbolism in the film.
This film is the surprise of the best pictures nominees for me so far. Westerns are pretty iffy for me. I don't generally like most of them. Okay, I LOVED "Dance With Wolves", but that wasn't your typical Western. The cast includes the always evolving Josh Brolin and Matt Damon, who is better in his role in this film than Glenn Campbell's version of the character. Then there is the remarkable little newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, who plays Mattie. She is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Having seen most of the other supporting actress nominees, Hailee won't win, but she deserves the nod. That race will be between Melissa Leo and Amy Adams.
Had Jeff Bridges not won the Best Actor for "Crazy Heart" last year, he would give Colin Firth a real run for the award. But like I've said before, the academy likes to mix it up and not reward the same people too often. Colin is due for it anyway and he will edge everyone else out. But Jeff does the best job with oddball and craggy kinds of roles. He excels at playing the kind of a shaggy, but almost lovable characters he often portrays. Remember "The Big Labowski'?
Good movie, well worth seeing. Will it win Best Picture? I really don't think so.
Rating - 4 stars
