Posts tagged with “True Grit”
Let’s Talk About…the Oscar Nominations
What happened to his eyes?!
From: Kimberly
To: Rebecca, Sarah
Happy Oscar Nomination Day, guys! I assume we all started our mornings with the traditional refreshing of our Oscar lawn statues? It’s a good way to get in the mood. So what do you think? I was thrilled to see Winter’s Bone get so much love, particularly the acting nods for tough girl Jennifer Lawrence and the always fascinating John Hawkes (who is long overdue for some red carpet action). I predict a surprise win for him over critical (but not Academy) favorite Christian Bale. Very odd that Ryan Gosling’s work in Blue Valentine was ignored–maybe his outspoken accusations of misogyny in Hollywood (related to the NC-17 controversy) rubbed too many people the wrong way? Keep your mouth shut, pretty boy! I’ll be rooting for Jesse “Cat Lady” Eisenberg for Best Actor because I love an underdog. (And a cat lady.) And a personal thanks to the Academy for nominating The Fighter–it’s good to work at least one nap into the Best Picture Showcase.
Any thoughts on big snubs? Was DiCaprio good enough in Inception to have deserved a nod?
Lylas,
Kimberly
Starting the Year Off Right: True Grit
Jeff Bridges in True Grit
TRUE GRIT (2010/IN THEATERS) Finally! I have been waiting since its December 24th opening to catch the Coen Brothers’ latest—what a treat. As always from the Coens, the film is tight: perfectly cast, perfectly shot, with moments of sly comedy as well as moments of true violence. Those who have read the Charles Portis novel (I have not) say the movie, as promised by the Coens, is true to the book. The dialogue—wonderfully “stilted” with formal phrasings—is representative of the period and includes the occasional scripture quote from the young heroine Mattie Ross, out to revenge the killing of her father (and also to do a bit of “horse trading” with a wonderful character actor Dakin Matthews as Col. Stonehill). Mattie is beautifully portrayed by young Hailee Steinfeld, selected from a field of 15,000 candidates for the role. Steinfeld was13 years old when filming occurred and this is her first performance—she is 14 now. Jeff Bridges is perfect as Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon is wonderful as the pompous Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (pronounced La Beef). The trio of Mattie, LaBoeuf and Cogburn make up the “good guys” for this flick—on the “bad guys” side we have Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney, murderer of Mattie’s father, and Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper, head of the gang Chaney is with at the time of the action. Neither Brolin nor Barry Pepper have much screen time, but their few minutes are spot-on. Altogether a wonderful Western and one not to be missed.
Grade: A
BTW: Catch this cute interview with Steinfeld at the movie’s premiere. She is a normal teenager.
On Our Radar: True Grit
Joel and Ethan (or Ethan and Joel?) Coen
As a service to anyone who may have missed them, allow us to guide you to the full-length and teaser trailers for the Coen brothers’ Oscar-buzzy True Grit remake, due in theaters on Christmas Day. I think our levels of Coen devotion vary here at Serious Movie Lover, but I am an unabashed enthusiast of most of their vast catalog. If you subscribe to the “every other movie” theory of Coen-watching, they’re due for a serious-minded, large-scale, painstakingly detailed, HIGH QUALITY offering, and this looks like it will fit the bill. Reliable Oscar winners/nominees in leading roles, Roger Deakins in the cinematographer’s chair (Do they get their own chairs? If not, they really should. Everyone needs a place to sit!), and prestige source material, all present. I haven’t seen the 1969 original since watching it on TV with my dad about 20 years ago, but it was John Wayne’s sole Oscar win and therefore universally beloved from what I can tell. The trailers have me more excited for this one than anything else coming up in this last few months of the year that I’ve heard of so far. We’ll be watching to see if it can live up to my already ridiculously high expectations. See you in December, Coens!
