Not So Gritty After All

Fort Smith, we have a problem.

We finally saw "True Grit" last week, and since the movie is certain to receive a few Oscar nominations tomorrow morning, it's time to give the movie its due. We first wrote about the movie one year ago, and like many, we were highly anticipating the Coen Brothers' remake of the classic film.

(Click on "Movies - True Grit" in the Labels List to read all of our posts about the movie.)
We love the work of the Coen Brothers; their Best Picture-winning "No Country for Old Men" is one of our favorite movies of all time. We knew it was a classic the minute we saw it, and it elevated the Coen Brothers in our minds to the status of "almost can do no wrong". Almost.

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(john wayne as rooster cogburn in "true grit")

.We're also very familiar with the original "True Grit" which won John Wayne his only Oscar, and which starred co-starred Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper and Strother Martin. And although we've always acknowledged problems with the original film, it was nevertheless very entertaining and has, over time, entered the pantheon of most beloved American movies. Even people who aren't crazy about the original movie will admit that it's respectably made and very entertaining.

And so you know what's coming. We can't help ourselves; we have to compare the new "True Grit" with the original. We know that's not the way to do a proper movie review, but then, we're not proper movie reviewers. Besides, if you're going to remake one of the most popular movies of all time, you're going to have to expect comparisons. Could you imagine if someone remade "Gone With The Wind" or "Star Wars" that most people wouldn't compare the remakes to the originals? Of course they would.

On its own, the new "True Grit" is good, there's no denying that fact. But we're sorry, Coen's, it's not all that you promised. Just before seeing the "new Grit", we heard an interview with the Coen's on National Public Radio, and they almost bragged that their version was superior to the original. They also made a big point of saying that their version was based on the original Charles Portis novel, not the original movie. That's strange, because the new Grit movie is an almost shot-for-shot copy of the original. There are a couple of new scenes in the new Grit, and a completely different ending, but if you looked at storyboards of the two movies side by side, they'd be almost identical. So let the comparisons begin!

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(john wayne and kim darby)

.John Wayne as the eye-patched Rooster Cogburn was a little white-washed, he certainly wasn't the drunken, dirty character from the novel, but he was good, nonetheless. He was John Wayne for gods sakes, and in 1969, that still carried a lot of weight. But Jeff Bridges almost went too far the other way, trying almost too hard to create a character which would shock somewhat in its dirty grunginess. And in the process he created a huge elephant in the room which we're very surprised no movie critic has mentioned: Bridges is doing Billy Bob Thornton from "Slingblade". We won't describe the "Slingblade" comparison any further, just see the movie, and let us know if you don't think the same thing. And sadly, Bridges just doesn't have the same gravity as John Wayne. The Coen's claimed that their "Grit" was about Rooster and not Mattie, but honestly, it didn't seem that way; Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie stole every scene she was in with Bridges.

Which brings us to Mattie. Hailee Steinfeld was very good; as we said, she stole the movie. But we're not sure she's that much better than Kim Darby in the original. In fact, Darby was a little more believable as someone who is obsessed with avenging her father's death. Steinfeld seems determined, but Darby seemed obsessed. There's a big difference.

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(jeff bridges and matt damon)

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The biggest improvement in the new Grit is, of course, the character of LaBoeuf. Matt Damon is an actor; Glen Campbell was not. Glen Campbell was cast because he was riding the wave of popularity as a pop singer at the time, but clearly he had no business being a movie actor. And out of respect for Campbell as a musician, we'll leave it at that. No we won't, he was horrific. But Damon is fantastic, and portrayed to perfection a character who is proud, thin-skinned and reckless, all the traits that Arkansan Charles Portis intended as a way to poke fun at a Texan.

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(strother martin in "true grit")

.Barry Pepper is good as Ned Pepper, but he's not as menacing as Robert Duvall was. In fact, Barry Pepper took quickly falls for Mattie and almost becomes a sympathetic character instead of someone so mean that you cheer when Rooster tries to blow his head off. And poor Dakin Matthews, who has to step into the role of Col. Stonehill, originally played by the legendary Strother Martin. Matthews is very good, but please, he's no Strother Martin. No one is, or ever will be, Strother Martin. Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney commits the same sin as Jeff Bridges, he tried too hard to create a "character" and almost comes off as laughable in the process.

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(hailee steinfeld and barry pepper)

.The cinematography in the new Grit is far superior to that in the original movie, and we're guessing that it will not only receive an Oscar nomination, but might actually win. But we were a little unnerved by how shiny and clean the town of Ft. Smith, Arkansas looked. Obviously, the Coen's were very proud of their town set, they highlighted it in one scene as if it was a character in the movie, but it looked like a movie set and not a real, lived-in 19th Century frontier town.

The biggest disappointment in the new Grit, though, above all else, was the music and score. The music in the original Grit was done by the legendary Elmer Bernstein, and even though some might feel his music was too "movie-like" and polished, it nevertheless helped to create real tension in several key scenes in the movie. The music in the new Grit was barely noticeable, and did nothing to add to the mood and feel of the story. The Coen's are famous for having a fantastic ear for music; their soundtrack for "O Brother Where Art Thou?" was so good that it beat out its pop, rock and rap competition to claim the Best Album Grammy in 2002. So it was particularly disappointing to watch the new Grit, waiting for music which would elevate the movie and key scenes, and it never came.

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(john wayne, kim darby and glen campbell)

.We'd still recommend the new "True Grit"; it's very good, and whether or not you've seen the original, it's very entertaining and overall, well-made. It will probably get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, and it deserves one, but now, after having seen it, if we were the Coen's, we wouldn't be so quick to belittle the original.

Welcome to Middle Age, Jason Bourne!

Happy 40th Birthday today to Matt Damon!
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40? Wow. Where do the years go? Anyway, Damon has made a number of very good movies, including the "Bourne" series,
"The Departed" and "Saving Private Ryan", and he won an Oscar for writing
"Good Will Hunting", although many in Hollywood have always secretly believed that he and his buddy, Ben Affleck didn't actually write it. Who knows? But what we do know is that Damon is a gifted actor and we've enjoyed his performances for many years.
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Our favorite Matt Damon movie was 1998's "The Talented Mr. Ripley", which co-starred Gwyneth Paltrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cate Blanchett and a very sexy, young, scene-stealing Jude Law. Damon played a murderous psychopath in this taut thriller, but let's face it, "Ripley" was primarily a "hair movie". Ashton Kutcher once famously said that Tom Cruise's "Mission Impossible" was all about Cruise's fabulous hair and how it moved so seductively in slow motion scenes. "Ripley" was similar in that Damon had a perfectly coiffed mane of gorgeous hair that was so present in every scene, it was almost as if the hair had its own agent and backend deal.
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.But we also loved Damon's incredibly lithe body that made a famous appearance in a lime green bikini. Damon was so physically adorable in the movie that you couldn't help but fall in love with his Ripley, even though he would most likely murder you at some point during your second date.
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.Also in "Ripley", the homoeroticism was thicker than Sarah Palin's skull. Ripley wanted to be Dickie Greenleaf, but he also wanted to be in Dickie Greenleaf. Oh, the sexual tension was palpable, but sadly, Damon and Law never made the two backed monster. If only.
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.And speaking of Damon's skinny build, he reversed that look for his recent Oscar-nominated role in "Invictus", where his rugby coach was all beef. Goal!!!!!!!
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.Next up for Damon is the highly anticipated "True Grit". Click on "Movies - 'True Grit'" in the Labels list to read about it.

And Make Way for More Grammys As Well

The all star cast for the new "True Grit" includes Jeff Bridges and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.
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..And in case you're instantly entranced by the music in the film's trailer, as we were, the song is an old hymn, "Where No One Stand Alone" sung by the Peasall Sisters. If the Peasall name sounds familiar, the girls also sang on the soundtrack for an earlier Coen Brothers' movie, "O Brother Where Art Thou?". .
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.The soundtrack for "O Brother Where Art Thou?" won the 2002 Grammy for Best Album of the Year, causing an infamous outcry from a muscially ignorant P. Diddy who couldn't believe that a "country album" could beat a hip hop album for the Album of the Year Grammy. Oh, Diddy, Diddy, Diddy... maybe one day you'll actually know something about really great music. But we doubt it.

Hollywood Watch: "True Grit"

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(bridges in eye patch and steinfeld in black dress)
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We've written a couple of times in the past few months about the remake of the iconic film, "True Grit", which wrapped up filming in Austin, Texas a couple of weeks ago. The Coen Brothers project stars Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon as LaBeouf and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie. Here are snapshots from the set in Austin.

Hollywood Watch, Part XV

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And speaking of Hollywood remakes, we've written a couple of times about the highly anticipated Coen Brothers remake of "True Grit", starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin.
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(click on "Movies - 'True Grit'" in the Labels List)
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The movie is currently being shot in Granger, Texas, (the stand-in for Ft. Smith, Arkansas), and these photos from the set popped up on the internet yesterday.
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We're guessing the girl in the black dress is Hallie Steinfeld, who's playing Mattie Ross, and of course, in the next photo is Oscar winner, Jeff Bridges, who plays the iconic role of Rooster Cogburn, the role which won John Wayne his only Oscar.
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And in the final photo is what appears to be the set for what is supposed to be Ft. Smith, Arkansas.
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Every movie fan in the world is holding his/her breath, wondering if the much beloved, classic film will be tarnished by the making of a another poorly produced, typical Hollywood remake. But with the incredibly talented storytellers, the Coen Brothers, at the helm, almost everyone is hopeful, and even excited.

Hollywood Watch - Part 3

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In the previous two posts, we mentioned a new film which hopes to become a classic, a remake of an already classic film, and in this post, we are excited to write about the upcoming remake of one of the most legendary movies of all time, "True Grit".

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(john wayne, kim darby,

glen campbell)

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"True Grit", 1969, based on the Charles Portis novel, starred John Wayne as the iconic character Rooster Cogburn, and won Wayne his only Oscar for Best Actor. He initially rebelled against wearing the famous eye patch, but director Henry Hathaway insisted, and when accepting his Oscar, Wayne whimsically mentioned that if he'd known putting on an eye patch would win an Oscar, he would have worn one a lot earlier in his career. The film also featured singer Glen Campbell in his first starring role as Texas Ranger "La Boeuf", Kim Darby as the young "Mattie Ross", and Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper in minor roles, "Lucky Ned Pepper" and "Moon", respectively. Also featured were well known character actors Jeff Corey as "Tom Chaney" and known other than Strother Martin in a small but amusing role as "Colonel Stonehill", the smooth-talking businessman who is outsmarted in business by the 14 year-old Mattie.

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(glen campbell as "la boeuf")

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Hollywood doesn't exactly have a stellar track record with movie remakes, so when we first heard "True Grit" was being remade, we were horrified. But then we heard that it's being done by The Coen Brothers, ("Raising Arizona", "Fargo", "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "No Country for Old Men"), we were not only relieved, but we're actually excited to see what Joel and Ethan Coen will do with the project.

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(above: robert duvall as "lucky ned pepper")

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Some of the cast is set: Jeff Bridges will play Rooster Cogburn, Matt Damon is La Boeuf, and Josh Brolin is cast, but no mention has been made of his role. We're guessing he'll play Ned Pepper. So who will play Moon, Tom Chaney, and most importantly, what young actress will win the role of a lifetime as Mattie Ross? The word is that the Coen Brothers want a complete unknown to play Mattie, and that they're currently holding casting sessions across the United States looking for someone to cast in the important role.

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The role of Mattie Ross made an overnight star of Kim Darby, and just as we mentioned in the previous post that every young actress in her right mind will vy for the role of Veda Pierce in the HBO remake of "Mildred Pierce", we're guessing the casting sessions currently taking place across the country to find the new Mattie are probably packed to the rafters as well.

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(kim darby as "mattie ross")