true grit

we went to see true grit and while i wouldn't say it's a "must see" i would definitely say it's worth seeing, if you see what i mean there. do you see what i mean? do you see what i mean? li'l shout out to xmash caroling, harhar.

okay, so, true grit. the classic john wayne version, made in 1969, apparently won john wayne an oscar to which i would have to say, really? i mean, c'mon. really? that movie is a tribute to acting so broad it could span the grand canyon, to scenery chewing that would put violet beauregard's gum noshing to shame, to direction so lame it needs crutches. crutches and a boot, to boot.

this true grit is not that true grit. in this one, the humour is more subtle which of course makes it funnier. the only problem with the subtlety occurs when jeff bridges as rooster cogburn is doing his drunk act and you can't understand what he's slurring about. but that's only a line or two, and really more the fault of the sound guy or the directors or the producers or somebody else. i mean, somebody should have told him to speak the hell up.

but that's just a small thing really. it's a very good movie. hailee steinfeld as mattie ross is exceptional. because this version revolves around the mattie character, the role requires a strong actor and because the direction creates subtle interplay between characters, mattie must be played by someone with a sense of wit and timing. hailee's the whole package. the john wayne version was centered on wayne's character, rooster cogburn, and because both movies are based on the book true grit which is told from the point-of-view of 14 yr old mattie, the current movie is truer to the book. being true to the book isn't a prerequisite for a good movie, but in this case, the truer version is the better.