Young Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down her Father’s killer Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) in this Coen Brothers remake of the original John Wayne movie.
Accompanying them on their quest is LeBouf (Matt Damon) who also has issues with Tom Chaney.
This is a beautifully shot, well acted Western but it rarely comes to life. It merely shuffles along all the way to an anti-climactic ending with a completely pointless epilogue scene tagged on.
The awards nominations for Steinfeld and Bridges were well earned but this proves that great acting alone does not make a great film.
This is a poor man’s Unforgiven, so just watch that instead.
Accompanying them on their quest is LeBouf (Matt Damon) who also has issues with Tom Chaney.
This is a beautifully shot, well acted Western but it rarely comes to life. It merely shuffles along all the way to an anti-climactic ending with a completely pointless epilogue scene tagged on.
The awards nominations for Steinfeld and Bridges were well earned but this proves that great acting alone does not make a great film.
This is a poor man’s Unforgiven, so just watch that instead.
Ric's Rating: 55%
I really enjoyed this one. Thought it was definitely a contender for Best Picture.
ReplyDeleteGotta disagree with you on this one - I really enjoyed it...much more than the original version...
ReplyDeleteDespite its popularity I really haven't heard much about this movie--thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteHi Guys,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I'd say the general feeling is 50/50 on this one with half loving it and the other half thinking it was nothing special.
I agree with you on the quality of young Hailee Steinfield's acting but I have to commit what is probably considered complete sacrilege, that is to say I think Jeff Bridges is one of the most overrated actors out there. There, I said it. I'm getting a bit fed up with everyone genuflecting in front of 'The Dude', it seems to me he's worn his grizzled stoner act paper-thin. Give me John Wayne any day. I don't know what the Coen brothers were playing at with this movie, was all the over-acting supposed to mean something? If so it was way over my head. I think the Coen brothers are brilliant filmmakers(Blood Simple, Miller's Crossing, No Country for Old Men)but they are also capable of making the most self-indulgent rubbish like Barton Fink; O Brother, Where Art Thou? and (whisper it) The Big Lebowski.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff Zobie,
ReplyDeleteIagree the Coens can be hut and miss but I enjoyed both O' Brother...and Big Lebowski. Fargo was excellent too. As for Jeff Bridges, I can see where you're coming from but he has great screen presence.
...excuse the typos...
ReplyDeleteOne of his sisters, Alexa Ashton, is also a successful actor. She starred in 'Home and Away' and like Paul has worked for the prestigious Bell Shakespeare Company . دانلود
ReplyDeleteGranted all of the other little facets of making a movie help to make a movie better, however I believe entertainment succeeds a movie's technical prowess in order to define whether it is good or not. AFDAH
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