True Grit (2010, U.S.)

I was absolutely stunned by this one. Finally, a western I could enjoy! After watching such modern and acclaimed westerns (featuring some of my favorite actors) as Appaloosa and 3:10 to Yuma, I was beginning to think that they just would never be my thing. So I was thrilled with my small victory here, because True Grit just blew me away.

I've never read the book or seen the original movie, but I have read that this version was a much closer adaptation of the book. If so, the book must be something else too. This film had the absolute best dialogue I have ever heard. It was oddly formal but it flowed so well and was often witty and amusing. Just fantastic. I think it definitely deserved the nomination for best adapted screenplay, and having seen the winner (Social Network), I do understand the tight competition.

The acting was phenomenal. Brolin, Damon, and Bridges all delivered the funniest lines with the most dry, deadpan expressions. Bridges was especially talented in that regard. Damon spent half of the movie with his tongue bitten through and his mouth swollen, and portraying that without looking ridiculous took some serious skill. With just those three men, this film already had an incredibly strong cast, but the real show-stealer was young Hailee Steinfeld. Although Bridges' character was the one who supposedly had the titular "true grit," I think Steinfeld (and her character, Maddie), was really the one with true grit. She was a real firecracker and a strong young actress, and watching her was truly a joy. I thought that Melissa Leo's supporting actress Oscar was ridiculous, and now I know who the hands-down winner should have been. Heck, she should have been nominated for best actress; her character was the central one. Absolutely stellar. Truly, the writing and acting in this film just defy description. You have to see it to understand how good it really is.

I also love the score. Carter Burwell is (sometimes) one of my favorite composers. At times, he writes perfect scores that bring the story alive, and at times he writes unmemorable, unfitting scores. This one was definitely the former. It's hard to describe (this seems to be a theme here), but it sounded very American, slightly western, and somehow peaceful. It fit beautifully with the film.

This brings me to my two small complaints. First, the transition from Burwell's score to the vocalized credits music was just too abrupt, jarring me out of the mood of the film. It really fit okay, but the transition could have been better. Of course, it was less noticeable than it could have been, following the worst bucket-of-cold-water-type moment in the film. I was completely immersed in the world of the film, enjoying the dialogue, the music, the western landscapes, when suddenly appears a mistreated (and then essentially murdered) horse. It's just one of my pet peeves, but I absolutely hate it when horses die in the movies. In a war movie, thousands of men can die without me blinking, but when the first horse falls I just start cringing. So in this otherwise enthralling film, I was suddenly thrown out of my enraptured viewing and back into reality with the death of this poor horse. Don't get me wrong, it works for the plot and Maddie's reaction is heart wrenching, but personally it was hard for me to get back into things and enjoy the rest of the film.

But overall, this was truly incredible. I find the Coen brothers to be very hit or miss when it comes to their films and my taste, and this was pure hit, hit, hit. A very pleasant surprise.

Rating: 4.5

The Goonies (1985, U.S.)

Apparently I am not a true child of my generation since I had yet to see The Goonies. So now I've seen it, and all is right with the world again.

I have to say, it wasn't terrible. It was a good adventure story, and the acting wasn't that bad, for a bunch of kids. Sean Astin was absolutely adorable, and his character was completely believable. I still can't believe that was Josh Brolin playing his older brother—the last film I saw him in was W. Of course, the one I loved the most was Jonathan Ke Quan, who most people would know as Short Round. His character was quite similar to that in Temple of Doom, but with a James Bond twist. Very cute! The interaction between all of the kids was really well played, as if they really had known each other their whole lives.

The story was a cool adventure for young kids (and I guess older ones too). Hidden tunnels, opera singing villians, pirate ships, and, perhaps most importantly, kids who are able to do something to save their neighborhood—but in a cool way. Most of the "even the smallest person can do big things" stories don't involve such fun adventures that the average child would love to participate in.

I think the thing I liked the least about the whole thing was Sloth. Without him, you could almost believe that this all may happen to a group of neighborhood kids, but with "the thing" wandering around, it just doesn't seem as realistic.

Still, I can definitely see why this one was so popular in the '80s.

Rating: 3.0

Milk (2008, U.S.)

Of course I've seen biographical films of prominent historical figures, mostly Queen Elizabeth. Milk was an entirely different experience, since I'd never heard of Harvey Milk or his amazing crusade in Californian politics, advocating for civil rights for the gay citizens of San Francisco.

I really only want to talk about two elements of this film—the acting and the general plot. I'll start with the acting. I have never, never liked Sean Penn. In my opinion, he plays the same character over and over again. Not a very pleasant character either. I was pretty enraged when he stole the Oscar in 2003 for playing that same character in Mystic River. After Milk though, I have to retract my previous doubt as to his acting ability. Not only did he play a character completely different from any I've seen him play before, but he played it insanely well. He was charismatic, sweet, endearing, friendly. The few scenes that required any physical display of homosexuality were also well played. (As a side note, these scenes were not used too frequently and they were tastefully understated. Very well handled.) I have never been so impressed with Penn. All of the other actors were amazing too. My friend who I saw it with couldn't stop saying how funny Emile Hircsh was. I thought Diego Luna was pretty amusing as well. But of all the supporting roles, I was most impressed with James Franco, who I've never seen as a particularly strong actor before. His part was understated but very important. I think he could have easily gotten in Penn's way, but he stayed in the background and supported instead. It was well done. These four men just did a wonderful job playing characters outside of their normal ranges.

As to the story, it was straightforward but moving. Obviously, it echoes current events regarding gay rights, and it gave the (mostly) men involved faces and voices. They're people, and they're just like any other people. They deserve their civil rights. Of course you'd never hear me or anyone else who'd see this movie denying that fact, and those who deny it would never see this movie (and therefore potentially be swayed), so that doesn't accomplish much as a tool of activism. But it was well-made, nonetheless. The simple story of a man who found himself at the head of a movement, who ultimately lost his life after changing the lives of thousands for the better. I think "simple" is the best word I can use for this one. It just follows this man from his 40th birthday to his assassination 8 years later, told partially through his own narration in a tape made in case of his death by assassination. All of the main characters were real people, no composites. (And, of course, the film ended with pictures of the real people and what they did after Milk's assassination.) Nothing was overdone. It didn't seem preachy at all, though it easily could have. Instead it was just simple and touching. Wonderful.

Oh, and one last thing: score by Danny Elfman was markedly un-Danny Elfman. But it fit the film perfectly.

Rating: 4.0

W. (2008, U.S.)

Of course I thought I was going to like this one. And I was right. It was great. Oliver Stone is a wonderful director, and while he clearly isn't Bush's biggest fan, I think he did his best to make the film as unbiased as possible.

Blogger is silly and will only let me tag so many things per post, so let me list who portrayed all the major characters—Elizabeth Banks (Laura Bush), Ellen Burstyn (Barbara Bush), James Cromwell (George H.W. Bush), Richard Dreyfuss (Dick Cheney), Michael Gaston (General Tommy Franks), Scott Glenn (Donald Rumsfeld), Ioan Gruffudd (Tony Blair), Toby Jones (Karl Rove), Thandie Newton (Condaleeza Rice), and Jeffrey Wright (Colin Powell). If this doesn't sell this film to you, I don't know what would. All of these actors were so absolutely brilliant that I almost forgot that they were actors and not the actual people. And then there was Josh Brolin. Wow. To be able to play such an interesting character over a span of 40 years with such authenticity is sheer, undeniable brilliance. Stefanie (who I saw this film with) had the same reaction as me—by the end, we were convinced that we were watching Dubya and not Brolin. Amazing, amazing, amazing acting. I cannot say enough about the whole cast, and especially about Brolin.

Besides the great acting and the high level of realism, I also love the flashback method of storytelling (as I always do) and the clever, clever score. The flashbacks attempted to parallel his early life with how he behaved as president. He was (apparently) a wild, alcoholic, irresponsible boy who couldn't hold down a job and was an embarrassment to George Sr. He decided to get it together and go into the family business by running for the House of Representatives, but he was "out-Texased" by the democratic candidate. Then somehow he becomes governor of Texas, and then God calls him to run for president. (H.W. didn't want him to run for governor and overshadow his brother Jeb, who he seemed to be much prouder of.) You feel bad for poor W. But at the same time, you recognize that trying to prove oneself to one's father is a terrible motivation for becoming president and that this man was not qualified for the job. (Kind of like another politician whose primary experience is as a state governor...)

Then there was the music. There was an interesting arrangement of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" playing in the background when Bush and his cabinet are in a meeting to decide whether or not they're going into Baghdad. It gave me goosebumps—and not the good kind. Especially when the cabinet took part in their customary prayer at the end of the meeting. There were also several uses of a chirpy song about Robin Hood, primarily when Bush was wandering around his ranch followed by a troop of his not-so-merry men (and Condoleeza). It fit perfectly, with all its lyrics about feared by the evil and loved by the good, added to its goofy sound.

I liked George H.W. Bush in this film. I never thought much about him before since he was president when I was too young to care, but based on this he wasn't so bad. I liked how they had him tell W. that he had disgraced the Bush family name. However, in case this is less than accurate, he says this in a dream that W. has. That way, the idea was introduced but not implied as fact. I thought that was very subtly clever.

The last thing I will mention is the ongoing baseball field scenes, which culminated with the excellently done final scene. Apparently, center field is where Bush is able to think the most clearly. (His most successful job is as a baseball team owner, in fact.) Whenever he is trying to make a tough choice, they show him zoning out and imagining himself into center field. The last scene shows a fly ball coming towards him, and he keeps looking for it and looking for it, but he never sees it again. And that was a perfectly executed simile, right there. It was also a great way to end it. No hopeful messages, no preaching via end titles, no scrambling to choose a good final scene that really happened... It was wonderful.

I would give this film a 5, but I just wish there was more in it. Obviously, time is an issue and it can't go on forever, but I wanted it to. And since this is my blog, I can take half a point off for leaving me wanting more!

Go see this film. And don't "misunderestimate" it!

Rating: 4.5

No Country for Old Men (2007, U.S.)

I tried to like it, I really did. I'd heard great things, it won several Oscars... but I just didn't like it at all. Too much violence. Nothing but violence, really.

So here are my few notes on it: Minimalist score by Burwell was great, especially in the last scene/closing credits. Good acting, especially by Javier Bardem -- creepy! I didn't know this was based on a Cormac McCarthy book, but it reminded me of him. So when I found out it was based on one of his books, I can only assume they must have done a good job adapting it.

It's easy to forget over the course of a movie that seems predominantly about greed, but the main character never would have run into all the problems he did if he hadn't gone back to the scene where he'd found the money in order to give a dying man some water. No good deed goes unpunished, they say.

So overall, there was some good stuff in this movie. But it was entirely overshadowed by excessive violence. Which I guess was kind of the point, but that doesn't mean I had to like it.

Rating: 1.5