Friday, December 17, 2010

True Grit: Not a great Cohen film, but a great Western

One thing people need to be careful of when watching remakes of movies is the nostalgia factor. That’s when a person has seen the original film a considerably long time ago, and over the years has built ups some sort of standard of the movie made from their memories. This standard they take into the theater when they go and see the remake, and because of nostalgia, incorrectly deem the new movie far worse or better than their memories of the original. There are two problems to this approach. The first is that any film should be judged on it’s own merit, let alone someone’s memories of a previous film. Secondly, usually people’s memories of a movie are wildly skewed. They take something they may have a fond memory of and put it on a pedestal. More often than not however, the original wasn’t that good to begin with. Take my experience with the original Clash of the Titans and the original Tron. I always remembered how awesome they were when I watched them as a kid, but seeing them more recently has proven that they do not age well and really weren’t that good to begin with. All that being said, anyone who actually goes down the path of making a ‘Remake’ consciously knows they are stepping into this nostalgia factor situation, and therefore I say all’s fair in the comparison department.

The original True Grit is not the cinematic masterpiece that everyone pretends to remember. It actually was quite an odd movie with John Wayne playing a colorful and unlikable fellow ‘Rooster’ Coburn. It was fraught with a lot of slow moments and wasn’t nearly as creative as some of the westerns of the time. The problem here as far as the nostalgia factor is concerned is that it was JOHN WAYNE! Luckily we have the Cohen brothers who are brave enough to attempt a remake starring the cinematic sacred cow of westerns. Here, the ‘Rooster character is played by Jeff bridges, with all the scraggly voice nonchalant-ness that screams more ‘The Dude’ from the Big Lebowski than a disgruntled US Marshall who is forced into being saddled next to comedic Texas Ranger (Matt Damon) and a little girl. It’s this Trio that carries the movie. Good thing since they are in every shot. No disrespect to Damon or Bridges…but its little Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross who steals every scene she’s in. A little fireball of resolute temper she is proper and cordial in all the wrong ways and beyond stubborn. For a lot of the film we forget she’s even a little girl, except that the filmmakers keep reminding us over and over.

What really surprised me is how much this film felt like a traditional western. “what did you think you were going to watch” you may ask? Well, the Cohen Brothers have never bee traditional anything. Look at any of their films and you will see the quirkiest examinations of characters and frank depiction of unrestrained violence as very signature to a particularly interesting style. After watching Oh Brother, Where art Thou and No Country for Old Men, one should rightfully assume that this would also pack a few surprises. But strait across the board this is a shoot-em-up, ride the trail kind of western with not much by way of surprises, introspection, off kilter characters or even black humor. This I would argue may be their most strait forward movie to date. Perhaps the; lack of style can be attributed to the fact that they try to span a lot of different genres. Comedy, action, drama, western, etc. are all on display here which doesn’t leave much room for experimentation or bucking conventional trends like so many of their other movies do.
The lack of the Cohen style is actually a good thing here. Rarely will you see a movie where you laugh about loud one minute only to be horrified by violence the next. Rarely is there a film where you are so engrossed in the characters that you forget their acting, and most importantly it’s a Cohen brother film that doesn’t draw attention to the fact that it’s a movie. Most of the films by these brethren have so many homages, quirks, tricks and scenes that take you out of the film; they become exercises in self-reflectivity and awareness. Here, the movie doesn’t mind being just a movie. It’s telling a story without all the normal minimalist embellishments which makes for a much more fulfilling experience, despite the fact that nothing feels new or clever like in their other movies.

The special effects could have been much better and I am sad that Josh Brolin only had a very small role. He was fun. Other than that, this is quite a worthy western. Maybe not John Wayne worthy (I’ll take the Searchers any day) but good enough to do the genres proud. Taking into consideration the nostalgia factor, I won’t be surprised that many people leave shaking their heads at how it wasn’t as good as the predecessor. Only time will truly tell, but right off the bat I believe the Cohen’s have done the Wayne classic proud. There’s plenty that the film tips its hat too, but it’s enough of an original on it’s own right to merit its own viewing, despite how much you love John Wayne. It may not have the charm of the original, but it’s a better movie.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

Monday, December 06, 2010

Narnia 3: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: muddled and badly acted, but better than the first two

Some of my favorite books growing up as a child were the Chronicles of Narnia series. They were subversive, irreverent and wickedly silly, yet still had those good old Christian morals that made them ok to read by any parents standards. On the flip side, I have never really been a fan of the movie versions of the books. The first two were badly paced, horribly acted and were really awkward for some reason. The costuming and makeup were pretty lame and I honestly don’t recall what either was about (except what I remember from the books). So on this third go-round, I had high hopes. Not only is Voyage of the Dawn Treader my favorite of the Narnia books, but I had assumed the filmmakers had realized their mistakes and made some needed corrections to make this third installment a lot more enjoyable…well, not really.

Dawn Treader follows Lucy and Edmund (two of the original four world hoppers) on an adventure back to the land of Narnia. In tow is their cousin Eustace, and annoying dweeb who will do anything to try and get you to leave the theater. In returning to Narnia, they reunite with Prince Caspian who is onboard the Dawn Treader, the finest ship in the Narnian fleet. In the film its not quite explained as to why Prince Caspian is sailing around other than he wants to repay the seven Lords who swore allegiance to him. (yeah, read the book for clarification). Whilst abroad, they happen upon an evil green mists that eats people and decide to find out what it is and destroy it. Hijinx ensue, funny creatures are revealed and everyone acts so horribly morose you would think they were returning a ring to Mordor expecting death.

What I really want to do is spend an entire paragraph on the actor who plays Eustace (Will Poulter). There is a common phrase I reserve for actors who are so intolerably unwatchable that I can’t really come to terms with how ridiculously over the top bad they are. In this case it is entirely appropriate. I wanted to kick him in the throat! There, I said it. I know he is supposed to be an insufferable know-it-all from the books, but the thing couldn’t open his mouth without nails on the chalkboard type reaction from the audience. Lets just say I’m glad when he…well, I don’t want to ruin the movie, but all you book readers know what happens to Eustace and I welcomed his silence.

I would also like to comment on the other actors but I’m sure you’ve seen the other movies and therefore know how bad they really are. It seems that the filmmakers have taken some notes and removed the two of the four lead actors. Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmond (Skandar Keynes) have not progressed much and poor price Caspian (Ben Barnes) has maybe 10 lines in the whole film. A shame since he was the best live action actor there. Of course, they are all outdone by the large Mouse Reepicheep (Simon Pegg) and of course Aslan (Liam Neeson). Despite minimal screen time for any one character in this movie, these animated characters do enough scenes salvaging to make the characters somewhat enjoyable.

The film of course is not all bad. I really and honestly enjoyed the special effects. They have certainly stepped it up a notch in terms of detail. I think what bothered me about the first two is that everyone wore such bright neon colors and nobody ever got dirty…even in battle. Luckily, I think due to the source material, the film is distinctly darker than the other two. Perhaps because the themes of pure evil and temptation are the plotlines that actually move the story along. The editing could be spruced up a bit as there were a lot of long awkward pauses as characters reacted to lines or looked at each other after a particularly witty line. The directing seemed adequate to get such a meandering story under control and the cinematographer should have realized that this was going to be a 3D movie…meaning that close up fight scenes are a no-no. The 3D was OK; a little nauseating at times which makes me think that it was post converted to 3D rather than filmed that way.

In all the film was very serviceable. I must admit that I enjoyed it more than the previous two even though I will probably have to rely on the books again if anyone asks me what its about. Of course, that is what the movies are about. Mindless entertainment can be fun, too bad there was little fun in this adaptation. It’s just a shame that all of the subtle relationships, adventures and connections that the book relates so simply, seem so muddled and incoherent here. It is quite enjoyable, but if you want any meaning or connection to the characters, read the book.

Final Consensus:
See it now!!!!
See it in theaters!!!
Rent it on DVD/BluRay!!
Wait for it on TV!
Don’t Bother

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