True Grit

Hailee Steinfeld’s Mattie Ross is taking the ‘Best breakout performance of 2010’ award away from Chloe Moretz’s Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass. There, I said it. Outside of acting there is a lot to praise True Grit on, it is beautify shot, surprisingly funny, well paced, involving, and it manages to be a lot of fun while having some depth, with that said, the only disappointment is the narrative itself, an issue that didn’t really come into effect until about half way into the movie.

Mattie Ross is off to find the man who is responsible for her father’s death Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), of course she can’t get him herself, she’s only fourteen. So she recruits the meanest U.S. marshal she can find Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and then happens to meet LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) a man who will never let you forget that he is a Texas Ranger and just happens to already be looking for Chaney for another crime he committed. So after some very hilarious scenes young Ross manages to get LaBoeuf and Cogburn to go after Chaney and she even manages to get a horse of her own so she could go along with them. After all of that wonderful build up, you know you’re in for a ride … oh wait.

Here’s where the film drops in quality for me, the trip divulges into an on and off again relationship between Cogburn and LaBeouf, one minute LaBeouf gives up, then he’s back, then he quits again, then he’s back. It’s made up for slightly due to little interactions between Cogburn, Ross, and LaBoeuf when they are getting along and discover that Chaney is riding along with a group. And when they finally make it to Chaney, wow, what a let down. I get that Chaney isn’t supposed to be the toughest person given the unflattering description he’s given by most people and Brolin plays him fit to that description. But its like ‘this is the guy you were going after?’ why not make it the leader of the gang he’s riding around with. As a character, Chaney is effective in almost no way whatsoever. I’m having a hard time believing that he did anything that they say he did. The character does eventually link you to a stellar climax featuring other and more interesting villains. And then comes an ending that probably would have been better if the last five minutes were cut, they weren’t bad, but they felt a bit excessive.

Now with all of that said, its still one of the better movies of the year. I wouldn’t describe the narrative as bad, it’s just for all of that great build up, the end result just ends up being a bit disappointing. The cast still shines through. The accents, the costumes, and the production design are all authentic. And it still retains quality that would only come from the Coen’s brothers.

Come Oscar season it’ll probably be appreciated more for its acting and technical achievements, but that’s a no go on ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’. The Coen’s still did the book justice and it’s not a bad way to introduce younger audiences not willing to sit through the 1969 True Grit to the story.

Final Score: 3/4

Black Swan

Well this little number has definitely garnered a lot of attention in recent weeks, both as the movie with tons of Oscar potential and as the movie that features Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis getting it on. Does it live up to the hype for the former reason, yes. As for the latter reason, since I’m not professional critic I have no problem saying it lives up on that end also.

The film starts out with Nina (Natalie Portman) a young and highly dedicated ballerina vying to be the star of the show the company is producing which is a slightly revamped version of Swan Lake. Nina is seemingly innocent at the start, which is the reason why her director (creepily, but effectively played by Vincent Cassel) criticizes her for not being able to play ‘The Black Swan’ despite her being able to play ‘The White Swan’ so well. He casts her regardless, believing she has some bite in her. So the film is mainly about her transformation into becoming the ‘The Black Swan’, though instead of her just perfecting it in dance, she also begins to become ‘The Black Swan’ in real life. Her slightly odd relationship with her mother becomes strained in the process and things aren’t improved with Lily (played well by Mila Kunis) around who the director believes can also play ‘The Black Swan’.

The best thing about this movie is its cinematography. While Inception had wondrous visuals well shot, this movie steals the spotlight by engaging you more with so much less. The dance sequences are wonderfully filmed and that camera never stops moving showing you the grace of the pieces from all sides.

Natalie Portman gives the performance of her life as Nina she starts out as the white swan becoming the black. She believably shows you the many aspects of a ballerina’s life, the good and the bad, and the director loves to show you the bad. She’ll make you smile one minute, cringe the next, and then just do something that’s makes you say “what the @#$%”.

For all the beauty that comes out of this film, there’s something right around the corner to make you cringe. Whether it’s the visuals of cracked toenails made from dancing too hard, inducing vomiting, close up shots of cuts fingers. While its definitely my least favorite aspect of the film, its still done effectively.

Now let’s talk about the direction, while Arnofsky keeps you engaged, he does lay it on a bit thick with a few excesses. The film has the horror element that divulges into a what’s real and what’s not, or better yet, what is actually happening and what is symbolism. Nina looks at herself in the mirror, but her reflection moves or another one where she’s walking down an alley and she sees herself, those bits are done to very little effect, but the film definitely gets you jumping once you realize the transformation is actually happening. By that point it really does become a real mindbender, which will have you questioning what was real and what wasn’t.

I’ll also compliment the script. Despite a few awkward lines involving the sexual parts of the movie, it’s decent.

Overall, I’ll say that Black Swan is one of the best movies that I never want to see again. For all of its beauty it has too much ugliness that personally I’m not willing to sit through again.

Final Score: 3/4