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Showing posts with label shootings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shootings. Show all posts

Sunday, January 9, 2011

True Grit


Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A 14-year-old girl (Hailee Steinfeld) is determined to avenge the murder of her father, so she hires a ruthless Marshall (Jeff Bridges) and they accidentally team up with a cocky Texas Ranger (Matt Damon), on their hunt through the wild west, to find an inconsequential criminal (Josh Brolin).

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Dakin Matthews, Jarlath Conroy, Paul Rae, Domhnall Gleeson, Elizabeth Marvel

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: PhotobucketProceed with Caution. Contrary to popular belief, this movie isn't for everyone. It's for people who love Westerns, and/or people who love the Coen Brothers. Note: I said "love," not "like."

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: I'm pretty sure Jeff Bridges said a lot of funny things, but he mumbles so much that without closed captioning, you won't understand any of them.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: The number one problem with this film is that you don't care about anybody. They're all cold hearted jerks, including the kid, so I dare you to find someone to cry for.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The Cinematography is award-worthy. The remainder of the buzz is poppycock.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Hailee Steinfeld is good for a 14-year-old, but completely average for a person of normal-age. Let's not start giving out awards to people just for being young-- that would only aggravate the problem. Jeff Bridges is incomprehensible. And right when you think you've understood just about as little as you can understand, Matt Damon gets his tongue mangled, so that he can't articulate anymore either. Regardless of all that, the actors seem to struggle severely throughout due to the absence of their beloved contractions... Turns out, it's not so easy for even the most professional of them to sound natural when saying things like, "I will do it," when inside they're clearly dying to say, "I'll do it."

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I've never had anything bad to say about the Coens as directors, and I doubt I ever will, but this, their most profitable film ever, has much less of their signature style in it, and aside from the final shot of a woman in black walking away from us, none of the shots in this film stand out as particularly memorable.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Aside from making the lead character a smart-talking 14-year-old girl, the story line seems particularly unoriginal. And the fact that it's a remake makes the whole 14-year-old girl idea not so original either. The dialogue is clever, though, if you're able to understand it.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Sorry for my assessment on this one. Feel free to yell at me in the comments section about all the reasons this movie is brilliant.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: True Grit Trailer

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Monday, January 12, 2009

Gomorrah

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A fictionalized true-life glimpse into the modern day Italian Mafia in Naples, knows as The Camorra.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Salvatore Abruzzese, Simone Sacchettino, Gianfelice Imparato, Maria Nazionale, Carlo Del Sorbo, Toni Servillo, Carmine Paternoster, Salvatore Cantalupo, Gigio Morra, Ronghua Zhang, Marco Macor, Ciro Petrone

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: PhotobucketStop! The first scene is fantastic, then you can go home.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: After watching The Sopranos become a national pastime, it's hard to imagine a mob story devoid of a single humorous moment, but they pull it off here.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: You would if you cared about even one of the characters in this film, especially considering most of them get killed. But you don't, so you won't.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Somehow, it has been nominated and won several big awards around the world. Not only that, but Martin Scorsese has decided to endorse this film by adding a "Martin Scorsese Presents" credit to the front of the film for American audience. So you can take his word for it, considering he is one of the premiere cinematic authorities on all matters mob, but I was bored out of my mind.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Imagine Pulp Fiction. Now imagine it in Italian. Now take away all the funny parts. And voila!

Q: How is the Directing?

A: 2 hours and 17 minutes for 4 unrelated stories, all of which are uncompelling and add nothing to this tired old genre, besides the insight that Italians are dumb enough to get involved in this nonsense in their own country, as well as in ours. If the director wasn't going to do something original, then at least he should have cut the movie down to a palatable length. I checked my clock 3 times.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Apparently the author of the book that this movie is based on, Roberto Saviano, had to go into hiding, and is under permanent police supervision, due to the death threats he received for exposing The Camorra's secrets. I'm still trying to figure out what special secrets this guy exposed about organized crime that we hadn't already deduced from seeing The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Analyze That.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hky53gXyjX0

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