Jeff Bridges

True Grit

Without waiting for local cinemas to catch up with the rest of the world, I got my hands on a copy of “True Grit” – a new movie by Coen brothers, of who I am a big fan.

Every film they do is different from every other, and is a masterpiece of its own. “True Grit” follows the pattern. It is a western, with beautiful and authentic cinematics, colorful characters, excellent acting, and simple, yet unique story telling. The story itself is simple and straightforward – there are no twists as such. But it tells the story of people with character, courage, and will. It tells the story of the days that have long past, yet which is applicable to modern days. It shows people who lived in a very different world, yet were so similar to us.

A 5 out of 5 from me and a recommendation for home collection – you’ll want to see it this movie more than once.

Every being in the Universe knows right from wrong

Here is one of my favorite movie moments and quotes ever.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U-tmgC0GYs]

The movie is called “K-PAX“. Lead roles are played by Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey. The rest of the movie is as good as the above snippet.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

I got my hands on “The Men Who Stare at Goats” movie. I saw the trailer a few times in the cinema and was waiting for it to start, but either I missed it altogether or the scheduling was changed. Anyway, watched this one in the comfort of my own home. To be honest, this is not being a major visual effects movie or a new 3D silliness, I think I didn’t lose much by missing the big screen.

In short – I really enjoyed this film. It is original, weird, funny, and smart. The casting is awesome and all these people have a place to act and a role to play – outstanding performances from all of them, including the goat.

If you are not sure whether you should see this film or not – think Coen brothers. Even though they have nothing to do with this film (as far as I know), it feels like something that they would have done. If you enjoyed any of their work – this film is definitely for you. It has the same weird story, irony, and a thin line between a joke and truth. Beautiful work and very engaging. It’s one of those films where you are so busy watching it that you don’t have the time to think and predict how it will end and where the story is taking you. It’s a roller-coaster – enjoy it while it runs.

Rating this movie doesn’t feel right, because it doesn’t compare much to anything else and stands on its own, like a piece of art that it is. But I’ll give it a 5 out of 5, even though there were bits that I’d love to see changed. Well deserved. We need more movies that can take audience by surprise and engage them through the whole film and not just the first 3 minutes.

Iron Man

Yesterday I went to the cinema to watch “Iron Man“. I was a bit worried that it would be based on yet another comic book or something. But either it wasn’t, or the comic was pretty good.

The movie turned out to be solid entertainment. It was very much in the style of “Transformers“, but with more style and better special effects. It was complete even with Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” song in the soundtrack.

Recommended. 7 out of 10.

Seabiscuit

Watched “Seabiscuit” on DVD. This is a pretty good family movie. It covers all the usual subjects about family, believe, giving second chances, friends, understand and all these. It also has a good coverage of horses and horse racing. I don’t know how accurate the subject is covered, but it does provide a good insight into horse racing.

As a film, it has a good story and a nice mix of joy and sadness as any drama should have. Most of the acting was OK, which was expected from the OK actors such as Jeff Bridges, Chris Cooper, and Tobey Maguire. It was William H. Macy who did an outstanding job although playing a really background character – radio commentator. The movie is worth watching for many reasons, and he is truly one of them.

I’ll rate this film as 7 out of 10, hoping for some more films like with a slightly more original story.