True [S]Grit

Our date night movie on Friday night was True Grit. Oh! the blissful anticipation. The Coen brothers at the helm, Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges... it was a wealth of riches and the reviews were good, even from my sister.

So you know I really wanted to enjoy this film, I wanted to love it, adore it, worship the ground it's reels rolled on. But I didn't.

I can't write a coherent review because I just have a bunch of random thoughts about it (it was so slow moving I had ample time to have random thoughts... and I had many):

* It was like a Jane Austen novel in the wild west. All that witty banter, so right in Pride and Prejudice, so wrong in True Grit.

* The sight of Matt Damon in western gear with those spurs.... oooh... um... what was I saying?

* Matt Damon was amazing, gorgeous, wonderful in Good Will Hunting.

* Jeff Bridges is very hard to understand. After a while I gave up squinting at the screen in the hope of understanding what he was saying.

* Jeff Bridges was very excellent in The Big Lebowski.

* The Coen brothers are capable of such wonderful filmaking: Raising Airzona, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski... even No Country For Old Men. Why this?

* If you spend millions (many) on a high calibre movie hire someone to check the details. E.g. if a girl swims through a river behind a horse she will get out dripping wet; if a man gets shot through the back of his jacket, through his shoulder, there will be more than just a clean hole where the bullet went through... there will be blood on the jacket, at least there will be black gun residue.

* A 14 year old girl, no matter how feisty, will be raped quick smart when left out in the wilderness with a bunch of outlaws.

* This story would have worked much better as a dark tale, with the inheritent dangers built up and played out, rather than as a quaint period drama with an emphasis on beautiful [clean] costumes and flowery language.

Sorry Ethan and Joel, you've really missed the mark with this one and I can't believe this has received such glowing reviews. Did we all see the same film?

The Good Shepherd raised more questions than it answered:

* Why does Matt Damon's smile still make me a little wobbly in the tummy? Still as bad after all these years as when my world first moved an inch to the right upon seeing Good Will Hunting.

* Why put someone like Angelina Jolie in such a piss-weak role?

* If everyone is getting old (Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, William Hurt) does it mean I'M GETTING OLD?

* Why do people make almost three hour long movies? Say what you have to say and get on with your life, I saw. Self indulgence is not an attractive quality in a director (sorry Robert). It's only a good quality in bloggers.

* Why do people choose to enter the spy/espionage/politics game? What is the attraction? What does it mean? Why does anyone bother? I sat through this film understanding the words but totally missing the point, the motivation, the meaning. Please explain.