Crazy Heart

There's an old saying that goes - "There are no new stories". Basically, what that means is, its not the originality of the story, its what mark you put on it. As far as movies go, and movies about country music in particular, the idea of the weathered old musician, lost in a haze of alcohol, or drugs, or both, who gets a second chance, is not exactly new. But, its what you put into it. Scott Cooper brings a certain majesty and glory to this story in his new film Crazy Heart.

Crazy Heart stars Jeff Bridges as Bad Blake, a country western musician from another time of country stars like Waylon Jennings and George Jones. He has seen his career peak, many years ago, and is now broke and forced into doing shows in bars and bowling alleys. When he meets Jean, a young reporter played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, he see's a light at the end of the tunnel he has dug himself into. But can he see his way free from all of the things that made him Bad Blake in the first place?

Crazy Heart is an amazing and beautiful journey through the life and pain of Bad Blake, who is exquisitely played by Jeff Bridges. Bridges proves, yet again, that he is one of our best living actors. He isn't afraid to show all of the embarrassing aspects of Blake's life, including waking up in his underwear from being drunk the night before, running into the toilet, puking, and passing out on the floor. Bridges plays this role no holds barred - he is sweaty, bumbling, and old. He is fragile. He is broken. Gyllenhaal plays a woman who is absolutely willing to let her heart be broken again, but, when it is, she steps back, like a wounded animal, staying as far away from that which has hurt her as she can. Colin Farrell is a bit of a surprise as a New-Country star who's fortune and fame was built on song's Bad Blake wrote for him, and Robert Duvall shines as one of Blake's friends. This film is really great. I feel like every step that was taken here was just right, and the soundtrack overseen by T Bone Burnett is perfect. Well worth seeing.

Pride and Glory

Some ideas look great on paper, and then, when you commit them to celluloid, or video, depending on your capture medium, you stand back and look at what you've done and say "That isn't what I had in mind at all...". Somehow, I HOPE that the makers of Pride and Glory had the intelligence and artistic fortitude to step back from what, I'm sure, cost them many millions of dollars and say "You know, I accept the fact that this just isn't that good."

Pride and Glory is a relatively mundane police thriller involving three family members (two brothers and one in-law) who get caught up in an investigation when four cops are gunned down. Ed Norton stars as Ray Tierney, a NYC cop who has been working in the abyss of Missing Persons, when, after the four cops are mowed down in an ambush, is given the job by his police commissioner father (played by Jon Voight), to head the task force, whose fingers are pointed in the direction of his brother Francis's command, as well as his brother-in-law's, Jimmy Egan (played, respectively, by Noah Emmerich and Colin Farrell). As the action unfolds, Ray, who has always been a good cop, has to contend with the idea that, maybe, his brother's aren't quite as clean as he is.

Pride and Glory is not a bad movie, it's just not a good one. It feels pretty flat most of the time, though the actor's all give competent performances. The story feels like a a story from school that you've read a million times before, and are having to read again. There's nothing particularly new, or interesting in this film, which is kind of sad considering the fact that you have Ed Norton, Jon Voight, and Collin Farrell on your roster. Pride and Glory is like a film version of a Shakespeare play. You've seen it a thousand times, in a thousand different ways, and when its over, you wonder why you should care.

To Hollywood script writer's, a note - We get the point! NYC cops are like brothers. You don't rat on your brother, even if he is crooked. We get it! We don't need five movies a year with this premise.