TRON: Legacy

This is my five point review of TRON: Legacy -

1. The special effects were cool.

2. Olivia Wilde was bangin' in that body suit.

3. Whatever the technology is that made a younger Jeff Bridges and was used in Terminator: Salvation to make a young Arnold Schwarzenegger, should be stricken from existence. It always looks fake, which is fine for Avatar, where everything looked fake anyway, but this is a really fake looking Jeff Bridges face to face with a really real looking Jeff Bridges. No dice, guys, no dice.

4. The story was about as interesting as the first one, which is to say, not very much.

5. Half of this movie was in 2D, so why was I paying 5 extra dollars for it?

True Grit

One of the Coen Brother's biggest success tales was with veteran actor Jeff Bridges, when they teamed up to make the now classic The Big Lebowski. The team is back for another go around in a remake of the classic John Wayne western True Grit.

The film stars newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, a teenager looking to hire a bounty hunter to track down her fathers killer, a man named Tom Chaney, played by Josh Brolin. She asks around town, and the one answer she seems to get is that US Marshall Rooster Cogburn is her man, but Cogburn (played with every ounce of crotchitiness Bridges can muster) isn't interested in this little girl's problems, until she throws some money into the mix, that is. Offering him a hundred dollars (a considerable wage for the 1800's), he agrees to take on the task of tracking down Chaney. Along the way, though, a Texas Ranger named LaBeouf (played by Matt Damon), who is also hunting Chaney joins in on the search. The problem with finding Chaney, though, is that he has gotten in with a gang of dangerous men, and finding him also means having to deal with them.

The performances in this film are rock solid. Bridges doesn't even have to try to master a roll anymore. Damon plays LaBeouf with every bit of swagger, self righteousness, and self importance you would expect a law man from Texas to have, and Steinfeld gives Mattie Ross a sense of determination that one can't question. Barry Pepper is also a welcomes site as Lucky Ned, the leader of the gang Chaney has fallen into.

So, with all of these great performances, great cinematography by frequent collaborator Roger Deakins, and a solid story based on a best selling book is this movie not everything I had hoped it would be? Don't get me wrong, it was enjoyable, and I liked it, but I was expecting to love it. The Coen's previous "Neo-Western" No Country For Old Men was a revelation, a personal best for almost everyone involved. So how is it that True Grit turned out to be a minor let down? I don't know... I'm glad I saw it, don't get me wrong, I just didn't have that sense of excitement and amazement that I usually get out of having seen something truly incredible, which is something I know the Coen's are capable of.

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.

Iron Man

Incredible.

That's your one word review for Iron Man.

Not good enough?

Okay, I'll throw in awesome too, no extra charge.

Jon Favreau directs Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a millionaire playboy whose luxurious lifestyle is built on an empire of weapons technology. When Stark is kidnapped and held hostage, he needs to find a way out. His terrorist kidnappers want him to build them a "Jericho" missile, an incredibly destructive piece of equipment already manufactured by Stark Industries. He uses his time, energy, and resources, instead, to build a suit of armor and destruction to escape his captors. Upon his return home, he realizes that his weapons are a blockade in finding peace, and decides to shut down that aspect of Stark Industries. It is then, though, that the real enemy rears his ugly head, and Stark must refine his original design to become Iron Man.

This movie is expertly written, expertly directed, and the acting is out of the ballpark. Every cast member does an incredible job. The CGI is practically seamless and almost completely unnoticeable. 

And it's funny. Really funny, not just trying to be funny like so many other super hero movies. Everything about Iron Man just seems a lot more genuine than a lot of the comic book movies that come out today. Yes, their trying to be cool. Yes, their trying to sell this to an audience. But they don't do it in a way that is trite or unimaginative or unoriginal.

Downey Jr. is the kind of actor you want to see in that role again and again, just like Christian Bale in the new Batman movies, or Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in X-Men.

Incredible. That's it. Go, see it. Enjoy it. Make up your own mind.