True Grit

Spanks - 4

Director - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Writers - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Starring - Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper

Release Date - 22 December 10

MPAA Rating - PG-13

True Grit is a western based on the book by Charles Portis and is also a remake of the 1969 film starring John Wayne, but follows the book more closely. The film follows teenager Mattie Ross, who goes to Fort Smith Arkansas to pick up her fathers body after he was murdered by Tom Chaney. Disobeying her mother, she sets out to personally hire a US Marshall to hunt down Tom Chaney to bring him to justice. She chooses Rooster Cogburn because she is told by the town's sheriff that he has "true grit".

The film is very much more a period specific then a lot of recent westerns in that it uses a lot of dialog that they would use in the 1870's. Mattie uses some words that I have never heard before because they are words that every day Americans don't use anymore. Hailee Steinfeld, the actor who plays Mattie, is a very talented young woman who should be a big star in the next few years.

The Coen Brothers have made an excellent film. The acting by all three stars is brilliant. Who would ever think The Dude would win Oscars 12 years later. And how did they get Matt Damon to grow that mustache?

If you are not a fan of westerns, you don't have to worry about not liking the movie. My girlfriend never wants to watch westerns with me, and she loved True Grit even more then me.

Burn After Reading

Spanks - 3.5

Director - Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

Writers - Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Starring - George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich & Tilda Swinton

Release Date - 12 September 2008

MPAA Rating - R

Burn After Reading is not what I thought it was going to be from the trailer. The trailer made it seem like it was going to be more of a comedy like the Big Lebowski, but in reality it was a Coen Brothers movie that had a few really good laughs.

The film is about blackmail, online dating, national secrets, affairs, and physical fitness. John Malkovich plays a CIA analyst who quits his job, Tilda Swinton is his wife, George Clooney is a agent for the treasury department, and Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand work for the gym Hardbodies. They film follows how their lives are intertwined over the course of a few days, which happens because of Malkovich quitting his job at the CIA.

My only problem with Burn After Reading was it was slow getting started. Once everything was in place the movie felt like it just started. The film does a great job of keeping you thinking what will happen next, which you will probably guess wrong every time... I did. If you do go see it, pay attention because its one of those movies where you can miss something very easily and you will want to see again when it is released on DVD.