True Grit (2010)

4/5

The Coen brothers' True Grit is an honest-to-goodness Western through and through. It follows 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Steinfeld) seeking revenge for the murder of her father by a drifter named Tom Chaney (Brolin). She hires US Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) to track him down; he tries his best to dissuade her, but she is steadfast in her determination. Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Damon) joins in on the hunt, as he has been following Chaney since he killed a senator in Texas and aims to bring him back there for a hefty reward. The trio bicker back and forth in delicious Coen dialogue and have some gunfights with the baddies in precise Coen fashion before the final letdown in typical Coen style.

The movie is as technically proficient as ever. There is not a single misstep or error. The cinematography is beautiful and evocative. It feels rich and warm and barren and cold in metered, measured doses. The editing enhances the cinematography by letting it breathe when appropriate and taking your breath away when the story calls for it. But where this movie shines is in the writing and the acting. I recently realized that I am a big fan of the Coens' writing. The words they put down on paper are eloquent and earthy and the way they direct their actors to speak them deadpan works to subtly downplay their elegance. Their dialogue is even better than Tarantino's--and far more poignant and nuanced. Furthermore, the Coens do this on a consistent basis, in every single film they make, which just makes us take it for granted. As for the acting, Hailee Steinfeld is a revelation to behold, dominating every scene she's in (which is essentially the whole movie). She steals the limelight from Bridges and Damon, although their performances are impressive for their grit and charm in their own rights. And wow, does she earn it. Much like Aronofsky's Black Swan, True Grit is a technically proficient film that will be remembered not for the directing or the writing, but for the passionate, unforgettable performance of a young actress with seemingly limitless potential.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/

Seven Pounds (2008)

2/5

Seven Pounds follows a remorseful Ben Thomas (Will Smith) who is aching to sacrifice himself to donate certain life-altering gifts to good, kind-hearted people like Rosario Dawson. But why is he doing this and what kind of gifts is he giving away? All that will be explained in the final five minutes of the film, but I'm sure you'll realize what's going on in the first five minutes. While the movie advertises itself as a mystery, it was obvious from the beginning what his backstory and motivations were. And every pseudo-revelation from that point on just insults your intelligence that much more. While the movie prides itself on its emotional impact (remember all that running in the rain and yelling on phones from the trailer?), the situations, conversations, and interactions were all so contrived and forced that any emotions the actors infused into their characters felt flat and fake. It wasn't real; it was overwrought melodrama.

The best part about the movie was the music, something everyone agreed on. The rest, to put it plainly, sucked. It was all so weird and uncomfortable, as if everything was a manipulation instead of something genuine or honest. I found myself unable to trust the movie and any message it was trying to get across. It's a shame, because I really wanted to like Seven Pounds. I wanted it to be at least as good as The Pursuit of Happyness, if not better. But it was far worse. And the title takes a Shakespearean reference and bastardizes it beyond recognition by the writer's obvious fetish for the number seven. How awful.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814314/

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

2/5

This is a pretty boring movie. The worst part is that it tricks you into thinking you're seeing a good movie because of its meditative pace. Scenes last so long, you ask yourself, Am I missing something? Nope, that's all there is. I wonder if it is Guillermo Arriaga who writes the script in flashback-mode or just Tommy Lee Jones' interpretation of it, but the nonlinear storyline really did not help the movie at all; it only hindered our understanding of it and took away from the power of the plot. The same thing happened in 21 Grams (also written by Arriaga). There seems to be something manipulative about introducing the past only after it is mentioned in the present instead of already having it shown and having the audience remember it. It's like baby-feeding and so the audience doesn't feel involved in or attached to the movie. In addition, there were a lot of unanswered questions that arose because of either curious/bizarre acting or unexplained plot twists. The plot wasn't very compelling and the end was neither sensational nor redemptive; it just stopped. In my eyes, this movie was all the bad stuff that didn't make the cut for Amores Perros and 21 Grams.

I liked the characters and how almost all of them were fleshed out by being involved in the plot after being introduced as side characters (like in The Station Agent, but not done as well). Some of the dialogue was pretty good, but I know that Guillermo Arriaga can do much much better. Some of the cinematography was absolutely mesmerizing, but that also took away from the story because it focused on the landscapes for too long.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0419294/