I probably saw the original True Grit starring John Wayne. My dad's father is a big fan. He even has a framed painting of The Duke on the screened-in porch. So chances are good I saw it at some point during my formative years while visiting them over the summer. I don't remember anything, but that's probably for the best. There's nothing worse than seeing a movie and thinking "the original was so much better".
I want to take a moment and talk to the Coen Brothers. Joel and Ethan, I was one of the (probably) millions of people who wanted to string you both up by the shoelaces and beat you mercilessly with a cattle prod because of the non-ending to No Country for Old Men. That movie was a total waste of time; I don't care what the Academy said. Best Picture, my lily-white ass. But I digress. I know people (again, probably) sent you death threats when you told them you guys were remaking True Grit, but you pressed on. And guess what? It totally worked this time. You guys pulled it off! Good job! You're not getting an Oscar for it because, let's get fucking real here, you're going up against Toy Story 3, Inception, and Black Swan for this year's Best Picture. But you both got statues for No Country, right? Scratch off the name on one of them and have True Grit chiseled on instead. Any other year, you'd probably have it in the bag. You've got a plucky little girl, three previous Academy Award-winning/nominated actors, and the best landscape cinematography since Fargo.
Granted, Josh Brolin probably owed you money and Matt Damon's kind of creepy and stilted but Jeff Bridges worked his ass off for you guys. Send him a gift basket or something. And finding Hailee Steinfeld was a stroke of absolute good luck. Without her, the whole shebang falls apart.
Again, good job Coen Brothers! Keep that bar high and try not to make movies that suck.
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