More True Grit

December 21, 2010

Caught something last weekend. Slight cough and fever. Stayed home. Rainy day. Slept and worked in studio.

Here's Johnny Boggs' take on he new True Grit:

I guess my main problems were why they separated Matt Damon from Rooster and Mattie (didn't happen in the original, didn't happen in Portis's novel), but my main problem was I never found any chemistry between Rooster and Mattie. Unlike in the original. But it's well-acted, and probably one of the best theatrical Westerns in a long, long time. I'd give it three stars, but a high three stars. And it's one of those movies that I can't get out of my head, like Anthony Mann's The Furies or Andre de Toth's Day of the Outlaw. I see the problems, can't quite really love the movie, but it sticks with you, grows on you, and keeps you thinking.

I read an interview with Matt Damon and he said the Coen brothers accommodated him to be with his family during the week and they shot around him and did weekends. Something like that. Perhaps that's why they separated in the movie to make that work?

Speaking of movies, for my birthday I picked a quirky black comedy called Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale.

It's a Finnish tale of a very evil St. Nick, filmed in Norway with subtibles, although it opens with a scene of scientists speaking English. Very clever and off-beat. In my old age i have gotten so tired of the same ol' tropes and plot twists you could literally phone in. I never could figure out where Rare Exports was going until it ended. Enjoyed it immensely. Playing only for a week exclusively in Tempe at The Valley Art Theater.

Brought home some new graphic novels from work. The Scalped series is getting better. Didn't really take to the original one, but I have to admit, it has some style and potential. it's basically The Sopranos meets Thunderheart on The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Decent story, strong artwork. Also took a gander at American Vampire, which is a Stephen King story wherein he attempts to take back the fangs, or, as he puts it in the front, "It's all about giving back the teeth that the current 'sweetie-vamp' craze, has, by and large, stolen from the bloodsuckers."

Inspired me to up my game with Mickey Free and Graphic Cinema. I am also inspired by ol' Bresson:

"Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen."

—Robert Bresson