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Movie Review: True Grit

I finally watched True Grit. I haven't seen the original or read the book, so this was my first Grit experience. Westerns aren't my kind of movie in general, but, as with everything, there are exceptions. I was curious to see Hailee Steinfeld, since she's been raved about since this first came out. I have to say, she was good, and very pleasant to watch. Then there is Jeff Bridges, who is quite adept at playing alcoholics. Seriously, does he always play alcoholics or am I just watching the wrong movies? Matt Damon, of course, is his usual lovely self. I tend to like him in whatever he's in, and he certainly didn't disappoint in this.

There is also Josh Brolin as the dude who killed whatsherface's father, but he has very few scenes. And Barry Pepper, who you see there up above, is another villain, though surprisingly kind. He seems to turn up in a lot of movies, but he's not really a big-name actor. He's on the sidelines, playing cool characters. He's another one whom I'm glad to see pop up.

True Grit is light for the most part, and has a funny tone to it. My only problem is the ending. After a fairly pleasant hour and forty some minutes, it suddenly departs and we are thrown, rather abruptly, into a depressing conclusion. I thought the ending was too rushed and, aside from being unhappy, disappointing. We get to know and like these characters, and then the last few minutes start playing and...

Well, my mom watched the original True Grit. She said the ending was different in that one. What happened to the characters was perhaps more upsetting, or less, depending who you are, but she couldn't remember everything. I suppose I should watch that one. I'm not interested in reading the book right now, but I would like to compare it to the movies.

My grade: B+

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