True Grit

Last time the Coen Brothers directed a remake (Ladykillers) it was pretty catastrophic, but recently they've really been back in form and this wonderful Western is no exception. Jeff Bridges deserved his latest Oscar nomination as wonderfully grumpy gunslinger, newcomer Hailee Steinfeld is extremely convincing in her role and Matt Damon proves once again that he's often underrated. The plot may not even be extremely enthralling, even starts out somewhat slowly, but the dialogs and humor really make up for some lengths and once the hunt is on, the movie is one of the best Westerns of recent years. Unlike in some of their other films (Burn after reading comes to mind) the Coen's do not make fun of their flawed characters but take them seriously, which automatically makes you care for them. Beautifully shot and really entertaining. If you ever wanted to see The Dude kick children off a porch, this is a movie for you.

8 out 10 bear coats.


127 Hours

How exciting can you make a movie where someone's stuck between a rock and a rock for 90 minutes (or 127 hours, as it happened in 2002) and everyone heard about how the case ended? If you're Danny Boyle, you have a lot of ideas. Starting out like a Gatorade or hiking commercial, the film soon after gets very reduced and has to rely entirely on James Franco in his strongest performance to date. While Boyle still adds a few fun camera and stoy-telling gimmicks to spice up the endless time Aron is stuck, the film works thanks to Franco's outstanding acting. The last 10 minutes, with Sigur Ros' "Festival" playing, is absolutely brilliant and leaves you deeply touched. A great example of what human beings are capable of and why stories about the will to live always beat "stones fall, everyone dies" endings. Impressing both from the background story and the acting point of view.

8 out of 10 gatorades.


It says a lot about last year's films that these two came out of the Oscars empty handed. Firth, who certainly deserved his, would not have been able to complain about a loss against Franco or Bridges. What a year.