I watched True Grit last night - the new remake, not the original - and I have to say, whilst I enjoyed it I don't entirely understand all the praise and awards being heaped on it
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I loved it, and I didn't get anything out of it that you were speculating.
I think there's so much praise for it because it's not the John Wayne version. =P
It's really true to the book, which I enjoyed, so there's that. Also, it is quite a bit more "real" and hard and not happy fun times than most of the Westerns Hollywood is known for (see: not John Wayne *g*). That's why I (and Hollywood) loved Unforgiven so very much, and I think that's carried over to this movie, too. And you can't discount the performances. They were all fabulous, and that goes a long way.
I liked the realism of it too, the harshness and (excuse the pun) grittiness of it - I just didn't get as involved in it as I would have expected to. It was, I don't know, good on the surface but I just didn't feel anything underneath all that. I can't really explain it.
I get like that with hyped movies, too, so I understand. I absolutely hate Forrest Gump and didn't ever see it until it was about four years old. It's a good movie, but because people were so crazy over it, it made me go in with a mindset that was much more critical. See also: Titanic. (I still haven't seen Avatar.)
Oh thank God! I thought I was the only one who hadn't seen Avatar and didn't care to. The hype around that actually put me off all the more, and I really don't care if I never seen it.
Have you ever seen any of South Park? They did an episode titled "Dances With Smurfs" which makes fun of Avatar and calls it the Dances With Wolves ripoff that it is. Anyway, that's as close to Avatar as I'll likely get in the foreseeable future.
I'll give Avatar credit -- visually, it's gorgeous. If nothing else, the imagery is pretty damn impressive, and unlike other movies that just sort of ended up 3D because 3D's big again all of a sudden and not because they actually WORK in 3D (see: the other Avatar), I saw it in 3D and it really enhanced the experience.
Which is a good thing, honestly, because I went to see it in the theater solely for the visuals. The acting was terrible, the script was a ripoff of about four other movies, and the dialogue is -- as per usual -- indicative of the theory that James Cameron has not had a genuine conversation with another person since 1977. (I really wish he'd hire a damn good screenwriter for a change rather than writing his own shit, because given the right script that's not a self-indulgent back-patting pile of bullshit he could direct an action movie that doesn't make me want to jam nails in my eyes and ears for once.)
As for True Grit, I liked it enough, but I was never going to be thrilled with it myself for the exact
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I'm also one of those people who avoid seeing movies at the height of their hype. I either wait for the end of their run in the movie theater, or if I don't catch them, I rent them on DVD
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I think there's so much praise for it because it's not the John Wayne version. =P
It's really true to the book, which I enjoyed, so there's that. Also, it is quite a bit more "real" and hard and not happy fun times than most of the Westerns Hollywood is known for (see: not John Wayne *g*). That's why I (and Hollywood) loved Unforgiven so very much, and I think that's carried over to this movie, too. And you can't discount the performances. They were all fabulous, and that goes a long way.
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Oh thank God! I thought I was the only one who hadn't seen Avatar and didn't care to. The hype around that actually put me off all the more, and I really don't care if I never seen it.
Reply
Have you ever seen any of South Park? They did an episode titled "Dances With Smurfs" which makes fun of Avatar and calls it the Dances With Wolves ripoff that it is. Anyway, that's as close to Avatar as I'll likely get in the foreseeable future.
Reply
Which is a good thing, honestly, because I went to see it in the theater solely for the visuals. The acting was terrible, the script was a ripoff of about four other movies, and the dialogue is -- as per usual -- indicative of the theory that James Cameron has not had a genuine conversation with another person since 1977. (I really wish he'd hire a damn good screenwriter for a change rather than writing his own shit, because given the right script that's not a self-indulgent back-patting pile of bullshit he could direct an action movie that doesn't make me want to jam nails in my eyes and ears for once.)
As for True Grit, I liked it enough, but I was never going to be thrilled with it myself for the exact ( ... )
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