What I Watched -- True Grit

I went to see True Grit with T a couple weeks ago, and I can't believe I forgot to write about it!  I so rarely go to the movies that I should have reported my outing immediately, but sometimes life gets in the way.

But, about the movie.  Awesome!  Jeff Bridges is fantastic, my boyfriend Matt Damon is chubby but great, and Hailee Steinfeld is hilariously sharp.  I thought her attitude would get old, but it didn't somehow.

True Grit is based on the 1968 book by Charles Portis, which was originally made into a movie a year later starring John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn.  It's the story of 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Steinfeld), who sets out to avenge her father's murder.  She hires Rooster (Bridges), a perpetually drunk US marshal to help her in her search for the killer.  The pair are accompanied by LaBoeuf (Damon) - French for "the beef," appropriately (!) - a Texas ranger who is after the killer for other reasons.

The plot is simple, so if a movie like this is going to make it, the magic has to be in the characters - and this movie makes it.  Each actor inhabits his or her character so fully; it's genius.

Bottom line: see it.  You'll be entertained and impressed by how simply done a good movie can be.  No twists, no gimmicks, no special effects.  Just good acting and directing.  (Okay, so there are always some special effects.  But you get my point.)