The Coen Bros. hit the bullseye with a fun and gorgeous western for the ages

Joel and Ethan Coen are without a doubt two of the greatest modern cinematic minds. They've done everything from comedic period pieces to disturbing dives into the criminal mind and just continue to expand their scope. And they've continued to do so with True Grit, the remake of the 1969 John Wayne film, which was based on the novel by Charles Portis that came out the year before. Now I'venever seen the original movie, but I have read the novel, so I can judge it based off of that. But even if I hadn't read the novel, I would still be able to tell you thatTrue Grit is an outstanding film, and is easily one of the year's best. All of the major aspects of this movie are done right, creating not only a great movie to add to the Coen Brothers'resume, but also a very funbut still dramatic experience.

The Good

• The cinematography is stunning, making theatmosphere of the old west bothvibrantly beautiful and sinisterly bloody

• The entire cast does an amazing job, the standouts being Jeff Bridges andnewcomer Hailee Steinfeld

• It's very loyal to the novel, which is a good thing because it uses the book's fantastic dialogue

• The comedic bits are executed very well, resulting in some pretty funny moments

• The costumes are great,adding to the realisitc enviornment

• Even though I knew what was going to happen, the movie was still able to keep me on the edge of my seat

• The gunplay is very realistic andentertaining

The Bad

• It feelsslightly too quick, and I was left wanting a little bit more

The Ugly

• Are you kidding?

Overall, True Grit is a very entertaining film, one of the Coen Bros. best as well as one of the best of 2010

Final Grade: A

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Fantastic performances by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush result in a great film fit for more than a king

When I first saw the trailers for The King's Speech, I assumed that it would just be your typical December Oscar bait, and I wasn't really interested in it. But I figured that I needed to see more Oscar contenders, and this just happened to be the movie that I went to. And I'm extremely happy that I did see this movie, because The King's Speech is without a doubt one of the best movies of 2010, anchored by an incredible performance by Colin Firth and even greater performance by Geoffrey Rush. Is it for everyone? Definitely not. But is a great film? Absolutely.

The Good

• As I've alreadysaid twice before, Colin Firthis excellent as the stammering King George VI, and Geoffrey Rush deserves an Oscar for his performance as the king's speech tutor
• The movie is very funny while still having a good amount of suspense throughout
• The sets are very impressive, adding a lot to each scene
• The camerawork is very impressive, being pleasantly awkward at points and widely scoped and booming at other points
• The musical score is very affective
• The dialogue is brilliant

The Bad

• Some points are a little slow and somewhat unecessary

The Ugly

• Nothing here!

Overall, The King's Speech is a movie that film buff crowds will eat up, but the common moviegoer might be slightly bored by it, but either way, it truly is a masterful film, and one of the year's best.

Final Grade: A

Song of the Day:
Big Wave - Jenny and Johnny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwtV7L5bxtk

Picture of the Day: