I thought it appropriate to group these three movies together since they all have that same warm, fuzzy feel to them. Not to mention a hot chick! Or, at least in the case of True Grit, hot under the collar!
True Grit
Doc's List Of The Toughest-Talkin' Hombres In All Of Western Moviedom:
5. John Wayne in The Alamo
4. Clint Eastwood in Hang 'Em High
3. Kurt Russell in Tombstone
2. Gene Hackman in The Quick and the Dead
And #1 on Doc's List Of The Toughest-Talkin' Hombres In All Of Western Moviedom:
1. Little 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit
I mean, wow. Write some tough lines for any of the above heavyweight dudes, then stick a dainty 14-year-old girl wearing her daddy's big floppy hat in front of the camera speaking them, and watch the sparks fly. Poor old Rooster never knew what hit him.
Neither did this poor slob:
Nor did Jeff Bridges, who said in an interview that he was full of trepidation at the thought of giving the lead to an unproven 14-year-old, but the first scene they filmed was when she walked in while he was sleeping and proceeded to verbally kick his ass all over the room, at which point he never had another doubt.
What was particularly impressive about the movie was that it had a nice unhurried feel to it, as befitted the times, yet it never dragged. I had complained in my
Jonah Hex post a few weeks ago how slow and boring Westerns had become, and while there wasn't a lot of gunplay in
Grit, it sure never felt boring. Even the 'quiet' scenes, like around the campfire and saddling up the horses, had a sharp edge to them because of the ever-present tension between Marshall Cogburn and Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, played to perfection by Matt Damon.
Another nicety is the way they stick to the language of the day and don't use contractions — a purely modern convention. I'm sure it felt a little awkward and unnatural for the actors at times, and it's a little jarring to hear, but its authenticity made up for any disjointedness. They also use 'full' sentences, unlike the clipped way we speak today.
Old way:
"I do not know of that which you speak!"
Modern way:
"Huh??"
A truly enjoyable movie. Notes on Toy Story 3 and Shrek 4 are below the fold.
Toy Story 3, Shrek 4
If you enjoyed the first movies in these series but lost interest in the finales because you figured they'd just be more of the same, oops!
Since I don't want to give away any spoilers, let me just say this:
In the first two Toy Story movies, the toys never actually faced death. There were certainly times when they were close to buying the farm but — in their toyish innocence — they didn't even recognize it at the time, like the scene in Toy Story 2 when they're crossing the big boulevard and Mr. Potato almost gets turned into Mr. Mashed Potato by the runaway pipe. Never knew a thing.
But that's not true in Toy Story 3.
Not true at all.
The first three Shrek movies all took place in the same land and time, so, without even thinking about it, you'd expect the fourth would as well.
I'm sure that's what the writers were counting on.
Very sure.
I actually stopped the movie around the 20-minute mark and started all over.
And these actually are the finales, by the way, according to the studios. Both series have represented the heights of the epic journey digital animation has taken over the past decade.
You may not remember, but when the first Shrek came out, it was absolutely jaw-dropping in its realism. I even claimed in my Doc's Not-Even-Close-To-Official All-Shrek Trivia Quiz that they used real people in the filming, then ran it through some kind of 'cartoon filter' to give it that animated look. No wonder this fraud won 'Best Animated Feature Film' at the Oscars! (further undeniable proof is in the post)
And at the end of the first Toy Story, when Buzz and Woody are riding the rocket, the realism of the street and trees below was another breakthrough moment in movie animation. All I could do was sit there staring with disbelief that a computer could turn out anything so mind-bogglingly realistic.
For those of you who have already seen Toy Story 3 and would like to see the climatic fire scene again, I have it in my Bag O' Clips.
To those of you who dismissed these two series as 'cartoons' and never watched them, you could not have been more wrong. Those reading these words who took these characters into their hearts and recognized the myriad ways this new genre was unfolding before our eyes know of what I speak.
To Dreamworks and Pixar, thank you for two marvelous journeys that will never be equaled.
