True Grit (110 min)

Jeff Bridges is quick and witty in this up to date version of the 1969 western “True Grit”. This movie actually lives up to its name unlike the previous. It is gritty with old fashioned western action and with Bridges playing the hardnosed western bounty hunter he was always meant to play. Following the murder of her father, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross played with great spunk and feistiness by Hailee Steinfeld, sets out to avenge her father by finding the killer and killing him. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with “true grit,” Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, played by the one and only Jeff Bridges. Mattie insists on tagging along with Mr. Cogburn even against his will so that she may see to it that he is arrested and hung properly in her home town and her home town only so that he will be hung for the proper reason which is for killing her father in cold blood. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf played nicely by the always consistent, Matt Damon who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The three work together to hunt down this cold blooded killer Tom Chaney, played by the won perfect for the villain role with Josh Brolin. In this hunt the three experience some of their own “gritty” moments and this is where the film flourishes with clever drunk humor involving the brilliant Jeff Bridges and entertaining shoot out scenes and fast-paced horse riding. The film overall was very solid and definitely one of the years best. It’s a good old fashion western that is an instant classic. “True Grit” is rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images.