True Grit

Okay, I loved this movie. I liked Jeff Bridges in it much more than in Crazy Heart (although he was good, it was a little too cliche for me) and any movie that has Matt Damon in it is all right with me. Mattie Ross isa 14-year old whose father has been killed and she means to find his murderer. She hires Federal Marshall Reuben Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help her and gets some additional help (sort of) from the the Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, played by Matt Damon. Tis unlikely trio sets out to find the killer, Tom Chaney, played by Josh Brolin, and the assorted bad guys with whom he's been consorting.

It's a hugely entertaining movie. Hailee Steinfeld is great as the determined teenager, Bridges is great as the mostly drunk but always full of himself Marshall and Damon is wonderful as the dandy but still a good shot LaBoeuf. What's not to like? Well, there is one thing and that's that horses seem to come to no good end in this movie. They get shot, they get tormented, they get run until they can't run anymore-it's painful to watch.

I do not want to draw any comparisons between this version and the older version with John Wayne, except to say that anyone who thinks that the older version is better is being silly. And for all the purists out there-stop it! Purists are headed for heartbreak when it comes to movies because something will always get changed or moved around if you think that one version is the best, and you can't be open to a newer version, well, you might be missing out on something great.