True Grit (2010)

Cowboy films have almost gone the way of the dodo. Relegated to midday-movie status on television, cinemas have recently seen little of the Wild West. With this in mind, it is nice to see the Cohen brothers bringing the genre back in such an impressive way. 'True Grit' does not shy away from the elements that define the western: accents are thick, actors are grimy and death is treated as an inevitability. This allows the brothers to surprise the audience with some excellent black comedy between the gunfire and makeshift tourniquets.

The cast is full of memorable characters, but the film rests on the interplay between the main trio. Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon play US Marshall 'Rooster' Cogburn and Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (respectively). Both of these actors are at the top of their game the entire movie and the way they play off each other is a masterclass in itself. There is an instant rivalry between the two characters due to their different military backgrounds. A lot of this tension is subtle and told though simple glances and pauses, but when they begin taunting and arguing for real it becomes even more honest and engaging. It adds a lot of depth to the characters, especially when it extends to trying to impress the girl they are escorting. The girl in question is Mattie Ross, played by Hailee Steinfeld. I was initially anxious about her role: working with two of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood is no easy task, especially for a teenager! This turned out to be a non-issue, as Steinfeld proved to be tremendously engaging on the screen. Her character manages to appear tough, determined and charmingly naive at the same time. She complimented the rest of the cast beautifully.

The visual style of the film is what most would expect from a western: dirty, gritty and full of old-world pride. The same can be said of the music. However, there is a distinct advantage that this film holds over other, older examples of the genre. The difference lies in the gift that the Coen brothers bestowed on the film: their aptitude for crafting dialogue that is fast-paced and clever whilst still remaining accessible to the general audience. An excellent example is when Cogburn is justifying a recent set of killings to the jury. The audience immediately gets a sense of Cogburn's character, the environment that the film takes place in and foreshadowing regarding the difficulties that the group will face later in the film. When all this can be achieved in the background of what is primarily a dark comedy scene, it is clear that the dialogue in the film is one of the greatest strengths it holds.

There have been scant few quality western films recently. In my opinion, 'True Grit' is certainly the best since 2008's 'Appaloosa'. With a fantastic cast and excellent pacing, it is worthy of all the critical praise it has been enjoying since its release.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

When Michael Bay first revived the 'Transformers' franchise in 2007, the outcome was a fun and visually stunning film that treated the franchise with respect whilst never taking itself too seriously. Regardless of the flaws of the film, I enjoyed myself whilst watching it. 2009 saw the release of the sequel, subtitled 'Revenge of the Fallen'. It was universally panned for becoming largely humourless and featuring awkward camera work that made it difficult to appreciate the special effects that the films had become famous for. The third film has just been released and has addressed many of the issues with the previous films. In the process however, it has introduced many more.

The acting in the film is a strange mishmash of styles. The Transformers are CG creations that are given character though voice acting. Peter Cullen, whose resume reads like the Wikipedia page for the Transformers franchise, resumes his role as Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Cullen's voice remains as it has been for years: strong, authoritative and a perfect fit for the character. Optimus' enemy, Megatron, is voiced by Hugo Weaving, whose sly, deceptive tone is a perfect counterpoint to Cullen's boldness. When these characters speak, the voice acting is good enough to help the audience forget the silliness of the premise and buy into the plot of the film. However, problems arise when the acting style of the human characters clash completely with the grandiose nature of the two main voice actors. Shia LeBeouf reprises his role as Sam Witwicky, bringing nervous energy to the cast. Many of the other human characters share this 'quirky' characterisation, such as Sam's parents, played by Kevin Dunn and Julie White, and (ex-)Agent Simmons, played by John Turturro. This style of acting feels more appropriate for a summer comedy then an action blockbuster. It is very jarring when the movie seems to have a habit of moving from scenes with humans speaking fast-paced lines of dialogue about their to scenes with robots crashing into each other and solemnly reciting their moral codes. It is as if scenes from a summer comedy were spliced into a science fiction film- the different styles of acting do not blend well with one another.

As mentioned earlier, the special effects of the films are known for being superb and the third instalment of the series does not disappoint. Amongst the explosions and decaying cities, the thing that struck me the most was the quality of the animation. The various Transformers moved fluidly, but also managed to deliver a sense of weight and momentum that I felt was seriously lacking in the previous two films. The camera work was also substantially better then the previous film in particular, slowing down shots and removing the unnecessary 'shaky-cam' technique in the action scenes. The result is that the third film is more pleasing to the eye, giving the audience a clearer view of the action sequences and allowing the special effects of the film to be better appreciated.

Unfortunately, all of these improvements were offset by a particular flaw that had not been addressed from the previous films: that is, the overall length of the film. 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon' runs for 157 minutes. This movie is simply far too long and outstays it's welcome long before the film finishes. The storyline had to be basic to accommodate the action and the characters do not have the depth to sustain the audience's interest for this length of time. This film desperately needed a tough editor to come and slash at least half an hour from what ended up as the final cut, preferably more.