Holiday Movie Oscar Bait

ovie marathons are usually more fruitful now because all the good ones are released this time of year. Here's the five I saw this last week, since we've been closed at work.

True Grit: Really great. I recommend it to everyone. Everything that always makes Coen Brothers' movies great is here. Jeff Bridges is super in his role as Rooster Cogburn. I found Matt Damon's character really funny. And yes, as all the other reviewers have said Hailee, the actress that plays Maddie Ross "holds her own."

The Fighter: It is also bolstered by wonderful material and tremendous performances from all its actors. I was kinda surprised by how much it affected me at the end, which was a good thing.

Black Swan: This one was really, really wonderful. Pi caught me at a more impressionable time, but this is second only to that for Aronofsky films for me. The difference is the writing. It achieved quite well what is so difficult when paralleling the film plot with the ballet plot (the ol' play within a play). Doubt was probably the last film whose writing I appreciated as much.

The King's Speech: The best part of this film was Colin Firth's performance, which was very good. The film is well made and has many funny parts, but if you aren't particularly interested in the subject matter, it isn't necessary to watch it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I: Tired of heming and hawing about how I was going to first consume a piece of the Harry Potter ouvre, I tacked this onto the end of a movie marathon and enjoyed it. I'm sure I was missing some things by not reading or watching any previous, but it is a good movie in and of itself. And I look forward to the next one. I might go back and watch the Christopher Nolan directed Potter or something like that, but I'm pretty sure I won't read any of the books. My reading is scarce as it is to fill with an obligation.

as per usual the drop cap is from Daily Drop Caps by Jessica Hische