Hope everyone had a fun and family-filled holidays! I continued working on the first outline for my next book series. Its really starting to fall into place. Can’t wait to start actually writing it.
Also got to see two movies, both Jeff Bridges flicks. Its great that everyone now realizes how awesome The Dude has always been. Glad he finally got recognized for it last year’s ‘Crazy Heart’ with a Best Actor Oscar. Onto my reviews! Warning, light spoilers ahead.
Tron Legacy
I actually avoided any and all reviews of this flick so I could go in unbiased. But in the end, the sequel to 1982’s Tron was very unsatisfying. Visual amazing in 3D, but the story and acting were terrible. I actually nodded off more than once during the the movie. That in itself is always a bad sign.
In fact, the more I mulled over Tron Legacy after the screening, the more I hated it. The movies world-building offended me as a sci-fi writer. There was no explanation as to how the Tron World upgraded from what we saw in the 1982 flick to what we were now seeing in 2010. Plus, the whole IsoMorph storyline fell flat for me.
On top of that, Jeff Bridge’s de-aged face bugged the living crap out of me. It would not have annoyed me if that was strictly for the CLU character. But when we saw a younger Kevin Flynn, they couldn’t have done better? All in all, we could have done without a Tron sequel if this was the best they could do.
True Grit
I read the Charles Portis novel and saw the original film adaptation with John Wayne years ago, so like many I asked why even do a remake.
But the Coen Brothers were attached (a big plus) and this version was truer to the book. Also, upon seein the trailer, the girl playing Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) really struck me as a talent. So I went. It was a very enjoyable western. All the lead and supporting actors brought their A+ game. I was pleasantly suprised by Matt Damon, who I really like as an actor but at first glance didn’t feel like he fit into this movie or any western genre flick for that matter. But I love being proved wrong in instances like that.
Also, the part where Mattie falls into the snake pit and gets bitten struck me as hilarious. Not because I’m some type of a sadist, but because it drew collective gasps and shrieks from the female contingent of the audience. You always know that an actor/actress has done their job when the audience reacts to their peril with genuine concern. Steinfeld will have a long and prosperous career ahead of her if she chooses her next roles wisely and avoids the common pitfalls of Hollywood.
One more note. With Tron Legacy in the theaters, I’ve been thinking about the impact of the first Tron movie on the science fiction genre. Tron was the one of the first true steps in movies toward the Cyberpunk subgenre before it was given a name by Bruce Bethke’s 1983 short story ‘Cyberpunk.’ Despite its plot shortcomings, Tron showcased a digital world never before seen on film.
Tron helped laid the groundwork for movies like RoboCop, The Matrix, Hackers, The Fifth Element and many other cyberpunk flicks. It should be interesting to see what films will come next from Cyberpunk and its growing derivatives.
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