BEFORE: Another Western, with a similar theme in that it's all about tracking someone down. And linking is simple since Tommy Lee Jones from "The Missing" was also in "No Country for Old Men" with Josh Brolin (last seen in "Jonah Hex"), who appears here.
I had thought that this film would be on premium cable by now, but it's still on Pay-Per-View, so I shelled out $5 so I could watch this back-to-back with "The Missing" (I do, and do, and do for you people...)
THE PLOT: A tough U.S. Marshal helps a stubborn young woman track down her father's murderer.
AFTER: Well, I thought that "Out of Sight" felt like a Coen brothers film, and this is a Coen brothers film that feels like, I don't know, a John Ford film? I admit I have not seen the original "True Grit" with John Wayne (though I did read the MAD magazine parody) - I'm not a fan of John Wayne like my father-in-law is.
There is something of the Coen brothers spirit from films like "Fargo" and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" that shines through - you can count on criminals acting stupid, and fighting with each other, and you can also count on big, broad goofy acting strokes - it's almost a wonder that Rooster Cogburn wasn't played by John Goodman. But Jeff Bridges (last seen in "Jagged Edge") is fine, he is sort of getting up there in years, and playing a drunk in "The Big Lebowski" could be seen as a fine warm-up for this.
It's a servicable enough story, the quest to track down the criminal, the search for vengeance, the sacrifice made to put things right. I did appreciate that the quest took place in Indian territory, but Indians weren't portrayed as the weirdo villains who have bizarre mystical ways - in fact I think they may have been absent from this film altogether.
Also starring Matt Damon (last seen in "Chasing Amy"), Hailee Steinfeld, Barry Pepper (last seen in "Flags of Our Fathers"), and a vocal cameo from J.K. Simmons (last seen in "The Jackal").
RATING: 7 out of 10 cornbreads
I'm taking a week off from the blog, since tonight is the kick-off of NYC Craft Beer Week, and it's difficult to maintain both a movie schedule and a drinking schedule at the same time. This will push the last round of horror films into October, which works thematically for Halloween - I'll be not-so-coincidentally back on Michael Douglas' birthday, September 25.
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