It's Christmas time, or was, and with my family, that means Christmas movies. That of course includes classics like Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, Scrooged, White Christmas, It's A Wonderful Life etc.
However, these last few years I've been trying to mix it up a little bit. Last year, we started a new tradition with an annual Christmas viewing of Die Hard, so this year I thought I would stay with that formula and watch Lethal Weapon.
Obviously, this movie rules. Mel is at his batshit crazy best, with a wonderfully nude introduction to Riggs, a grieving ex-special forces officer turned homicide detective. Seriously, Mel Gibson is insane and the character of Riggs in this first installment of the franchise was the perfect sign of what was to come.
Honestly though, Lethal Weapon is a truly great 80s action flick. Not only is the action tense and well executed, but the dramatic and comedic chemistry between Gibson and Danny Glover is incredibly appealing, easily reinvigorating the buddy cop genre of the time.
The sequels went on to get more ludicrous and hilarious with each installment, which isn't exactly a bad thing, but it is without a doubt that this first entry is easily the best.
Our annual Christmas trip to the theater this year was True Grit, a remake of the Oscar winning John Wayne classic, this time told through the eyes of the Coen Brothers.
It feels odd writing about True Grit at this point as it has already been praised by pretty much every one. I guess I'll just have to sound like a broken record, because this is great movie. The Western is my favorite genre of film, one which is becoming increasingly rare, but thankfully the Coens' are on a hot streak and have breathed new life into the genre.
Replacing John Wayne is The Dude himself, Jeff Bridges, who himself is on a bit of a hot streak ( some would argue it's a streak that has lasted his entire career). His take on Rooster Cogburn is at once hilarious and touching. He is a man with true grit, ready and willing to shoot a man down at a moments notice, while at the same time patient and understanding.
Matt Damon plays Labeouf, a Texas Ranger trailing the same man Cogburn and young Mattie Ross are after. Damon has a very tricky role here, his character, while upstanding and proud, is actually a bit of a creep, admitting to wanting to steal a kiss from 14 year old Ross and later giving her an actual spanking. Yet somehow, Damon brings out a thoughtfulness to him while also giving a very finely tuned comedic performance.
The real standout here, though, is Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, a teenage girl looking to hire a marshal to bring about justice to her father's killer. Steinfeld is simply a revelation, going head to head with big hollywood stars and coming out on top. People have said this is one of the best child performances of all time, and it's hard to argue. Steinfeld is the true star of the film, being in virtually every scene, and she handles it like a pro, and whats even more impressive, is that Bridges, Damon and the rest of the talented cast have no problem letting her take the spotlight.
True Grit is easily the best western in years, and should in time rank highly with the best of them all.
To conclude our Christmas day viewings, we put in Tremors. on BLU RAY.
This is a true gem of a movie. Monsters, horses, guns and Bacon. Kevin Bacon.
Kevin gives one of his classic performances here, and is joined by a more than willing Fred Ward. Both star as Val and Earl, two handy men in middle of nowhere Nevada or New Mexico or whatever who are always looking for a way to make a quick buck, and on the eve of their departure for bigger and better things, giant, blind, underground worms begin attacking the town.
That is the entire movie. Literally. And it is glorious.
Actually, what really makes this movie work is the cast. Aside from Bacon and Ward, you have Michael Gross and Reba McEntire as a gun loving married couple with enough armory to single handedly win WWIII, and Victor Wong ( of Big Trouble in Little China fame) as the local store owner hoping to cash in on the town's new discovery, and not to mention a slew of can't quite place them character actors who bring life to these people dealing with these giant, smelly worms.
Simply put, Tremors is Sweet.
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