Two of the Hottest Movies of the Holiday Season 2010/2011 are the "Cohen Brothers" TRUE GRIT, and the "Fighter" starring "Mark Wahlberg" and "Christian Bale" which may very well prove to be a Oscar Winning performance for Bale, at least a Oscar Nomination anyway along with many other accolades.
Back to the Movies on a whole. In short, quick, and simple terms, if this was a fight and you were to compare the two films, first off, in terms of the Box Office, "True Grit" as the Top Money earner and #1 at the Box Office at this point in time is blowing the Fighter out of the water. On the other hand, which film is of better quality in terms of the story, acting, and total totality of quality, the reverse is true in that The "Fighter" Blows "True Grit" Out-of-the-Water in that, overall the Fighter is a MUCH Better movie.
The "Fighter" is the true-life story of two former "Boxing Brothers," Micky and Dicky Ward of Lowell, Massachusetts (near Boston). Dicky the older brother once fought the Great "Sugar Ray Leonard" and Dicky's Claim to fame is that he knocked the great Sugar Ray down. Dicky's younger brother Micky looks up to his brother and idolizes him in a way, even though Dicky has become a hardcore "Crack Addict."
And in his role, playing the Crack Addicted Micky Ward, "Christian Bale" has done a phenomenal job. Without question a Oscar Winning Performance. There is not much doubt about this, in most peoples minds. Bale's performance is Scary, as it should be, he is a crack Addict after all. And for those who see this movie and Tour de Force performance, if you thought about it, you would not be able to imagine another actor taking on this role. That there people is the kind of performance that might rank amongst the great ones. That is, for those who are true movie aficionados and you pick movies apart and do things like trying to imagine another actor in a particular role, and you know, no one else will do. Such as the case of performances like; Marlon Brando as Stanley in Tennessee Williams "A Streetcar Name Desire" or Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsesee's "Raging Bull." No one else will do.
The movie is wonderful. Mark Wahlberg as Micky Ward chases the title. Will he, or will he not get a shot at it with his crack addict brother Dicky as his trainer and mother his manager. Mark Wahlberg does a fine job as Micky, but his part does not compare to that of Bale's, who takes a complex character and runs with it.
Back to "True Grit" the Cohen Brothers and Jeff Bridges. The Cohen Brothers are Great film makers and Jeff Bridges is a wonderful actor and who could ever forget Jeff's awesome performance as The "Dude" in the Cohen Brothers masterpiece The Big Lebowski? "The Dude Abides." To put it bluntly, True Grit was "So-So," not bad, but not that great either and definitely not worth the $13 you will have to shell out to go see it in New York. True Grit is a definitely "Wait til it is On Cable" type of Movie. If you're smart, you'll do just that. And though I'm a huge Jeff Bridges fan, I've got to say, the Rooster Chogburn character is annoying. The story had no suspense or drama. You always know what is going to happen, Chogburn is going to get his man. The Cohen Brothers are great, as is Jeff Bridges, True Grit is not. Far from it! The movie is entertaining, but, in this economy, "Save Your Hard Earned Money" and wait to see True Grit for Free and on TV.
by. Daniel Bellino Zwicke ...
