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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film Handlers' Movie Reviews   » True Grit (Page 1)

 
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2   
Author Topic: True Grit
Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

- posted 12-26-2010 12:28 AM      Profile for Tom Petrov     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
***1/2

A pretty damn good Western by the Coen brothers. What struck me the most was that this is such mainstream movie, nothing much like other Coen brothers film. The film reminded me of Unforgiven and Pale Rider. I have not seen the original but I hear this movie is very much different, it builds like a typical Clint Eastwood movie, slow moving and about the characters until the big conclusion.

Like Tron 3D, Jeff Bridges seems to act like he has that Oscar behind his belt and you can tell. Again, I hear this a completely different Cogburn, this is all Jeff Bridges. Not sure if it was good enough to win him another Oscar.

This is Hailee Steinfeld movie. She is outstanding. Oscar nomination worthy. The other actor played by Damon are Brolin are good, but nothing great. Cinematography of the film is good as well. there are some well photographed scenes. I also very much liked the score.

I haven't seen a Western in a theatre since perhaps Unforgiven, I never did see Open Range and I can't remember any other Western that I have gone to the cinema to see. This was a pure Western plain and simple. Good story with great dialoge.

I think word of mouth will do this movie ok. It is not the Coen brothers best stuff and it is very much mainstream compared to anything else they have done. People expecting to see typical Coen brothers quirky stuff will be surprised.

The movie does feel a little shorter than it should of been. Also, after the big climax. the final end scenes seems forced upon us. Unlike Ungorgiven, the Coen make crystal clear what happens to all of the characters many years later and this is the movies biggest fault.

Like Unforgiven, True Grit opens with an onscreen message, however it does not end in the same manner.

Cineplex Odeon Ultra AVX
DLP Christie Solaria 2230 DLP Cinema projector
Dolby Surround 7.1
Presented on a SilverScreen

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

- posted 12-26-2010 02:23 AM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I don't know for certain, but I doubt True Grit has a native 7.1 channel mix.

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

- posted 12-26-2010 02:34 AM      Profile for Tom Petrov     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Bobby Henderson
I don't know for certain, but I doubt True Grit has a native 7.1 channel mix.

There was a little demo just after the Christie Digital ad that showed off the 7.1 set-up.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

- posted 12-26-2010 06:50 AM      Profile for Steve Guttag   Email Steve Guttag   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
The demo means nothing aside from the theatre being wired for Surround 7.1. If the movie isn't mixed that way, then it was not a 7.1 presentation. So, if they did a retro movie like Casablanca with its original mono mix but ran a Surround 7.1 demo on the head of it so show off the theatre you would still say your presentation was Surround 7.1?

I have not seen it listed on the Surround 7.1 list, I did not see a Surround 7.1 tag on it in the credits (did you?). Can anyone that is showing it digitally confirm that there is a 7.1 version?

-Steve

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

- posted 12-26-2010 01:13 PM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Let's not forget lots of movie theaters have improperly run various sound format snipes in front of movies when the movie wasn't being shown in that format.

There were those early DTS releases where the flying disc trailer was included on every release print. Theaters not equipped with DTS were supposed to remove the trailer, but that didn't happen in many cases. Others would build a sound format snipe into the trailer pack, play the movie in the digital sound equipped house then move it to another non-digital house but forget to remove the trailer. The PITA factor eventually led to those sound format snipes just not being used at all in most movie theaters.

Then you have the general misunderstanding very common all over the place especially in home theater that having a 7.1 capable setup in hardware translates to everything being in 7.1. Electronics companies and people selling the gear have been floating that crap for years, long before Blu-ray brought actual 7.1 channel audio to home theater. They'll even take the misunderstanding even father with high end gear, such as a 2 room Yamaha receiver playing a movie in "11.2" channel audio. Derp! A 5.1 mix played on 7.1 wired gear is still only 5.1. And a multi-room receiver isn't going to fold all of its channels of amplification magically into one room to provide a 11.2 presentation that doesn't exist.
[Roll Eyes]

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

- posted 12-26-2010 01:45 PM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Steve Guttag
So, if they did a retro movie like Casablanca with its original mono mix but ran a Surround 7.1 demo on the head of it so show off the theatre you would still say your presentation was Surround 7.1?
That depends if the THX was "turned on". [Razz]

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Carol May
Film Handler

Posts: 48
From: los angeles, ca, usa
Registered: Nov 2006

- posted 12-26-2010 03:25 PM      Profile for Carol May   Email Carol May   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I just saw a screener of True Grit on my 27" TV. Maybe it needs the Big Screen, maybe it requires that I not have seen the original a month ago, but I thought it was sooooo booorrrring! No oomph, no pizazz, all one tone, one note.

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James Westbrook
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1133
From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa
Registered: Mar 2006

- posted 12-26-2010 05:34 PM      Profile for James Westbrook   Email James Westbrook   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
One of those built-in DTS snipes in front of a long forgotten Universal film in 1993 provoked me to go ballistic on another assistant and her friends for screening the movie the night before and NOT removing the DTS snipe or mentioning it was on and needed to be removed or nothing. The theater I was in at the time never had digital sound. (It was closed in 1994.)
What's the point in screening a movie if one is going to do nothing about obvious errors in presentation?

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Tom Petrov
Five Guys Lover

Posts: 1121
From: El Paso, TX
Registered: Jan 2003

- posted 12-26-2010 07:04 PM      Profile for Tom Petrov     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: James Westbrook
One of those built-in DTS snipes in front of a long forgotten Universal film in 1993 provoked me to go ballistic on another assistant and her friends for screening the movie the night before and NOT removing the DTS snipe or mentioning it was on and needed to be removed or nothing. The theater I was in at the time never had digital sound. (It was closed in 1994.)
What's the point in screening a movie if one is going to do nothing about obvious errors in presentation?

haha. lol. There was a time where Cineplex Odeon had a policy to play all three SDDS/DD/DTS snipes on every print. This way whatever theatre it moved into would not have to have the projectionist around to remove the snipe.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 12-26-2010 07:14 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Bobby Henderson
Others would build a sound format snipe into the trailer pack, play the movie in the digital sound equipped house then move it to another non-digital house but forget to remove the trailer.
We did this all of the time. We had lots of SDDS, Dolby Digital and DTS units all over the theater. But every Thursday night I would change the snipes to be appropriate. Normally I am somewhat annoyed by trailer changes, but making sure these were correct was a point of pride and I would have been pissed if they weren't correct. Fortunately I wasn't the only projectionist who cared about that stuff.

quote: Tom Petrov
There was a time where Cineplex Odeon had a policy to play all three SDDS/DD/DTS snipes on every print.
That's just stupid.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 12-26-2010 08:44 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
This thread needs to be split and moved into FHF.

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

- posted 12-27-2010 12:16 PM      Profile for Mike Spaeth   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Spaeth   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
So, Tom, do you feel the movie was lacking due to the digital presentation as opposed to a professional projectionist doing the changeovers? Would you have appreciated it more otherwise?

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Geoff Jones
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 579
From: Broomfield, CO, USA
Registered: Feb 2006

- posted 12-27-2010 02:34 PM      Profile for Geoff Jones   Author's Homepage   Email Geoff Jones   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I saw this opening night at the Cine Capri at Harkins Northfield in Denver. (35mm)

I saw a review headline at MSNBC that summed it up for me: "'True Grit' entertains, but lacks emotional resonance." I enjoyed the dialog and liked the characters, but wasn't ever really pulled in. There were a couple of FX scenes that looked so bad they pulled me out.

Presentation was pretty good. As always at the Cine Capri, it was not as sharp as it should be.

They closed the curtain at the end of the pre-show and reopened it for the feature. I would pay a small surcharge if they would keep it closed until showtime.

The trailers left me more convinced than ever that Hollywood is dead.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 12-27-2010 02:52 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Geoff, were you immersed in the LARGEST SCREEN IN COLORADO?

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Geoff Jones
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 579
From: Broomfield, CO, USA
Registered: Feb 2006

- posted 12-27-2010 06:51 PM      Profile for Geoff Jones   Author's Homepage   Email Geoff Jones   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I was reasonably immersed, but I was not fooled by their marketing lies. [Smile]

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