True Grit

I crawled out of my sick hole for the first time in more than a week and went to see True Grit at the Norwood Theatre in Bracebridge.
I had been pestering Dave for ages to see that flick and wasn't allowed to on account of "if you're too sick to go to work you're too sick to go see a movie." Him and his damned honourableness. But since I was going to work today, he took me out. I filled up on cough syrup and Tylenol Cold with cherry-flavoured Halls Mentholyptus as back-up, plus a pocket wad of Kleenex. The rule was if I started hacking up a lung I had to leave.
Thankfully I didn't have to, although my skin was crawling with the overdose of dexterthrozenewhatchamcallit. Crawling, I kid you not.
But I digress.
I LOVED THAT MOVIE.
I swear, it was the best movie I have seen in YEARS.
Oh, Jeff Bridges. Oh, he was to die for.
And, oh, Matt Damon. Is there anything you can't do? You just keep getting better and better. Remember when you started out in Good Will Hunting with Ben Affleck and Ben kinda stole the spotlight? And then Ben screwed everything up because he really can't act his way out of a Safeway bag, and you, Matt dearest, got better in every damn thing you did. True Grit, no exception.
And oh, oh Hailee Steinfield. You put Kim Darby to shame, you did. More grit in your backbone, more sass, more acting ability, more everything.
I have to tell you, the 1969 True Grit was one of my favourite movies of all time and when I heard it was being redone, I was interested but skeptical. How could anyone beat out John Wayne?
I'm won over. I'm blown away. This movie made the original look like amateur hour.
The thing about this version of True Grit, the biggest thing, was that it clearly portrayed what having true grit is all about. You felt it, in your gut.
When it was over, I didn't know whether to start breathing or start crying.
When Rooster was pushing Little Blackie to get Maddie to safety, with the black sky and the stars, the sweat on the horse's neck and Maddie's brow, man, I just swooned the filmmaking was that good.
And every time Maddie opened her mouth to sass somebody, I got into the laughing. OH, but the biggest laughs for me came when Rooster was reaching around into LaBoeuf's mouth to find his tongue and yank out a couple of teeth, I just about piddled in my pants. Dave was giggling like a three-year-old girl.
I may not be a big-time movie reviewer but I know what I like and two thumbs up just aren't enough thumbs for this puppy.