gary’s busey
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True Grit 2010
Dread to think how many times I’ve sat and watched this over the past few years. At this point I’m fairly confident I could recite the script (including my own shitty rendition of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.)
If you read Charles Portis’ book you’ll realise how perfect the casting for this was. Jeff Bridges is Rooster Cogburn; Matt Damon nails LaBeouf’s quiet, but carefully crafted redemption arc; and Hailee Steinfeld outshines them both as the boyish, no-nonsense Mattie Ross. …
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Brute Force 1947
Surprisingly violent considering when this was made, though not so much when considering the context of Dassin’s political beliefs in relation to anti-fascism and negation of authority. The prison in Brute Force, Westgate Penitentiary, acts as a microcosm of post-war America and its fragile guise of freedom, as well as being a general indictment of a corrupt and exploitative prison system. Dassin calls for revolution by way of violence or “Brute Force,” juxtaposing the utilisation of this same force as…