True Grit (Henry Hathaway, 1969)

7/10
I wanted to see this before I saw the 2010 version, but things didn't work out that way. I wonder if my opinion would be the same if I had? Because watching the original last night made me appreciate the Coens' film (which I found good, but underwhelming) that much more. Rare is the remake that improves upon the original in virtually every facet, but the Coens did it. The only thing I thought the original did better was to not make Mattie quite so standoffish and independent from the get-go - we get a sense that those qualities are already inside her but are drawn out by the events in the course of the film.
John Wayne's Cogburn was slightly unexpected, as he's played as more of a jokey, doddering figure compared to Jeff Bridges' more darkly comic and tragic one. I'd heard Wayne's Oscar for this role was more of a token gesture by the Academy to reward a career rather than this particular performance, and I could definitely see truth in that watching the movie.
That said the 1969 version is still good entertainment, but on the whole the Coens' is the far superior film.

Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)

7.5/10
I don't think I've ever watched such a heavy movie in my life. Holy smokes. This thing is loaded less with the beautiful, hypnotic imagery of Stalker & Solaris (though it's there) and stuffed with exceptionally heavy musings on a bunch of different stuff, primarily art and religion...both individually and taken together. Tarkovsky's portrait of Rublev must be one of the most fully realized depictions of a historical figure ever in cinema, but I'll confess I wasn't exactly pulled in for all 3 hours, 41 minutes. I admired it more than I liked it, really. Still pretty staggering though, I can't imagine myself coming back to it any time soon.

The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948)

9/10
I've had the Criterion re-release of this while but never got around to watching it...finally did yesterday and it completely blew me away, especially the incredible ballet scene at the centre of the movie. I could watch that over and over again. Moira Shearer was great as the conflicted dancer (she's a dancer before she's an actress and it shows, in a good way) but Anton Walbrook stole the show for me as the demanding, obsessive Lermontov. He was a joy to watch. The cinematography and glorious Technicolor also deserve major credit, few films visually pop as much as The Red Shoes does. I'm probably going to watch this one again really soon, considering how much I enjoyed it.

The Fighter (David O. Russell, 2010)

4/10
I didn't like it but I couldn't really hate it either...it's a movie that glides by so inoffensively as to barely register one way or the other. The most offensive thing about is definitely Christian Bale's performance, which is so hammy and over the top it's downright distracting, and it's no coincidence the movie instantly becomes much more watchable when his character is tucked away in prison for a chunk of the middle section. It's never a good sign when an audience welcomes a break from a pivotal character. In fact I think Mark Wahlberg should buy Bale a nice steak dinner - standing next to Bale for much of the movie, Wahlberg's slightly wooden performance starts to look like a masterful execution of subtlety in acting. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo are both fine in their roles. Like Bale, they have the volume turned way up on their performances, but they at least reel it in at times. I don't know about Oscar worthy for either but Best Supporting Actress isn't looking like a particularly strong field this year anyway.
Having seen the movie I'm convinced more than ever that director David O. Russell getting a Best Direction nod over Christopher Nolan is the biggest joke of the year - while the fight scenes are well shot, there were some very bizarre directing choices, not the least of which includes constantly lingering far too long on Bale's goofy mug which prompts laughter before anything else. And some very strange editing too, especially in the beginning of the movie.

Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance, 2010)

8/10
I'm still not 100% sure how I feel about this movie. There were a lot of things I liked, some things I didn't, but I've spent quite a while thinking about it and how it made me feel and any movie that achieves that much at least is worth a high enough score.
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams are both fantastic. The plot is well-worn but the acting is so good as to pull any boring old story through the woods, so it's not much of an issue. In any event, there's at least something in this movie every human on the planet can probably relate to on some level. Also, the soundtrack was fantastic.
On the con side, I did feel at times the tribulations the two went through were overwrought and cartoonish at times. In particular, a pivotal scene late in the movie at a hospital was a disappointment. The movie went a little too over the top when it could have easily pulled off "quiet devastation" instead.
The couple's meet-cute is also mawkish Hollywood romance to a tee but I'd by lying if I said I wasn't totally won over by Gosling and Williams' little 'letting our guards down' song and dance number (literally).
But not many movies were able to make me feel happy and heartbroken at once, almost from scene to scene, so I give it kudos for that. I'd definitely recommend it.