Here’s a popcorn-sized movie reviews (in 250 words or less) you can read on the go.

95% on Rotten Tomatoes

Coen Brothers films tend to rank high in my book. No Country for Old Men, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski are just a few on my list that I’ve seen and liked. True Grit fares no different. Based on the 1968 novel by Charles Portis, True Grit first arrived on the silver screen one year later with Hollywood star John Wayne as the drunken and feisty U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn. Wayne took home the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actor, passing away to cancer a decade later.

That said, True Grit shouldn’t be considered a smudge on the career of a man highly regarded by American society. Joel and Ethan Coen tell the story closer to its original source than late 60s director Henry Hathaway did in his adaptation, focusing more on the headstrong and determined fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross—a captivating performance by actress Hailee Steinfeld, who stands on firm footing alongside her more practiced co-stars. After a fugitive murderer named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) kills her father and steals his property, Mattie embarks on a journey of retribution with Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and cocky Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon).

True Grit is a rich, western blend, with comedic beats found somewhere between ordinary adventure and danger. The supporting actors pull their weight, and Jeff Bridges could easily steal the show, but it’s witnessing the chemistry between Bridges, Damon, and Steinfeld that gives the movie its real grit.