This one starts with a review of True Grit and ends with a short list of the best recent Westerns.

Although I like the way Joel and Ethan Coen try to circumvent the scandal of standing toe to toe with John Wayne’s ghost (might as well be Jesus) by emphasizing that their True Grit isn’t a remake but a literary adaptation of the Charles Portis novel, I’d like to take a crack at measuring the Coens’ 2010 effort against the 1969 True Grit anyway.

Ahem.

Here’s the big difference. The most riveting character in the 1969 version is John Wayne while the most riveting character in the 2010 version is Rooster Cogburn (played by Jeff Bridges). The Dude is a better actor than The Duke. There. I said it.

Read more here at The Nervous Breakdown.