Tony here:

Like Michael, I am looking forward to a new year of thoughtful commentary on those things that make life more interesting. My faith comments have been sparse this past year so I plan to dedicate myself to a little more time on the subject.

However, let’s start with a very serious topic. Michael claims that he will not post any nude pictures of me because this is a family friendly blog. I understand that logic. What I don’t understand is why he asked me to send him several nude pictures last week. Oh well…

…as for the comments requesting a picture of me and Michael, let’s just say I have a face that is best left to your vivid imagination and keep it at that.

Now for the first movie review of the year. True Grit. The Coen Brothers (who I typically love for their quirky inventiveness) have crafted a western that has brought the genre full circle. This time they leave their distinctive eccentricities behind and create a more conservative movie that harkens back to the days of John Ford westerns like Stage Coach. Those early films were replete with archetypical western characters, thrown together by fate for a short while and tasked with resolving a good versus evil dilemma. At its heart, True Grit is that type of rootin-tootin western movie. Forget the 1969 John Wayne version when you see this one. The Coen Brothers have based their work more on the original Charles Portis novel. The dialogue, or more accurately, prose, of the characters is like music or poetry. You grasp to comprehend each word because they convey something rich and meaningful.  Hailee Steinfeld, as the strong-willed Mattie Ross, is simply terrific. Add to that, great performances by Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon (in a nice constrained piece of acting that could have easily been over the top), Josh Brolin and the underappreciated Barry Pepper. Include this movie with The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in the West and Unforgiven as westerns that must be seen.