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[5 Stars] The Coens have many sides. Take the last four years to demonstrate this. They won a slew of Oscars for No Country for Old Men, a bleak, brilliant, brutal Neo-Western, with darkness in its soul. Then, they went utterly wacky with the bizarre, out-of-control hilarity of Burn After Reading. After that, they kept the absurdity and brought back some darkness, for the strange, existential, black comedy A Serious Man. There is no connecting line between these films, but now they appear to have gone around in a circle to the western with True Grit, though this time it is a very old-fashioned western.

There has been some discussion about whether or not this is a remake of the 1969, John Wayne film, or a new adaptation of the original novel. I am fortunate, perhaps, in having neither seen the original adaptation or having read the book, so I came to this with fresh eyes. The result was to see the true side of the Coens, and the only side which matters: these two are utterly superlative storytellers.

The film follows Mattie Ross, a fourteen-year old girl who is determined to see justice done on Tom Chaney, the man who shot her father. She is outwardly quite cold, cuttingly intelligent, moral and hard as nails. For the role, the Coen's found a very capable young actress in the form of Oscar-nominated Hailee Steinfeld. The nature of her character makes her performance somewhat restrained, but it is subtle and steely. She is utterly believable in every moment.

Mattie forms an unlikely alliance with Rooster Cogburn, a drunk US Marshall with a personal history more colourful than Tony Curtis'. He, however, tries to have her taken home, whilst he goes in search of Chaney with a Texas Ranger on the outlaw's trail, LaBoeuf, but she chases them down and they go off on the hunt for their man. Cogburn and LeBeouf jostle with each other for Mattie's respect, both of them harsh and with their flaws. Cogburn is another triumph for Jeff Bridges (as if he needed one). Though it is very hard to understand all of what he is saying through his thick drawl, his face pierces through the darkness of the cinema and is enthralling. You can't help but be a little bit in awe of him.

Matt Damon, meanwhile, appears to have been somewhat overlooked by the Oscars for what is another excellent performance. His LaBoeuf is the more human of the two in appearance, but is the lesser of the two parts. Cogburn gets more time, more depth and detail, whilst LaBoeuf's travails mean that Damon has not got so much to work with, but he is brilliant with what he has.

The Coens let the film trickle along as they take their time, the stoicism of the central characters belying what is going on underneath. One gets the sense that every second has been meticulously constructed. It thrills when Mattie crosses a river, unnerves when a man in a bear-suit comes out of the snow, shocks when a knife is wielded without thought. Gun shots crack like thunder. Roger Deakins' cinematography takes the breath away. Carter Burwell's score complements every moment perfectly, All serves to keep the audience enthralled, but there seems to be an endless aimlessness about the film (which is kind of the point), but everyone should feel in safe hands. This is after all the Coens.

Sure enough, the last twenty minutes are a brilliant climax, bristling with shocks and excitement, where its deeply moving emotional core develops. The climactic riding sequence is spine-tinglingly beautiful and tugs at the heartstrings with barely a word being said. It is brutal but wonderful.

This may not be the masterpiece which No Country was, but it is a far subtler, more heartfelt piece. The effect on me has grown and grown since I left the cinema, its build-up leading to the most fantastic, if saddening, pay-off. It gave me tingles down my spine, beauty in my eyes, awe in my heart and a feeling of wonder in my seat. I urge you to go and see it.

[3 Stars] "The Fighter" arrived on these shores adorned with nominations and plaudits aplenty. Some went so far as to say that the film was "the best boxing film since Rocky", Esquire magazine having apparently missed "Raging Bull" altogether. It is a shame, therefore, that the actual film should be so thoroughly ordinary.

It is not a bad film at all. It is solid, pretty watchable, pretty interesting fare. The true story of Micky Ward's rise in boxing is one of those stories which sport throws up that seems born for Hollywood. But, Hollywood this is. The film is clichéd and predictable. It says very little but portrays a story of hard circumstances overcome in a manner which is more populist than the film's box office would suggest, the film's harder side counting against it there.

It is however nothing extraordinary. David O. Russell certainly brings an ounce of originality with the frenetic style of the film – fast moving cameras, numerous cuts, characters jabbering over each other on and off screen – but none of this makes the film more gripping or appears to serve any real purpose. It jogs along following the expected path – solid, good, occasionally funny, and unremarkable. The victories do not seem to matter as much as they should. The trials and lows of the film are not very affecting. Nothing stands out.

That is with the exception of the acting, which is fantastic. Christian Bale has received all of the nominations for his bold and flashy performance as Micky Ward's crack-addict brother, Dicky Ecklund, and rightly so. After the disappointment of his dull turn in "Public Enemies", this is Bale back on form. However, as he acknowledged when accepting his Golden Globe, he wouldn't have got away with it without the sterling work from Mark Wahlberg, whose understated central turn is lead-acting at its best. He is always interesting, always gripping and gives the film its drive. He makes it watchable.

In the supporting roles, there is seemingly a great battle going on between Amy Adams and Melissa Leo for the supporting actress gongs this year, and rightly so. Adams continues to establish herself as an extremely versatile and effective young actress with a great future ahead of her. However, it is Leo who should triumph for her barnstorming performance of the battle-axe mother of the two brothers. She is absolutely brutal on screen and entertaining. Though her character as written is slightly monotonous, she manages to disguise this very adroitly.

However, the film leaves its audience impressed by the quality of the acting but unimpressed by the film as a whole. Frankly, there are better ways to spend seven or eight pounds. Get "Raging Bull" out on DVD, or organise a whip-round so that Esquire can watch "Raging Bull". As for "The Fighter", it shall dimly fade, but the performances will remain as fine examples of the actor's craft.

Black Swan is beautiful, engrossing, crazy, over-the-top, on-the-money, unrelenting, unforgiving, incredible, insidious, ridiculous, brilliant, intoxicating, exhilarating, mad, bad, dangerous and stunning. Not to mention disturbing. And bonkers. It is a film which inspires many adjectives. It may not be everybody's cup of tea, but it is undeniably an incredible experience.

It is hard to know where to begin, because the film is so much. It is horror, ballet, psychological thriller, comedy, coming-of-age tale and family drama. Darren Aronofsky hasn't held anything back. This could have been a fairly straightforward character piece, probably starring a second-rate actress which would have garnered her a Best Actress nomination and been middle of the road and solid. But, Aronofsky has taken that and turned it up to eleven.

He is helped by the fact that Natalie Portman is much more than a second rate Actress. Here, she truly excels as Nina. Her character is charged with playing two separate roles, and, in a way, so is she, but Portman must bring the White and Black Nina's into one character in the end, recognisable in one moment.

This is not a story about a fall into darkness. This is a story about a duality. Nina's sweetness and innocence is unhealthy, particularly in her over-sheltered relationship with her mother, played brilliantly by Barbara Hershey. She is immature more than anything else and has to grow. Of course, this is not a coming-of-age tale through and through. It is about the insanity and pressure of young adulthood, the drive of ambition, the craving of perfection. Portman puts all of this across brilliantly, with great support from Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassell, and a very fine cameo-esque performance from Winona Ryder, who is strikingly convincing as a disturbed woman whose career hasn't gone to plan. I wonder why she got cast for that role though.

All of whom remain under the guise of Aronofsky. In this film though he starts it quietly with a girl dreaming and waking up in a quiet, beautiful, princess' bedroom, surrounded by pinks and whites, Aronofsky quickly begins the crescendo of noise, tension and madness which lasts and grows through the whole film. There is no respite. A lot has been made of the lesbian scene between Portman and Kunis. Frankly, at first it's a relief – seemingly a moment of quiet – but Aronofsky is not in the mood for titillation. He is in the mood to drive his audience mad.

The whole thing continues to build, knowingly over-the-top and funny with it. Nina's paranoia and hallucinations likewise grow, and, by the end, I had not got the foggiest of what was real and what was not. The ending was baffling, to the extent that it made "Inception" look simple. But, I came out and was thrilled and filled with energy. Those who are unsure should go, because even if you don't like it, it's an experience which is well worth having. Besides, the level of craft and acting here is exceptional, and there is entertainment and great fun to be had as well.

Four Stars out of Five