Well, the Dude abides. And that old familiar chill demeanor seeps through Jeff Bridges’ newly released album through Squarespace. Featuring ambient sounds to help lull listeners to lethargy, Sleeping Tapes can be purchased on a varied array of mediums including vinyl and cassette tape, fittingly enough, and all proceeds go towards the charity Share Our Strengths No Kid Hungry campaign to end child hunger. Bridges’ worked with composer Keefus Ciancia to ensure all sounds will lead us to euphoric slumber. In addition to offering the album, Bridges is the lead in their ad campaign on building websites through Squarespace, below is his first commercial and he’ll be featured in an ad playing during the first half of the Superbowl.

Sport, sportster, sporterino. Listen to his music here and check out his Squarespace website.

Tron: Legacy is a sequel to the original 1982 sci-fi cult classic Tron. Most of the film takes place in a video game fantasyland which shows off the film’s impressive visual effects. Even though this sequel was made 28 years after the original, thanks to crafty CGI, they bring back two of the same actors. Although the film looks extraordinary, the storyline is not far from ordinary. And since they had 28 years to create this sequel, this should not have been an issue.

In a flashback set in 1989 we see Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a visionary inventor and CEO of ENCOM, speaking to his young son Sam (Garrett Hedlund) before he leaves on his motorcycle. That was the last time Sam would see his father as he mysteriously disappeared after claiming a major breakthrough in his work.

It is now 2010, Sam is an adult and primary shareholder of ENCOM. He has more interest in being a rebel than he does as becoming a CEO. Case-in-point, when Sam breaks into ENCOM’s building and steals the new Operating System just as they were about to release it. Not only that, but he uploads it to the internet for the public to download for free. After watching the film, I fail to see the relevance of this other than showing that Sam is good with computers and is not afraid of authority.

A longtime family friend, Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) informs Sam that his father had stopped by his house a couple days before he disappeared with news that he will change the world. Adding to the strangeness, Alan got a page from his father’s arcade from a number that has been disconnected for 20 years. Alan gives Sam the keys to the arcade even though Sam is reluctant about going back.

Despite the fact Sam was not very enthusiastic about going to his father’s old arcade, he does anyway. As he puts his quarter into an old Tron arcade game, but it spits it back out. It is then that he somehow realizes that there is something more to this game cabinet. Behind it is a passage to his father’s secret office. The office that he claimed will change the world as Sam soon finds out. After searching around on his father’s computer, he somehow activates a trigger that transports him into The Grid of Tron.

There are a few things you must know about this new cyberspace. There is no such thing as a world, instead it is referred to as The Grid. Years are referred to as cycles. Humans do not exist, instead they are called users and robot super-humans are programs.

Sam soon finds out that the same computerized world his father invented is also where he has been stuck for the past 20 years. After Sam reunites with his father he is informed on what happened. His father tried to create a perfect world but instead Clu had manifested to destroy him. He is effectively trapped inside The Grid as the portal to escape only is open for a limited amount of time.

The plot of Tron: Legacy is remarkably flat. Scenes either go into great detail about things that do not matter or are ones that even a movie novice could predict. Thankfully, the visual effects were enough to keep you entertained.

Simply put, the visuals were stunning. The alternate universe of Tron was rendered beautifully. You could tell time was spent with the details, from the characters costumes to the trails left by vehicles. The game of discs that were thrown at opponents looked amazing. It baffles me why it was robbed from being nominated for Best Visual Effects at this year’s Oscars. Even though Inception deserved to win that category, this deserved a nomination for their achievement.

Although, the soundtrack is pretty solid, it mostly comprised of typical blockbuster action film style of music up until about an hour into the film. It is then where you really start to hear Daft Punk signature sound of music. Coincidentally, Daft Punk even makes their first cameo appearance around the same time. The soundtrack is easily one of the better qualities of the film.

Sam was way too confident of a character to make the story work. He seems to know everything and question nothing, even in a world of The Grid which normal physics do not apply. For that reason, it is impossible to connect to the character emotionally. This makes it hard to root for the character.

Kudos to the director Joseph Kosinski for keeping Jeff Bridges from the original film in this sequel. The special effects used to de-age him are surprisingly realistic. Jeff Bridges is good but not great here, the script is likely to be blamed for it. However, one cannot help but enjoy him showing glimpses of The Dude from The Big Lebowski, even though the line, “You’re messing with my Zen thing, man”, seems very out of place.

Even though Tron: Legacy had an estimated budget of $170 million, top notch visual effects, soundtrack by Daft Punk, Academy Award winning Jeff Bridges, it forgot an important quality that makes a film great – an engaging storyline. The dialogue was pretty poor thus making the acting sub-par. Let’s hope if they plan on doing another sequel in 2038, that it does not suffer from such critical downfalls.

The Coen Brothers’ set themselves up for a challenge by deciding to do a re-make of a classic Western film, True Grit, that starred John Wayne. The Coens work again with Jeff Bridges from his role as The Dude in The Big Lebowski and give him the tough role of replacing John Wayne from the original True Grit (1969). But do not let the movie poster fool you, while Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin all do exceptional jobs, the true stand out is the young, less-known Hailee Steinfeld.

Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is a fearless 14 year old farm girl whose father was recently murdered by Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). She sets out to capture the killer with help from a U.S. Marshal who is notorious for being ruthless. Considered a man with “true grit” she hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). Cogburn was recently on trial for being so careless with the amount of killings from his trigger-happy finger. She deems this a perfect candidate to help her seek redemption.

A Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) explains he would like to join Mattie and Cogburn in their effort to capture Chaney. Both LaBoeuf and Cogburn decide to try ditching the young girl to catch the killer and split the reward money between them. However, Mattie is forceful and stubborn, thus not easy to get rid of. The three set out on a journey filled with danger and unexpected circumstances.

It was not blatantly evident that True Grit was done by the Coen brothers. Typically, Ethan and Joel Coen put a quirky and irony touch to their films, however, they normally do original films that produce massive cult followings. This is time they decided to do a re-make of a classic John Wayne Western film. So do not go into it assuming they are picking up where they left off from No Country for Old Men, it has a lesser “Coen brothers” feel to it.

The cinematography in this film is phenomenal. True Grit looks like an authentic Western shot from the time period thanks to Roger Deakins. The buildings, clothing and even their language felt very true and accurate. The shots around the campfire were pleasantly done and the landscape is majestic.

The thing I enjoyed the most about True Grit was the acting performances. Jeff Bridges was born to play Westerns, he has the lazy, raspy voice that perfectly fits the role. This is something that proved true in the last film he did, Crazy Heart. The two roles were not all that different. Matt Damon did not seem too out of place as I expected he might. Hailee Steinfeld had the right amount of passion required for her role as a determined and stubborn lead character.

True Grit has a straightforward storyline that showcases beautiful landscapes and talented actors while proving that re-makes of classic Western’s are still possible. While I am not a huge fan of the Western genre, I feel like the Coen brothers paid some homage to the genre and did nothing over-the-top, probably for the better. However, I could see an even split between Coen lovers loving it or hating it, since it does not scream Coen. But if you like Western’s or just want to see a well-made one, you do not have to look further than True Grit.

You do not have to be a fan of country music to enjoy Crazy Heart, a depressing story based on the novel by Thomas Cobb. The superb acting by Jeff Bridges and his character are entertaining enough. The storyline is nothing too spectacular but you cannot help but be enthralled with the main character. It is Scott Cooper first film as a director and he did it in only 24 days, I really hope it is not his last.

Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is no doubt a drunk, chain smoker and depressed man. The once legend country singer is now out of his prime. With little ambition he has, he plays in front of small bowling alley crowds of a few dozen. Bad Blake has so little money to his name that without his fame scoring him free alcohol, something that he is rarely without, he would not be able to pay for it.

While performing in Santa Fe, Bad Blake meets a newspaper journalist named Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal). Instantly, you can tell Bad Blake is attracted to her. We see a completely different side of Bad Blake after only a few visits from his newfound interest. We see that if he tries, he can be quite charming. This is the closest Bad Blake has had to a real family.

Bad Blake then gets a call from his agent about a huge break, a chance to play in front of 12,000 people, but there is a catch. He is not the headliner but rather the opener. Oh, and it is for Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), a man he does not care for as they had a falling out in the past. Although he is reluctant, he accepts the gig.

Before the gig the two meet up at a restaurant. Tommy admits while signing an autograph that Bad Blake taught him everything he knows about country music and tells the fan he is not the one he should be getting the autograph of. At the same time that Tommy is being genuine, Bad Blake tells Tommy he is just doing this gig for the money, not for sentimental sake.

It is not long before Jean expresses her concern over Bad Blake’s alcoholism. He did not earn the nickname Bad for no reason. She tells him not to drink while in front of her son, although it is apparent she is worried about him drinking in general. Just as it seems his life could not get any better personally or professionally, he much over-come his self-destructive lifestyle.

Crazy Heart’s story is most definitely not unique, an old celebrity that is still clinging on to their fame, who hits rock bottom and tries to become somebody again. What makes this film so good is the character. As a viewer, you develop an unexplainable attraction to Bad Blake, whether it is out of empathy or otherwise, you find yourself rooting for him. The film also had a pretty firm emotion grip throughout and especially in a scene near the end that takes place in a mall.

Jeff Bridges has the sort of mumbling voice that works extremely well in his advantage in this role. And being the amazingly talented singer that he is, he was able to fit in perfectly. He plays it so well; it is hard to imagine any other actor that would come close to a performance as his. Maybe Philip Seymour Hoffman could but even then I have my doubts.

His performance did not go unnoticed though. He won an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. The film did not stop there though; Maggie Gyllenhaal was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and it won Best First Feature and Best First Screenplay at the Independent Spirit Awards.

Simply put Crazy Heart is an engaging film with incredible acting, amazing music that even a non-country lover can appreciate, with really only the only downfall being the film’s story is not groundbreaking. I thought the ending was honest and fair, although I could see some people being disappointed with it.