Pop culture seems to have fallen in love with the Western all over again in 2010. First there was Red Dead Redemption, a perfectly paced videogame from the makers of the Grand Theft Auto series. With Hollywood-caliber voice acting and top-notch production values, it is arguably the most exceptional game of the year, and proof of the awe the temporarily forgotten theater of the rugged frontier can still inspire. True Grit finishes the year with even stronger evidence.

Gone are the classic Western two-dimensional portrayals of puritanical and faultless good guys facing off against mustachioed villains with no redeeming qualities just begging to get got—the criminally under-appreciated Canuck Barry Pepper (Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan) is a show-stealer in his supporting role and especially hard to hate as a black-toothed bandit with a bit of a conscience named "Lucky" Ned Pepper.

Jeff Bridges, who last worked with the Cohen brothers in The Big Lebowski, brings Rooster Cogburn to life, creating a character just as memorable as The Dude. Cogburn is a perpetually drunk, one-eyed marshal tasked by tough-as-nails 14-year-old Mattie Ross (played by the amazing Hailee Steinfeld) to track down her father's killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Ross and Cogburn team up with a straight-laced Texas Ranger who has been on Chaney's trail for some time, La Boeuf (played by a 'stache-sporting Matt Damon), and follow Chaney as he tries to escape Arkansas into Indian territory to the west.

Damon's La Boeuf and Bridges Cogburn make the perfect odd couple—thanks partially to stellar performances and partially to an incredibly sharp script packed with humor.

The precocious Mattie Ross has cojones bigger than the men she saddles up with and outwits bumbling businessmen and cunning cutthroats alike in her quest for justice. Steinfeld may be the best leading lady in a Cohen brothers’ film since Frances McDormand in Fargo.

While the Cohen brothers make some tweaks to the classic Western formula, remaining are shots of beautiful scenery (some even filmed around Austin), though they're now pasted together with killer ultra-slow dissolves. One semi-criticism: Anyone who has been to Arkansas will find it evident that True Grit's rocky winter landscapes draped in cold blue hues weren't filmed in the Natural State. But really, that's being nitpicky.

True Grit is stunning, and in true Cohen brothers fashion, it's a five-course meal of a movie filled with drama, comedy, adventure and unforgettable characters. It's also an all-ages crowd-pleaser that's rated PG-13 (no language and just a bit of violence), so for the love of all things holy, when your family wants to go to the theater this holiday weekend, pass on Yogi Bear and Tron Legacy.

--Eric Pulsifer

I might not be the ideal audience for Tron Legacy. When I was a kid growing up with two older, computer geek brothers and one computer engineering dad, I was subjected to the original Tron over and over and over again. All I wanted to do was watch The Little Mermaid again, but no. I was forced against my will to watch my brothers geek out over light cycles and The Grid. Upon rewatching the original film this past Thanksgiving, I realized I still have no freakin’ clue what is going on in Tron. I mean, I get it, but it’s basically just a personified Hackers of its day, no? Sure, the visuals were enchanting to me in the ‘80s, but the story basically made no sense.

The EXACT same thing can be said of Tron Legacy. Sure, the visuals are incredible (and I’m not just talking about Olivia Wilde in a skintight latex suit), but the story makes no sense. The film also feels like a hodgepodge of different sci-fi flicks, such as The Matrix, Star Wars, and even a bit Lord of the Rings. But shit does it look cool.

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William Hanna and Joseph Barbera had a hell of a run—both died just short of 100. In that century of life, the two witnessed everything from the last days of the Wild West to the creation of the atomic bomb and the rise of the Internet, but thankfully they weren’t alive to see this shit.

Yogi Bear is the latest attempt by Hollywood to murder iconic Hanna-Barbera characters via live action film (e.g., Scooby Doo, The Flintstones). From its abundance of humorless ass-related humor—pratfalls, bear booty-shaking and fart jokes—to its two-dimensional lessons on relationships and environmentalism, Yogi Bear is a movie made for children or those of childlike mind.

As it’s not difficult for me to imagine a pantless, potbellied Dan Aykroyd wobbling through the woods in search of picnic baskets, the casting of Aykroyd as Yogi doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch—even if his Yogi impersonation is a bit off from the source material. Justin Timberlake’s Boo-Boo is spot on; to his credit, you really have to strain to hear JT in there. Yogi and Boo-Boo’s human counterparts are Tom Cavanagh (Ed) as Ranger Smith and Anna Farris (Scary Movie) as Rachel, a filmmaker looking to make a documentary about Jellystone’s most famous resident. Neither is really noteworthy, so if you’re a big Cavanagh or Farris fan (really?), you won’t be missing out.

The Yogi Bear Show was never exactly the crown jewel of the Hanna-Barbera fleet, but it deserves better than Yogi Bear. Sadly, those with kids in their movie-going crew have very few PG-rated choices this holiday season, meaning this bumbling bear will probably rake in enough picnic baskets full of cash to ensure a sequel.

--Eric Pulsifer