The Coen Brothers Thread - Page 2

I'm one of the few that thinks The Ladykillers is kind of underrated. Tom Hanks is gold in that. They should have reined in Wayans a lot more, but otherwise, I enjoyed the hell out of it. At minimum, I like it quite a bit more than both Intolerable and Man Who Wasn't There.

Hanks is having a lot of fun in Ladykillers, but he ends up being all sound and fury without a good film to back up his lunatic performance. It's the only Coen Bros. movie I was iffy on when I first saw it, and repeat viewings have put it into the absolute dislike category. Such a waste.

I am a sad person. I do not like Hudsucker that much. Maybe I need to give it another chance (it has been a long while). I do love almost all their other movies (Ladykillers is not high on my list either). No Country would be my favorite of theirs, if I could pick favorites. Since I can not choose just one as the best it goes in the grouping of Blood Simple, Fargo, Big Lewboski, and Burn After Reading. The others are on a ledge just below those.

I don't know why, but I love Blood Simple so very, very much. It's the Coens most brutal, dispassionate, horrifying film. Yes, even more than No Country for Old Men, because there's no ultimate force of evil, just a bunch of stupid people fucking each other over. And M. Emmet Walsh should have won an Oscar for that performance. And, oh yeah, Dan Hedaya and Frances McDormand were great, too.

I love Blood Simple. Such a simple, mundane plot that sets very horrifying events in motion. Fargo is similar, but has a more black comedy feel. It is darker than No Country mainly for the reason you mention. There is no 'ultimate badass' on the prowl only a money grabbing, sleezy PI.

Nothing comes close to Miller's Crossing for me. The score is probably my favorite.

Jesus Tom!

I also agree that Blood Simple is be far their darkest and cruelest film.

Top 10 Coen Brothers

(In which I ramble about the brothers...)

1. No Country For Old Men--their greatest achievement; a masterpiece. Near pitch perfect blend of suspenseful tension and dark humor; deft exploration of fatalism vs existentialism; best/most gut-punching ending since Chinatown

2. Raising Arizona--A fun, madcap blend of favorite comedy styles; how can anyone not love Nic Cage's "H.I."? Best use of Randall "Tex" Cobb outside of Uncommon Valor; Goodman & Forsythe are magic; Trey Wilson brilliant

3. O Brother Where Art Thou?--Such a great story; almost the spiritual flipside to NCFOM; love the mythologizing of a seemingly almost mystical Old South; Clooney's greatest comic performance; the Beatlemania-like triumph of the final "Man of Constant Sorrow" performance--when racist Stokes is rejected and run out on a rail, such a stand up and cheer moment! Clooney's pompous rejection of the "miracle", the final comic icing on the cake

4. Miller's Crossing--canon entry that's grown on me the most; intricate scheming and eclectic performances plays better everytime--except Marcia Gay Harden

5. Fargo--tour de force Frances McDormant performance often overshadows perfectly executed direction, layered story and dark comedy; William H. Macy's arc is almost painful to watch; Buscemi's a blast

6. Big Lebowski-a falling star; at one time my favorite, no longer get the same rush; love that its a "fuck you" to fairweather Fargo fans and mainstream acceptability; Goodman's take on Walter is the best kind of nuts-so gloriously over-the-top;
secret weapons: Buscemi & Hoffman ("Phone's ringing, Dude" "I am the walrus" "Ah hahahahaha! Wonderful woman. We're all, we're all very fond of her. Very free-spirited".)

7. Burn After Reading--another "fuck you" film; No doubt about it, movie's just plain mean; scathing rebuke of both audience, culture at large, and entire Bush era - funnier and more effective than Idiocracy; Pitt's most hilarious death since Meet Joe Black

8. Blood Simple-Such an accomplished debut; shitkicker Hammett; another sneaky, darkly funny entry in oeuvre; outshines neo-noir contemporaries, including Body Heat

9. Hudsucker Proxy--Screwball throwback, Sturges homage; almost overrated for being called underrated for so long; Robbins + Newman are fun, but Jennifer Jason Leigh is diamond that shines brightest ( Fun fact: Eastwood was original choice for Newman's role. You learn something everyday!)

10. Barton Fink-Brilliant and horrifying; find myself admiring this movie more than enjoying it; Turturro is great, but remember Goodman being a revelation

For me, Barton Fink is second only to NCFOM.

I watched The Man Who Wasn't There again the other night (third or fourth viewing) and, even if repeat viewings lack the kick of the first couple times, there is still much to enjoy. Ed's deadpan narration and elusive, Meursault-like personality are perfectly done, and work well within the suburban noir setting.

I had some problems; I was actually a little surprised to find some of the concepts that seemed so interesting the first couple times were literally stated in the dialogue, which tends to bug me. Though perhaps that can be attributed to a failure of understanding on my part; maybe there was a reason for making them explicitly text. And the heavy narration, though totally understandable in this context, is nevertheless the least engaging way of conveying story.

Still, the narration yields some great stuff, like "Dry cleaning. Was I crazy to be thinking about it?" And perhaps my favorite part of the film is when Ed's narration of how he and Doris met and decided to get married is interrupted by Big Dave's phone call, which eventually leads to the confrontation where Ed kills Dave, yet when he gets back home he continues the story as if he had never been interrupted.

Blood Simple is the one I've only seen once, so I'm going to need to revisit that really soon.

I watched the awesome Barton Fink again. I only remembered the final speech and some elements from the plot. The final scene on the beach with Barton and the box is great. The design of the Hotel together with the music is astonishing. I loved the tracking shots to the sewer, Barton fusing with the floor and every time "Charlie" came around.
One scene that's still there since the first time I saw this, the way Charlie pass walking through the corridor (seen from the room) is just too straight, like no-human.