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Covering the Coen brothers: Grading their films
Apologies all around for the slowness of the blog last week, folks. I hope you found some fun movie-related things to distract you from the aftermath of the ill winds. I’m back full steam, with lots of ideas in the pipeline, including reviews of Eagle Eye and maybe some other films forthcoming this week.
With Burn After Reading continuing to do well at the box office, much to my delight, I thought it would be fun to offer my thoughts on the work of the Coen brothers thus far, and let you do the same. Looking over their output, I find them to be just about the most consistently fascinating filmmakers around.
Blood Simple: Right from the very first, the brothers established themselves as major talents with this noir film, very well shot by Barry Sonnenfeld, who would go on to direct Get Shorty and Men in Black, among others. GRADE: A
Raising Arizona: This was my introduction to the Coens, and I found them hysterical. Everybody quotes “Son, you get a panty on yore head,” but my favorite lines come from the late Trey Wilson as Nathan Arizona: “Are you boys gonna chase down your leads or are you gonna sit drinkin’ coffee in the one house in the state where I know my boy ain’t at?!” GRADE: A
Miller’s Crossing: Goodfellas came out the same year, and became the gangster film du jour, but this one has developed a following over the years, and deservedly so. This gangster movie is like no other. That hat … GRADE: A-
Barton Fink: A brilliantly strange and terrifying take on old Hollywood, with a brilliant performance by John Turturro. It was also the beginning of a long and dazzling collaboration with cinematographer Roger Deakins, one of the best in the biz. GRADE: A+
The Hudsucker Proxy: Criminally underseen and underrated, this may be the greatest looking goof of a movie ever made. I always crack up at the hula hoop bits. “You know - for kids!” Fun trivia: In Raising Arizona, you can see that Nicolas Cage briefly works for Hudsucker industries. GRADE: A-
Fargo: I didn’t quite love this movie as much as many seemed to, but that only meant I didn’t think it was their best. Up to this point, their best was Barton Fink. Still, all hail Frances McDormand. GRADE: A
The Big Lebowski: As much as I enjoyed this comedy, you might say I haven’t been quite as high on it as some of their other films, perhaps because the pot smoke I’ve inhaled has all been secondhand. GRADE: B
O Brother Where Art Thou?: Now, this is more like it! Wild gags, a great sepia toned look from Deakins, and a fun soundtrack. And I’m not even a bluegrass kinda guy. GRADE: A
The Man Who Wasn’t There: The Coens take on noir again, and as far as I know, it’s the only one to mix that genre with UFOs. This is the only DVD the Coens recorded a commentary track for, and as you might expect, it’s no help at all. GRADE: B
Intolerable Cruelty: The Coens tried to graft their work onto a pre-existing script, and the mixture didn’t take. It has some solid laughs, but it remains their one misfire to date. GRADE: C+
The Ladykillers: I thought people came down far too hard on the Coens for this comedy, and I have to wonder if people would have done that if the lead wasn’t Tom Hanks. I laughed out loud frequently at it and thought the Coens were back on track. GRADE: B+
No Country for Old Men: Yeah, it deserved its Oscar wins. GRADE: A+
Burn After Reading: Lots of fun, although I’d like to take back my statement in my original review that it doesn’t mean anything. It’s still a goofy lark more than anything else, but it makes some sly points about espionage, paranoia, deception and all around stupidity. GRADE: A-
How about you? What are your favorite/least favorite Coen films? Did you see Burn After Reading yet? What did you think?
Permalink | Comments (3) | Post your comment | Categories: Filmmakers
Comments
By SRCputt
September 22, 2008 9:49 PM | Link to this
I will simply add I have enjoed every Coen film I have seen, and I’m only short two: Intolerable Cruelty and Burn After Reading. And you should’ve mentioned Hudsucker Proxy looks so great partly because pal Sam Raimi was the second unit director to help them incorporate all the effects. I think it is still the most expensive film they’ve ever done.By SRCputt
September 22, 2008 9:42 PM | Link to this
My favorite line from Raising Arizona, mainly because of Cage’s delivery: “I’ll be taking these Huggies…”By ron
September 22, 2008 3:04 PM | Link to this
I agree with all those ratings… curiously, my wife LOVES “Intolerable Cruelty” almost as much as “O Brother…” it’s one of her favorites, and she will watch it over and over…