I think I've finally determined that I'm going to give the Coen Brothers my "Automatic" designation. As in, no matter what the name of the project is, no matter who is starring in it, no matter what time of the year it's coming out, I'm going to see it as soon as I can. Automatically.
I went to see "Burn After Reading" on Sunday, and it was so brilliant. Brilliantly comedic. Accomplishing, plot-wise, absolutely nothing - but it was one of the most enjoyable Nothings I've experienced in quite a while. If you're ok with cursing and about fifteen seconds of real violence, I recommend it. Rarely do I pay theater prices to see a comedy, but this was some well-spent movie money. Dan and I just sat in the theater after the credits rolled, enjoying a long laugh at the beautiful ridiculousness we had just witnessed.
Ok, you get the point. I liked it. But I'm looking down their list of IMDB projects, and I notice that I really liked all of them! All of the ones I've seen, anyway. Here's the list after "Burn":
# No Country for Old Men (2007) (screenplay)
# Paris, je t'aime (2006) (segment "Tuileries")
... aka Paris, I Love You (Hong Kong: English title)
# The Ladykillers (2004) (screenplay)
# Intolerable Cruelty (2003) (screenplay)
# The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) (written by)
# O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) (written by)
... aka O' Brother (France)
# The Big Lebowski (1998) (written by)
# Fargo (1996) (written by)
# The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) (written by)
... aka Hudsucker - Der große Sprung (Germany)
# Barton Fink (1991) (written by)
# Miller's Crossing (1990) (written by)
# Raising Arizona (1987) (written by)
# Crimewave (1985) (written by)
# Blood Simple. (1984) (written by)
Haven't seen 4 out of the last 5 on this list, nor "The Man Who Wasn't There", nor Paris. But pretty much everything else has made the grade with me, and so I am officially handing the Coen Brothers my "Automatic" designation.
Has anybody earned this designation for you? Tom Hanks had it with me once, but he lost it with The Polar Express. Although maybe I shouldn't hold that against him since it was just a voice-acting role. Haven't seen the Da Vinci Code.
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http://www.fantasymoguls.com/
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5 comments:
I think I've seen more Coen Brothers movies than you. I hated Ladykillers, mostly because of Tom Hanks. Tom Hanks lost it with Castaway (ick!). He wasn't bad in Da Vinci Code. I didn't See Charlie Wilson's War.
I've seen all of their films accept the Paris one (they only did a portion of it), Blood Simple, and Barton Fink. But, I have Barton Fink sitting on my end table....
big lebowski is right up there up for classic movies.
their adapation of no country was ok but didn't quite capture the essence of the book.
the man who wasn't there was ok and fargo continued the trend of an world completely created and realized by an artist.
anyway, i will see burn after reading. just don't know if i'll see it in the theater.
Barton Fink was amazing. John Tuturros best film.
The Coen's can get a performance out of Turturro like no-one else.
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