Coen Bros. Films [Archive] - Typology Central

kuranes

10-02-2008, 01:08 AM

Platoon, Wall Street, and JFK are all very good movies. Born on the Fourth of July, Nixon, and The Doors had their moments. Natural Born Killers (especially the director's cut) is a hoot, IMHO.
I enjoyed all of them. Well, "Born on the Fourth of July" was only marginally noteworthy for me. I don't even remember why.

I saw an ad run a few times for "W" and at first I thought "it looks like another slapstick 'Jim Carrey-like' vehicle " ( except without Jim ) and so I had ruled it out for theater fare.... until I noticed it was an Oliver Stone movie. Hmmm. I had thought his next movie was going to be a documentary about Chavez negotiating with the Columbian rebel kidnappers. I might check "W" out as a freebie in one of those multiple theater hallways.

I had thought that "Burn Before Reading" ads showed like that kind of a "zany" comedy too, but I decided to go anyway, only because it was a Coen Brothers movie; and that proved to be a worthwhile decision. It was nowhere near as good as "The Big Lebowski", but still funny. My friend Geoff and I both like the Coen Brothers flicks and so we often go see them together, although he won't ever join me afterward in seeing free movies. Although we both enjoy so-called "black humor", we still have different tastes. He thinks "Fargo" was way better than "Lebowski", but I don't agree at all. He really liked "Summer of Sam". ( I wonder what this new Spike Lee movie will be like. )

pure_mercury

10-02-2008, 01:55 AM

I enjoyed all of them. Well, "Born on the Fourth of July" was only marginally noteworthy for me. I don't even remember why.

I saw an ad run a few times for "W" and at first I thought "it looks like another slapstick 'Jim Carrey-like' vehicle " ( except without Jim ) and so I had ruled it out for theater fare.... until I noticed it was an Oliver Stone movie. Hmmm. I had thought his next movie was going to be a documentary about Chavez negotiating with the Columbian rebel kidnappers. I might check "W" out as a freebie in one of those multiple theater hallways.

I had thought that "Burn Before Reading" ads showed like that kind of a "zany" comedy too, but I decided to go anyway, only because it was a Coen Brothers movie; and that proved to be a worthwhile decision. It was nowhere near as good as "The Big Lebowski", but still funny. My friend Geoff and I both like the Coen Brothers flicks and so we often go see them together, although he won't ever join me afterward in seeing free movies. Although we both enjoy so-called "black humor", we still have different tastes. He thinks "Fargo" was way better than "Lebowski", but I don't agree at all. He really liked "Summer of Sam". ( I wonder what this new Spike Lee movie will be like. )

The Big Lebowski is really funny, but a little long and incoherent. It's like 7th on my list of best Coen Bros. films.

Fargo
No Country for Old Men
Miller's Crossing
Barton Fink
O Brother Where Art Thou?
Blood Simple

And then Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski.

kuranes

10-02-2008, 02:09 AM

The Big Lebowski is really funny, but a little long and incoherent. .
What you call the "incoherence" may be what I like about it, which I see as being different than the slapstick shrill zaniness of a typical Jim Carrey movie. They probably debated on whether to cut the scene where he fantasizes he's in a Busby Berkeley number while "What Condition My Condition Was In" plays. I'm glad they kept it. Other strangeness may require more knowledge of film noir conventions, which they were satirizing in TBL, although "The Man Who Wasn't There" was structured around the same idea, and I didn't like it very much.

EffEmDoubleyou

10-02-2008, 03:31 AM

MacGuffin

10-02-2008, 03:47 AM

I just know this is going to get the thread split

Excellent idea!

Miller's Crossing is my fave.

Jack Flak

10-02-2008, 09:17 AM

Coen Bros are hit and miss, both with suspense and comedy. Their best?

1. Fargo
2. Blood Simple
3. No Country For Old Men

pure_mercury

10-02-2008, 03:47 PM

I just know this is going to get the thread split, but pure_mercury's stab at ranking the Coen brothers' films is irresistable. Mine:

Raising Arizona
Fargo
Miller's Crossing
No Country For Old Men
O Brother Where Art Thou?
------------------------------------ The split between "Exceptional" and "Quite Enjoyed"
Blood Simple
The Ladykillers
Burn After Reading
Intolerable Cruelty
------------------------------------ The split between "Quite Enjoyed" and "Meh"
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Big Lebowski
Barton Fink

I can't rank The Man Who Wasn't There because I haven't seen it.

Intolerable Cruelty was quite good (Billy Bob Thornton is a treasure). They really marketed that movie the wrong way, though; they made it seem like it was a Clooney/Zeta-Jones romcom, when it was actually the Coen Bros.' updated take on the 1930s screwball comedy. So, the wackiness seemed to turn off mainstream viewers, and they didn't even MENTION that it was the new Coen Bros. film in the commercials. Big mistake. Personally, one of my favorite things about the Coens is that they basically do crazy, twisted genre films.

The Hudsucker Proxy wasn't very good, and I didn't care for the little of The Ladykillers I've seen. Haven't seen Burn After Reading yet.

kuranes

10-02-2008, 07:15 PM

they didn't even MENTION that it was the new Coen Bros. film in the commercials. Big mistake.
I didn't even know until reading this that it was a Coen Brothers film. You're right. That would have made the difference, just as I was saying earlier about "Burn Before Reading". They definitely are a "brand". Until they burn me a few times in a row I will continue going to see their films on the reputation alone, unless some friend whose opinion I respect really makes a big deal of warning me away from one.

I hadn't known of "Lady Killers" either. Hmmm.

The Rolling Stones were a brand once. I would buy their albums regardless of publicity etc. Then they burned me a few times in the later 80's ( albums that were between 80 % and 100 % shit ) and so I mostly stayed away from them until taking a peek again fairly recently.