It’s nearly impossible to describe a Coen Brothers film. In the case of A Serious Man, it can’t be categorized into any particular film genre. Part drama, part comedy, the film opens with a seemingly unrelated prologue that takes place in 19th century Poland, involving a Jewish man, his wife, and a strange traveler. From there we meet Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a Jewish professor who is raising his family in the suburbs of Minneapolis in the late 1960s. His wife …
Burn After Reading
The Coen Brothers have always made interesting films. Whether they are more character studies or just plain odd, they have ranged from the highly entertaining and absurd (Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski), to serious and impactful (Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing, Fargo). Their Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men was excellent, and so it’s not surprising that they followed it up with a rather goofy adult comedy. Burn After Reading is like a cross between Fargo and The Big Lebowski, …
No Country for Old Men
The last Coen Brothers film, The Ladykillers, was a comedy that didn’t do very well at all. Thankfully, they’re back with a vengeance in the dramatic thriller adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men. The film takes place in 1980, and involves the events that occur after Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles on an apparent drug deal gone bad near the Texas-Mexico border, and discovers $2 million in cash as well as a lot of heroin, dead bodies, …
The Ladykillers
Went to see the latest Coen Brother’s film tonight with Adam, The Ladykillers. A remake of the original Alec Guinness film, this was ultimately a mixed film, but was entertaining enough through the characters to make me recommend it. There’s just something about the way the Coen Brothers write for characters. Sometimes they’re just so fascinating to watch, and you can’t help but want to see more. Enter Tom Hanks. His portrayal of Professor G.H. Dorr is so fascinating – …
Intolerable Cruelty
I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I got the screening invitation for the Coen Brothers’ latest film, Intolerable Cruelty. It looked like a romantic comedy, and I just couldn’t see how or why the Coen Bros. would be involved with such a project. It didn’t seem “unique”. Then the film started. Geoffery Rush is singing in the car. It’s funny. Funnier than it really sounds. Within the first 4 minutes, the tone of the film was set. And …