Average Rating:

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No Country For Old Men [2008]

starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Kelly MacDonald, Stephen Root
directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

June 02, 2008
This is the Coen Brothers back to their best, after a mis-step with Intolerable Cruelty and, frankly, an awful remake of The Ladykillers.
The pacing, script, acting, direction are all first class.

Many people seem to have awarded this just 1 star. That is a disgrace.

If you liked Three Burials, Michael Clatyon and In The Vally of Elah, this will be your type of film.

If not, watch The Jeremy Kyle Show in your underwear and have a pot-noodle.

That may be more your cup of tea.

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The Big Lebowski [1998]

starring: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston
directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

October 17, 2005
Jeff Bridges (The fabulous baker boys) stars as the Dude Lebowski, who is mistaken for another Lebowski, which ultimately leaves his rug ruined.

Taking this up with the Big Lebowski, the Dude is sent on a mission to recover his kidnapped wife.

The Big Lebowski is one of the Coen brother's finest creations by being different, funny and entertaining all the way through with smart direction and acting.

You will have never seen anything like this before as Jeff Bridges gives an unbelievable performance as The Dude, an unemployed bum who likes white Russians and bowling who seeks a very bizarre retribution in his ruined rug.

The ideology of the rug and the whole obsessive nature behind it is very funny, ... Read More:

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No Country For Old Men [Blu-ray] [2007]

starring: Kelly MacDonald, Stephen Root, Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem
directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

September 08, 2008
This film is absolute perfection, the suspence, the confusion and the thrill of the characters brilliant

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Paris, Je T'Aime [2007]

starring: Steve Buscemi, Natalie Portman, Gerard Depardieu, Bob Hoskins, Nick Nolte
directed by: Gus Van Sant, Isabel Coixet, Wes Craven, Christopher Doyle, Vincenzo Natali

February 04, 2008
I am not usually a fan of short films, but Paris Je T'aime is a surprisingly good collection of *very* short (about five minutes each!) films about life in Paris. There are eighteen films in all, and, predictably enough, some are better than others. Yet the overall quality was very good, and a few were outstanding. Most of them have something to do with romance or love, but other than that the collection is diverse. There is comedy, tragedy and even horror. Most of these films manage to actually tell complete stories in a mere five minutes.

I especially enjoyed Steve Buscemi (in a non-speaking role) as a pathetic tourist who makes the mistake of staring at an arguing couple in a Metro station. Also very good was a tale of vampire love. This one had ... Read More:

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Fargo (Special Edition) [1996]

starring: Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare, Harve Presnell
directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

April 21, 2003
Fargo is the name of a small town in Dakota US. The movie takes place in Fargo and is about a man who is a car dealer and desperately in need of money. He plans to raise the money by kidnapping his own wife via some thugs and squeezing money from his father-in-law. Things take a different turn from the plan creating mayhem and shedding a lot of blood. The small town life of an ordinary US citizen is well portrayed in the film. Mostly middle aged and living in reasonably comfortable lives the common people are leading easy-going lives. There are also those who lead wandering lives, no cash, no home, no real friends or nothing. Spectacular personalities deserving focus are the prostitutes who are least concerned with life, they have graduated from high school and their life ... Read More:

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O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2 Disc Special Edition) [2000]

starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter
directed by: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

November 05, 2001
This is cinema of the highest calibre. Just like most Coen brothers films, it's not the millions spent on sets, or special effects (they're low to mid budget all the way) but the human touch that sets this apart. Homer was a good place to start, as it could be said that the Homeric poems laid the foundation for secular western literature. Add the genius of the Coen Brothers, and the old-fashioned "cinematic magic" qualities of Clooney, and you have a product that will not age. I've watched it only once so far, but I have half a dozen timeless quotes, for anyone willing to listen, including "I don't want Fop, goddammit. I'm a Dapper Dan man"
Se it for yourself. Five stars aren't enough.

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Miller's Crossing [1990]

starring: Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden, John Turturro, Jon Polito, J.E. Freeman
directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

October 13, 2003
This is not a great movie.

I watched Blood Simple for the first time a few weeks ago and really enjoyed watching Francis McDermott. She was fantastic in Fargo. Fargo was a great movie with all the right moves, excellent tone, bizarre characters, and a flatly affected but very strong pregnant cop played by McDermott. The Coen brothers are known for their slightly off-kilter films. Raising Arizona with Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunter was a very successful and entertaining quirky movie. Strange characters and bizarre situations can be very entertaining. The formula just doesn't work in Miller's Crossing.

Gabriel Byrne stars as a dirtball gangster. He's the slimey no. 2 to Albert Finney in Finney's massive gangster world. Finney is the real power in this ... Read More:

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O Brother, Where Art Thou? [2000]

starring: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter
directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

April 09, 2001
This is cinema of the highest calibre. Just like most Coen brothers films, it's not the millions spent on sets, or special effects (they're low to mid budget all the way) but the human touch that sets this apart. Homer was a good place to start, as it could be said that the Homeric poems laid the foundation for secular western literature. Add the genius of the Coen Brothers, and the old-fashioned "cinematic magic" qualities of Clooney, and you have a product that will not age. I've watched it only once so far, but I have half a dozen timeless quotes, for anyone willing to listen, including "I don't want Fop, goddammit. I'm a Dapper Dan man"
Se it for yourself. Five stars aren't enough.

Average Rating:

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The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

starring: Billy Bob Thornton|Frances McDormand|Michael Badalucco|Adam Alexi-Malle
directed by: Joel Coen

April 22, 2002
'The closer you look, the less you see', remarks the brilliantly Jewish lawyer in this film. Some have said the same about the typical Coen film script, but when it comes as multi-layered and intricate as this, as well as being shot in sublime film noir photography, who cares if the philosophy might not be as deep as it first appears? And every performance here is a delight, from the aforementioned sophisitic genius of a laywer who yet has to admit that this murder plot 'makes his head hurt', to the effortless beauty and charm of a teenage heartbreaker Scarlett Johansson. In fact, its hard to pick out any one above the others in this lovingly crafted work of genius, save perhaps for the magnificantly languid yet inwardly seething main character played to absolute perfection by Billy ... Read More:

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Blood Simple [1983]

starring: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, Samm-Art Williams
directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

January 01, 2001
Life is too short to inflict such misery apon yourself. If someone suggests that you watch this cover your genitals with polyfilla and go to A&E to have it scraped off, it will be a lot less painful and far more fun.