ysbreker

Movie/TV recommendations

Recommended Posts

I think the ending of A Serious Man felt kind of like gilding the lily. Also, it retreads a LOT of Barton Fink, but is not nearly as dazzling or inventive. And latter day Coen often feels a couple degrees too misanthropic and cynical for my tastes. Which can work out great when it's balanced by the humor of something like Burn After Reading, or is absolutely required by the material like No Country For Old Men, but ultimately felt a little punishing in A Serious Man. Still a fantastic movie, but not among my favorite Coens.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'll have to rewatch Barton Fink, but I disagree that later Coen stuff is more misanthropic. Blood Simple is a depressingly nihilistic movie, on par with A Serious Man, at least for me.

 

Maybe I'll just watch all the Coen bros movies in a row, to better judge the progression of bleakness in their career (oh man that sounds like a horrible idea).

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Haha, wow, I really disliked A Serious Man just because it was so bleak and certain parts confused me. I'd have to see it again. I'm also not a fan of Barton Fink one bit.

 

I think my favorite things by them tend to be their creations after Blood Simple but before O Brother. Hudsucker Proxy is so great. But I watch their output mostly to see people wrestle strange or fun dialect, so it kind of doesn't matter in the end.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I actually like their Ladykillers remake....

The premise is great, much of the ensemble cast is great, the soundtrack is great, but Tom Hanks just totally ruins it for me. His accent is atrocious and he doesn't sell his persona at all, IMO. Also, I hate the poop jokes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I like the Ladykillers remake just so I can keep repeating, "You brought your bitch to the the Waffle Hut?" every time my girlfriend drags me to the Waffle House.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As far as misanthropy goes, I would rate Fargo as a far bleaker and more depressing experience than A Serious Man. There's a poetic beauty to ASM, whereas Fargo shows the ugliness of man so painfully  up close. I haven't seen Blood Simple, so can't comment.

 

Nachimir, I skimmed through the screenplay and what I saw was already enough to bring me down. Page upon page upon page of dialogue-less description of terrible events. That monologue at the beginning about fire... jesus.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I changed my mind. My favorite Coen bros film is the 20 minute dybbuk scene at the beginning of A Serious Man.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I changed my mind. My favorite Coen bros film is the 20 minute dybbuk scene at the beginning of A Serious Man.

 

Finally, an opinion on the Coens in this thread with which I can agree!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think Big Momma's House is the best Coen brothers movie.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow. Superman could have been a lot better. Big action sequence and brawl in the middle were epic, but apart from that it was all a bit hmmm.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'll have to rewatch Barton Fink, but I disagree that later Coen stuff is more misanthropic. Blood Simple is a depressingly nihilistic movie, on par with A Serious Man, at least for me.

 

Maybe I'll just watch all the Coen bros movies in a row, to better judge the progression of bleakness in their career (oh man that sounds like a horrible idea).

 

I think bleak is a little different than misanthropic. Blood Simple is couched in genre, and a nihilistic worldview is a pretty big component of noir (certainly one of the most latched onto by neo-noir movies such as Blood Simple) and I never get the feeling of GLEE behind the characters being put through the wringer that happens in A Serious Man or Burn After Reading. A Serious Man isn't genre, so I feel the relentless screw twisting a bit more because it isn't de facto. Barton Fink is sort of on par with A Serious Man in that regard (and, in fact, comparable in many regards from structure to themes) but where A Serious Man's ending is pointedly unambiguous (at least, in what it means thematically), Barton Fink is VERY ambiguous, giving some semblance of hope that it's main character would find peace.

 

Not that any of their movies are particularly sentimental (the ones that come closest, Hudsucker Proxy and True Grit, are not surprisingly pretty impersonal) but there seems to be just a tad more "Fuck you" in their more recent stuff to me. And again, that's not INHERENTLY a bad thing, but I think it fits a bit better in No Country and Burn After Reading than it does in A Serious Man.

 

As far as misanthropy goes, I would rate Fargo as a far bleaker and more depressing experience than A Serious Man. There's a poetic beauty to ASM, whereas Fargo shows the ugliness of man so painfully  up close. I haven't seen Blood Simple, so can't comment.

 

Nachimir, I skimmed through the screenplay and what I saw was already enough to bring me down. Page upon page upon page of dialogue-less description of terrible events. That monologue at the beginning about fire... jesus.

 

Fargo has Marge Gunderson though. In a filmography full of depictions of irrational worlds where characters are helpless against the forces of fate, Fargo actually has a character who is a moral center. That goes a long way to walk back the nihilism in my eyes, even if someone like William H. Macy's character is exactly the kind misanthropic thing I'm talking about.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

But A Serious Man features The Mentaculus: possibly the greatest movie red herring/prop ever created!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, «Hannibal» has just finished its first season and has been renewed for a second. Anyone watch this? What did you think? Anthony Hopkins was great, but I think Mads Mikkelsen does a much more interesting character, especially for one we're exposed so much more to than in the movies.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I haven't seen it, but the primary reason I'm considering is Mads Mikkelsen. Mad about Mads.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So, «Hannibal» has just finished its first season and has been renewed for a second. Anyone watch this? What did you think? Anthony Hopkins was great, but I think Mads Mikkelsen does a much more interesting character, especially for one we're exposed so much more to than in the movies.

 

2nd season? cool! We stopped watching it after the second episode as i heard it had been cancelled. My gf didn't want to invest time into something that wasn't going anywhere. I'll have to get back into it, that first episode was fantastic.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Big Lebowski all the way.

 

 

Just realised I should instead have posted "No love for Dude?"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I saw The Big Lebowski all the way through for the first time only about a year ago. I'd seen all of it in separate bits and pieces throughout the years, but never all at once.

 

I enjoyed it. It ain't bad by any means, but I don't get the extreme love. 

 

I'm also annoyed that every time I drink a White Russian (my drink of choice!), people think it's because I like The Big Lebowski. I was drinking that before I even knew it was a thing in that movie. Goddamnit pop culture.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

One of my favourite sitcoms is legally up on YouTubeCorner Gas is a great, care-free show. It's a little dry and you may need to watch a few episodes to get its style, but it's a treat.

 

It also has my favourite single episode in a sitcom with "Gopher It", the season four finale, at the time telegraphed as the last episode. I wonder if it holds-up as well now (I saw it when it aired), but at the time it killed me.

 

Please give it a try!

 

I saw The Big Lebowski all the way through for the first time only about a year ago. I'd seen all of it in separate bits and pieces throughout the years, but never all at once.

 

I enjoyed it. It ain't bad by any means, but I don't get the extreme love. 

 

I'm also annoyed that every time I drink a White Russian (my drink of choice!), people think it's because I like The Big Lebowski. I was drinking that before I even knew it was a thing in that movie. Goddamnit pop culture.

Watch again. It gets better on re-watch. I've seen it three or four times, and enjoyed it more every time (though I suspect said enjoyment plateaus here). 

Then read Roger Ebert's Great Movies review, which provides an interesting take on the film.

 

My own interpretation is that it's an anti-noir story. I learned to appreciate its brilliance after reading The Big Sleep

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

One of my favourite sitcoms is legally up on YouTubeCorner Gas is a great, care-free show. It's a little dry and you may need to watch a few episodes to get its style, but it's a treat.

 

It also has my favourite single episode in a sitcom with "Gopher It", the season four finale, at the time telegraphed as the last episode. I wonder if it holds-up as well now (I saw it when it aired), but at the time it killed me.

 

Please give it a try!

 

Never heard of it before and I really liked the first episode!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now