Pain & Gain (2013)
Pain & Gain (2013) – I would just like to point out, before venturing into any sort of valid critique, that this is the only movie about which one can say and be grammatically correct “from the director of and starring The Rock.” Had to get that out of the way… Let us consider the … Continue reading
Shallow Grave (1994)
Shallow Grave (1994) – Danny Boyle has made his mark on modern cinema. He’s directed horror (28 Days Later…), science fiction (Sunshine), romantic comedy (A Life Less Ordinary), true-life drama (127 Hours), and a family film (Millions). He’s won the Academy Award for Best Director for the Best Picture-winning Slumdog Millionaire. He’s made an impact … Continue reading
Raising Arizona (1987)
Raising Arizona (1987) – Oh those Coen Brothers and their Coen-y Coen-ness… I always love that they feel free to indulge their own idiosyncratic impulses and make some bizarre and entertaining films. The Coens have long followed series films (Fargo, No Country For Old Men) with more overt comedies (The Big Lebowski, Burn After Reading) … Continue reading
True Grit (2010)
True Grit (2010) — Well it doesn’t happen often that a remake is better than the original film (though with The Maltese Falcon, The Wizard of Oz, & The Thing it is not unprecedented) but here we have it. That doesn’t diminish my love for Henry Hathaway’s film featuring the always-iconic John Wayne, but as … Continue reading
True Grit (1969)
True Grit (1969) — So this is the movie that won John Wayne an Academy Award for Best Actor. There’s a pretty widely-accepted belief that it was a “career Oscar” given more for his iconic body of work rather than the merits of the specific performance (see also Al Pacino). That may be the case … Continue reading
New York, I Love You (2009)
New York, I Love You (2009) — A sort-of sequel to Paris, je t’aime, this is several short films edited together. It’s not as good as its Parisian counterpart, but that one had the Coen brothers, Alfonso Cuaron, Gus Van Sant, Christopher Doyle, Wes Craven, Walter Salles, Tom Tykwer, and Alexander Payne. New York, I … Continue reading
Barton Fink (1991)
Barton Fink (1991) — Another Coen brothers film that dazzles you with its magnificent Coen-y-ness. But truth be told I’ve enjoyed thinking about this movie more than I enjoyed watching it. However, there’s something kind of awesome about that… I’m not sure this review makes sense, but if things that don’t make sense [at least … Continue reading
A Serious Man (2009)
A Serious Man (2009) — I found a lot of this film to be quite funny but in the end it didn’t really work for me. Things just didn’t seem to come together. This was most likely intentional on the part of the Coens who have made some great movies where things rather intentionally did … Continue reading
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Miller’s Crossing (1990) — This is a gangster movie by the Coen brothers. That should really tell you all you need to know. It has the violence expected of a gangster movie, only from that skewed Coen perspective. It has noir-ish banter, only from that skewed Coen perspective. Great cast: Gabriel Byrne, Marcia Gay Harden … Continue reading
Persistence of Vision 