Full of the existentialism, dark vision and originality that have been Coen trademarks for many years. Instead of one continuous narrative, there are 6 unrelated (other than having wild West backgrounds in common) episodes. Directing, acting, scripting and cinematography all have the brothers' indelible touch. Even when they occasionally falter, you either love 'em (I do) or you don't.
Reviews
12 Reviews
Brief Encounter
(1974 TV Movie)
An "F" In Screen Chemistry 101
12 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Whatever pathos and drama the director was striving for craters at each turn. Where Lean's 1945 b-and-w masterpiece had elegant pacing, Rachmaninoff's concerto and the inspired casting of Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson as conflicted lovers, this clam of a remake fumbles every pass: a so-so musical leitmotiv, editorial cutting that destroys any sense of a natural unfolding of Burton and Loren's passion, updated screenplay that murders Coward's original dialogue, pointless subplots.
Burton's professions of love might sound convincing if they had been delivered by Irwin Rommel. Sadly, Troilus with a medical degree Sir Richard is not. Loren's performance veers from comatose passivity to frenetic turmoil. And the lovers' interminable stroll through the countryside is better suited to a Xanax infomercial than to the requiem of a love affair.
The ending is such an emotional nonevent compared to Lean's, this remake would have fared better as a parody in the hands of Monty Python.
Verdict: don't improve on perfection.
Burton's professions of love might sound convincing if they had been delivered by Irwin Rommel. Sadly, Troilus with a medical degree Sir Richard is not. Loren's performance veers from comatose passivity to frenetic turmoil. And the lovers' interminable stroll through the countryside is better suited to a Xanax infomercial than to the requiem of a love affair.
The ending is such an emotional nonevent compared to Lean's, this remake would have fared better as a parody in the hands of Monty Python.
Verdict: don't improve on perfection.
Mirage
(2018)
Stunning Film of Complex Plot And Emotions
12 May 2020
So refreshing to see a movie not based on comic book superheroes or war in the Mideast. Oriol Paulo and his cast have created a masterpiece of three-dimensional characters expressing the life of emotions. This is art.
Dragged Across Concrete
(2018)
Takes The Cop Buddy Flick To A New Level
9 May 2020
This was one of the most suspenseful ~ almost unbearably so ~ cop movies I've seen since The French Connection. And like French Connection there was a lot of time spent on stake-outs, tailing suspects and finally pursuits, that might appear useless filler, but I stayed riveted on the strength of Gibson and Vaughn's crackling dialogue and Zahler's vise-lock direction. The film expresses a very dark view of humanity, but I found it totally enthralling. The infinite sadness of Jennifer Carpenter's character also sticks with you. An updated, urban Treasure of Sierra Madre that reminded me why Mel is the legend he is, and brought new respect for Vaughn.
Trauma Center
(2019)
Do Not Resuscitate
9 May 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Gave it a 3 only because I stayed 'til the end when the director put this turkey out of its misery with a bone saw. Beyond bad: plot holes so big you could drive a semi through them; the dumbest, most incompetent assassins on file; a victim who repeatedly defies the laws of physical science when she should have died or lapsed into a coma long before her deliverance... Willis appears so jaded with the business of acting, it's almost unbearable to watch him go through the motions in this Keystone Kops caper with sound.
Midsommar
(2019)
Run Away!
27 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Why is it that every new release feels like a pastiche of every other movie in the same genre I've ever seen (and better done to boot)? Think The Shining meets Village Of The Damned meets Invasion Of The Body Snatchers meets Wicker Man.
"Midsommar" starts off with potential: the tension from the moment these backpacking grad students arrive at the "only-whites-need-apply" cult compound is palpable, but after they witness their first horrific event, plot and action go completely off the rails directorially and dramatically. All the kids descend into a goofy mental paralysis that can only be explained by "Hey, let's hang around and see what happens next!"
They proceed to ignore every warning signal that should scream "Get out now!" until the totally predictable last scene plays out. I think the director threw in a prolonged graphic sex scene because even he realized the script had run out of steam long ago. Don't go there.
"Midsommar" starts off with potential: the tension from the moment these backpacking grad students arrive at the "only-whites-need-apply" cult compound is palpable, but after they witness their first horrific event, plot and action go completely off the rails directorially and dramatically. All the kids descend into a goofy mental paralysis that can only be explained by "Hey, let's hang around and see what happens next!"
They proceed to ignore every warning signal that should scream "Get out now!" until the totally predictable last scene plays out. I think the director threw in a prolonged graphic sex scene because even he realized the script had run out of steam long ago. Don't go there.
Revenge
(II) (2017)
Over The Top In Her Underpants
2 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A slickly done action flick beautifully shot, but you have to check your skepticism at the door to make it to the end, otherwise you'll torture yourself asking How? How this little slip of a gal survived brutal rape, 100-foot plunge off a cliff to be impaled on a yucca tree, hemorrhage gallons of blood, survive 2 days in the desert barefoot in panties and a jogging bra, dodging 3 dudes with motorized transports, plenty of water and superior firepower? Think I Spit On Your Grave meets Rambo and The Hunger Games, and that's Revenge.
Titanic
(1953)
I Dissolve Every Time I Watch It
18 August 2018
Obviously the inspiration behind James Cameron's '97 blockbuster, but more than makes up for its lack of special effects in the sterling performances by Webb, Stanwyck, Ritter, Wagner and others.
Moreso than A Night To Remember, this '53 version hews closer in some respects to what is actually known about the 1912 maritime disaster (survivors recall the ship's orchestra playing "Nearer My God To Thee", as they do in the movie).
Great example of how a great script and acting talent can overcome limitations of the medium in the era in which it was done.
Moreso than A Night To Remember, this '53 version hews closer in some respects to what is actually known about the 1912 maritime disaster (survivors recall the ship's orchestra playing "Nearer My God To Thee", as they do in the movie).
Great example of how a great script and acting talent can overcome limitations of the medium in the era in which it was done.
Desperate Hours
(1990)
Sizzles For Shizzle!
15 March 2018
Ever since the late Michael Cimino made everyone's worst-of list with 'Heaven's Gate' and sunk a studio in the process, it's been too easy to bash his post-HG work. This is an electrifying remake that proves Cimino could still direct action films like no other. The famous synergy between the director and Mickey Rourke is in full supply, while Hopkins and Rogers sympathetically act out a disintegrating marriage amidst the terror of being taken hostage with their 2 kids. Only Lindsay Crouse overdid the uber feminist FBI agent in charge: too much male-bashing and not enough criminal collaring.
As for Rourke's portrayal of Michael Bosworth being too over-the-top, of course it is: he's playing a psychopathic killer at the end of his rope. There's something here for everyone: bravura performances and stunning cinematography that stretches from the claustrophobic isolation of a home under siege to the infinite reach of Utah's natural beauty.
Don't come to the movie with preconceived notions, just let Cimino's direction work its magic. Even if the film was butchered by the studio in postproduction it still rocks.
As for Rourke's portrayal of Michael Bosworth being too over-the-top, of course it is: he's playing a psychopathic killer at the end of his rope. There's something here for everyone: bravura performances and stunning cinematography that stretches from the claustrophobic isolation of a home under siege to the infinite reach of Utah's natural beauty.
Don't come to the movie with preconceived notions, just let Cimino's direction work its magic. Even if the film was butchered by the studio in postproduction it still rocks.
Fahrenheit 451
(1966)
For Want Of A Book, Mankind Was Lost....
11 October 2017
Seen this film countless times over the years, including in theaters the year of its release. Yet it continues to retain its grandeur and eloquent anti-establishment theme, at the same time (perhaps ironically) instilling in viewers a love of books and reading.
Many people grow up and old believing when they complete their last year of formal schooling, be it high school, college or grad school, that their education is "complete" and they know everything they need, to get along in the world when in fact graduation is just the start of one's education, and a large part of that lifelong continuous process involves books!
About the film itself, there's so much to enjoy: Truffaut's incisive direction; Nicholas Roeg's stark cinematography; Bernard Herrmann's gripping score; Julie Christie's radiant dual roles as Linda & Charisse; Cyril Cusack's fatherly but soulless fire chief; and -- holding it all together with a riveting focus -- Oskar Werner as the robotic "fireman" who eventually rediscovers his humanity and sacrifices everything to keep it.
It's astonishing to look at Fahrenheit 451 from the vantage of the 21st century and marvel at the incredible concentration of A-list (for its time) talent assembled in one place for what would amount to pocket change in today's dollars. And out of that modest sum, Truffaut & company crafted an enduring film when more recent "blockbusters" made for 100 times the cost don't survive in our memory past the opening weekend.
There's a minimalism to the sets that contemporary film goers, raised in the age of HD, might find lacking but it is more than compensated for by the universality of its message.
Many people grow up and old believing when they complete their last year of formal schooling, be it high school, college or grad school, that their education is "complete" and they know everything they need, to get along in the world when in fact graduation is just the start of one's education, and a large part of that lifelong continuous process involves books!
About the film itself, there's so much to enjoy: Truffaut's incisive direction; Nicholas Roeg's stark cinematography; Bernard Herrmann's gripping score; Julie Christie's radiant dual roles as Linda & Charisse; Cyril Cusack's fatherly but soulless fire chief; and -- holding it all together with a riveting focus -- Oskar Werner as the robotic "fireman" who eventually rediscovers his humanity and sacrifices everything to keep it.
It's astonishing to look at Fahrenheit 451 from the vantage of the 21st century and marvel at the incredible concentration of A-list (for its time) talent assembled in one place for what would amount to pocket change in today's dollars. And out of that modest sum, Truffaut & company crafted an enduring film when more recent "blockbusters" made for 100 times the cost don't survive in our memory past the opening weekend.
There's a minimalism to the sets that contemporary film goers, raised in the age of HD, might find lacking but it is more than compensated for by the universality of its message.
Partners
(1982)
Still Funny After All These Years
30 September 2017
After 35 years, what lifts this movie out of the doldrums of caricature and stereotype is the stellar acting of Hurt, O'Neal and McMillan. The cast stretches from the extremes of defiantly gay to aggressively hetero, with Hurt being (for me) the central character who makes the film work. He's always been one of those rare actors who can make a so-so film worth watching, and an average film light years' better.
Screenwriter Veber had no fear of mining the gay lifestyle for laughs here, any more than he did in the classic La Cage Aux Folles 1 & 2. Yet blended into the film is Hurt's tormented Kerwin trying to fit into a straight world by denying his true self, and ending up miserably unhappy anyway. There's a poignancy to his character that gives Partners a seriousness amid all the over-the-top prancing and mincing. O'Neal also rescues Benson from the two dimension, by discovering -- despite his ease and success around the opposite sex -- an emotional depth and devotion to Kerwin that redeems him in the end.
All of which makes Partners worth watching again and again.
Screenwriter Veber had no fear of mining the gay lifestyle for laughs here, any more than he did in the classic La Cage Aux Folles 1 & 2. Yet blended into the film is Hurt's tormented Kerwin trying to fit into a straight world by denying his true self, and ending up miserably unhappy anyway. There's a poignancy to his character that gives Partners a seriousness amid all the over-the-top prancing and mincing. O'Neal also rescues Benson from the two dimension, by discovering -- despite his ease and success around the opposite sex -- an emotional depth and devotion to Kerwin that redeems him in the end.
All of which makes Partners worth watching again and again.
Desperate Hours
(1990)
Great Action Movie that Delivers!
5 March 2004
Michael Cimino sunk a studio with his turkey "Heaven's Gate", but he is still a masterful director of action movies when he's in top form (witness Deerhunter, Year of The Dragon and now, Desperate Hours). The famous synergy between Cimino and Rourke is in plentiful supply in this brilliant remake of the Bogart/March original. There isn't a wasted frame and everyone -- with the notable exception of Lindsay Crouse -- is perfectly cast. Cimino adds all the right touches in his update to the 50's original: Lynch's ice-queen trial lawyer, Hopkins-Rogers' marriage on the rocks, Smith's rebellious teen, Koteas' emotionally stunted younger brother. Don't pass this one up because of a handful of naysayers!
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