After watching the three Coen Brother's films in class, numerous other Coen brothers film clips, and then watching "The Big Lebowski", I am impressed at how they can make at least four different films that were successful, and yet they all are in different categories. "Fargo" under a murder, crime, drama category, "No Country for Old Men" a thriller mystery action film, TBL as a pothead innapropriate comedy and "Raising Arizona" as a more apropriate humorous film. Although they all are very different in their own ways, there are numerous similarities between some of them.
the link I found highlights some of these differences and correlations.
http://lookingcloser.org/movie%20reviews/A-G/biglebowski.htm
the link here talks about typical Coen attributes: "Sometimes they're philosophical, sometimes merely entertaining; yet, they always write memorable dialogue, and they coax the best performances out of great actors."
This reviewer (Jeffrey Overstreeet) hit my opinion head on, there is always a memorable dialogue in my mind. I recall some quotes from RA, many from Fargo, and also from NCFOM, and some hilarious ones from Lebowski. This is a pretty agreed upon stance on Coen Brothers reviewers but i don't agree with the second part of the statement reguarding best performances.
I do not think Jeff Bridges had his best performance in BL, according to IMDB, Bridges had 4 oscar nominations by the time this review was written (2002), of which he won none of them. Now i realize that BL was not set out to win awards or anything, but clearly Bridges "best" was not brought out for this film.
The Coen Brothers in my opinion really like to re-use actors and actresses in many of their films, even more than other directors do. Just searching under steve buscemi displayed his appearences in at least five Coen films: Hudsucker, Millers, Barton Fink, fargo and Lebowski. Some roles are larger than others but nonetheless they are acting roles in Coen films. Also John Turturro stars in O Brother, Millers Crossing, The BL, and Barton Fink. I will save you the time of not discussing peter stormare, John Goodman, frances mcDormand etc. I really think its a good idea for directors to reuse their actors because it helps build up their identity and make them more of a household name when they have overlapping characters.
Like many other coen characters, I really like "dude", and my laziness is in training to become as prominent as his. I do think that Overstreet is correct when he mentions how BL is a mish mosh of scenes that they couldnt include in them in earlier movies. there are way too many stange out there scenes that are sometimes funny but unnecesary. Also unnecessary is the amount of swearing that is in the film. I have zero problem with foul language but i feel that it is just pointless to have so much swearing that serves little or no purpose. Much of the swearing is directed at Steve Buscemi, or donny in the film. Donny is barely allowed to talk in the film with out having bridges or goodman swear at him. which is ironic in that in fargo, he couldn't stop talking and peter stormare just sat there and looked at him and beat him up and killed him. I have included a youtube clip of how steve buscemi is interjected numerous times with profanity and rudeness showing his complete night and day change from his vocal roles in Fargo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgW7RpJfeto
Steve Buscemi has earned zero respect from walter and dude and they dont care about his opinion or anything he has to add to the conversation. However they do pay him tribute and respect in the end of the film after his death when they release his ashes into the pacific ocean air, even though they refrained from paying for the 180 urn to contain his ashes.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The Szporn Ultimatum
Mitch Rymes, John Hasbargen, Erik Heim, Elliot Hursch, Dan Swendsen
Paying tribute and showing respect to Sergio Leone is the foundation for our final fourth quarter project. Our short film will incorporate some of Leone’s signature style, or “Leone-ian” elements. Many of his films had a damsel in distress in his spaghetti western motif films, so we also will have a female who needs rescuing. In addition to that element, we will also portray death playing a large role in the film like he used in his and also we will incorporate a “wronged hero” much like Sergio did.
Opening scene is Jason Szporn relaxing in a Midwest suburb, one that is not too different from Edina coincidentally. He receives a phone call instructing him that he must travel back in time to the spaghetti western times to save a female who is in severe life-threatening trouble and he could alter the future for the better by doing so. In the second scene, Jason is seen traveling back into time where he arrives and immediately kills people. He suddenly has turned into a person who has little mercy and remorse for the men he kills and is solely focused on rescuing the damsel. His confrontations with his enemies are gruesome and numerous. Unfortunately, zombies also cross his path, but luckily he has his gun(s) nearby. By artistically using Leoneian cinematography, the film displays awesome conflict scenes that emphasize the importance of Jason’s mission. Of course in the end, Jason returns from the Sergio spaghetti western days into present time after saving the damsel, his wronged personality no longer a important issue.
Mitch Rymes, John Hasbargen, Erik Heim, Elliot Hursch, Dan Swendsen
Paying tribute and showing respect to Sergio Leone is the foundation for our final fourth quarter project. Our short film will incorporate some of Leone’s signature style, or “Leone-ian” elements. Many of his films had a damsel in distress in his spaghetti western motif films, so we also will have a female who needs rescuing. In addition to that element, we will also portray death playing a large role in the film like he used in his and also we will incorporate a “wronged hero” much like Sergio did.
Opening scene is Jason Szporn relaxing in a Midwest suburb, one that is not too different from Edina coincidentally. He receives a phone call instructing him that he must travel back in time to the spaghetti western times to save a female who is in severe life-threatening trouble and he could alter the future for the better by doing so. In the second scene, Jason is seen traveling back into time where he arrives and immediately kills people. He suddenly has turned into a person who has little mercy and remorse for the men he kills and is solely focused on rescuing the damsel. His confrontations with his enemies are gruesome and numerous. Unfortunately, zombies also cross his path, but luckily he has his gun(s) nearby. By artistically using Leoneian cinematography, the film displays awesome conflict scenes that emphasize the importance of Jason’s mission. Of course in the end, Jason returns from the Sergio spaghetti western days into present time after saving the damsel, his wronged personality no longer a important issue.
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Coen brothers-ability to create charismatic characters
In all three of the films we watched, there was one or more characters that held a certain "magnetic" personality. (dictionary definition for charismatic). The Coen brothers seem to have the amazing ability to conjure up characters with whom the audience feels and connects with.
In "Raising Arizona", H.I. and Ed are both characters who come off as friendly and ordinary people. Even though they do the extraordinary thing of stealing a baby, the Coen brothers still make them seem as loveable characters and almost pass the baby stealing as a a sort of humorous plot but only in search for the "perfect Family" that the Mcdonough's so badly want... another attribute that makes the characters more likable.
Jerry Lundegaard, an auto-insurance salesman, also is depicted as such a loveable character in that all of the audience loves William H. Macy. His accent and friendliness make his character appeal to the average viewer. Again, even though he is doing such a horrible activity like fixing to have his wife kidnapped in "Fargo", the Coen brothers again can make the illegal activity irrelivant to the characters in the film. We still love how Jerry carries himself and how everything just goes to crap for him.
lastly, in "No Country for Old Men", Tommy Lee Jones character is charasmatic in that his persona is so sad and depressing towards the end of the film, that the viewer wants him to be happy and we begin to feel sorry for him. This one being the smallest of the three films, but still being charismatic, the Coen brothers really spark emotions with the two long dialogue sequences involving Tommy at the end of the film. We really start to side with him and his cop profession. its hard to have the movie end on such a sad note
very fun unit and i wish we could do "Big Lebowski" and even more Coen Brothers films. Best unit of the year!!!
In "Raising Arizona", H.I. and Ed are both characters who come off as friendly and ordinary people. Even though they do the extraordinary thing of stealing a baby, the Coen brothers still make them seem as loveable characters and almost pass the baby stealing as a a sort of humorous plot but only in search for the "perfect Family" that the Mcdonough's so badly want... another attribute that makes the characters more likable.
Jerry Lundegaard, an auto-insurance salesman, also is depicted as such a loveable character in that all of the audience loves William H. Macy. His accent and friendliness make his character appeal to the average viewer. Again, even though he is doing such a horrible activity like fixing to have his wife kidnapped in "Fargo", the Coen brothers again can make the illegal activity irrelivant to the characters in the film. We still love how Jerry carries himself and how everything just goes to crap for him.
lastly, in "No Country for Old Men", Tommy Lee Jones character is charasmatic in that his persona is so sad and depressing towards the end of the film, that the viewer wants him to be happy and we begin to feel sorry for him. This one being the smallest of the three films, but still being charismatic, the Coen brothers really spark emotions with the two long dialogue sequences involving Tommy at the end of the film. We really start to side with him and his cop profession. its hard to have the movie end on such a sad note
very fun unit and i wish we could do "Big Lebowski" and even more Coen Brothers films. Best unit of the year!!!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Akira Kurosawa...... a mysterious director
After finishing three of Kurosawa's most decorated films, I now know why men like George Lucas and Coppola, would help finance his projects. I feel like Kurosawa liked to leave things mysterious on purpose. He wanted to have people guessing and debating the truth vs. the imaginary.
Throughout all three movies, there was one scene that jumped out at me the most, and it just happened to be one that contained this tool Akira loved to use. The scene was the final scene from "Ran".
In this scene, "Tsurumaru", a blind Japanese man, is alone on a large precipice, with an orange/pink sky in the backround. The scene's first shot consists of an extreme longshot establishing the cliff, sky and isolation of Tsurumaru. He is indeed a blind man, left alone next to an extreme cliff with only his blind walking rod, and a rolled up scroll with a painting of Buddha on it. The painting was given to him by the last person to leave him alone in assurance that the painting would watch over him and keep his defenseless self safe.
As the scene continues, the next shot is a medium range shot that portrays him slowly walking up to the edge and when he feels the edge with his walking rod, he becomes scared and fidgets and accidentally drops his painting over the edge. The film ends shortly thereafter following a long panning shot of the sky after he drops the painting.
In doing this, I feel Kurosawa is not only trying to cause controversy by ending the movie at a point where not all problems are patched up, but also in doing this scene, I feel he is making a religious statement.
I don't know if Akira is a religious man, but I feel he may have intended to show that if we lose Buddha or God in our life, that we will be in a world-of-hurt with a lack of their presence. By having Tsurumaro drop his religious portrait, and then ending the film, the director appears to me that he is saying we are lost in our lives without the guidance of a god in our lives. Which Tsurumaru was after he dropped his portrait.
All three respectable movies. Fun unit
Throughout all three movies, there was one scene that jumped out at me the most, and it just happened to be one that contained this tool Akira loved to use. The scene was the final scene from "Ran".
In this scene, "Tsurumaru", a blind Japanese man, is alone on a large precipice, with an orange/pink sky in the backround. The scene's first shot consists of an extreme longshot establishing the cliff, sky and isolation of Tsurumaru. He is indeed a blind man, left alone next to an extreme cliff with only his blind walking rod, and a rolled up scroll with a painting of Buddha on it. The painting was given to him by the last person to leave him alone in assurance that the painting would watch over him and keep his defenseless self safe.
As the scene continues, the next shot is a medium range shot that portrays him slowly walking up to the edge and when he feels the edge with his walking rod, he becomes scared and fidgets and accidentally drops his painting over the edge. The film ends shortly thereafter following a long panning shot of the sky after he drops the painting.
In doing this, I feel Kurosawa is not only trying to cause controversy by ending the movie at a point where not all problems are patched up, but also in doing this scene, I feel he is making a religious statement.
I don't know if Akira is a religious man, but I feel he may have intended to show that if we lose Buddha or God in our life, that we will be in a world-of-hurt with a lack of their presence. By having Tsurumaro drop his religious portrait, and then ending the film, the director appears to me that he is saying we are lost in our lives without the guidance of a god in our lives. Which Tsurumaru was after he dropped his portrait.
All three respectable movies. Fun unit
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Shallow Hal- the last Farrelly brothers installment, but not the worst, only because there are no bad Farrelly brothers films
The film "Shall0w Hal" (2001), by Peter and Bobby Farrelly, is in my opionion, in the top ten funniest movies of the new century.
I want to start off by saying that the Farrelly brothers did an excellent job of putting their important message into the film, which is to look past the outside and evaluate a girl by whats on her insides. Leave it to the overlooked film directors who are viewed as nonsensicle goofy guys to incorporate the key message.
This movie I feel is often overlooked by my friends, critics, and people I talk to about movies. I don't know why people would look past the humor of the always solid Farrelly boys. This one did not dissapoint. Using much of the same type of humor from their other movies, "Shallow Hal" brought me to loud laughter dozens of times throughout the couple of hours. Gwyneth Paltrow, who is never looked at for her comedic qualities, I feel did an excellent job creating laughter and sorrow. She did a nice job in her overweight suit too. Also, i'm not usually a fan of Jack Black at all, but in this film, I loved him. He was sustainable and actually funny. Not too much over the top humor, only more less-forced laughs.
I think the favorite part of the film was when Jack Black (Hal) and Rosemary (Gwyneth Paltrow), are at a restaurant and she orders numerous, numerous food items and Hal gets very excited with his date because he is really tired of " ...the girls who just order a crouton and a glass of water". I just loved that line because it was funny, but also talked about how he doesn't notice her large size, only he loves her inner beauty.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Hitchcock- neat guy
With the end of our Hitchcock unit in the books, my opinions on the guy have changed.
Although I didn't really know that much about the guy, I wasn't a fan because none of his films really appealed to me, however, now that I have gathered more knowledge on the legend that is Alfred Hitchcock, I now respect what he has done in the film industry much more.
Never have I watched movies where there is so much debate about plot, characters and what the director's intentions and meanings were between students. He sparked thinking on more than just one level, thinking on a very analytical basis.
The way that Hitchcock sparked emotions in our class was thoroughly impressive. Students felt suspense, fear, scared, sad, happy, relieved etc.
My favorite movie of Alfred's that we watched was "Rear Window", because I was confused, impressed, dumbfounded, enthralled, and overall, a big fan of the film.
It seems strage that a man who made movies so long ago, is still watched in Film classes and even mimic(ed?,ked? not sure of the spelling) in Vanity Fair Magazine by people many years later. A true testament to his power, success and influence on film of today.
Although I didn't really know that much about the guy, I wasn't a fan because none of his films really appealed to me, however, now that I have gathered more knowledge on the legend that is Alfred Hitchcock, I now respect what he has done in the film industry much more.
Never have I watched movies where there is so much debate about plot, characters and what the director's intentions and meanings were between students. He sparked thinking on more than just one level, thinking on a very analytical basis.
The way that Hitchcock sparked emotions in our class was thoroughly impressive. Students felt suspense, fear, scared, sad, happy, relieved etc.
My favorite movie of Alfred's that we watched was "Rear Window", because I was confused, impressed, dumbfounded, enthralled, and overall, a big fan of the film.
It seems strage that a man who made movies so long ago, is still watched in Film classes and even mimic(ed?,ked? not sure of the spelling) in Vanity Fair Magazine by people many years later. A true testament to his power, success and influence on film of today.
The Farrelly Brothers- "Stuck On You". Amazing
The film "Stuck on you", is the most recent Farrelly brothers movie and stars Matt Damon, and Greg Kinnear.
One of my favorite aspects of the movie, is how creative the idea is. The conjoined twins film idea seems like such excellent foundation to a movie. Also, the directors added everything in the movie that i wanted out of it. I was sittin there watching the movie, hoping that they would play football, and they did, baseball, and they did, and golf which they did too. Furthermore, they added the scene where one of the brothers answers the home phone and claims that the other brother is not there, a true comedic moment by Peter and Bobby.
The struggle between the two brothers and their seperation is portrayed by the directors perfectly. They do not overexagerrate the the operation but it still plays an important role without being disrespectful to conjoinded twins across the country.
The comedy in this film is textbook Farrelly brothers, with crude hilarious jokes that are not afraid of going too far. A signature aspect of theirs.
One of my favorite aspects of the movie, is how creative the idea is. The conjoined twins film idea seems like such excellent foundation to a movie. Also, the directors added everything in the movie that i wanted out of it. I was sittin there watching the movie, hoping that they would play football, and they did, baseball, and they did, and golf which they did too. Furthermore, they added the scene where one of the brothers answers the home phone and claims that the other brother is not there, a true comedic moment by Peter and Bobby.
The struggle between the two brothers and their seperation is portrayed by the directors perfectly. They do not overexagerrate the the operation but it still plays an important role without being disrespectful to conjoinded twins across the country.
The comedy in this film is textbook Farrelly brothers, with crude hilarious jokes that are not afraid of going too far. A signature aspect of theirs.
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