Worst Coen Bros. Film to Date!

How can these guys make a great film like No Country for Old Men and then follow it up with crap like Burn After Reading?

I'm a big fan of the Coen Bros., really. In college I took a class, in which we studied the Coens as postmodernists, meaning we watched all of their movies (the only two to come out since are the two I already mentioned). I've seen them all, I've studied them all. I wrote a twelve-page paper on them. I'm a big fan.

So I wanted to like this movie, I really did. But it's just not good. In fact, it's pretty awful. Brad Pitt is great (he's very funny), but he's not in it enough. John Malkovich (if you follow this blog, you know how I feel about him) is terrible with an extra helping of creepiness, and he's in the movie too much. The rest of the film is just kind of disjointed and meandering. Tilda Swinton and George Clooney seem completely lost in the material, and while Frances McDormand is funny enough, her role just never finds anything to ground itself.

The pacing is bad, the story is retarded, and the dialogue is silly and overly profane. Aside from Pitt, there's little charm in the film, and there's absolutely nothing to identify with here. This is postmodernism gone horribly awry.

Though I hate to say this about any Coen Bros. movie, skip it.

Incidentally, if you're curious how I rank all of the Coens' films (because I love making lists), here you go:

1. The Hudsucker Proxy
2. No Country for Old Men
3. The Man Who Wasn't There
4. The Big Lebowski
5. Miller's Crossing
6. Barton Fink
7. Raising Arizona
8. Fargo
9. Blood Simple
10. O Brother, Where Art Thou
11. The Ladykillers
12. Intolerable Cruelty
13. Burn After Reading
    

Worst of 2008?

Now halfway through September, I was all set to declare Mamma Mia the worst movie of 2008, but suddenly a new contender has entered the ring.

Okay, it's not really a new contender, it's just new to DVD, which is how I watch most of my movies. And my philosophy is you've got to watch a few bad movies to really appreciate the good ones. And when they come through Netflix it feels like they're free, so you don't feel like you're wasting your money.

And I knew this one would be bad, but I didn't know it would be as bad as it is. But wow, it's a doozy! The movie I'm talking about:

Speed Racer

My goodness this thing's terrible! It's hard to deny that the Wachowski brothers capture some brilliant pictures in their films and that all of their movies are visually spectacular. This one is no exception. But man, does it suck in every other way. Like M. Knight Whatever, these guys really need to start directing other people's scripts and stop trying to write their own dialogue.


And speaking of M. Knight Shamalamalamalama...lama, The Happening comes out on DVD next month, so the winner of my Worst Film of 2008 Award may not be as clear cut as I had originally thought. Of course, Mamma Mia does still stick in my head as simply embarrassing for everyone involved, so it may eke out a win. Stay tuned.

10 Songs...

10 Songs I don't think I'll ever get tired of hearing (in no particular order):

1. Sideways by Citizen Cope
2. Congratulations by Blue October (feat. Imogen Heap)
3. Losing My Religion by R.E.M.
4. Shine On by James Blunt
5. Just to Be the Next to Be with You by Mr. Big
6. Brick by Ben Folds Five
7. 74 75 by The Connells
8. Delicate by Damien Rice
9. Everything by Lifehouse
10. Run by Snow Patrol

Music in Movies (Part 1 - Pop Songs)

I wanted to post something about music in movies, but that's such a broad topic. How do you cover something like that? So I figured I'd break it up into parts, and to start I'd cover the one that inspired me to write this post in the first place: the pop song. I was driving home from work when a song came on the radio and I was vividly reminded of a scene from a movie.

So what I want to do is offer up another list, this time of great pop song moments in movies. Some of these will overlap with entries in my cathartic moments list, but that's to be expected. The following is comprised of great pop song moments using the actual studio recording. I'll follow this up soon with another list of great "Pop Songs Being Sung by Movie Characters."

I gotta start though by saying, "No, the Peter Gabriel song (was it "In Your Eyes"?) from Say Anything is not on this list. Yeah, I suppose it's memorable, but that scene just really didn't do that much for me. Also, I'm not necessarily saying these are the best, but they're the ones that come immediately to mind. To really give you my ten best pop song movie moments, it would take months of keeping the topic in mind while watching and re-watching hundreds of movies. I'm not going to do that for a blog post.

10. CRASH - In the Deep
This one finds itself at number 10 because it's not exactly what I'm talking about with great pop song moments. This is one of those "pop song over a montage at the end of the movie where we see all the different characters coming to a realization of one kind or another" moments. I've got to put one of those on here I suppose, and this is the most memorable to me. But hearing the song doesn't evoke a concrete memory of the scenes to which it's tied.

9. WAYNE'S WORLD - Bohemian Rhapsody, Foxy Lady & Dream Weaver
All of these songs were put to great comedic use in this movie, and so silly. But they're both very memorable moments, are they not?

8. CLUE - Sh Boom (Life Could Be a Dream)
Who can forget the guests at the dinner party dancing with the corpses to this classic recording by the Crew Cuts?

7. BEETLEJUICE - Day-O
Would this scene have been nearly as good without the comedic talent of Catherine O'Hara or the ubiquitous Jeffery Jones? We'll never have to find out, because the actors and Tim Burton did Harry Belafonte proud with this one.

6. ALWAYS - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
Steven Spielberg is the master of setup and payoff, and man this one kills me. After Richard Dreyfuss' heart is broken, the song comes on and Holly Hunter puts on the dress and dances alone. Fantastic movie-making here!

5. UNSTRUNG HEROES - You Are My Sunshine
This is the scene from my cathartic moments post, so I won't say too much. But this Ray Charles arrangement juxtaposed with the action of the scene is nothing short of genius.

4. SHALL WE DANCE - The Book of Love
Another from my cathartic moments list. This is just a great song, then when it's put over the action from this scene, everything clicks together and it's brilliant.

3. GROSSE POINTE BLANK - Under Pressure
This is the song that came on the radio. And I just love this scene; it's a tenderhearted moment in a zany, outrageous comedy. The hired assassin stares down at this infant in his arms as David Bowie builds the song's famous climax.

2. TITANIC - My Heart Will Go On
People who've known me for years will have their own ideas of why I include this song on my list. Well to dispel any of that, I have to explain that the way this song was overplayed on the radio and its utter mushiness have really driven me to detest the song itself. And I'm not even such a big fan of the movie, to be honest. But it's hard to deny the impact this song had, and several moments in the film brought almost any audience member to tears. This song has to be here.

1. FATHER OF THE BRIDE - The Way You Look Tonight
This movie never did find its place on my cathartic moments post, though it came very close. However, when considering the impact of a pop song on a movie, it claims the top spot in my mind. When Steve Martin watches his newlywed daughter from across the room and this song plays, it's magical. I don't even have a daughter, yet through this scene I understand every emotion the character is experiencing.