Bros Coen, The Best of

"Blood Simple" was the great debut film by the best storyteller brothers since the Brothers Grimm. Frances McDormand, a favorite of Joel and Ethan C, stars in this crime flick. The quirky M. Emmet Walsh steals the show, in my opinion. Dan Hedaya is Abby's (Frances M.) husband and a strange ranger, of course. LOOK UNDER THE FISH BLOODY BUDDY!
"Fargo" is their best. Frances McDormand is the main character (a nine months prego copper) in beautiful, snowy Fargo, N.D. Her hubby is the reliably effective William H. Macy. Quirky actor Steve Buscemi stars also. The Coens love the crime stuff and this one is (ya hey dere you betcha) a good one. Frances garnered a well deserved "Best Actress" Oscar.
"No Country for Old Men" is J & E's (2007) nicely done film-noir, this one involving drug dealing gone violent. Who would have thunk? Tommy Lee Jones stars as the sheriff. Javier Bardem, a fine actor and Josh Brolin star also. This not too bad film took Best Pic, Best Director(s) and Best Supporting Actor (Bardem) at the Academy Awards ceremony.
"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" is Joel & Ethan's adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey". What? It has a great southern Mississippi soundtrack, which won a Grammy. This is the film that let me know that I had previously under-respected George Clooney as an actor. He is brilliant in this chain gang story. John Turturro and Tim Blake Nelson are good as his escapee brothers.
"Raising Arizona" likewise made me respect Nicolas Cage. Holly Hunter is great too in the comedy based on the unlikely premise of a baby's kidnapping. This is a touching film by the Coen Brothers. The always funny John Goodman and Frances McDormand are in this one.

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Offbeat Movie Directors-6 Wild and Crazy Guys

For my money Stanley Kubrick is the best. The reason I think this: Every movie directed by him seems like it's done by a different guy, who seems to be one of the best directors of all time. No style is great style. His record speaks for itself. Basically unflawed.

My wife prefers the Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel, as she says that they can always be counted on to do good work. I cannot disagree. They are consistently quaintly bizarre.

Quentin Tarantino is a most consistently shocking guy: see "Hostel". It ain't quaint. While he didn't direct it he did produce and approve it. Scary, depraved stuff. This guy is way out of control. Violence is a trademark, but it's often funny. "Hostel" ain't funny. If you see it more than once, you I don't want to know.

Alfred Hitchcock is the original king of the macabre. (Edgar Allan Poe didn't make movies.) His "Americanized" stuff is just tremendous. His old movies with the British accents I can't get into much. He always did a cameo in his movies. As a bonus, he had a great TV show with a great theme song ("Funeral March of the Marionette"). You're too young to remember it.

Then there is Federico Fellini. I have 12 of his movies on tape or DVD, so I am fanatical. Everything is in Italian (subtitled in English) though, and some people can't handle that. He's considered one of the greatest European directors, but there's a lot of autobiography in his movies. He's not for everybody, but he's for me. He used very few well known actors. Marcello Mastroianni was his favorite actor.His work has to be watched more than once. Nuns and scaffolding and Rubenesque (Italian) women??

David Lynch is an enigma. His best work is probably better than anybody's. His bad stuff is the worst. "Inland Empire" is hours of black screen-can't see a thing. "Eraserhead" is a cult classic, but it's quirky enough to be creepy. What do I know, I don't like "Rocky Horror Picture Show". This guy is also not for everyone.

Sadly, Hitchcock, Fellini and Kubrick won't be doing any more movies.

Honorable mentions to Clint Eastwood, who does what he wants (it's good and sometimes offbeat) and to Robert Altman, who is inconsistent.

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