2009 |
2008 |
2000
14 articles from 2009
A Serious Man and the odd movie out
29 November 2009 1:30 PM, PST
| The Guardian - Film News
| See recent The Guardian - Film News news
»
A Serious Man may be getting rave reviews – but it's like nothing the Coens have made before. Joe Queenan on weird one-offs and the directors who make them
About halfway through the very funny, very disturbing, very ethnic new film A Serious Man, the modern-day Job who is the serious man in question climbs up on to the roof of his ghastly 1960s Minneapolis suburban home and tries to adjust the antenna to improve his TV reception. Beleaguered on all fronts – conjugally, professionally, medically – Larry Gopnik, a dorky physics professor who may be about to lose his job and is very likely to lose his family, is a bright, principled Jewish man whose children have begged him to fix the antenna so they can watch F Troop, an idiotic 1960s comedy. Many of Larry's travails unfold as songs from Jefferson Airplane's seminal 1967 LP Surrealistic Pillow play in the background.
»
- Joe Queenan
Permalink | Report a problem
Scenes We Love: Miller's Crossing
6 November 2009 11:02 AM, PST
| Cinematical
| See recent Cinematical news
»
In the Great Coen Debates that occur among film fans, there's one that I never feel gets enough love: Miller's Crossing. It's probably my favorite next to The Big Lebowski. The film is deliciously dark and dreary (you can watch this in summer and still feel cold), but punctuated by that startling Coens humor. The dialogue and character quirks are not as exaggerated as they are in other Coen films, and when a character does get theatrical, it's appropriate to the setting. These are thugs who find themselves in positions of great wealth and power, after all, and they'll never know quite how to behave in the real world.
The film has a level of tension I don't think the Coens matched until No Country For Old Men. Tom's white-knuckle walk into Miller's Crossing is probably my favorite scene (actually, it's difficult to pick just one), but it doesn't appear to be on YouTube.
»
- Elisabeth Rappe
Permalink | Report a problem
London Film Festival 2009: A Serious Man
29 October 2009 9:55 PM, PDT
| SoundOnSight
| See recent SoundOnSight news
»
A Serious Man
Directed by Joel Coen
The Coens are getting positively prolific these days, treating their hardcore fans with a movie a year, and with their latest release, A Serious Man they have taken the comedic strand of their work into uncharted waters to deliver possibly their most haunting and certainly their most personal work to date. Introduced in person in their characteristically succinct manner at this year's Lff, the film, after a mysterious prologue set in a nostalgic Shtetl alights in late 1960's Minnesota. Jewish professor - and I only stress the Jewish status as it is instrumental to the film's chutzpah - Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is not having a good month. After taking tests for a mystery medical ailment Gopnik is accosted by a disgruntled South Korean student who subsequently attempts to discredit his reputation with anonymous letters to the tenure committee after Gopnik failed him in a critical test.
»
- Ricky
Permalink | Report a problem
A Serious Man
6 October 2009 9:54 AM, PDT
| Huffington Post
| See recent Huffington Post news
»
The Jew Who Wasn't There...
Big questions about faith, God, and mortality surround small people and the even smaller vagaries of fate and circumstance in the work of the Coen Brothers. However, all those big questions are posed not as religious or philosophical queries but more as punchlines in the great cosmic joke of life. Old Testament references are sown throughout their work, be it the Song of Solomon in Miller's Crossing, Genesis and The Book of Daniel in Barton Fink, and probably the whole thing somewhere in The Big Lebowski. Yet, if there is a common denominator to the Coens' entire body of work it is the utter absence of any controlling order, morality or meaning in the universe, so why then would God figure so largely in their films? I think the answer lies in
»
- Will Menaker
Permalink | Report a problem
Movie Review: A Serious Man (2009)
2 October 2009 5:19 AM, PDT
| Rope of Silicon
| See recent Rope Of Silicon news
»
Michael Stuhlbarg in A Serious Man
Photo: Focus Features
Should I laugh? Should I cry? Should I feel sympathy? These are just some of the questions I was asking during and after watching the Coen brothers' latest film A Serious Man. It's one of those films I can't help but walk out with questions on top of questions. Loaded with priceless moments of dialogue essential to getting a clear picture of the film's intentions, A Serious Man demands your attention and is a picture that is sure to improve the more you see it.
Not being the scholarly religious type I had to read up to learn A Serious Man bears resemblance to the Old Testament Book of Job, and the brothers recognize this fact, but have since said it wasn't on their mind while writing the screenplay. Set in an unnamed Midwestern suburb in 1967, the selling point many critics
»
- Brad Brevet
Permalink | Report a problem
Oscar Watch: George Clooney, The Coen Brothers And More
2 October 2009 3:03 AM, PDT
| MTV Movie News
| See recent MTV Movie News news
»
What movies will be taking home little gold statuettes this awards season? We give you some of our predictions.
By Larry Carroll
George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
Photo: Dale Robinette/ Paramount
As the calendar page turns to October and the last of the summer blockbusters fade into the distance, it is time to cleanse our palate. That's right, folks, awards season is here once again, and this weekend's release of "A Serious Man" indicates that it's time to put away remakes, roman numerals and TV adaptations and instead expect movies that are — gasp! — smart.
Naturally, we here at MTV will be all over the 2009 awards season, right up to our annual coverage backstage at the Oscars. But who will be the next "Slumdog," "Brokeback" or "Little Miss Sunshine"? Below you'll find a list of 10 films we'll be watching closely between now and Oscar night.
"Up in the Air"
Over the last few years,
»
Permalink | Report a problem
In My Opinion: The Top Ten Coen Bros. Films
30 September 2009 1:49 AM, PDT
| Rope of Silicon
| See recent Rope Of Silicon news
»
Ethan and Joel Coen circa 1990 while promoting Miller's Crossing
Top Ten Coen Bros. Films
With the upcoming release of A Serious Man, the brand new film from the Coen brothers, I decided to put together my personal top ten list of their films. A task that proved much harder than I would have originally imagined.
I agonized over this list. Why? Because love isn't a strong enough word for how I feel about the Coen films. No, something more akin to reverence mixed with a healthy bit of obsessive adoration would be much closer to my relationship with their work. They are the kind are filmmakers who make us think, as we sit in the theater, they are unspooling the yarn just for us. Sure, the Coens weave tales of great violence and isolation, but somewhere in there a quiet grace is achieved too.
Places 11, 12 and 13
Photo: Universal Pictures / Touchstone
»
- Laremy Legel
Permalink | Report a problem
Now on Netflix: Deadgirl, Miller's Crossing, Nerdcore Rising
16 September 2009 6:02 AM, PDT
| JustPressPlay.net
| See recent JustPressPlay news
»
Hump day getting you down? How about taking some time to relax for an hour or two, minimize that spreadsheet window, and load up Netflix InstantWatch for something creatively stimulating? Here are three films just added to InstantWatch this week that you can't miss.
Deadgirl
Mixing coming-of-age, gender power-play and zombie horror to disturbing heights (or lows, I should say), this Cronenberg-meets-Hughes flick really ought to be checked out. It was one of my favorites back in the San Francisco Independent Film Festival this year, and we've just reviewed the DVD release. Watch it here.
Miller's Crossing
I not only consider Miller's Crossing to be the Coens' best, but it's also one of the best American gangster films ever made. Check out the Coenesque trailer if you need more confirmation. Watch it here.
Nerdcore Rising
While the spine of this documentary is following prominent nerdcore artist—and one of the best rappers working today,
»
- Arya Ponto
Permalink | Report a problem
The Coen Brothers and Their Coenesque Trailers
9 August 2009 9:47 PM, PDT
| JustPressPlay.net
| See recent JustPressPlay news
»
Recently, the trailer for the Coen Brothers' latest film, A Serious Man, was released. If you haven't seen it, go right ahead to the end of this article to do so—posthaste. What's really great about it is that it eschews the traditional trailer structure in favor of something more memorable (and hilarious). There's a playful sense of rhythm to it that's unmistakably Coen.
Starring Michael Stuhlbarg, A Serious Man marks the Coens' 14th feature film. In their long and consistently fabulous oeuvre, the Coen Brothers have done both this type of unique trailer narrative and a more traditional one for their previous films, though even the latter ones are still fantastic. Case in point: the No Country for Old Men trailer exemplifies how generic thriller trailers can evoke great tension in just 3 minutes. You have to wonder if they cut these themselves.
Here are eight of their Coenesque trailers,
»
- Arya Ponto
Permalink | Report a problem
Movie Review: The Proposal
19 June 2009 8:04 AM, PDT
| MovieRetriever
| See recent MovieRetriever news
»
Jun 19, 2009
I have a terrible secret. Even though I regard man-friendly, heroically dystopian flicks like Brazil and Miller's Crossing as among my favorite movies, I have this weird little soft-spot for Sandra Bullock romantic comedies. Maybe something softened when I got married and had a kid, but I don't think that's it. Bullock is simply pretty darn good at what she does, even though some people will never acknowledge - no matter what - that what she does has merit and is harder to pull off than it looks. I equate Bullock's stature in the ...Read more at MovieRetriever.com
»
Permalink | Report a problem
Terrific Trailers: Miller's Crossing
24 April 2009 1:02 PM, PDT
| Cinematical
| See recent Cinematical news
»
You know how sometimes we post those nifty little 'Scenes We Love' articles? The ones with a handily embedded YouTube clip of a film we really love? That come complete with brilliantly insightful commentary from one of the superlative Cine-staff? Yeah, those are awesome. So here's a new wrinkle: same thing, only with trailers instead of actual movie scenes. Frankly I think there's an artistry to 'trailering' that often gets overlooked. A person needs a composer's ear, an editor's eye, and a director's enthusiasm to bang out an effective trailer -- and since these promotional clips are usually our very First introduction to an upcoming film, well, you know what they say about first impressions, right?
For example number one, I humbly offer the truly terrific theatrical trailer for Joel and Ethan Coen's Miller's Crossing, which is far and away one of the finest films I've ever seen. And
»
- Scott Weinberg
Permalink | Report a problem
Gabriel Byrne: The Hollywood Interview
10 April 2009 2:49 PM, PDT
| The Hollywood Interview
| See recent The Hollywood Interview news
»
Actor Gabriel Byrne.
Gabriel Byrne: Talk To Me
By
Alex Simon
Editor's Note: The following article appears in the April issue of Venice Magazine.
Gabriel Byrne was born in Dublin May 12, 1950, the eldest of six children. After schooling under the stern tutelage of The Christian Brothers and five years in Catholic seminary, Byrne attended University College in Dublin, where he studied linguistics and archeology, as well as honing his love of soccer, playing with the renowned Stella Maris Football Club.
Byrne discovered acting late compared to most of his peers, spending his 20s working in a variety of professions including schoolteacher, where his students inadvertently helped him discover his true calling (see below for more details). Since then, he has starred in over 45 films for some of cinema's finest contemporary directors both in the Us and Europe (John Boorman, Costa Gavras, Michael Mann, Ken Loach, David Cronenberg, and the Coen Brothers,
»
- The Hollywood Interview.com
Permalink | Report a problem
Fan Made: The Coen Bros Cross Stitch
10 April 2009 10:02 AM, PDT
| Cinematical
| See recent Cinematical news
»
Nothing says the Coen Bros like cross-stitch -- and not just because of that famous Fargo poster. I'm not surprised their retro stylings have inspired fans to pay homage by picking up the needle, and engaging in some antique art forms.
The above was actually found by Scott Weinberg, who sent it to me when I pitched yesterday's Big Lebowski discussion to him. It comes by way of Flickr and was made by a very talented individual known only to us as "Gillyweed25." She created it using an antique French cross stitch pattern ... and I admire how the flowers not only tie into the design, but also censor it for sensitive viewers. It's so retro and calm, and would really tie a room together.
And speaking of that homely Fargo poster, it too has been recreated by a blogger named Spazzmanda, who had her creation featured on Craftzine. It's spot on,
»
- Elisabeth Rappe
Permalink | Report a problem
Top Ten Most Bewildering Oscar Best Picture Nominees
28 January 2009 12:23 AM, PST
| Rope of Silicon
| See recent Rope Of Silicon news
»
Top 10 Most Bewildering Academy Award Best Picture Nominees
Scratching your noggin over the Oscar love for The Reader? How did those dastardly has-been Weinstein brothers budge The Dark Knight(if you're a whiny fanboy) or The Wrestler(if you're a whiny film snob) out of a deserving Best Picture nomination with a movie no one seems to care for? Well it's not the first time the Weinsteins have pulled off such a feat. Yet, nor are they the only Hollywood salesmen to ram a film into the Oscar race.
It's hard to imagine Oscar without some sort of surprise. Sometimes it's for the better sometimes it is just plain astonishing and almost seems to be done simply to say, "Hey, we're the Academy, we do what we want." Every year they sprinkle their categories with nominations that leave a lot of folks wondering just how the hell that happened and
»
- David Frank
Permalink | Report a problem
2009 |
2008 |
2000
14 articles from 2009
See all NewsDesk partners
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the
above news articles. News articles are published for the entertainment of our
users only. The news items do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we
guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the
site responsible for the article in question to report any concerns you may
have.
