Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis
(2013) [Trailer]
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

3 Coen Brothers films sit inside my Top 100 Films of All Time list, I guess that means they are my favorite directors... or at least, almost my favorite directors. Who cares, they are rad and I've been meaning to check out their newest film Inside Llewyn Davis for a hot minute... I just used the term "hot minute", you can punch me in the throat next time you see me... sorry about that.

Synopsis: Llewyn Davis is a struggling folk singer living in NYC during the 60's... this is his story.

Inside Llewyn Davis was a big winner for me. I thought the one thing that may bring it down was the music, but I actually really enjoyed the soundtrack a lot. The fact that it was all recorded live while shooting is also incredible. Llewyn is the proverbial starving artist, but an extremely honest version of that which didn't feel forced. I loved going along for the ride with him, both literally when he took a road trip to Chicago and throughout the rest of the movie. He is a character that is flawed and ultimately heading down a dead end path, but you still want to see it unfold.

There were a lot of stand out moments for me... like the scenes with the cat, John Goodman, and the audition in Chicago. It also feels like a movie, on a rewatch, that will offer things you missed on the first viewing, as is the case with all Coen films.

Inside Llewyn Davis is still in theaters and comes highly recommended by me.... Curtis.

Fargo

Fargo
(1996) [Trailer]
Directors: Ethan Coen (IMDB), Joel Coen (IMDB)

I've traveled to every state in the U.S. except for Montana, Idaho, South and North Dakota. I've, at some point, got to go to those 4 bad boys so I can knock that crap off my bucket list. I've been compiling a list of shit to do in each state, but I'm running into a little issue, there's nothing to see in North Dakota except.... you guessed it... Fargo. Oh wait, you didn't guess it, oh well.

This is the story of Jerry Lundegaard (William H Macy) and how much of an idiot he is. Jerry hires Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi) and Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife so Jerry can collect the ransom money from her rich father. Carl and Gaear end up abducting her but are pulled over by a state trooper in route to their hide out, they kill him and two other unfortunate passerbyers who witness the murder. Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), a local cop, is called in to investigate and she starts to unravel the crime.

I'll start by saying this movie is perfect, and I wouldn't change anything about it. I've seen it many times and feel the same way after viewing it. The Coen Brothers know how to tell a story, and this is them at their best (also reference THIS). The performances of everyone are so well executed, you feel drawn into the quirky little world they've created and it seems so believable. I love how you know shits going to go south immediately from the very first line of dialog in this film, and boy does it ever get screwed up. This story also has a great little juxtaposition, Jerry's family is ruined because of his greed and yet Marge's family (her husband and soon to be baby) are completely happy living within their means. Mo money, Mo problems! Hopefully you've already seen this, if you haven't you really should right away.

Raising Arizona

Raising Arizona
(1987) [Trailer]
Directors: Ethan Coen (IMDB), Joel Coen (IMDB)

Raising Arizona is in my top ten best movies ever. I love it. LOVE IT! I find it to be one of the easiest movies to watch and everything with it... is flawless. How's that for an opener?

Raising Arizona is about an ex con named H.I. (played by the great Nicolas Cage.) H.I. meets the girl of his dreams while in prison, she (Holly Hunter) was a guard there. H.I. is now a free man and decides to go the straight and narrow, but not before stealing a baby. He stole the little guy because his wife is barren and the biological parents had quintuplets. The biological father is Nathan Arizona, who is a rich local furniture king, and he's pissed about the whole ordeal. Meanwhile, Cage and Holly Hunter pretend they adopted the runt but it's not long until their friends start to figure out the truth. Eventually a bounty hunter and some of H.I's prison buddys get into the mix and it gets real fun.

There's nothing wrong with this movie in my opinion. It's perfect. The Coen Brothers, who are also on my best directors list, really knocked this out the park. The camera work is great, some of the angles and special shots they picked are incredible. The score is one of the most memorable in film history. Also the art direction and set pieces are the best ever. But what seals the deal is the casting and acting. Seriously next level. Cage and Hunter are impeccable together, and Jon Goodman and Will Forsythe are hilarious. It was great getting to finally check it out on blu-ray. I would definitely recommend, if you're some weirdo who hasn't seen this, to watch it immediately.