BURN AFTE
R READING (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen) Very funny, Oddly violent, Supremely Coen-esque! A computer disk containing the memoirs of an ex-CIA agent (John Malkovich) is left at a small gym, where two employees (Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand) think they have found a top-secret government item, leading them to make failed attempts of bribery and espionage. This is a multi-layered satire on CIA thrillers and the people who get too involved. Brad Pitt is getting a lot of well-deserved praise for his role as Chad Feldheimer, a goof-ball health nut who thinks life is one big game, but everyone in this is perfectly cast. McDormand is an hilariously self-conscious female body-builder, and Malkovich is as good as ever as a foul-mouthed agent who has nothing left to lose. Tilda Swinton, George Clooney, and Richard Jenkins are also very good in a film that hearkens back to Coen Brothers classics Fargo, Lebowski, and even No Country. It's not for everyone (parts of the violence will immediately ruin the movie for some), but if you like quirky, slightly complex plots shown in a surprisingly light manner, then see it! FAVORITE SCENE: The ending of the movie is perfect. I won't tell you why, but I will say that some I talked with hated the ending. The Coen Brothers have a knack for polarizing people at the end of their films.RENTALS!
Grace is Gone (2008)- John Cusack plays a man who loses his wife to the Iraq war, and takes his daughters on a road trip to cope.
A Few Good Men (1992)- A classic court-room drama, starring Tom Cruise (before he went crazy) and Jack Nicholson (who has always been crazy), with impeccable acting and a brilliant script.
Fletch (1985)- Chevy Chase's best movie, in my opinion, in which he plays Fletch, a journalist who has a knack for creating secret identities.
15 comments:
What?! No Open Range on the poll!? Are you nuts?!
And don't give me any of that "there's no shooting until halfway through the movie" crap. Just because it doesn't numb the audience with pointless violence does not make it a bad western; that filmed neared authenticity more than any other western I've EVER seen.
Exactly BRAD! I read the list over three times thinking surely I was missing it. It HAD to be there...the greatest western movie made in our modern era.
Honestly...I have to say that this poll sounds like some sort of liberal agenda, which suppresses the common man's will to shoot bad guys with a shot-gun.
I agree with both of you, but on a somewhat different level;
When are the kitten polls ever going to show up???
Kittens are your friends! Kittens love you!
Why can't anybody ever take the time to love a kitten like they used to?
By the way, I think if you are recommending Burn After Reading you might want to add that it has dirty scenes that are creepy and weird.
First of all, I have never even HEARD of Open Range, so that is why it isn't on the list. But now I kind of want to see it, although the extreme excitement I sense from you both leads me to believe I will only be let down.
and yes, there are some sex scenes. Sorry I didn't mention it, but it honestly didn't affect my enjoyment as much as it usually does.
but yes, you're right, janelle
WOW-You're all wrong. The best western of all time....Blazing Saddles. Despite all of the amazing aspects of this cinematic wonder (especially the acting), it's authenticity to the time period has to make it one of the truly outstanding westerns of all times.
On a serious note, although hard for some to watch, HBO's Deadwood has to be among the list as well.
yeah, but deadwood is technically not a movie, it is a television show.
as for the leaving out of blazing saddles, i tried to stay with 80's and later to keep it modern.
so there!
Let me whip this thing out.
Am I gay for liking Cinderella Man more than Rocky? I thought the boxing choreography was great, phenominal acting, a true story, set in the depression which before long, we are all going to be able to relate to. Giamatti was just as good of a trainer as Merges Beredith.
I do not think you're gay, but I do not agree with you
I do not believe James Braddock was as instantly likeable as Rocky Balboa. Granted, Braddock was a real person and the writers could make Balboa as likeable as they saw fit, but still...
I can see why someone might like it better, but I am not one of those people
well ole Rock is a classic and there's something to be said for what it was, is, and will always be for folks...a classic.
I usually tend to lean towards the one who wrote a great song instead the one who covered it and sounded a little better singing it. Dolly Parton vs. Whitney Houston
oops I wasn't finished. My point was that I love Rocky. Bu I think if you put those two movies out at the same time, Cinderella Man wins. I know this doesn't make sense, but that's just my gay outlook.
that's an interesting point, but i still think that rocky is simply a more entertaining and interesting movie.
Frankly, from a writer's perspective, Rocky is better written as the character feels more dynamic, more real. That scene with him and Adrian in his apartment shows an unusual, vulnerable side to Rocky that we really don't see in any of the other ones until Rocky Balboa. Oddly, though the character in Cinderella Man is based on a real fellow, he is merely a sympathetic and hard working character whose outlook and drive seem static through much of the film.
All in all, it almost feels like apples and oranges with those two, though, because they are both so good, but different. How did we get to this topic?
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