Weekly Cinemeh

Hello, and welcome back to Weekly Cinemeh. This week Eshi and I decided that our theme was the Coen brothers. There were plenty of good movies to choose from. We have both seen a lot of them though so we went for movies that either one or both of us haven't seen. We ended up with some good stuff, so without further ado....To the list!

1: The Hudsucker Proxy
Despite sounding like a porno about computers and/or robots, this movie is actually about a company trying to tank its stock by hiring a buffoon as president so that they can buy the recently deceased president's shares in the company for cheap. I loved watching Tim Robbins as the aforementioned buffoon. He is instantly likable, as opposed to Paul Newman's character who is a sleazebag of biblical proportions. Jennifer Jason Leigh could also pull the fast talking 40's character like nobody's business and was super fun to listen to. There is a lot of interesting imagery of cycles. Robbin's character invents a hula hoop, which is a giant circle. He talks at one point about reincarnation and karma and how he hopes that he knew his love interest in a past life. Newman's character also talks about how he is going to resist the turning of the wheel of life (and ultimately fails because the wheel is so much bigger than he is, and has infinitely more momentum). This movie is well written and great at creating some very lovely shots, but it is far from perfect. I think the "magic black man" Moses was a little cringe worthy. He felt more like a caricature rather than a full character, and really only existed to dole out advice and play deus ex machina in the films climax, which is sad because it felt like a waste of Bill Cobbs. Other than that it is a good movie about power, and how it can be used to corrupt or improve the world, depending on the disposition of the person wielding it. Watch it.

Eshi: Jennifer Jason Leigh messed me up for this entire movie, the fast-talking newsie dame thing was weirdly distracting to me for some reason. Tim Robbins does the doe-eyed man-child really well and Paul Newman is great at being a douche bag. I agree with Brian that the Moses character was pretty fucking racist,  but its also not the first time Bill Cobbs has been a Magic Black Man. Its also got Bruce Campbell in it, so go watch it.

2: Barton Fink
This is a movie about a writer trying to work through a block after moving to LA to work for a studio. Its a great movie, the acting is great and the story has a great message. The movie could be summed up in one line from Judy Davis' character "empathy requires understanding". This movie was written by the Coens while they were in a writers block of their own with Miller's Crossing, and is about how getting trapped in one's own head can fuck with your perceptions of reality and other people. Fink constantly talks about how he is a man of the people, but when "the people" try to talk to him he ignores them, instead choosing to masturbate over his "art". John Goodman is great, and this movie makes me wish I had seen more of John Turturro's work (Look for it in coming weeks). You should watch it.

Eshi: Barton Fink is a conflicting character for me. On one hand, I get it. I've had that soul deep writers block that fucks up your whole sense of self. On the other hand, Barton Fink is just the fucking worst. He's narcissistic, self-righteous, and worst of all, he's a shitty friend. I love John Goodman's character and John Mahoney is fucking hysterical/tragic as shit as the drunken southern gentleman. Not the Coens' best work, but definitely enjoyable.

3:The Man Who Wasn't There
This is a dark, neo noir flick that got pretty bleak at times. Coen movies tend to be good at creating strange characters and deadpan humor, and this movie has some of the best of both worlds. I love Thornton, and this movie is one of the better roles that I have seen him in. The movie is about a blackmail scam that goes bad and hits all of the noir movie notes. Its got a great cast and is shot beautifully in black and white. This movie reminds me a little bit of The Big Lebowski (one of my favorite movies) in that its a noir, but also that it is about what the Dude's last line was all about. "The Dude abides". The main character is constantly living life via observation. When he figures out that his wife is cheating on him his response isn't anger, he just says "its a free country" and continues on. This movie focuses more on choices though and while some things are inevitable, how you get there is a direct cause of your choices. The main characters disposition reflects the idea that the world will march ever onward regardless of our input. Despite being dark, the movie is ultimately hopeful, and well worth a watch.

Eshi: This is a weighty film. It's humorous at times, and occasionally exciting, but for the most part it just kinda leans on you. Throughout I couldn't help but feel the accumulating pressure of the bad decisions dragging Billy Bob's character down. I dig Tony Shalhoub as the hyper confident lawyer, though I wasn't entirely moved by the somewhat creepy thing with Scarlet Johansson's character. I feel like this movie has more to offer than I picked up the first time through, so I'd say its worth at least one viewing.