The Song Fight Bulletin Board

It's on tv at the moment, in the background as I work. I keep getting distracted. I love this flick.

I was sympathizing with the (evidently) wrong characters the first time I saw it (like a month and a half ago), so I walked out kind of confused. Then I realized that they were playing with my expectations. I assumed the criminals, who were much more interesting characters, would somehow manage to outsurvive the bland Minnesotans.

JB, you of all people should understand the value of having more than two options for a movie. Or in other words... I don't think I agree with you 100% on your police work there.

Generic wrote:I was sympathizing with the (evidently) wrong characters the first time I saw it (like a month and a half ago), so I walked out kind of confused. Then I realized that they were playing with my expectations. I assumed the criminals, who were much more interesting characters, would somehow manage to outsurvive the bland Minnesotans.

JB, you of all people should understand the value of having more than two options for a movie. Or in other words... I don't think I agree with you 100% on your police work there.

It's a rhetorical device, son. When did you stop kicking your dog?

Generic wrote: the bland Minnesotans.

The Minnesotans I know are anything but bland. While the characters in the movie are stereotypes, they do not represent the entire state as a whole. That's like saying that the people on the OC (I've only seen that show once) represent all of California. I know they don't because I grew up there and I didn't know a single person like that.

Any way, I know you didn't say that all Minnesotans are bland, etc. so don't say that I said you did... I just felt the need to stick up for my state.

Fargo is an awesome movie and it was actually one of the reasons I wanted to move here in the first place! I know that sounds weird. Just so you know, I do not own a wood chipper, I'm just a sucker for accents, that's all!

fargo is very good, but not the coen brothers' best work (which is, of course, the big lebowski.)

Nononononono. The Hudsuckcer Proxy.

Heather. Redmon. wrote:

Generic wrote: the bland Minnesotans.

The Minnesotans I know are anything but bland. While the characters in the movie are stereotypes, they do not represent the entire state as a whole. That's like saying that the people on the OC (I've only seen that show once) represent all of California. I know they don't because I grew up there and I didn't know a single person like that.

I know many Minnesotans myself. I wasn't saying that all Minnesotans are bland. Just the ones in the movie. And I don't see how you could dany that.

NOOO>>>>>>.... The BIG LEBOWSKI.

I thought Marge was pretty fascinating myself. That super-quick mind. That's part of the fascination for me. She's a good cop, which is at odds with her bland homebody image.

Generic wrote:Nononononono. The Hudsuckcer Proxy.

The Hudsucker Proxy is one of my all time favorites! "It's a blue letter!"

oh, and I'm not trying to deny that some of the Minnesotans in Fargo were "bland", but they were just being how some Minnesotans are.

Yeah, Marge is a really interesting character, with those weird juxtapositions. This movie's all about the characters, who are all pretty weird. I liked it.
I also like both Lebowski and Hudsucker, so there.
-bill

What I liked about the movie is it put my hidden (to myself) stereotypes on trial... you start to see the whole don't judge a book by it's cover thing with her, and also, the whole thing just made me damn uncomfortable... in a very entertaining way.

I've liked every coen bros movie I have ever seen. I've obviously liked some better and not liked some as much. This is one of the better ones *SMILEY*

*Hoblit pumps fist for all the funny lookin' fellas out there

Leaf wrote:NOOO>>>>>>.... The BIG LEBOWSKI.

best movie ever.

i am proud to say that my very own father graduated from high school with the coen brothers or rather one of them. the other was a year younger or older. it is possible that he smoked pot with them.

Your dad is cool.

i agree.

Leaf wrote:NOOO>>>>>>.... The BIG LEBOWSKI.

No - I'd say Fargo. Followed closely by O Brother Where Art Thou?. And Miller's Crossing. Oh, and Barton Fink - I forgot Barton Fink.

I pretty much like all of them, although I haven't seen The Ladykillers - I've head it's not much good. (anyone seen The Ladykillers?)

See new thread.

Big Lebowski was a Big Let-downski Hahahahahaha I just made that up, damn I'm hilarious.

BL didn't work for me because it was way too proud of its own kooky characters, and about halfway through the movie started feeling annoyingly self-indulgent, like they were throwing quirkiness at us just so they could show-off and be quirky. Started off good, though.

Jon, agreed. Hudsucker is the best.

(Draws circle on page) "You know, for kids"

Caravan Ray wrote:

Leaf wrote:NOOO>>>>>>.... The BIG LEBOWSKI.

No - I'd say Fargo. Followed closely by O Brother Where Art Thou?. And Miller's Crossing. Oh, and Barton Fink - I forgot Barton Fink.

I pretty much like all of them, although I haven't seen The Ladykillers - I've head it's not much good. (anyone seen The Ladykillers?)

The Big Lebowski, Oh Brother Where art thou, Barton Fink, Miller's Crossing, the Hudsucker proxy... all in the 'totaly rawk category'

Lady Killers is the ONLY one I havn't seen. Havn't heard anything great about it either... so not inspired to go out and rent it. Intolerable Cruelty wasn't half bad...it turned out better than the previews for it led me to believe. However, for the story line that it presents at the beginning..it gets way over the top at the end. Unlike Oh Bro where it's just ridiculous from the get go or The Big L where it's an even blend of crazy yet realistic.

Fargo, awesome.

I love O Brother with a mighty passion. Second favorite would be Raising Arizona. Third would be Fargo I think. Fourth has to be Hudsucker. These are all varying degrees of awesome of course. The only one they've made that I haven't liked was Ladykillers. I liked Intolerable Cruelty more than most people I think. That one and Ladykillers are only sort-of Coen movies anyway. They weren't conceived by the brothers from the get go.

The Man Who Wasn't There is great and fascinating, and I think probably the darkest film they've done. It's sad and creepy and spooky and melancholy. The unrelenting dourness is probably why it's not way up there on my list of Coen flicks. It's still got quirks of course, but it was just very very dark, content-wise. Hard to love.

Don't forget Blood Simple. One of the best movies and I believe their first. Fargo is a great movie. I think the thing that interested me the most was the seemingly naiive type of persona coming from Frances McDormand? that grows into the cop that has to take motion with the killers by the end. Fascinating character development, which at the core of Coen Bros. movies such as Lebowski, O Brother, Miller's Crossing etc. is why they are so hard to pin down in terms of one being better than the other, for me atleast. The diversity in situation and characters is what has always drawn me to their movies. That and good filmmaking. Sound being one aspect (biased soundman).

Lady Killers was good. Strange and kinda disappointing in a way you'd hoped it was gonna end better for certain characters, but interesting cuz you end up feeling that way. I'm a huge Coen Bros. fan. Fargo was good in enabling the Coen Bros. a wider audience and financing future Coen Bros. pictures such as the Big Lebowski. One of my faves. Barton Fink is my ultimate fave though.

tonetripper wrote:Don't forget Blood Simple. One of the best movies and I believe their first. Fargo is a great movie. I think the thing that interested me the most was the seemingly naiive type of persona coming from Frances McDormand? that grows into the cop that has to take motion with the killers by the end. Fascinating character development

I think the key there is "seemingly". I think the development is more like gradual revelation. She's not changing, we're just learning more about her, and we are being made aware that these seemingly innocent/backwards people of Brainerd aren't as innocent or backwards as we high-and-mighty city-folk might think at first. Kind of like "Funny Farm".

It turns out she's not naiive, she just gives people more credit that most. But if it turns out they don't deserve it, she deals with it. And she sees things for what they are, but hasn't been corrupted by it. "This execution-type deal" is a line that reveals, to me, that this lady knows more about this sort of thing than you might think. That and


----SPOILER----
when she bends over thinking she's gonna puke, and when you first see it you think it's because of the grisly corpses she's examining, but then she says "Morning sickness. Welp, that's passed. Now I'm hungry again."
------END SPOILER--------


Takes things in stride, does our Marge. Still waters run deep.

And Lundegaard has always struck me as kind of animalistic. Especially at the end. He's like a treed cat.

And then there's how the characters aren't so quick with their tongues as in other movies. Situations keep coming up where in other films the characters would have a ready excuse, but here the criminals are pretty stupid, and they just can't think of anything, so they resort to what's worked in the past, violence, or they let their instincts to run take over. I love that acknowledgement that not everybody is capable of cunning.