A scary thing happened on the way to the Movie Forums - Horrorcrammers

See? Comedy works in strange ways. I've had a ball every time I've watched Cruelty (from Gus "don't go around sniffing bedsheets" Petch to Billy Bob "love you like a son of a bitch" Thornton to Wheezy "what you want?" Joe to that blessed Concierge) and I think that Burn is just brilliant. I've always admired the Coen's capacity for comedy, and so I take no issue with them commiting fully to it. Even Ladykillers which admittedly is subpar Coens, I still don't really hate. If someone were to place Burn After Reading above No Country For Old Men on a list, I wouldn't really blink twice. What aggravates me is how Man Who Wasn't There (which also has some great comedy - Freddy Riedenschneider for ex.) seems to be forgotten on all of them.


Game 6 is a terrific little film. Michael Keaton plays a playwrite who's on the verge of a catastrophe. His new play involves a lead actor (a perfect Harris Yulin) who's suffering dementia and can't remember his lines. A dark cloud over the opening is the critic, played by newly sober Robert Downey Jr, who's as scathing as he is anonymous (because of the death threats over his scathing reviews). And the opening is on the same night as the game 6 of the World Series involving Keaton's lifelong fan-team the Red Sox (at this point still notoriously unwinnable). It's got some great humor, some notable pathos and even a soundtrack by Yo La Tengo for those nasty enough to know who they are. It's a great picture.

Don’t hate me too much but I quite often feel the Coens more comical films don’t land well. Raising Arizona and Barton Fink were just ok to me. I guess I prefer their more serious films.
*ducks the flying brick*
I’ll have to add Game 6 to my ever growing watchlist. It does sound good

(Arizona and Fink are at the top of my fave Coens.)

I get the same reaction from a lot of people.
I should also mention I don’t like Fargo at all. I’ve given it several tries since it’s first release and it just doesn’t do anything for me.

Game 6 really never got much traction when it was released. I think that the title made people confused. I was working in a video store when it came out and it almost never got rented.

It's funny, because that's not really a comedy at all despite having some really hilarious moments in it. But I would argue that it's a perfect example of how the Coens mesh genres in unexpected ways. How do you feel about, say, O Brother or Serious Man, which also confuse the drama with comedy?

Yeah, Fargo, despite being billed as a black comedy wasn’t really funny, or at least not in a Ha-ha way. But I was more or less mentioning it as a film I didn’t like from the Coens, rather than comparing it to their comedies. Sorry for not specifying that.

I have not seen O Brother yet, and every time I plan to, something else grabs my attention. That’s something I need to correct eventually.

Maybe before the Dec. 2 deadline


Anyway, I really like the Coens' approach to comedy. I can't think of any of their films that doesn't have some element of it in there. And I don't consider films that are more dedicated to that any less respectible than their "serious" films. Arizona is better than Blood Simple, Fink is as good as Miller's Crossing (which also has a solid dozen zingers) and Burn's JK Simmons sigh is just as satisfying as TLJ waking up in Old Men. I love it all.

It’s funny that you compare them to Blood Simple, Miller’s Crossing and Old Men, because I love those films.
Miller’s crossing does have some funny moments, and JK Summons is easily the best part of Burn After Reading. Especially the final scene.
I still need to watch Hail Cesar! And Buster Scruggs, which are both starting at me from Netflix.

Those have proven to be polarizing, particularly because of their humor. I'll try to mention some non-spoiler advice:


The key to appreciating Caesar is to see Hollywood = religion. Competing myths. It isn't too deep, and stylistically mostly a homage to old Hollywood. But Brolin is ultimately a priest of sorts.


Buster Scraggs operates in the opposite direction. The first vignette is solid comedy. The film devolves from there like a Pythagorian ratio. It gets brutal and demythologizing of American Western ideals. The final segment is the most profound and obscure. It's a great film that doesn't advertise its greatness.

I was so so on Caesar, but it has a great Alden Ehrenreich performance. It's a shame that Solo is his best known role, he's been much better elsewhere.


I'm also the weirdo that recognizes the Coens are great but only has any real affection for Blood Simple and The Big Lebowski.

I'm sure you've seen Tetro.


You ate sand?

I love everything the Coen Brothers have made except the Lady Killers but I owe it a rewatch. I don’t love their films equally but I think they’re probably the greatest American filmmakers of their generation.

I at least like to love everything they've done but similarly disappointed by Ladykillers. It didn't even compute to me how it could even be them. And I doubt a rewatch could help it.

Indeed. My memory of it (it’s been since it released) was that it felt like someone trying to rip off the Coens and failing rather than the real deal.

I wonder what could’ve happened behind the scenes for such a misfire.

Every Coen Bros. is worth at least a watch but if we’re talking favorites then give me Big Lebowski or give me death.

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Captain's Log
My Collection

Streaming? I could use some decent trash.

I watched it here.

Thanks to @Torgo for directing me to the Mad God streaming site. (I can't find your original post now)

So yeah, this was incredible. It's not often that you get to see such a pure vision on the screen, but the indie nature of this production made that possible I guess. I kept dreading the inevitable introduction of some sort of plot that would eventually surface and rob the film of its abstract perfection, but that never happened. Instead, we're presented with various vignettes that are easily understood for the most part, but the ultimate point of it all is never made clear. (I acknowledge that this could be a drawback for some viewers. I was completely on board.) This could not have been made with studio backing, I'm sure. There's a lot to chew on (poor choice of words in this case) if you're inclined to dig deeper and unearth some sort of message, if you must. A few things occurred to me here and there that I'll keep to myself. Or you could just sit and experience the hellscape as it is.

If I have to nit-pick, I'll just say that the occasional appearance of human actors took me out of the film. Also, my version of this film would've included less feces.

In order to watch this I had to shell out $9 to the Hawaii Film Fest, and it stops streaming tomorrow, but if this sort of thing interests you keep an eye out for future blurays or streaming. I'll be buying it immediately.