andPOP » Coen brothers

Tara Reid Making Big Lebowski 2?

RM Franks — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:44:34 +0000

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Tara Reid caused quite the stir at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles just recently when she decided to discuss some upcoming projects she’d be working on this year.

Among those, said Reid, was a sequel to the Coen brothers’ cult classic, The Big Lebowski.

E Online is reporting that Reid told Hollywood TV the following:

“I have a movie coming out called The Fields. I have another one coming out that I produced with my brother called The Irishman, and we’ll be doing American Pie 4 this year and Big Lebowski 2 this year.”

But don’t hold your breath, Dude fans. Joel and Ethan Coen know nothing about it apparently.

“I’m glad she’s working on it,” joked Ethan when the subject of Reid’s comments came up at a True Grit press junket. Adding that, while they don’t have any plans for a sequel, “we’ll watch it when it comes out.”

“Especially if Tara’s in it,” said Joel.

Hmmm….

Movie Review: True Grit, a Western Crazy Heart

Lauren Treihaft — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 15:56:28 +0000

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Didn’t Jeff Bridges win the coveted Oscar for best male lead last year for playing a washed up alcoholic musician? Well, he essentially plays the same character, minus the dramatic love story with a woman 20 years his junior, in the Coen Brother’s newest film, True Grit. Bridges stars as Rooster Cogburn, stubborn US Marshall who sets out to help an overtly precocious 14 year-old-girl, Mattie (Hailee Steinfeld), find the man who murdered her father, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). The dynamic duo is also aided by another bounty hunter, LaBeouf (Matt Damon) who is after the same man.

The film is a remake of a 1969 John Wayne film of the same name. Wayne won his sole Oscar for his performance in the film. Although I have not seen it, it seems that Bridges does not do Wayne justice. The role of a drunken fool is too easily played by Bridges as he doesn’t add anything illuminating to the character. However, the audience can almost smell the whisky seeping from his breath even through the screen.

I had high hopes for this film because it is the Coen Brothers. I was expecting something more akin to No Country for Old Men but the film bares no resemblance. Instead, True Grit is a true western film in the classic Americana sense. Its an entertaining film from a passive standpoint. Lest the gore, it would be a holiday family film. I feel like I needed to get a glass of milk and some Oreos. It’s a predictable nostalgic ride to the simpler times of the 50s and 60s

Why did the Coen Brothers decide to regurgitate a hackneyed dated plot with stereotypical roles? It seems like an odd choice for the brothers who usually bring the quirkiest characters to the screen. It really doesn’t bare the mark of Coen. Altogether, the film is not bad, it is just disappointing if you are going into it expecting a Coen Brothers film.

Movie Review: A Serious Man

Ilan Mester — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:22:20 +0000

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Only great movies require cheesy appraisals, so here it goes: “A Serious Man” is seriously good. Compared to other Coen brother films, it holds its own in a line of classics. And for those thinking you’re going in to see a comedy, note that it’s not just any comedy — it’s a horrific comedy (meant in the best of ways).

When you see the opening sequence featuring a Polish peasant and his wife speaking in Yiddish, just note that you’re not in the wrong theatre. The film kicks off with a short horror film, ending with spilled blood. It raises the question: “Has the almighty Hashem blessed them with a visitor? Or cursed them with a soul-stealing dybbuk?” You’ll understand once you see the film.

It then fast forwards to a 1967 Minneapolis Jewish community, of which Physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a part of. And let’s just say his life isn’t one you would envy. Larry’s wife wants to leave him for their lovey-dovey friend Sy Ableman (Fred Melamed), his brother has taken over the family couch and his bathroom, and his kids are constantly bickering with each other.

To top things off, Larry’s opportunity to a life of tenure is being threatened by a student who blackmails him over something he didn’t quite do. Could things possibly get any worse? Apparently they can.

“A Serious Man” raises the question: what did Larry do to deserve all of this? The answer, however, isn’t quite clear, and that’s the point. Joel and Ethan Coen return to their Midwestern routes in this film and you can tell it’s a personal one for them (though to make it clear, it’s not a biopic of their lives). Although they set the film in a Jewish community, the quest for understanding that Larry goes on is universal, anyone can relate. Most of the film’s humour comes from his angst and the fact that everyone surrounding him is too self-absorbed to notice he’s suffering.

The Coens, who wrote and directed the movie, took a big risk when they put together a cast of mostly unknown actors for the black comedy. But they can rest assured the risk paid off. Stuhlbarg is so authentic as the film’s protagonist. Although none of the characters seem to sympathize with Larry, viewers will without a doubt. The entire supporting cast, including Larry’s wife Judith (Sari Lennick), his brother Arthur (Richard Kind), Sy (played by Fred Melamed) and his children (Jessica McManus and Aaron Wolff) are simply incredible (especially his pot-smoking pre-teen son).

Sure “A Serious Man” doesn’t feature the signature violence of “No Country for Old Men,” but it still has that custom-made surrealism only the Coen brothers can pull off.