All hail the Coens: A video tribute

Like just about everyone else in the world, apparently, I didn't bother to turn out for Nicolas Cage's "Bangkok Dangerous," but believe it or not, it looks like there will be three potentially very good movies opening wide this week.

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino (heard of them?) team up for "Righteous Kill," a novelty that's probably enough to net my $6 for a matinee (though the Rolling Stones music in the commercial does raise rather serious fears that this will just be a tired Scorsese knockoff.) And secondly, Alfre Woodard, Kathy Bates and Taraji P. Henson (pictured simply because I like to look at her and I write this) join the Tyler Perry train in "The Family that Preys," which I'm betting will turn out to be a winner.

But, most importantly, it's also the return of the Coen Brothers with "Burn After Reading," which looks like it will be odd enough to fit just right in their body of work. I know they're not for everyone (though I certainly don't know why), but how many directors can you name who have made 10 movies that you either like or outright love? The Coens have accomplished this in my book (out of 13, including "Burn After Reading," which I of course haven't seen yet), so they've certainly earned at least the eyes of the few people who happen to stumble by here. So here, in order of just how much I like them, are my 10 favorite Coen brothers movies, with video enhancement where possible.

10. "Ladykillers"
Yes, "Ladykillers." I realize this remake is almost universally derided as the brothers coasting with nothing new to offer, but I find it to often be very funny. Sure, Tom Hanks is even more annoying as a "Southerner" here than he was in "Forrest Gump," but I submit that J.K. Simmons, Marlon Wayans and, most of all, Irma P. Hall are all fairly great in it, and I offer this clip from the Waffle Hut as proof.



9. "Miller's Crossing"
If anyone wants to quibble with this or any other flick not being higher on the list, remember that everyone on it is a winner to me. The best Coen flicks create a world to escape to for a little while, as it did here with this flick about Irish mobsters. Albert Finney just tore through this one, but believe it or not, that is director Sam Raimi in this brief shootout clip from the flick.



8. "Barton Fink"
If I'm not mistaken this was the first movie that had John Turturro as its principal star, and the first he made with the Coens. It's a portrait of a Hollywood writer suffering a rather severe case of writer's block (and wrestling movies and all kinds of other oddities.) Here's a clip of Turturro and the very funny Tony Shalhoub as a movie producer.



7. "Raising Arizona"
On paper this movie would just seem extremely stupid, and it occasionally is, but in all the best ways. The tale of H.I. and Ed and their quest to have a baby is just the silliest kind of fun, and having watched it last year on the big screen again I can attest that it well stands the test of time. Enjoy this clip of H.I. and Ed trying to oust the Snoats from their home so they can enjoy the company of some "decent folk."



6. "Blood Simple"
The ratings from here on out are kind of arbitrary since I love all of these. There have been very few more straightforwardly entertaining directing debuts than this "Simple" film noir, which introduced Frances McDormand to the world in 1984. Enjoy this opening bit of narration by M. Emmet Walsh, which ends with McDormand's opening line.



5. "Fargo"
The Coens really should have won their first Best Picture Oscar for this one, which in its mix of comedy, violence and intrigue really captures their spirit as well any other. It's also probably the best performances from both William H. Macy and Ms. McDormand. Here's what Siskel and Ebert had to say about it back in the day.



4. "No Country for Old Men"
Call it a "meditation on violence" or any other kind of high-falutin' terms that apply to Best Picture winners, but it's also just a chilling movie and a perfect example of the Coens taking the work of another, here Cormac McCarthy, and making it truly their own. Here's a clip of Woody Harrelson and Josh Brolin, who's been on a real roll since.



3. "The Big Lebowski"
Many people would rank this as the best of the Coen brothers' flicks, and I really can't argue with them. At it's best, when its not just fall-down funny, the dude's story works best as a wild dream, as this clip of Jeff Bridges just tripping balls to Bob Dylan's "The Man in Me" surely proves.



2. "Hudsucker Proxy"
Yes, "Hudsucker Proxy." Many would consider this oddity to be one of the lesser Coen flicks, but I just love it. There's just a sweetness to the tale of Norville Barnes that you don't find in too many Coens flicks, and Tim Robbins and Jennifer Jason Leigh play into it perfectly. Here's a clip of Norville's invention, the hula hoop, hitting the street.



1. "O Brother Where Art Thou"
This flick probably gets shown on Saturday afternoons on TBS more than just about any other in the world, and that just proves a key point about the Coens. Though they often poke fun at the people they paint, it's always in good fun, which is why Southerners (of which I claim to be one) love this movie just as much as I'd imagine Minnesotans do "Fargo." It's also just about the only flick I can think of where you can sit and listen to the great soundtrack and play back every scene from the movie in your mind. Here, to finish this off, is a clip of George Clooney and the boys performing "Man of Constant Sorrow."



So there you have it. For the record, the only two Coen flicks I left off of this list are "The Man Who Wasn't There" and "Intolerable Cruelty," neither of which I have much time for. I hope the clips served as a fun time-waster, and that "Burn After Reading" will be as oddly entertaining as all of these. Peace out.

Alll hail Fall: 12 movies I can't wait to see

With the movie summer officially coming to an end this weekend, it only seems appropriate that "Bangkok Dangerous" with Nicolas Cage is the only movie truly opening wide this week.

I'll probably give that one a chance, and we also get caught up this week at my multiplexes with "Brideshead Revisited" and "Henry Poole Was Here." The latter flick just sounds like the definition of sappy, but The Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore - who I almost always trust - gave it four out of five stars, so I might just have to give that one a chance.

Today, however, it's all about the Fall, and the potentially great movies it brings with it. We start out, thankfully, with a new Coen brothers flick, and there's even better stuff coming after that, so let's get right to it. (Please note that these opening dates are sometimes only for very limited openings and are always subject to change.)

Sept 12: "Burn After Reading"
The only review I've seen of this one so far was in The Hollywood Reporter, and they panned it as snarky and not terribly funny. I've yet to meet a Coen brothers comedy I didn't like (and yes, I even have time for "Ladykillers"), though, so I'm definitely in - even if it does look like Brad Pitt's gonna go what Robert Downey Jr. described in "Tropic Thunder" as "full retard."

Sept. 12: "Tyler Perry's The Family that Preys"
I've always had tons of time for Tyler Perry, even if he did make a slight misstep earlier this year with the rather pedestrian "Meet the Browns." Here, he's got Kathy Bates and Alfre Woodard in his first flick to cross the color line in a big way, and I'm betting it will work just fine.

Sept. 26: "Blindness"
Anyone who's been here before (and hopefully there are a couple of you) knows that I often list, when pressed, Fernando Meirelles' "City of God" as my favorite movie, so I'm certainly looking forward to his take on the novel by Jose Saramago. I read the book earlier this summer, and I have to warn everyone out there, this is going to be a really bleak affair, even with Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gail Garcia Bernal all on board.

Sept. 26: "Miracle at St. Anna"
There are three flicks on this list that I'd give a gold star because I want to see them even more than all the others, and this is the first. Even if he is motivated at least in part by his squabble with Clint Eastwood, what I've seen so far of Spike Lee's World War II epic leads me to believe this will be among his very best, putting it in rare company indeed.

Oct. 17: "W."
Just because there's a 60 percent-or-so chance that this will just suck beyond all reason doesnt mean I'm not intrigued. Of all the crazy casting in Oliver Stone's deconstruction of our lame duck president, I think the best will be Thandie Newton as Condoleezza Rice and, even better, Toby Jones as Karl Rove.

Oct. 24: "Synecdoche, NY"
When he had the filter of director Spike Jonze to control him a bit, Kaufman still delivered one of the most delightfully odd flicks I've seen with "Adaptation." Here he takes the reins himself for this tale of a director (Philip Seymour Hoffman) struggling to build a life size replica of New York City and at the same time deal with the various women in his life (Catherine Keener, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michelle Williams and Emily Watson are apparently among them, so I really can't feel too bad for the guy!)

Oct. 31: "Zack and Miri Make a Porno"
What I've seen so far of this Kevin Smith flick starring Elizabeth Banks and Seth Rogen indicates it will be funnier and have more heart than anything he's delivered in years. That doesn't mean, of course, that it won't be deliriously crude too, so if you watch this redband trailer at work, certainly do so with headphones on!



Nov. 14: "Quantum of Solace"
What can I say about Bond? Not much, but I'll definitely be there to watch when Daniel Craig returns to the role with a bevvy of new babes in tow.

Nov. 26: "Milk"
Harvey Milk certainly seems to be an odd figure to have two competing biopics out there, but this one from Gus Van Sant reaches the finish line first, and I'm betting it will be the superior flick (and I admit I can't even remember who's doing the other one.) Here, you've got Sean Penn as the San Francisco pol Milk, and also Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch and Diego Luna all on board. If I can make one DVD recommendation, you can do a whole lot worse than Van Sant's "Elephant," even if it only has about 12 words of dialogue in total.

Nov. 28: "Slumdog Millionaire"
Danny Boyle is sorely in need of a winner after the simply tired "Sunshine," and I'm giving this one my second gold star as my vote of confidence. Shot all over India, the only thing I know for sure is that it's about a very poor dude who strives to become a contestant on the Hindi version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" so he can win the heart of the gal he's smitten with. If that sounds a bit crazy, I'm hoping the outcome certainly turns out to be that and a whole lot more.

Dec. 19: "The Brothers Bloom"
The inspiration for this list was actually this pic of Rinko Kikuchi as "Bang Bang" in Rian Johnson's sophomore flick, which gets my final gold star. If you haven't seen his first, "Brick," do so ASAP. Here he's got Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo as the titular brothers and con men, Rachel Weisz as their latest target and Kikuchi as their explosives expert. In my mind, I'm already there.

Dec. 25: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The final entry goes to David Fincher's take on the F. Scott Fitzgerald character who ages in reverse through the 20th century. Early word is this will be a very mainstream flick that bears few of Fincher's signature touches, but it takes place largely in Baltimore (and damn well better have been filmed there!) and co-stars one of my favorite actresses in Taraji P. Henson, so I'm definitely in for this one as a Christmas treat.

Honorable mention
Here, in no order of preference or chronology, are the flicks that might have made this list if I had all day to work on it: "Towelhead", "Choke", "Flash of Genius", "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist", "RocknRolla", "City of Ember", "The Road", "Australia", "Frost/Nixon", "Revolutionary Road" and "Valkyrie".

And there you have it. Please feel free to let me know of any I might have missed, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday.