Burn After Reading, Coen brothers legacy

So many good movies by Joel and Ethan Coen that it’s hard to pick a favourite, but this one stands out. I’ve watched it more than once and it stays with me even though it is ten years old.

So when Frances McDormand won best actress at the Oscars for Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missourit, this movie came back to me. Talk about black comedy. We laughed through the first part until the body turned up in the closet. Then we sat with our mouths open in horror.

As reviewer Laura Hiros put it —
“It’s not for everyone, or funny all the time, but it’s worth it for the performances, the cast, the cinematography and of course the complicated and even absurd plot.”

The cast is fantastic. George Clooney plays a role that I never would have imagined him playing—note his list of allergies, the sex toys made in his basement. Brad Pitt is hilarious as a dumbass employee of a gym—he runs daily, monitors his heart rate, his blood pressure, his protein intake, with very little else on his feeble mind.

Tilda Swinton is good, John Malkovich hilarious. France McDormand deserved an Oscar back then as well as this year. Well worth watching again.

What are some of your favourite movies?

Stand By Me – movie, River Phoenix, Kiefer Sutherland

No Merchandising. Editorial Use Only. No Book Cover Usage. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock (1617242a) Stand By Me, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O'connell, Corey Feldman, River Phoenix Film and Television

This movie is thirty years old now, yet still resonates with me. It is the story of four boys, all troubled and disturbed in some way with life and loss. Unexpectedly they set out on a journey to find a dead body, which leads them into all kinds of trouble and danger, yet through it all they stick together.

The movie is inspiring as you watch the challenges they face individually with their familes and face together on the trip. Kiefer Sutherland plays a teenage bad guy, and River Phoenix is excellent as the de-facto leader of the small group.

But the whole story is seen from the point of view of one of the boys as an adult, with a son of his own. Richard Dreyfuss plays this role, and as he looks back, he sees what they gained and lost through this adventure.

Based on a Stephen King novella, Stand By Me is worth a watch, for sure.

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Michael Clayton – excellent movie

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This movie is 9 years old, so nothing new here, but George Clooney did such a fabulous job in a very tense and stirring story that I’ve watched it more than once, just last night again. 🙂 Tilly Swinton and Tom Wilkinson are also great in their roles. This is a muscular, rough story of a lawyer who is really ‘just a janitor’. His job is to clean up after the firm’s clients when needed, with the promise held out that ‘soon’ he’ll become partner in the law firm.

These are talented actors. Tom Wilkinson has done so many great films, from Full Monty to Secrets and Lies. Here he plays a senior partner in the law firm who is struggling with mental problems, along with the stigma of the work they do for their clients. Just another job for the janitor to handle. Have a look, this movie does not disappoint.

What are your favourite movies? Leave a note here.