New movie releases Sep 12, 2008
That's their method for making films, as well, and it works for them, better in such masterpieces as Fargo and No Country for Old Men, less so in deliberately minor works, the category into which Burn After Reading, their latest film, falls. It's a deliriously twisted tale about. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Bunch of dunderheads make 'Burn' a winner Sep 12, 2008
The secret to 'Burn' success: A bunch of dunderheads - USATODAY.com. The secret to 'Burn' success: A bunch of dunderheads. (USA Today -- Life)
'Burn' has Coen brothers' antic ways Sep 12, 2008
"Burn After Reading" is mid-range Coens, not as dopey as "Big Lebowski," not as dry as "Fargo." They've left behind the lyrical, literary and epic qualities of "No Country for Old Men" for an old school Coen-style farce, a comedy peopled with idiots and spattered with bloodstains, a film with profanely witty dialogue and so much plot you almost need to take notes in the dark. BURN AFTER READING. (Seacoast New Hampshire)
No country for human beings Sep 12, 2008
As with the much-laureled "No Country for Old Men," the Coens seem to be Mixmastering themes and elements of their earlier films; there are traces of "Fargo," "The Big Lebowski" and "Blood Simple" in the DNA of "Burn After Reading." But those comparisons aren't likely to benefit this work of lightweight inside-the-Beltway misanthropy, which possesses neither the morbid, cinematic gravity of their better crime films nor the absurd delirium of their best comedies. One could sit here and intone,... (Salon)
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY MORONS Sep 11, 2008
I submit that the Coens have progressed beyond the half-parody/half-horror of Fargo. Their subsequent work has become deeper and has gained more feeling. (New York Press)
In Toronto, Coen brothers back to being silly Sep 10, 2008
" He was impressed with her talent and, over a period of time, got to know her better. They didn't marry until 1993. The brothers wrote her role in "Fargo" for her. The "Burn After Reading" script introduces her with a "close-up on a woman's ass ... " Again and again they return to the theme of ordinary people turning to crime and making a complete botch of it: the kidnapping of a baby in "Raising Arizona" and of a wealthy father-in-law in "Fargo," the blackmailing of a boss in "The Man Who... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Coen brothers cant get enough lovable dopes Sep 10, 2008
Theyve written every sort of bonehead, nitwit and lamebrain imaginable in both comic and tragic form in such films as Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou ... McDormand, Joel Coens wife, has worked frequently with them since their debut feature, Blood Simple, winning the best-actress Oscar for Fargo. (MSNBC -- Politics)
Daniel Day-Lewis Dishes About His Clooney Kiss At The Oscars Sep 9, 2008
Finally, after making nine of the greatest films you probably haven't seen plus "The Big Lebowski" and "Fargo" the Coen brothers finally took home a ridiculously overdue Best Director Oscar for "No Country for Old Men." "I think it was a special year in the respect that it sounds like a clich?, but all the movies this year were very interesting to me personally," insisted Ethan, standing alongside his brother in the press room. "It's a serious movie, but it also has genre underpinnings," Rudin... (Yahoo News -- Academy Awards)
Coen brothers return to Minnesota for next film Sep 9, 2008
They also shot Fargo there ... It's the first time the Coens have filmed in Minnesota since 1996's Fargo. (USA Today -- Life)
Brad Pitt enjoys playing knuckleheads Sep 9, 2008
It is, in other words, another examination of the dopes and bumblers in American life, a filmography that started with Blood Simple and has gone through The Big Lebowski, Fargo, Raising Arizona and many more ... Joel says that while shooting Fargo, he laughed out loud at a scene where the Steve Buscemi character - another memorable Coen Brothers knucklehead - keeps sinking into the snow as he tries to bury some stolen loot in a field. (Vancouver Sun)
Bad hair days welcomed on set of Coen brothers film Sep 8, 2008
Swinton and Pitt said non-stop guffaws were one of the highlights of working with the brothers (short days was another) who have apparently contributed their own laugh track to Fargo. "There's a scene where Steve Buscemi is flying through the snow trying to bury his money in the ground and he kept sinking up to his waist and I think even in the finished movie, you can hear me laughing," says Joel. (Globe and Mail)
Coen brothers to begin shooting new film in Minn. Sep 8, 2008
It's the first time the Coens have filmed in Minnesota since 1996's "Fargo," which won Oscars for screenplay and best actress, Frances McDormand. The brothers won this year's best picture Oscar for "No Country for Old Men.". (Brainerd Daily Dispatch)
Back to the good old ways Sep 7, 2008
George Clooney and another 2008 Oscar winner, Tilda Swinton, costar, along with character actor Richard Jenkins, who finally got the press he deserves with this year's "The Visitor." Think "Fargo" but sillier. "Enlighten Up" A documentary in which Nick Rosen, a yoga skeptic and journalist downward-dogs his way around the world, in the name of expanding his mind and, presumably, his range of motion. (Boston Globe)
DVD Report: This week's new releases (Sept. 7) Sep 7, 2008
"THE BIG LEBOWSKI" (1998) At the time the Coen brothers made their oddball bowling-alley noir, we snickered in most of the right places, but it was hard not to feel as though it was a bit of a comedown from "Fargo." And yet, on repeat viewings, you start to realize that The Dude (Jeff Bridges) really does abide, as this 10th anniversary re-release reminds us. Extras: New interviews and conversations with the cast; in-depth look at the annual Lebowski Fest; production featurette on the film's... (Boston Globe)
Two worlds fitness gyms and the CIA collide in Coen brothers ... Sep 7, 2008
"All the characters are numskulls, which Malkovich has no problem with; Clooney has never had a problem with," Coen was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times. "Brad was initially taken aback. He s very funny in the movie. He grew to love it as much as George does. Each character is dumber than the next. But they re all lovable.". (Fort Worth Star Telegram)
Brad Pitt Rocks to Madonna Sep 7, 2008
The Coens already won the Oscar this year for "No Country for Old Men." This movie could have been called "No Country for Smart Men and Women" although it boasts a cast of Oscar nominees and winners including Pitt, Frances McDormand (winner for "Fargo"), George Clooney (winner for "Syriana"), Tilda Swinton (winner for "Michael Clayton"), John Malkovich, (nominee for "In the Line of Fire" and "Places in the Heart") and Richard Jenkins (the dead dad from "Six Feet Under," probable nominee this... (Fox News)
'SNL' actors try the big screen Sep 7, 2008
The film doesn't have the edge of "Fargo" or the Looney Tunes quality of "Raising Arizona" but it does get plenty of laughs (thanks to John Goodman) and demonstrates why the Minnesota-born Coens are always worth watching. If you're not a fan of "offbeat," you're not going to like "Lebowski." But if you crave quirks, this is your film in more ways than one. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
FIRST DEGREE 'BURN' Sep 7, 2008
Or the world's worst kidnappers in "Fargo". These are not guys who would ever be recruited for sperm bank donations. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Burn after reading Sep 6, 2008
Thompson On Hollywood - Blog on Variety. Choose the one that's best for you. (Variety)
Coens coast into festival spotlight Aug 30, 2008
In that film, and in many that followed, including Raising Arizona (1987), Miller's Crossing (1990) and Fargo (1996), they helped create a new, hybrid genre of deadpan yet slapstick humour punctuated by sudden, gruesome violence, finished off with genuine emotion. (I'll never forget the pained, puzzled look on McDormand's face near the end of Fargo, as she contemplates the horrible violence she's witnessed, and quietly adds, And it's a beautiful day ... in 1994's The Hudsucker Proxy; the... (Globe and Mail)
Fall movie preview: The Coens dumb it down with starry 'Burn' Aug 29, 2008
With its ridiculous misunderstandings and sense of place, "It's a cousin of The Big Lebowski and Fargo," says Eric Fellner of Working Title, which has produced five other Coen outings, starting with 1994's The Hudsucker Proxy. "No Country for Old Men was epic. This is a different, contemporary milieu.". (USA Today -- Life)
Film Reviews: 'Burn After Reading' and 'Jerichow' Aug 28, 2008
Meanwhile, in another part of town at the Hardbodies Fitness Center, a trio of employees are living out their obscure and humdrum lives: the gormless trainer Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt), Ted, the gym manager (Richard Jenkins, an old Coen trouper) and an office drone, Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand, also Mrs. Joel Coen, a Coen muse ever since their first hit "Blood Simple" and an Oscar winner for her role as Marge Gunderson in "Fargo"). When a CD-ROM containing a draft of Cox's memoirs is... (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
Venice opens with Pitt and Clooney in madcap comedy Aug 27, 2008
The film re-unites Joel and Ethan Coen with actress Frances McDormand, who is married to Joel and who won an Oscar for her role in their 1996 film "Fargo," as well as with Clooney, who appeared in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". Clooney, by his own admission, regularly plays the fool for the brothers, fresh from their triumph at this year's Oscars when their "No Country For Old Men" picked up four awards, including best picture and best directing. (Yahoo News)
Brothers make fine fist of crime drama Aug 5, 2008
In the very best of these crime dramas, from Alfred Hitchcock (Strangers on a Train) through to the Coen brothers (Blood Simple, Fargo), were taken deep into the rapidly beating heart of the Everyman, whose problems are not so dissimilar to our own and whose solution is tantalisingly close at hand. Another pair of filmmaking brothers, Nash and Joel Edgerton, have learnt well from their acclaimed American counterparts and cooked up a tasty crime yarn as good as anything were now getting out... (The West Australian)
The boys from Oz Jul 26, 2008
Their film tells the story of an apparently well-to-do middle-aged man who gets in way over his head when dipping his toe in criminal activity - not unlike William H. Macy's character in Fargo (1996), the film that first won the Coens a little golden statue. When we first encounter Ray Yale (David Roberts) in The Square, he's far from perfect: he's having sex with a much younger woman who isn't his wife. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Films that show mankind's nature prove greed is good Jun 26, 2008
FARGO (1996): A misplaced desire for fiscal success leads a car dealer into a complex and doomed scheme to scam cash from his controlling father-in-law. One of the best films from the consistently strong brothers Coen. (The Augusta Chronicle)
Borat Was Right: Angelina Jolie's New Movie Proves It Jun 25, 2008
Frances, who won Best Actress for "Fargo" in 1996, remains in "The Country Girl" on Broadway with Morgan Freeman until July 20. Joel and brother Ethan just won the Oscar for "No Country for Old Men". (Fox News)
The natural way to end a conversation. Jun 18, 2008
They can pull off bravura camerawork (Raising Arizona), dark wit (Fargo), or chair-gripping suspense (Miller's Crossing and, now, No Country for Old Men ... That's an interesting take on films like Fargo, Barton Fink, and Miller's Crossing, which offer cross-sections of American life and mores ... Instead of settling for an exhilarating high note, they often leave us on a curious downbeat Marge talking to her husband in bed in "Fargo," Hi thinking about a future in Utah in "Raising Arizona,"... (Slate)
Coen brothers to shoot ‘A Serious Man’ in Minnesota May 24, 2008
This will be their first movie shot in their home state since Fargo in 1995. A Serious Man, which will depict a harried suburban man whose family begins to crack apart, is expected to generate 6 million to 7 million for the state s economy. (Austin Daily Herald, MN)
Coen brothers' film to open Venice festival May 2, 2008
Enter the world of Joel and Ethan Coen, from the frosty 'Fargo' to the brutal 'Blood Simple. . (MSNBC -- Movies)
Ethan Coens playwrighting debut is loopy Apr 18, 2008
The point is the absurdist sensibility often on display in such Coen brothers movies as Fargo, Barton Fink, O Brother, Where Art Thou. and The Big Lebowski. (MSNBC -- News)
George Clooney Tackles 'Ripe For The Pickin' ' World Of Old-School Football In 'Leatherheads' Apr 1, 2008
I did "O Brother" right after they won the Oscar for "Fargo," and then I did "Intolerable [Crruelty]" right after "The Man Who Wasn't There," and now I've done "Burn After Reading" right after they've won three Oscars. I feel like I am just their goat, their mule. (VHI.com -- Music News)
The Coens have visualized a ride-along program for death Mar 15, 2008
and Fargo, and probably even The Big Lebowski and Barton Fink. No Country's aforementioned intermingling of brutality and lyricism is far from seamless, and the ending as many have complained is a muddle. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Oscar winner hits DVD market this week Mar 9, 2008
As in "Fargo," the Coens get plenty from the landscape. They don't accentuate a dialect (though the characters are right out of "The Last Picture Show") but they do enjoy the quirks that come from the time period (it's 1980), the landmarks and the threat that exists. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
Snow Angels and Married Life: Wedded Blisters Mar 8, 2008
" The hammers of hell beat in the hearts of these frosty folk; for Snow Angels, like a bunch of other films set in cold climates (The Ice Storm, The Sweet Hereafter, Affliction, A Simple Plan, Fargo, this year's Sundance winner Frozen River), is about people who will do anything to get warm, even if it means getting burned. Cheating on their spouses, for a start; and for one doomed family, a lot worse. Here's the town's topography of restlessness. Annie (Kate Beckinsale) has split from her... (Time.com)
Dark and twisted Oscar winner Feb 29, 2008
Taking the rugged landscape of 1980 Texas as its backdrop, the dark themes of 'No Country' echo some of the Coens' best films, from the stark violence of their 1984 debut 'Blood Simple' to the grim humoUr of 1996's 'Fargo. Bardem's performance earned him the Oscar for best supporting actor on Sunday, while the film also scooped the awards of best director and best adapted screenplay for the Coen brothers. (iAfrica.com)
Accolade For Leigh Feb 28, 2008
The opening program is "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" and "The Man Who Wasn't There." The concluding films on Sunday are "Fargo" and "Blood Simple.". The Castro is at 429 Castro St., San Francisco. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
'Old Men,' Europeans seize Oscars Feb 28, 2008
The Coens, who have been known for their arch style and oddball humor in films such as "Fargo," "O Brother, Where Art Thou" and "The Big Lebowski," received some laughs for Ethan Coen's laconic acceptance speeches. Don't Miss. (CNN -- Showbiz)
* Coen brothers clean up at Oscars Feb 26, 2008
Past winners for their screenplay to 1996's Fargo, Joel and Ethan Coen joined an elite list of filmmakers to win three Oscars in a single night, including Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather Part II), James Cameron (Titanic) and Billy Wilder (The Apartment). This story has been viewed 380 times. (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
Coens 'Country' wins best picture Oscar Feb 26, 2008
Crime often has paid for the Coens, a pair of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett fans who gravitate toward lawbreakers even in their comedies, such as Cage and Hunter's infant-kidnappers in "Raising Arizona," the bumbling thieves in "The Ladykillers," an abduction that leaves a trail of bodies - including Buscemi in a wood-chipper - in "Fargo," or Clooney and his fellow jailbreakers in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". "They're as talented as anybody in the game over decades now," Clooney, a... (The Advocate)
All Academy Award winners Feb 26, 2008
The Coens, who had previously won for writing "Fargo," became only the second team to win the directing trophy. Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise won for "West Side Story.". (Variety)
Serious themes stretch to Oscars' morning after Feb 26, 2008
(That's from a guy who now has two screenwriting Oscars -- the brothers won their first for "Fargo" in 2003. . (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
Coen brothers' 'No Country' grabs 4 Oscars Feb 26, 2008
Their victory dwarfed their previous Academy Awards success with "Fargo," which won two Oscars (actress and original screenplay) at the ceremony in 1997. French actress Marion Cotillard won for her brilliant portrayal of singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose," and Daniel Day-Lewis took best actor honors, for his histrionic performance as an oil baron at the turn of the past century in "There Will Be Blood." Cotillard, clearly surprised, was over the moon, while front-runner Day-Lewis gave a... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Oh brothers ... Feb 26, 2008
While the Coens have had Oscar recognition before (a best screenplay award for Fargo), it has never been this personal: the best picture category is the big one, and the Academy does not give it out lightly ... But the success of Fargo pointed the way forward. (Guardian Unlimited)
A sweep for foreign actors Feb 25, 2008
It s the culmination of a 24-year career for the brothers, whose filmography (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Are Thou ... The brothers won for best original screenplay for 1996 s Fargo and previously were nominated for best adapted screenplay for 2000 s O Brother. (Helena Independent Record, MT)
No Country is the big winner with 4 awards Feb 25, 2008
Past winners for their screenplay to 1996s Fargo, the Coens joined an elite list of filmmakers to win three Oscars in a single night, including Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather Part II), James Cameron (Titanic) and Billy Wilder (The Apartment) ... Their films include the modest hits Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou. (MSNBC -- Race)
'Old Men,' Europeans seize Academy Awards Feb 25, 2008
The Coens, who have been known for their arch style and oddball humor in films such as "Fargo," "O Brother, Where Art Thou" and "The Big Lebowski," received some laughs for Ethan Coen's laconic acceptance speeches. After the pair won for adapted screenplay, Ethan Coen gave a brief thanks. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- NBA)
Daniel Day-Lewis Dishes About His Clooney Kiss At The Oscars Feb 25, 2008
Finally, after making nine of the greatest films you probably haven't seen plus "The Big Lebowski" and "Fargo" the Coen brothers finally took home a ridiculously overdue Best Director Oscar for "No Country for Old Men." "I think it was a special year in the respect that it sounds like a clich?, but all the movies this year were very interesting to me personally," insisted Ethan, standing alongside his brother in the press room. "It's a serious movie, but it also has genre underpinnings," Rudin... (Yahoo News -- Academy Awards)
Country’ takes four top movie Oscars Feb 25, 2008
Past winners for their screenplay to 1996 s Fargo, Joel and Ethan Coen joined an elite list of filmmakers to win three Oscars in a single night, including Francis Ford Coppola ( The See OSCARS, Back Page Oscars. Continued from Page A1 Godfather Part II ), James Cameron ( Titanic ) and Billy Wilder ( The Apartment ). (Montana Standard, MT)
Coen brothers make Oscar history Feb 25, 2008
The Coens won for best original screenplay for Fargo in 1997, though they lost to Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) for best director. Many view Fargo as the Coens finest film, which, like No Country for Old Men, portrayed violent crime across a desolate landscape. (MSNBC -- News)
Coen brothers come into their own Feb 25, 2008
They previously won just once before: original screenplay for 1997's Fargo, their only other best-picture nominee. The wins were crowd pleasers, not that you could tell from the bookish pair's awkward reactions on stage. (USA Today -- Life)
Check out other offerings from Oscar's top filmmakers Feb 25, 2008
That was when the duo, known everywhere aside from their official screen credits simply as "the Coen Brothers" took the original screenplay Oscar for Fargo (on DVD; MGM/Fox, rated R, $15) ... Though the intentionally mirthless No Country isn't totally without precedent in the Coens' career, Fargo's droll-to-twisted humor is far more typical of their output ... Fargo for sure, but also Raising Arizona (Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter and babies galore; 1987, Fox, PG-13, $15). (USA Today -- Life)
Oscars Honor Coens As Best Director(s) Feb 25, 2008
The Coens won for best original screenplay for "Fargo" in 1997, though they lost to Anthony Minghella ("The English Patient") for best director. Many view "Fargo" as the Coen's finest film, which, like "No Country for Old Men," portrayed violent crime across a desolate landscape. (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
Coens' No Country sweeps Oscars Feb 25, 2008
The Coen brothers previously won Oscars for Fargo. No Country For Old Men has won four Oscars, including best film and best director, a category awarded jointly to brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
OSCAR WINNERSNo Countryfor Old Men Feb 25, 2008
They have consistently worked in the crime genre, of course, beginning with their first film, "Blood Simple," whose seriousness perhaps mostly approximates the tone of this one, although there are overlaps as well with "Miller's Crossing" and "Fargo." But while they have eliminated one especially poignant character from the book in the interests of time, slashed Bell's distinctive philosophical ruminations and perhaps unduly hastened the ending, the brothers have honored McCarthy's serious... (Variety)
Academy Awards a country for old men and foreign performersPosted on Feb. 25 Feb 25, 2008
It s the culmination of a 24-year career for the brothers, whose filmography ( Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Are Thou ... The brothers won for best original screenplay for 1996 s Fargo and previously were nominated for best adapted screenplay for 2000 s O Brother. (Missoulian, MT)
Oscar says yes to 'No Country' Feb 25, 2008
" "My deepest thanks to the academy for whacking me with the handsomest bludgeon in town," Day-Lewis said. The Coens missed out on a chance to make Oscar history - four wins for a single film - when they lost the editing prize, for which they were nominated under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes. "The Bourne Ultimatum" won the editing Oscar and swept all three categories in which it was nominated, including sound editing and sound mixing. Past winners for their screenplay to 1996's "Fargo," Joel... (Athens Banner-Herald)
'Country' wins top Oscar Feb 25, 2008
Past winners for their screenplay to 1996's ''Fargo,'' the Coens joined an elite list of filmmakers to win three Oscars in a single night, including Francis Ford Coppola (''The Godfather Part II''), James Cameron (''Titanic'') and Billy Wilder (''The Apartment''). With 64 million domestically, ''No Country'' is the biggest box-office hit for the Coens, whose tales often are an acquired taste appealing to narrow crowds. (Pocatello Idaho State Journal, ID)
Cotillard as Best Actress among surprises at Oscars Feb 25, 2008
Previous original-screenplay winners for 1996's "Fargo," the Coens came in as the best-picture and directing favorites for "No Country.". "The Bourne Ultimatum" won the editing Oscar and swept all three categories in which it was nominated, including sound editing and sound mixing. (KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8, OR)
Will the Oscar go to "Blood," "Old Men" or? Feb 25, 2008
They deserved to win for 1996's "Fargo," but lost to Anthony Minghella and his vastly inferior "The English Patient." But this year, even if their film fails to nab the big prize, they are pretty much guaranteed a win in this category. As two of the most respected auteurs working in Hollywood, the Coens have been cranking out great, original films for decades, and this will be seen as a career achievement even for those who weren't entirely sold on the film itself. (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
Coens, Bardem, Cotillard Win Oscars Feb 25, 2008
Previous original-screenplay winners for 1996's "Fargo," the Coens came in as the best-picture and directing favorites for "No Country.". The Coens missed out on a chance to make Oscar history four wins for a single film when they lost the editing prize, for which they were nominated under the pseudonym Roderick Jaynes. (Time.com)
Who Will It Be? Feb 24, 2008
(They won an original screenplay Oscar for "Fargo" 11 years ago. . (Fox News)
Many vying for Oscar glory Feb 24, 2008
Your Connection to the. Web Search powered by YAHOO. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Will the Oscar go to "Blood," "Old Men" or? Feb 24, 2008
They deserved to win for 1996's "Fargo," but lost to Anthony Minghella and his vastly inferior "The English Patient." But this year, even if their film fails to nab the big prize, they are pretty much guaranteed a win in this category. As two of the most respected auteurs working in Hollywood, the Coens have been cranking out great, original films for decades, and this will be seen as a career achievement even for those who weren't entirely sold on the film itself. (Lodi News Sentinel, CA)
Amid the darkness, gems shine bright Feb 23, 2008
Masterful work from the Coen brothers, elevating the thriller genre as Martin Scorsese did with The Departed did last year, could win them their first directing Oscar in a career that has included gems such as Barton Fink, Fargo and The Big Lebowski. But an upset is definitely possible given the wonderful inventiveness of Julian Schnabel's The Diving Bell And The Butterfly, which takes the viewer inside the mind of a paralysed man, and the critical support for Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
