The Five-Movies Test or: Which Director Has Had the Best Stretch of Consecutive Feature-Length Films in English?

Steven Hyden introduced his five-albums test more than a decade ago as a third way to judge a band, short of its popularity or its critical acclaim. While this one is not meant to stand on its own—for example, he’s not sure that either Bob Dylan nor the Rolling Stones had made five great albums… Read More The Five-Movies Test or: Which Director Has Had the Best Stretch of Consecutive Feature-Length Films in English?

May 5, 2022May 6, 2022 speakerformediocrities1 Comment

Top 100 Movies of the Decade (2010-2019) — 2018, Part 2

To see the entire list of my 100 top movies of last decade, or to find the landing page for the other years in this series, click here. To read the first half of this post, click here. 71) BlacKkKlansman, directed by Spike Lee There are not many scenes that are quite as funny… Read More Top 100 Movies of the Decade (2010-2019) — 2018, Part 2

June 9, 2020February 3, 2021 speakerformediocrities2 Comments

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich Watching Hail, Caesar! with the knowledge that the Coens’ next movie is The Ballad of Buster Scruggs makes Caesar look better, a kind of “learning to walk before you can run” aspect. In Buster Scruggs, which is pure anthology, there is no central character to whom everyone is tied, functioning… Read More Hail, Caesar! (2016)

May 4, 2020May 31, 2020 speakerformediocritiesLeave a comment

No Country for Old Men (2007)

Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones There’s a compulsion to see No Country as a sort of relentlessly nihilistic story, and I smell what those people are stepping in. There is an awful lot of collateral damage in this picture, well beyond the people who enter a dangerous line of… Read More No Country for Old Men (2007)

February 26, 2020 speakerformediocrities2 Comments

Anglophone Director Championship Belt, 1918-2018

One of the Grantland legacies I’m fond of, although I’m sure the idea didn’t start there, is the championship belt (RIP Grantland, long live Barnwell and Hyden). The purpose is to go year by year and create a list of who’s at the top of some field, which is a deceptively simple task, and one… Read More Anglophone Director Championship Belt, 1918-2018

January 23, 2019June 11, 2019 speakerformediocrities3 Comments

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Zoe Kazan, Tom Waits, Tim Blake Nelson If the six segments of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs are meant to cohere, then it’s as six distinct pieces of the various types of the western genre. It hits on virtually all of them from gunmen to highwaymen, wagon trails (why… Read More The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

December 18, 2018 speakerformediocrities1 Comment

Better than the Oscars: 10-6

The following is from my series of Oscar Best Picture rankings, as well as my strongly worded suggestions for what should have won from among the nominees. For an introduction to the project, click here. For a way to vote on some Oscar-related ideas, click here. If I’ve written a review on any of the… Read More Better than the Oscars: 10-6

July 18, 2018 speakerformediocrities2 Comments

Better than the Oscars: 20-16

July 15, 2018July 15, 2018 speakerformediocrities1 Comment

100 Exceptional American Movies in 10 Genres: Period, 10-6

You can read up on the basis for this series here, and also find links to other posts in the series. Movies I’ve reviewed on this site have a link in the title which you can follow to read my full review. 10) L.A. Confidential (1997), directed by Curtis Hanson Other movies in this series are going… Read More 100 Exceptional American Movies in 10 Genres: Period, 10-6

October 14, 2017 speakerformediocrities1 Comment

Fargo (1996)

Dir. Joel Coen. Starring William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi I think it can be easily forgotten that in 1996, Fargo must have burst onto screens like a sudden cold front. The Coens had made five movies – Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, and The Hudsucker Proxy – which are regarded well now… Read More Fargo (1996)

July 11, 2017July 12, 2017 speakerformediocrities1 Comment

Seeing Things Secondhand

Tag: Ethan Coen