Kirk (nkl) wrote, @ 2009-02-03 23:25:00

Chronicles of Netflix: January
Three movies, which will probably be typical. We really only have time to watch movies at home on weekends, or holidays. The choosing of titles is split evenly, and we're trying for variety, between old and new, different genres, etc. So let's get it started...

The Big Lebowski
Previously seen by Mary-Jane, unseen by me. (I know, I know.)
I've long had mixed feelings about the Coens. Their work ranges from movies I love (Blood Simple and Fargo), to movies that are almost great (Raising Arizona and No Country for Old Men), to movies I actively dislike (Barton Fink and Miller's Crossing). I'd put The Big Lebowski in the almost great category. It's wildly uneven, but the parts that are funny are really funny. Jeff Bridges is predictably great, he always is, and it gives John Goodman probably the best role he ever had (outside of Roseanne). Though I'm not quite sure what the point of Sam Elliott is, other than, it's always good to see him.

Hud
Previously seen by me, unseen by Mary-Jane.
One of the three essential Paul Newman roles. He plays an absolute shit heel, who underneath it all...is an absolute shit heel. Set in small town Texas, Hud Bannon is hated by his father, revered by his newphew, and lusts after the family cook (which is mutual, until he fucks it up), while he drinks, screws, and aimlessly drifts through his life. Great sexual tension between Newman and Patricia Neal, who was never better. The newphew is played by Brandon De Wilde, the kid from Shane. De Wilde died in a car accident in 1972. He was thirty.

Le Petit Lieutenant
A French police drama about a rookie detective. This is a good movie, not outstanding, and mainly recommended for the performance of Nathalie Baye, one of the luminous French actresses of the generation that produced Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve, Stephane Audran, Isabelle Adjani, etc. Baye plays the ranking detective who mentors the young lieutenant. She's a recovering alcoholic, not embittered but somewhat worn down by years and years of police work, jaded but not without warmth. (In other words, a role an American actress of similar age could only get on cable TV.) The film ends with an extended, wordless closeup of her face, and the play of emotions is breathtaking.

	jupe 2009-02-04 14:19 (link)
	The Big Lebowski is the best movie that there has ever been. My opinion is also fact. (Reply to this) (Thread)