Just off the top of my head...

Miller's Crossing, Rushmore, The Truman Show, Amistad, 28 Days Later, A History of Violence, Letters from Iwo Jima, Grave of the Fireflies, almost anything Hayao Miyazaki has done with animation.

I'd seen everything the Coen's had put out when I saw Fargo. It started with the 'cool teacher' in HS [a point where I was presently a mere couple of years past living in a TV-less household] raving about Raising Arizona, and a couple years later having a spirited 'dscussion' after our Church youth group [basically the kids I'd grown up with] had gotten together for a movie night and watched [among other things] Barton Fink. We were split down the middle between 'whatta load of crap' and 'are you kidding that was awesome' and you can guess where I fell.

And the thing that puts Fargo at the top is the staying power of it's 'notes.' Some things strike you rigtht over the head in one viewing, then become dated. I have to admit, Pulp Fiction at times fall in that category. There are some times that I literally CAN'T STAND the opening dialog between Jules and Vince, most notably when Sam Jackson fails to pull off his 'delighted bemusement' at the concept of a Royale with Cheese, then Vince plows ahead with his breathless recounting of the rules of drug possession 'you can own it, but you can't sell it, you can buy it, but you can't . . . .' I sometimes picture the line reading as done by Jackie Mason. But I don't have those feelings ever about The Godfather. No matter how many times I see Don Vito yell 'you can act LIKE A MAN!!!' or Apoc Now, no matter how many times I hear Duvall opine on the scent of Napalm in the morning. And I reliably get the same 'notes' from repeated viewings of Fargo. And they're such wildly varying notes. Like I said, rediculous, wacky, embarassing, embarassed, macabre, violent, tense and on and on, right down to the 'boring' center of the interactions between Margie and her husband.

And as 'reeruned' as the scene with the Asian guy was, it's still, for me, fascinating to ruminate on the desperate unhappiness of a middle-aged single man of ethnicity in a land such as created by the Coens in Fargo that would drive one to such an empassioned bid. That someone of such apparent nerdy blandness would/could prove so 'exotic' and 'other' in such an amalgated place that any woman who paid him any attention would be viewed as such a savior.

I can't argue with anything you've written. Much of what you've mentioned is pretty universal for their work, which is why I'm a huge fan. I think Fargo is one of their more mainstream films, and I tend to gravitate more toward their quirkier fare, totally based on personal preference.

Gettysburg. Pretty epic movie.

enemy at the gates must be a jude law curse

Great write up. Well said.

Fargo is probably my favorite flick of theirs...but O Brother Where art thou or No Country might be close....either way, they all have their merits.

Oh, and Tarantino films never get old for me. Im an unabashed lover of his films. Probably because i really "get" his B movie sensibility. Alot of people seem to want him to make something deeper and meaningful, but he is what he is and he does it better than anyone.

So having said that, Death Proof and Jackie Brown could go in the no respect category. :)

Guilty Pleasure....EuroTrip
This isn't where I parked my car.

Scootty doesn't know video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vyj1C8ogtE

Scotty doesn't know that Fiona and me
Do it in my van every Sunday.
She tells him she's in church but she doesn't go
Still she's on her knees and Scotty doesn't know!

Oh Scotty doesn't know!
So Don't Tell Scotty!
Scotty doesn't know!
Scotty doesn't know!
So Don't Tell Scotty!

Fiona says she's out shopping,
But she's under me and I'm not stopping...

Because Scotty doesn't know!
Scotty doesn't know! (X3)
So don't tell Scotty!
Scotty doesn't know!

Don't tell Scotty!

I can't believe he's so trusting,
While I'm right behind you thrusting.
Fiona's got him on the phone,
And she's trying not to moan.
It's a three-way call and he knows nothing!

Scotty doesn't know!(X3)
So don't tell Scotty!
Scotty doesn't know!(X3)</EMBED>

I thought Yes Man was pretty good. I don't hear it ever talked about.

Fanboys

Discussions about movies around here are far too intellectual for me.

I don't give a rat's ass about who the director is, or cinematography, if they used some new fangled equipment, or any of that bullshit.

If the story is a good one, that's all I need to know.

All the rest of that is just periphery intellectual shit.

That being said, a movie I really enjoyed, that was just fun and had me laughing that I have never heard, or seen, anyone talk about ever is "Undercover Blues".

Just a good, funny movie.

George Armitage's direction is marked by a simple, precise attention to details of the Miami scene. Tak Fujimoto's cinematography catches the detail and color just as simply and precisely, don't you think?

I watched Outside Providence tonight, thanks to this thread.

I really liked it. (And the soundtrack was great.)

I didn't remember that, but it wouldn't surprise me.

But 10 years later I don't hear it mentioned as a great movie, and I have to say that it's one of my top ten movies of all time. It's got a completely unique plot, great cinematography, near-perfect casting (Don Knotts is my only wince), and I love how the color starts appearing. This movie is one of the few movies out there where you can't point to it and say, "It's just YYY movie with a different setting."

Why in the hell would anybody like Pineapple Express?

According to RT 68% of the critics did. :shrug: