TRUE GRIT

Last night David and I played chaperone to his little brother, Daniel and his date to dinner at Olive Garden and his high school Winter Formal at the Queen Mary (photos pending), and between dropping them off and picking them up at the end of the night we went to the Marina Pacifica to see True Grit.


I honestly cannot say enough wonderful things about this film. As much as I was looking forward to seeing it and knowing that it was going to be awesome, it exceeded my expectations. I am definitely a fan of The Coen Brothers, and although I haven't seen every single one of their films (I know, for shame), I still plan to, and honestly, some of my favorite films in general have been directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.


Here are a list of my favorite films they have made together, in a sort of particular order... buuuut not really. I count the first 4 on the same level of favoritism.

True Grit
No joke, this film blew my mind. It is nearly flawless and surprisingly hilarious. Though obviously not a comedy, it had the perfect amount of comedic relief. I shouldn't have been so surprised at the level of humor in it since pretty much all of the films on the rest of my little list possess the same quality. The acting was superb. 
~Jeff Bridges: Obviously. He can do no wrong in my eyes. Perfection. 
~Matt Damon: I'm not a huge fan of his body of work. I don't care for all of his choices in films/characters, but there are definitely a few out there that I really love. His portrayal in True Grit just might be the best and is definitely my favorite.
~Josh Brolin: His part could have been no more than 15-20 minutes in this film, but exceedingly important and executed incredibly well. 
~Hailee Steinfeld: This newcomer is going to be around for a long time. She nailed it. I was so impressed with her performance.



The Big Lebowski
The dude abides. Seriously, I don't know one person who has seen this film and not absolutely loved it. It's a cult classic. 
~Jeff Bridges: Do I even need to go into it? THE DUDE ABIDES.
~John Goodman: By far his best role, in my opinion.
~Steve Buscemi & Philip Seymour Hoffman: Two more of my favorites who are both incredibly underrated. I have never seen a thing these two have been in that I haven't loved (at least their performance).
~John Turturro: Hilarious. 



Fargo
Oh Fargo, Fargo, Fargo. I can never watch you too many times. The second Coen Brothers film I ever saw and it was hook, line and sinker for me. You had me at hello.
~William H. Macy: No one else could have done it better. Totally flawless. I can never get the image of him beating the ice on his windshield in utter frustration and rage out of my head. Such a fearless performance.
~Steve Buscemi: I'll say it again, one of the most underrated actors of our time. He is the epitome of what a character actor should be. This is one of my favorite of his performances.
~Frances McDormand: The dialect and the humor just kill me. Out of all the work I've ever seen of hers, this is by far my favorite of her roles and in my opinion, her best.



No Country for Old Men
Who doesn't love this film? After it's release, my friend Dominic and my mom's boyfriend Jeff used the word "Friendo" on a regular basis. That scene in the gas station convenient store with the coin toss? Utter perfection. 
~Tommy Lee Jones: I'll be honest, he's not one of my favorites, but this was his role. I don't know if it was written with him in mind, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were. 
~Javier Bardem: Are you kidding me? The role that launched a career, and he still hasn't outdone himself. Who knows if he ever will since his performance just blows your mind.
~Josh Brolin: Dude's just a killer actor. Loved him in this.
~Woody Harrelson: This has got to be my favorite of his performances. I'm a fan.
~Kelly Macdonald: I just love her. She is flawless. I love that no matter what I've seen her in, there's this deep rooted sense of honesty and conviction. It doesn't hurt that she is as cute as a button. This Scottish cutie can play a mean Southern innocent. 



O Brother, Where Art Thou?
I'll be honest, I've tried watching this film twice and both times I've broken my cardinal movie watching rule and I miss the very end. It's ridiculous and I can't believe that after all this time I still haven't finished it, but from what I have seen (which really is most of it), I loved it. 
I won't go into the acting since I haven't finished it.



Raising Arizona 
I haven't seen this movie in yeeeaaarrs, but it was the first Coen Brothers film I ever saw and I don't know anyone who has seen it that hasn't said great things about it.