The Big Lebowski (1998)

The Dude Abides

Jeff 'The Dude' Lebowski  is a professional slacker and amateur bowler who spends his days drinking White Russians dressed in a robe and plastic sandals. Two thugs break into his apartment and beat him up to get his money. They soon realize they got the wrong Jeffrey Lebowski. His Dudeness then decides to meet this millionaire Lebowski to get compensation for his damaged rug that was peed on during the incident. After the Big Lebowski's trophy wife is kidnapped, The Dude is in charge of delivering the ransom to get her back. The Big Lebowski marks a high point in The Coen brothers' career. They created an icon of the 90s with The Dude. He became a god-like figure for many. A guy adored by a generation thanks to his unique philosophy and style. I don't think The Dude could have been interpreted by a better actor than Jeff Bridges. He rocks the laidback attitude with a disconcerting comfort. Not to mention that his hair is so sleek, I'm hypnotized by it. The Bridges/Goodman/Buscemi trio is hilarious and the additional characters portrayed by talented actors like Julianne Moore, or Philip Seymour Hoffman are the cherries on top of this psychedelic cake. The Big Lebowski is one quotable masterpiece punctuated with bizarre dreamy scenes specific to the Coen bros. I don't know what they are on when they write their screenplays but I sure want some. The soundtrack, featuring Bob Dylan and other rock gems, partners with the weird screenplay to make you feel high as a kite. The plot suddenly becomes secondary and my main pleasure is to watch Jeff Bridges evolve in The Dude's colorful pants side by side with the wrathful veteran mastered by John Goodman. The characters and situations crack me up because they're all so incredible. The story is narrated by a cowboy, the villains are German nihilists, and John Turturro, who appears only for a few seconds on screen, is a bowler/sex-offender named Jesus. If that isn't random brilliance, I don't know what is.

1 reason to watch: indulge in enjoying TBL dude-style with a guilt-free White Russian (or 9)

Barton Fink (1991)

Welcome to Hell-ywood

It is fair to say that the Coen brothers are unusual but good directors who cultivate their own style. A visually-rich style with a generous dosage of weirdness. But do their movies make sense? Not entirely. They  do make sense until about half of the movie. Then hell breaks loose. And it soon becomes a mission for me to understand the how and the why when comes the end credits roll. Barton Fink is no exception. Fink is a New-York playwright in the 40s. His play being such a success, he is asked to move to Hollywood to write a screenplay for a wrestling picture. He soon faces writer's block with a hint of solitude. But he meets Charlie who is not really who he pretends to be. The acting part is good: John Turturro loses it as the perfectionist and lonely writer and John Goodman, the so-called insurance salesman, is deliciously scary. I like the imaginative angles and the use of silence and background noises that make you feel claustrophobic and uneasy. There is no problem whatsoever about the cinematography and the artistic side. It is just the storytelling that is confusing. The end raises more questions than it answers. Despite my mixed feelings about this Joel Coen movie, I really liked his message on the necessity of pain to create and the expat loneliness. Everyone is familiar with the terrible writer's block and the pressure to create. You can easily relate to Barton when your inspiration fades away. Barton Fink is another tale about manipulation and disrespect made in Hollywood. A topic I'm never sick of talking about. 

1 reason to watch it: the hallucinatory tracking shots

Argo (2012)

How Sci-Fi Attempted to Save 6 American Fugitives in 1979 Iran

Argo is based on the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian mission to extract 6 American diplomatic fugitives out of revolutionary Iran. The CIA-agent Tony Mendez comes up with a crazy Hollywood-production cover to do the deed. I'd like to emphasize the fact that it is 'based on' this historical fact. Despite Argo's success and spectacular production/direction, the movie has been criticized for inaccuracies. People tend to forget that a movie is still a work of fiction even if based on History. As a director, it is obviously hard to stick to the factual truth without taking sides. Even if you tell a pretty objective story, you can never perfectly underscore each detail of what really happened. Otherwise, historical feature-films would be 10-hour long. Considering all of the above, I would put Ben Affleck on my personal long list of majestic directors. He really did surprise me in a good way. I am no History teacher so I have no idea how wrong or right he was about the facts. I'm just a movie-lover. In my life-long experience of enjoying big-screen entertainment, I believe that if what you watch is moving, funny and suspenseful, then the movie crew's job is done. You obviously don't choose such a topic randomly. Affleck has a message to state. I think he succeeded in staying away from the usual US-Greatness too often displayed in Hollywood. Proof is that nobody in CIA supports Tony Mendez' pitch at first. The archive footage used in the film is well-inset. It's an undoubted ancknowledgment and appreciation of Canada's role in the mission. And what a cast! Clea DuVall, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Rory Cochrane... It's really worth every penny. Despite the war context, Argo is still impressively funny. It's more of a spy movie than a war movie. Which, in my opinion, is much better. The depiction of the movie industry and the US-government is accurate and sincere. Ben Affleck does not soft-soap anyone in his feature-film.

1 reason to watch: This line -> "Argo fuck yourself!"