Coen Brothers Fan Forum--I need you to fix my cauble.

[FunBobbyMucha]

I haven't gotten to see "The Ladykillers" yet. I'm a long-time Coenite, and would rank their works as follows:

1. Millers Crossing
2. Lebowski
3. Arizona/Hudsucker
4. Fargo/Blood Simple/Barton Fink/O Brother

Didn't really care for Man Who Wasn't There (give it a 5 by anyone else's standard, a 3 by Coen standards), and haven't seen Intolerable Cruelty--is it any good? Where does Ladykillers fit in to that list?

Also, is anyone worried about their trajectory over the last couple years (I ask because I really thought MWWT fell flat, and the very fact that they would DO Intol. Cruelty seemed out-of-character for them)?

[jdsmith]

1. What is your scale?

Are the ones you rank "4" best? or worst?

[FunBobbyMucha]

2. 1 is best, 4 is good but not best.

Only MWWT is a genuine "dislike." MC just happens to be my fave Coen, and in fact my fave film, period. The others ranked are all beloved by me, I was just trying to demonstrate which of their films I like the best and how I would rank them.

[jdsmith]

3. Ladykillers = 4 then

a neo-formalist exercise, faculty brats playing games with texts.

(Which I, on the other hand, rank pretty high.)

[Rowdyboy]

4. I was an extra in O'Brother so it must be my favorite....

But in reality, I really like most all their work. MWWT was okay, but not up to their usual standards.

[On the Road]

5. I Think Intolerable Cruelty is Their Best

at least among the ones I've seen. It has this cat-and-mouse quality, with many twists and turns, and a wonderful electricity between Zeta Jones and Clooney.

[FunBobbyMucha]

6. Really?

To each his own, but that seems pretty amazing. Which films have you seen?

[On the Road]

7. I've Seen

Fargo
Raising Arizona
O Brother Where Art Thou
and one other, an early one

In other words, the big ticket ones, but not the whole range.

I thought all of them were great. Intolerable Cruelty just really struck me. What I thought was the best was that the sexual tension between Clooney and Zeta Jones coexisted with the financial and legal competition. They were trying to outsmart and ruin each other even as they could barely keep their hands off each other. That was magic. All the Coen brothers' movies are a bit cartoon-like, but Intolerable Cruelty focused on this deep, twisting, and complex relationship.

Reviews were OK but mixed. You might be disappointed. JMHO.