The Coen Brothers

When you cast Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi in the starring roles of a film, odds are you got a classic on your hands. The Coen Brothers do an exceptional job on every aspect of this picture, from the direction, to the fantastic script, to the soundtrack. Aside from the main cast delivering great performances, the casting of Sam Elliott as "The Stranger" was truly a brilliant choice. A modern classic...

A brilliant twist on The Odyssey with a fantastic soundtrack. The Coen Brothers have been making great pictures for years, and it surely doesn't end with this one. The soundtrack is what shines the brightest here. With the bluegrass blaring, you can't help but be sucked straight into the story. This is a memorable picture...

A fantastic film with some unique visions and aspects of love. Some segments definitely worked better than others, while many were extraordinary and a few just fell flat. Below is seperate reviews for each segment...

Montmartre - Bruno Podalydes: (Opening Segment) A decent way to start off the film, but seems to eventually seems to get overshadowed by some superior shorts...

Quais de Seine - Gurinder Chadha: (Group of guys/Muslim Girl) Not a bad part, but a forgettable one. Nothing makes this stand out, but it succeeds in keeping the point of the film afloat...

Le Marais - Gus Van Sant: (Boys in Print Shop) Does a good job at using the language barrier to carry the plot. Although, it suffers from bland camerawork. Fairly good acting though....

Tuileries - The Coen Brothers: (Steve Buscemi/Train Station) One of my favorite segments. Steve Buscemi is brilliant and doesn't even say one word of dialogue. The Coen's are amazing...

Loin du 16eme - Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas: One of the time filler pieces. I understood what they were trying to say, but I just thought it was nothing special and doesn't stand out in this sea of films...

Porte de Choisy - Christopher Doyle: (Asian Hair Salon) One the most disappointing segments. I loved Chistopher Doyle's previous work on films like 'Ying xiong' and 'Gaau ji', but this was my least favorite part of the film.

Bastille - Isabel Coixet: (Cheating Husband/Red Coat) Any short would seem great after the disappointment which preceded it, but 'Bastille' works well because it entertains and is one of the shorts that feels like real life. A very good piece...

Place des Victoires - Nobuhiro Suwa: (Grieving Mother/ Cowboy) One segement I just didn't care for. I know many others probably got more out of it, but thhis film just faded to the background for me. Although I must say, even for his short appearance, Willem Dafoe was brilliant...

Tour Eiffel - Sylvain Chomet: (The Mimes) An astounding picture. This is one of my top three segements. Sylvain Chomet is unique and delivers a stand out short film with definitive style...

Parc Monceau - Alfonso Cuaron:
(Nick Nolte) I was ecstatic that someone actually decided to film their short with one tracking shot, and who better to do it than Alfonso Cuaron. This is considered to be in the better half of the film...

Quartier des Enfants Rouges - Vincenzo Natali: (Maggie Gyllenhaal) Another piece that others probably got something from, but just it just fell flat for me. It carried the theme well, but it didn't try to be anything more. Just like a few others, it just fades away...

Place des Fetes - Oliver Schmitz:
(The Black Guitarist/Paramedic) One of the most touching and emotional vignettes of the group. This one worked well...

Pigalle - Richard LaGravenese: (Bob Hoskins/failing marriage) I appreciated this portion very much. The performances were fantastic and it contained some great dialogue...

Quartier de la Madeleine - Vincenzo Natali: (The Vampire Scene) This segment threw some people off but I loved most of this piece. Very stylized as compared to most of the others and a truly amazing work of art. My only complaint is the ending...

Pere-Lachaise - Wes Craven:
(Oscar Wilde/ Cemetery) Another vignette that carries the theme well. It isn't my favorite piece, but it has great perfomances and some good dialogue. I highly preferred the stylized segments, which I was hoping for more of from Wes Craven...

Faubourg Saint-Denis - Tom Tykwer: (Blind Man/ Natalie Portman) A fantastic piece. 'Faubourg Saint-Denis' contained some gorgeous cinematography and wonderful performances. This short works very well in this film, but I would've showed it earllier in the picture...

Quartier Latin - Frederic Auburtin & Gerard Depardieu: (Divorce/Dinner scene) Another one of my favorite vignettes. The dialogue was flawlessly performed by Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara, who may have given the best perfomance in the entire film. It felt real, the chemistry between the actors seemed nature and not force. I wish some of the other shorts reached this level...

14eme Arrondissement - Alexander Payne: (Lone woman in Paris/ Final Piece) Saving the best for last. Alexander Payne shows off his amazing ability to film characters that feel real. This is the short that beautifully brings the entire picture together. There's no doubt that this was the best of the lot...

'No Country for Old Men' is an awe-inspiring motion picture, and represents filmmaking at it's absolute finest. Oscar winner, Javier Bardem delivers a flawless performance as the ruthless Anton Chigurh, which has to be one the greatest movie villians ever put on screen, and the rest of the cast is terrific as well. 'No Country for Old Men' has all of the ingredients of a masterpiece, and I consider it to be the Coen brother's crowning achievement. A truly unforgettable film...