The Big Lebowski

The Coen Brothers "The Big Lebowski" is a movie of three friends trying to unravel a plot that is too complex and ratherly unimportant. It is the path along the way of the mystery that makes this movie the cult movie it has become. "The Dude", or Jeff Leboski, becomes intertwined in a kidnapping and ransom due to his same name of another more wealthy Jeff Lebowski. Walter Sobchak is Jeff's best friend, as well as his bowling teammate. He never chooses to live down his pride he has as being a Vietnam War Vet, as is shown in this clip of Walter burying his friend Donny's ashes. Donny is Walter and The Dudes' bowling partner. He is the main reason for Walter's hot temper which provides many fascinating meanlingness arguments - usually ending with "Shut the F*** up, Donny!".

Roger Ebert tends to believe Fargo was a better movie than The Big Lebowski. I agree that Fargo contained a far more substanial plot, but that doesn't define the best movie for me. Similar to Raising Arizona, The Big Lebowski has many unique characters that fascinate me. There is a similarity between H.I. in Raising Arizona and The Dude in The Big Leboski in that they are both outcasts in society. They have a small snitch group of friends that they rely on. Also, The Big Lebowski has one way out there character, Jesus Quintana, a bowler that The Dude's bowling team competes against. Don't mess with Jesus Quintana. The other amazing thing for me about The Lebowski is the strange dialogue. A movie that unneccesarily uses the "F" word 281 times, and uses the word "dude" more than the movie "Dude, where's my car" - is a movie to remember.

Furthermore, I noticed two distinct aspects of Coen Brothers movies that continued in The Big Lebowski. One, was the importance of setting. As Fargo, Raising Arizona, and No Country For Old Men have all shown, setting is important to these guys. In The Big Lebowski, you notice the effect of it taking place in California. It's a Hollywood type story with a Hollywood type setting. Second, is the importance of each character having a distinct voice. For example, in No Country For Old Men Anton Chigurh set the tone with the "Don't F*** with me" attitude. In the Big Lewbowski, The Dude is the laid back hippie, Walter is the tough-guy Vietnam Vet, while Donny is in his own world. This variety keeps each character unique and interesting.

If I were "The Dude" in reference to this movie, well then, the dude abides!

The Coen Brothers

The Coen brothers were my favorite directors thus far based on the three films we watched: Raising Arizona, Fargo, and No Country For Old Men. Each of the movies had several similarities, but yet individually were still very unique. The movies contained a plot based on a smaller crime evolving into much more chaos. Raising Arizona was the most light-hearted of the three films. I enjoyed that "Big Lewboski" type humor, and the chase scene all through town is one of my all time favorites. Fargo was a stepping stone from Raising Arizona's light heartedness, but still did not reach No Country For Old Men. The seriousness of the plot in Fargo intertwined well with the exaggerated Minnesota accents for a fun, but still intense movie. You Betcha it was a good movie! Last, No Country For Old Men was my favorite of the three, and one of my all time favorites. Infact, I already own it and have watched it again. I found it even more in depth and amazing the second time around. You can't catch all the suttleties the Coen Brother's have in this film until you have scene it more than once. I would recommend to all to buy this film!

Kurosawa

After watching Stray Dog, Yojimbo, and Ran, I can pretty easily say I am not the biggest Kurosawa fan out there. That is not to say I don't appreciate some of the themes his movies possess - such as good vs evil, but that I had trouble staying captivated to a movie that was all in subtitles. I need to be in tune with a movie, but without the dialogue I couldn't understand many of the suttleties of the Kurosawa movies. Stray Dog was my most liked movie of the three. I think it was because it had a plot I could most keep up with. I liked the long black market scene and I also understand why it was over 8 minutes long. He needed the viewer to see the reality of the hardship the black market possessed. Also, I like the detective movies. In Ran, the basic plot is finding the man who took the detectives gun. The end scene is kind of awkward when they are fighting and then moments later laying next to each other sobbing. Though, you can appreciate that the theif finally realizes the severity to his crime, and what his future will now hold for him. In summary, I wouldn't call myself the biggest Kurosawa fan, but I can understand those who do.

The Da Vinci Code

Ron Howard. Tom Hanks. Again. This movie was just as good as Apollo 13 as Howard and Hanks teamed up again. Despite being a very well done movie, I still had some disappoints that stemmed from having previously read the book. The book, The Da Vinci Code, is my favorite book of all time. Carrying that status into a movie watching is a tough task to hold up to. At first I doubted Tom Hanks being able to play the role of Dr. Robert Langdon, most likely because I had built up Robert Langdon so much in my head, but as the movie went on Hanks grew on me. He was witty and quick on his feet as I had pictured Langdon. The plot was what left me irritated. The book was so perfect and so detailed, yet the movie left out huge gaps. I feel like for the majority of people who just watched the movie missed out on what was actually suppose to happen. I understand Ron Howard had to turn a 700 page book into a 2 hour movie so naturally things would be left out, but still I hoped for me. All in all, a very good movie - but read the book first!

The Alfred Hitchcock

I always had heard the name Alfred Hitchcock, but didn't know much who he was, nor what type of movies he had produced - with the exception of Birds. Of the three movies we watched in class, I found Rear Window and Vertigo to be most entertaining, while 39 steps was a little lackluster for me. The thing I liked about Hitchcock the most was that he assumed the audience was capable of making connections and figuring things out for themselves. In Rear Window, we were expected to understand the relationships amongst the neighbors without it being clearly stated. I always enjoy a movie that gets me thinking, in comparison with sitting there like a vegetable. The thing that was enjoyable about Vertigo was the very abnormal plot that was unrealistic, but at the same time possibly feasible? 39 Steps I found to be fairly bland. Overall, I was a satisfied Alfred Hitchcock viewer. I might rent one of his movies - but let's not get carried away just yet.

Cinderella Man

The second movie directed by Ron Howard I watched was Cinderella Man. Similar to Apollo 13, a big name actor played the leading role - Russell Crowe. The film was inspired by a true story, as was Apollo 13, about an underdog who becomes a Heavyweight Boxing Champion. James Broddock works many low paying jobs during the Depression of the 1930s in order to support is family. Though, he still dreams of a return to boxing and making it big. When a boxer cancels at the last second, Broddock gets his chance to return to the ring. He makes the most of it with a third round knock out. From there he claimed the ladders until he was able to fight Max Baer for the Heavyweight Championship. Ron Howard depicts Max Bear as a brutal and inapprioate fighter who has killed 2 men. In reality, Max Baer was said to be a nice fellow or often cracked jokes. Though, I do understand why Ron Howard did this. The film had a true sense of James Broddock, the underdog, versus Max Baer, the brutal killer. It makes viewers rally around Broddock. Nonetheless, the movie was very inspiring and motivating. Ron Howard is 2/2 on masterpieces in my book. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors because his unique style of bringing historical events to the big screen.

Cinderella Man Clip

Apollo 13: Better Late Than Never?

The first film I watched of Ron Howard's was Apollo 13. It was the first time I had seen this movie, and I was not disappointed at all. The movie was suspenseful and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I was surprised at how many things went wrong for the Jim Lovell and the crew of Apollo 13. Just as one problem was solved, the next seemed to occur. Two days after the launch, Apollo 13 suffered an explosion in the oxygen tank. I like how Ron Howard previewed this happening in a dream that Jim Lovell's wife had earlier in the movie. My favorite part of the movie was the plan the control center used to get the crew home safely. Because the shuttle didn't have enough fuel to get back to Earth after the explosion, they used the moon as a slingshot to send the shuttle back to Earth. Apollo 13 wrapped around it just at the right speed and time that propelled it back towards Earth. Also, I thought Tom Hanks was amazing playing the lead roll of Jim Lovell. Kathleen Quinlan was a very believable concerned wife of Jim Lovell, and Ed Harris was outstanding as the man in charge of the control center. I think Ron Howard does a great job showing the courage and bravery of Apollo 13 in what could have been a tragic event for those involved. He intertwines the realism of history to the cinematic adventure to make a great movie. I am excited for Cinderella Man, now!