O Brother, Where Art Thou?

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

Directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

Based on the epic poem, "The Odyssey" by Homer

Stars: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, Holly Hunter, Charles Durning, Michael Badalucco, Chris Thomas King and John Goodman

It has been a couple of years since I last saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? I never heard of the movie until I saw that soundtrack of the movie winning beaucoup amounts of Grammy that next year. Seeing the movie at the time, the music is the probably the best part of the movie. The movie was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography. That has to say something, right?

Picture it, Mississippi 1937. A chain gang. Running through a vast field. Ulysses Everett McGill (Clooney), Delmar O'Donnell (Nelson) and Pete Hogwallop (Turturro) embark on a grand journey to find hidden treasure that Everett hid for an epic robbery. On their journey, the trio meets a blind seer that tells them that they would find a different kind of treasure. Will it be national stardom as they record "A Man of Constant Sorrow" as the Soggy Bottom Boys? Changing the tide of a gubernatorial race? Being infamous for hanging with notorious gangster "Babyface" Nelson (Badalucco).

As I stated before, the music of the film is the best thing about the movie. I don't like listen to Southern bluesy country music. I was so into it. You know, my feelings about the Coens. Their filmography is sketchy. It seems like that they have no success with their dramas then their comedies. This is one of the comedies I liked more their other ones.

My Rating

Three Kings

Three Kings (1999)

Directed by David O. Russell

Story by John Ridley

Screenplay by David O. Russell

Stars: George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Ice Cube, Spike Jonze, Cliff Curtis, Saïd Taghmaoui, Nora Dunn, Jamie Kennedy, Judy Greer, Holt McCallany and Mykelti Williamson

Three Kings is the kind of movie that virtually everyone in the world has seen except for me, because that's the way I was programmed. I always wanted to see it. This is as good of time as any to watch it. I excepted the movie would be on thing and ended up other, which left me confused.

After the first Iraqi War in 1991, a platoon is interrogating a bunch of POWs when it was discovered that one of the prisoners is carrying a piece of paper between his ass cheeks by Conrad Vig (Jonze). Removing the paper and inspecting it, it turns out to be a treasure to find gold bouillon that Iraqi forces stole from Kuwait in the conflict. Troy Barlow (Wahlberg) and Cheif Elgin (Cube) were deciphering the map when Speical Forces Major Archie Gates (Clooney) takes over everything. He devises a plan to recover the missing bouillion and keep a couple of them for themselves. On their way to the bunker, the four men realize that some civilians need their help.

I was very psyched to see this film. I thought that the movie would be a straight up drama, but it turned to be a comedy. Not like funny "haha" comedy. It caught me completely off guard. It was confusing that a film about a non-war would have scenes of violence would then have a conversation about Michael Jackson during a torture scene.

The tone of movie was the biggest issue that I had with the movie. It was trying to take itself seriously, but then it was try to have a jokey moment that comes out of nowhere. I think the "comedy" aspects of the film were not necessary. If the movie was a straight up drama, I would have like the movie more. Some instances in the movie would have had a greater impact on me if that was the case.

My Rating