No Country for Old Men is the 2007 Western film that earned the Coen Brothers their first Best Picture win at the Academy Awards. I missed the film during it’s initial theatrical run. It’s not the only 2007 film that I missed in theaters. I would later watch the film on DVD after renting through Netflix. However, this did not come until December 2009. A lot of it goes back to scheduling conflicts and trying…
"No Country for Old Men: The Oscar-Winning Best Picture of 2007"Tag: Stephen Root
George Clooney follows up two very strong films by taking it to the gridiron with a screwball romance in Leatherheads. A romantic comedy in football’s early days is probably not the first thing I’d think of when it comes to following up Good Night, and Good Luck. I’m not sure anyone expected Clooney to go in this direction. It’s certainly an interesting choice and he does a solid job with storytelling. The film probably offers…
"Leatherheads – A George Clooney Retrospective"
O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a genius 1930s Mississippi satire that is both heavy in folk music and uses the Odyssey for its plot. In a perfect world, I would have reviewed the Coen Brothers classic for its 20th anniversary in 2020. I apologize for missing the anniversary but am rectifying the situation now as I kick off something of a George Clooney retrospective series on Solzy at the Movies. I reviewed a number…
"O Brother, Where Art Thou? Is Another Coen Brothers Masterpiece"
Following its theatrical release and after being available to own digitally, Poupelle of Chimney Town makes its arrival on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack features both English audio and Japanese audio with English subtitles. Fans ordering through the Shout! Factory website can receive an exclusive poster while supplies last. The film was produced at the famed STUDIO4ºC in Tokyo, Japan. The film played a number of film festivals prior to its theatrical release in December,…
"Poupelle of Chimney Town Arrives on Blu-ray"
Uncle Frank is a period piece following a closeted gay man who is reluctantly returning home for his father’s funeral and unresolved trauma. While conditions have improved to an extent for the LGBTQ community, things are certainly better than they were in 1973. This is when South Carolinian teenager Beth Bledsoe (Sophia Lillis) heads off to New York University. The move leads to a reunion with literature professor and Beth’s uncle, Frank (Paul Bettany). What…
"AFI FEST 2020: Uncle Frank"
With the season 2 finale (“berkman > block) of Barry, the series leaves in a good spot while we wait for the new episodes to return next year on HBO. Barry just finished airing on the east coast. West coast viewers, please wait before reading. While most people are still digesting the Game of Thrones series finale, there’s a dark comedy series ending its second season tonight. Bill Hader is ever the capable triple threat…
"Barry: Where do we go after that?" HBO’s dark comedy, Barry, is able to hit the mark during the sophomore season and the series capably avoids the sophomore slump. I’ve only seen the first three episodes of the season season. While I can’t speak to the rest of the second season, co-creators Alec Berg and Bill Hader have upped the ante on the second season. When we last left our anti-hero, he was in some sort of a personal crisis. Not just any…
"Barry: Season 2 Hits The Mark"
The spotlight is on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in On the Basis of Sex as the future justice begins her fight against gender discrimination. A lot of what gets covered in this film was also covered in the Solzy Award-winning documentary, RBG. This makes so much of the film feel rather redundant to say the least. I won’t lie in that I questioned why would someone want to watch a biopic when one…
"On the Basis of Sex: A Conventional Biopic At Best"
Taking us back to the days of the Old West, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is another classic from the minds of the Coen Brothers. The Western is one of the oldest genres in the book but it always makes for interesting material. Even when we think that every possible scenario has been exhausted, someone comes about with a fresh take. This is what the Coens do and they do it so well, I must…
"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: Another Coen Classic"
Saturday Night Live veteran Bill Hader shines in the dark comedy, Barry, airing on HBO. The role is a stark difference from what fans are used to seeing of Hader during his years on the long-running NBC sketch comedy show. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Barry Berkman (Bill Hader), is working as a hitman, where he’s being handled by Fuches (Stephen Root). When the tender Chechen kingpin Goran Pazar (Glenn Fleshler) and…
"Barry: Bill Hader Shines in Dark Comedy Series"