The Doomsday Machine: Episode 4

Two of the greatest filmmakers of our generation are Joel and Ethan Coen. I don't think there is anyone who has studied film that would disagree with that. Their work has always stood out amongst the crowd of the formulated Hollywood drivel we are treated to 90 percent of the time. I've always found their films to have a unique voice, as well as perfect technical execution. Growing up in the early 90's, they were, perhaps, the equivalent of what Paul Thomas Anderson has achieved today. That is, they had four films under their belt that were all perfect.

After that, it seems that budgets may have gotten bigger and perhaps we, as viewers, lost a little something in the intimate settings that we were used to. I think the thing I've always enjoyed about their movies is their ability to set a scene with perfect visuals as well as perfect sound, with little to work with. Their attention to detail gives their lower budget movies a true sense of being there. However, their next five films still were nothing short of brilliant. It wasn't until 2003 when 'Intolerable Cruelty' came out that we all started to look around and wonder if they mailed it in. Though after what they've given us over the years, I won't hold one or two sub-par movies against them. The fact is, even those movies are better than the previously mentioned Hollywood tripe.

In this episode we get into our favorites. For the most part I think we can all agree on the choices but it's interesting to see what some of us hold above others, but then again, trying to rank Coen Brothers films is like answering the question, “Which would you rather have...A winning lottery ticket, eternal youth, or superpowers?” There really is no bad choice.

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