"The Men Who Stare At Goats", "The Road" and "A Serious Man" Short Takes

Since they're first big paring back in 2005 with the Academy Award nominated Good night, and Good luck, Grant Heslov and George Clooney have made an excellent pair. Though many did not, I thoroughly enjoyed they're last film Leatherheads and had been eagerly anticipating The Men Who Stare at Goats since I first caught wind of it last year. Today, I am pleased to say that once again the two failed to disappoint.

The Men who Stare at Goats is humorous, well acted by everyone involved, and just flat out fun to watch. The story is interesting and almost believable, and the characters all feel fully fleshed out by the cast who just seem to be having a good time. Ewan Mac Gregor hasn't been this fun in years, same goes for Kevin Spacey, as per usual I loved Jeff Bridges' role, and George Clooney continues effortlessly to seem like the most likable guy in the industry. The movie is not perfect, but it is well written, acted and directed, so even though it may not receive any Oscar nods, it is still a great watch, and one that I recommend highly.

It seems so long ago that The Road was once considered a future Oscar front runner, a film of importance, and that it potentially could be one of the best screen adaptations of all time. Unfortunately, the film failed to live up to any of these expectations. While The Road is no doubt a beautifully designed and photographed & also featuring two great performances from Viggo Mortensen and Robert Duvall , it just fell short for me in the end. The filmmakers seemed almost too concerned with the visual feel, it's amazing but I feel that Hillcoat gave up on the the story in favor of aesthetic and it definitely shows.

The performances are, for the most part, very good, the weak links being Kodi Smit-McPhee as the boy who I feel ruined the picture with his characterization, and Charlize Theron who could have been better despite a weakly written role. However, Robert Duvall and Viggo Mortensen are fantastic, providing wonderfully moving work in the film and are indeed its saving graces.

While Duvall, Mortensen and the look of the film are worth seeing, there is not much I else that I would pay to see again. The film adaptation will always be an incomplete one, and I am saddened that such a masterpiece in book form could not be translated as well to the silver screen.

The Coen brothers are geniuses. I have never been disappointed by any single film of theirs, all of which have inspired and fed my love for the art of film. After their bleak, Oscar winning success with No Country for Old Men and last year's fun, dark comedy Burn After Reading, the duo had left me wondering what they would do next, and with A Serious Man, The Coens have once again captured my fancy with their most thought provoking and personal film since Barton Fink.

Telling a tale of the moral trials beset upon Larry Gropnik, a mathmatics professor in the Minnesota of the 1960's, A Serious Man is about as good as it gets. Larry suffers relentlessly throughout the film; dealing with a divorce, an overneedy brother, and threats of law suits and losing his job, Larry begins to question the meaning of life, except his questions are presented in a flippant light hearted manner compared to the woeful issues beset on Barton Fink.

The film is smartly written ,as if it were directly ripped from the pages of the Coen's own upbringing, and superbly directed and acted, great performances coming from Michael Stuhlbarg who is deserving of awards attention for his brilliantly observed leading role, Fred Melamed as Larry's widdowed rival who steals his wife's affection, and Richard Kind who does the most he can with a role that was smaller than I had expected.
While it is unlikely the film will score in the acting and tech categories at this year's Oscars, it's brilliant screenplay is a shoo in, and the film could even find itself in the Best Picture race depending on how hard it is pushed.

Joel & Ethan Coen's A Serious Man, is a film that deserves to be seen by a wide audience. It is the kind of smart, thoughtful and mordant comedy that sinks in the more you think about it, and I feel that I may still be pondering the meaning of life, weeks from now. Pun aside, A Serious Man is one seriously good film.