I Don't Know Me

I used to think I knew myself pretty well. I knew I liked to read mysteries and write poetry. I knew I liked disaster and action movies and situation comedies on television. I knew I liked bawdy jokes. I knew I didn't like people much, at least more than one at a time. I knew I didn't like anyone's kids but my own. There were oh so many things I was sure I knew about myself. But, lately, I'm not so sure I know myself at all.

My tastes seem to have taken a drastic change. I first noticed this phenomenon when I found myself looking forward to the next episode of "The Shield." My reading also took a more serious turn when I started looking for meatier, more intricate plots. Then, this year I got hooked on "The Sopranos" on A&E on Sunday mornings. I never miss it. Also, I fell in love with "Treme" on HBO. Now that the first season is over, I am in mourning, and anxiously awaiting the next season.

In the past couple of years, I have started watching Coen Brothers movies. I rarely understood them, but I was strangely drawn to them. Which brings me to today. I watched yet another Coen Brothers film called "A Serious Man". This movie chronicled the life of a Jewish family man, a Physics professor, whose life begind to unravel and leaves him with a serious case of angst. He is up for tenure at his college, and someone is sending anonymous letters accusing him of all manner of immoral activities. He suspects the sender of the letters is a student from South Korea who failed his Physics class and who tried to bribe him into a passing grade with an envelope full of money. His wife stuns him with the information that she wants a divorce so she can marry another man who apparently wants to stay friends with him. His brother, who has been sleeping on their couch, is arrested and suffering a meltdown. His son owes a bully $20.00 for pot that he bought from him, and has to run home from the school bus every day to avoid a beating. His daughter seems to have a hair-washing fetish.

All of the above happens in the first 30 minutes of the movie, and things just don't get any sunnier. After I watch Coen Brothers movies, I tend to try to analyze them, but that way lies madness. For this particular movie, I am content to characterize it in the following way: Sh*t happens and then you die.

The next movie on my Netflix list is Avatar. Should be uplifting.

Stay tuned.

The Big Lebowski

The other day, I watched "The Big Lebowski." Yes, yes, I know it's an old movie, but back then, I wouldn't have fully appreciated the Coen Brothers. But, now I do, and I find that scary, but there it is.

Jeff Bridges (Lebowski, or as he preferred, "Dude") and John Goodman (professional Vietnam vet, flashbacks and all) are the perfect, though odd, couple. Bridges is mellow and Goodman is over the top.

Dude gets caught up in a situation he can't control, because for some reason, someone steals his favorite living room rug, and he sets out to find it. Don't ask. I still don't know why the rug was stolen, but it's as good a reason as any to explain the case of mistaken identity, which puts Dude on the path of destruction that is the rest of the movie.

The plot is full of twists and turns that I can't begin to describe, one more absurd and hilarious than the last.

I have been described as someone with a mind like an unmade bed, and this is what you might need to enjoy this romp. Also, if you can't tolerate a story where none of the characters seem to be able to utter a complete sentence without the "F" word, probably, you'll want to give this one a pass.








Stay tuned.

Burn After Reading

I just got through watching "Burn After Reading", the Coen brothers movie starring Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, et al.

This was a typical Coen brothers film. I enjoy the heck out of their movies, and I sure wish I could explain why that is. I laughed all the way through it, even though every third word began with the letter "F".

Brad Pitt was hilarious as a clueless guy who works in a gym and finds a computer disk containing the memoirs of a former CIA analyst. Frances McDormand works at the same gym and her character wants to have several cosmetic procedures, but her insurance company won't pay for them. Anyhoo, the two of them, Brad and Frances decide to hold the disk for ransom. Hilarity ensues.

Frances meets George via an internet dating site, and wait 'til you see the "present" George built for his wife!

I can't tell you any more, or I will ruin it for you. But, if you enjoy the Coen brothers' films, this one won't disappoint you.