The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners.

No 43 – The Big Lebowski
Directors – Joel (and Ethan) Coen

When I was a lad, Nu-Metal was all the rage; and though it tickles me to think of it now (as my musical tastes fall much more in to the twee and lo-fi bracket), at the time I would take great pleasure listening to the big, loud, discordant, screamy people.

Besides the bands one might have listened to on Kerrang! there were also the local bands of Oxfordshire. Namely, Centre Negative (too weird, even for me) and Coma Kai (who I quite liked).

‘But how does this fit into a whimsical sweary comedy about identity?’ I hear you ask… Well, when I bought the Coma Kai EP, the first track opened (after a prolonged Peter and the Wolf remix) with Walter’s insane shouting.

“Do you see what happens Larry? Do you SEE what happens Larry? Do. You. SEE what happens when you FUCK a STRANGER in the ASS?”

So those tenuous elements of my fifteen year-old life lead to my first aural dabble with The Big Lebowski.

It was much later before I joined the Coen party.

Essentially, this is a film about mistaken identity and (like so many Coen films – if not all of them) about a bunch of idiots who are massively out of their depth. Whilst the synopsis of the film can be described in one line (blackmailers target the wrong Jeffrey Lebowski – approaching a stoned deadbeat rather than an old millionaire) the film is beautifully rich and layered. There is so much going on and it is portrayed with a wonderful cast playing fabulously odd characters.

That has always been a massive strength of the Coen films – they know how to get a really good cast together, and here they’re really playing to form. The film follows The Dude, Jeff Lebowski – as he gets caught up in a kidnapping that he really doesn’t want to be involved with.

He is brilliant and what is great is how his laid back groovy attitude shrinks away throughout the film – after all you can only stay so peaceful and relaxed for so long whilst people are pissing on your rug and dropping marmots on you. However, what is really interesting is how most of his stress stems from his friend Walter, played by John Goodman at the best I can remember him since The Flintstones (which – through the cloudy mists of nostalgia, and since I was about ten at the time – I quite liked), who is an angry, blustering fool of a man – and such a prick! He not only annoys me incessantly throughout the film, but he is the integral antagonist for events, messing up any attempts The Dude has to rectify his situation.

Of course, as the film progresses, we realise that everyone is being double and triple crossed and that actually Walter’s actions are not as inflammatory as we first assumed... but still he is a fool.

And there are so many instances of him flying off the handle and becoming really rather scary in his uncontrolled rage, that he could come out of it as almost a villain. However, this is where the script really shines – because, subtly, through occasional asides, you realise that Walter is a man with a lot of hurt inside him; a man who’s wife left him and who is clearly struggling to recover from the loss. A man who probably (though it is never expressly stated) drove his wife away. A man who has a lot of self-loathing and rage bubbling inside him.

It is just a shame that Donny, the final character in The Dude’s bowling trio, gets the brunt of the aggression, as he is the sanest person on that team. I love Steve Buscemi, I think he is a fabulous fabulous actor – however the fact that he is all skinny and bulgy eyed means that he often gets cast in weird kooky roles. Though I really do like it when he's just playing the timid, nebbish, normal man. His quiet awkwardness and his insecurity make his the performance which shines throughout Ghost World, and it is the same here. He may have very little to do in this film, but every time he appears it is an absolute joy.

In fact he's normally only there for the scenes which take place in the bowling alley. There are however a few of those, as the only two things which currently occupy The Dude’s time are the strange events he has gotten entangled with and the local bowling tournament (though this gradually becomes less of a priority).

Before we go back to the kidnapping and the double crossing (which makes up most of the film) I need to talk about one element of the bowling scenes, as it provides us with one of the greatest tiny roles in films.

Jesus… The sleazy bastard (and possible paedophile) in the most ridiculous bowling set up ever. From the very second he appears on screen he is destined to be a cult hero. This has as much to do with John Turturro’s amazing performance (it is always wonderful to see an actor really get into it and steal a scene with only two lines) as it does with the fact that he is scored with one of the greatest cover versions I have ever heard.

Hotel California by the Gypsy Kings. Really, go and check it out. It will make you smile. It is Spanish flair and twiddly guitars and hand clapping. It is marvellous.

Jesus’ appearance may be the best moment in the film, but it shows the Coen’s care in their characters, as every small role is brilliantly handled and wonderfully cast. We have the titular Big Lebowski; old, crippled, bitter and proud in his wonderful mansion, spouting utter rubbish and at one point even going into seclusion in the West Wing (incidentally, this is my aspiration in life – to have a West Wing in which I can be secluded… and also to be able to tell guests that they are free to go anywhere in the castle, except the West Wing as it is forbidden – and then if they go there I can tell them that they deliberately disobeyed me. And smash stuff up).

We then have Brad, Lebowski’s assistant, showcasing Phillip Seymour Hoffman at his sweaty, nervous, giggling best. He is very good at being nervous. Well, he is just very good full stop. Look in particular at how he crumbles into awkward nerves when The Dude meets Bunny Lebowski (Tara Reid, who may not be the best actress in the world but she can certainly play sexual) who then offers to blow him for $1,000.

But this wonderful casting carries on – and there are just too many brilliant characters for me to sit down and describe them. Likewise there are too many plot strands for me to try and explain exactly what happens in the film. What is amazing is that it never feels overwhelming, and even though the Coen brothers add layer after layer of deceit and layer after layer of characters (see Maude Lebowski or the ridiculously fake-accented nihilistic German electro-rockers Autobahn), the film stays easy to follow and The Dude stays the pivotal central point. The main hub of the story.

I also like the easy, natural charm of the film. The story is preposterous but the humour is charming and genuine. It all feels grounded in reality, no matter how preposterous it all ends, but there are wonderful little moments where that reality is shattered.

Some of them are subtle – oh so subtle. Like Sam Elliot, playing a mysterious cowboy (of course) with a marvellous ‘tasche who not only narrates the film but speaks directly to us, the audience, and breaks the fourth wall.

Some of them are not subtle at all. And I love the fact that every time The Dude is knocked out by goons, we enter a little fantasy world.

I think the best place to end this blog is with a video…..

Enjoy one of The Dude’s fantasies: Gutterballs…

I can't relate to 99% of humanity

No 266 - Ghost World
Director - Terry Zwigoff

As comic book films become more popular and as every comic book ever becomes a film, it is only natural that the less usual comics become films too. However, I am surprised that this film made it so high up the list, and that the more exciting and daring types of films didn't get onto the list at all - I don't think this film is quite as good as American Splendour for example (though that may stem from a huge admiration of Paul Giamatti).

So, here we have a film which relishes in the fact that not much happens. A film about isolation and a film about growing up. A film, in which the protagonist is really really annoying. For whilst we may follow both Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) - Rebecca kind of fades out of the equation and it is Enid who is the key character in this film. She is also a bit of a twat.

The problem with Enid is that she believes herself to be better than everyone and her superiority manifests itself in a number of horrible ways. Firstly, although she is fascinated with outsiders she seems to get down hearted when things work out for them. She wants other people to be miserable so that she can feel better - her friendships seem to stem from a high level of Schadenfreude. Secondly she is deliberately confrontational. She mocks people with regularity and she starts fights or arguments equally frequently.
Check out her withering asides "He might die of AIDS when he date rapes her".

At the beginning of the film Enid and Rebecca are deliberately alienating themselves from their high school - admiring the weirdos and berating the popular kids from afar. However after graduation, Rebecca begins to assimilate with the real world: saving money, looking for a house, getting a job.
All of this seems alien to Enid who wants to continue to live out life in her little bubble. And so Enid's alienation becomes real - a side effect of her (quite horrible) character, rather than a deliberate part of her superiority.

Enid's descent into isolation also ropes in the film's best characters. Firstly Seymour - played by Steve Buscemi. I've spent the last blog talking about the fact that I think Buscemi is excellent, and I still do. Seymour is just a normal person - a bit nerdy, a bit depressed, but utterly unremarkable. His love for blues and his awkwardness with his friendship with Enid (I think he feels uncomfortable being friends with a 17 year old girl) is wonderful. You kind of hope that things will go well for Seymour. That he will be happy. That he will move away from his weird circle of friends (though it does include the ever-awesome cameo king that is David Cross... oh and his house-mate Kenny from Frasier) and settle down. However, like everyone in the film, his life is made worse by Enid turning up and claiming ownership on Seymour and his emotions. She may claim to love him and that he is her hero, but she still messes him around so much that he ends up even more of a wreck than he used to be.

It is in Enid's art classes that she begins to realise that actually alienation isn't that good - mainly because the art teacher is a bit of a prick and a snob. Her view on what makes art and what isn't allowed (illustrations can't be art) just shows her as this horribly pretentious elitist wanker. When Enid is made to face up to the art teacher (who is, essentially, an even more OTT version of Enid herself) it causes Enid to realise that she needs to be determined and make something of her life.

It also opens up a wonderful sub-plot (the best bit of the film) about the controversial past of Cook's Chicken (a nearby KFC-type restaurant) - which I won't go into, but which brings up issues of acceptability and how far Art can go to push the envelope.

All in all though - the film is as aloof as its protagonists. Which isn't really a good thing.

I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work there, Lou.

No 198 - Fargo
Directors - Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

When a horror film states that the film is nothing more than 'found' footage, you kinda know that it isn't true. Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project are all obviously not real. We know that; but is part of the story telling. It is part of the fun.
However, when a film begins with a disclaimer that it is based on a true story - you kind of expect it to be at least partially based on a true story.
I think it takes a certain ballsiness and a pretty weird sense of humour to put that in - and Fargo begins with a disclaimer stating that only the character's names have been changed. But then, the Coen brothers are ballsy people with a very odd sense of humour which is littered throughout this film, despite the dark subject matter.

I mean in the closing credits, Prince is listed as having a cameo in the film.

He doesn't.

Beyond the really odd (and essentially nonsensical) additions before and after the feature, the Coen's humour and distinctive style runs thickly throughout the film; mainly in the naive homeliness of the majority of characters. You have to love a film which relishes the juxtaposition of a series of grisly murders and characters who curse less than Ned Flanders.
Most of the cursing and violence stems from one character - Carl Showalter, played by Steve Buscemi sporting an awesome moustache, which sort of makes him look like a young John Waters (which is at least pointed out constantly, with Carl being frequently described as 'funny looking' - which, indeed, he is). Carl is an angry man and is responsible for almost all of the swearing in the film (if you don't include lines "Well gosh darned heck" as a swear). He is also the 'brains' behind the bungled crime which is at heart of the story. He is brilliant.

You see, I always assumed Fargo was some kind of murder mystery, with Frances McDormand's police officer - Marge Gunderson - discovering the bodies and everything stemming from there. However we don't meet her for over half an hour, and instead the film begins with the bungled kidnapping. So we meet the excellent Carl and the equally brilliant Jerry Lundegaard, played by William H Macey. He is (as is often the way with William H Macey's characters) a hapless and unlucky fool who is also insanely nervous. Macey ticks and twitches his way throughout the film and is the most suspiciously nervous person I've ever seen. No wonder Marge immediately realises he may up to no good.

Marge Gunderson is the real star of the film, and allows Frances McDormand to play that kind of homely and adorable character that she plays so well. It is only strengthened by the fact that she is absolutely at the mercy of her pregnancy; constantly with the munchies and constantly out of breath. Her excellent policing and unfazed strong attitude work as a great juxtaposition with the physically vulnerable situation she is in. The film, mostly, follows her (with the occasional asides to H Macey and Buscemi) and we get to see her lovely homely life that involves (a lot of) eating and chatting to her friends.
Marge is a well respected police officer who is happily married to a loving husband, is pregnant and is just doing her job. It is great to watch a police film in which the hero doesn't have a point to prove or personal flaw. She is just an officer who is good at her job. And has an excellent accent. I ruddy love the accent. To my British ears, it provides a certain level of humour to the proceedings. This scene makes me forget that it is a police interview with two hookers and just makes me smile.

I just really like how they say yeah.

And of course... how can I not love a film which involves a death where someone is fed into a wood chipping machine. Feels apt.

Kids these days. They just don't get scared like they used to.

No 343 - Monsters Inc
Director - Pete Docter (Co Director David Silverman)

I am a very vocal fan of Pixar and yet I feel I had criminally neglected this film. The last time I saw it was at the cinema. 9 years ago (cripes). So I sat down to watch it and I loved it. Probably loved it more now then I did then. - Now I admire not only the cracking story (which I'll discuss below) but also the amazing visuals. What I like about Pixar is that they constantly challenge themselves. Whether it is with the story telling side (can they make a silent movie about a lovable robot) or on the animation side of things. In the same way that Finding Nemo was a challenge to animate water, or A Bug's Life was about organic shapes - here the challenge was Fur. And in the example of Sulley they manage it beautifully. I'll chat about the characters later.

Lets begin with the story.

It continues the Pixar tradition of being all about story telling and cracking central concepts. This time it we have a wonderful concept (Monster's collect screams from children in order to power their world) and a fabulous story structure. The fact that a 'toxic' child escapes into the the Monster World means that we have the set up for a classic paranoid thriller as two friends discover an evil scheme, but it also gives us something else. There is a perverse humour in seeing the workman ordinariness of the Monster world, and in seeing the basic structure of a horror film (monster terrorises children or teens or sexy 20 somethings) reversed with the monster's traumatised by an adorable child.

Boo is cute. And importantly she is Pixar's first significant human character (Andy and Sid may be important to plots but they're not physically all that present in the films). She is also an incredibly realistic child character. Children in films are notoriously difficult, seeing as they usually end up a bit creepy and dead eyed. Yet, Boo is superb. She is full of joy and scampers around like a genuine mental child. The only other animated child I can think of who so well captures the essence of childhood is Mei in Totoro.
I heard a rumour that Boo's vocals were recorded by following a child around with a boom mic and getting her to react with situations to garner reactions (ie, a kitty would probably make a child cry kitty) - this keeps the conversation feeling fresh and realistic and keeps the dialogue upbeat. After all, it doesn't sound natural when you try and get a child to follow a script. Hilarious, but not normal. But sounds like a child, and when you factor in the excellent animation job done by Pixar (I wouldn't expect anything less) you get a character that feels real and you can see the way that she affects he reluctant custodians.

Lets talk about the titular monsters. This is probably the most exciting cast (for me) in a Pixar film. The cast even has tinges of Coen with the casting of the fabulous John Goodman and Steve Buscemi. Mix in Billy Crystal at his fast paced best and you have a really exciting and dynamic vocal cast with a crackling chemistry. But then Pixar always excel in the 'buddy movie' capacity. One, important voice I've missed out is the Pixar Mascot John Ratzenberger who returns as the friendliest and most polite Abominable Snowman ever. Though I worry about his snow cones.

All in all the film gives us a really enjoyable corporate conspiracy full of action and adventure and a terrifying invisible villain. The film's big reveal is hinted and evident throughout the entire film and allows a Disney-friendly happy ending.

It is just delightful good clean fun and it ends with that most Pixar of set ups. Fake bloopers and a Randy Newman song.