The Best and Worst Films of the Coen Bros

We had the most trouble getting images for this entry! Whew!

First of all, we must admit that the idea for this blog came from a "Washington Post" article by Ann Hornaday, who is the paper's film critic. Like her, I was surprised that former arch-conservative House Speaker Newt Gingrich also thinks "Fargo" is the best Coen Brothers film (since when do Republicans watch art house movies?!).


But, here are my own choices from best to least favorite Coen Brothers films. Their most current film "True Grit" also made my top 20 films of 2010 list on our other blog "The Daily Vampire."


It's hard to believe that I saw one of these films in Paris, France, (O Brother, Where Art Thou?) in Paris, France, and another one of these films (The Ladykillers) at a second-run multiplex in Lynchburg, Va.!


Here is the list:

1. Fargo (1996)

2. Barton Fink (1991)

3. The Big Lebowski (1998)

4. Miller's Crossing (1990)

5. Raising Arizona (1987)

6. Blood Simple (1984)

7. No Country for Old Men (2007)

8. O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000).

9. A Serious Man (2009)

10. True Grit (2010)

11. The Ladykillers (2004)

12. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

13. The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)

14. Burn After Reading (2008)

15. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

Special Quote of the Week- Venus Williams

We are continuing our series of quotes from famous African-American athletes, past and present, with a quip from tennis superstar Venus Williams. As everyone outside Tashkent, Uzbekistan, probably knows (and perhaps they do too), her sister Serena Williams, who is a year younger (Venus is 30; Serena is 29), has also established an exempliary career on the court.

Here is our quote from Venus, who has assuredly won virtually every tennis tournament from New York to Dubai* to Sydney, at least once (we need to verify this, but we don't have that kind of time!):

"If you're not a competitor, you've just got to go home."

*- NPR reported last month that there is a North Korean restaurant in Dubai (?!). Yes, we said North Korean. There are also some pretty good South Korean restaurants in Istanbul, Turkey, which seemed surprsing enough to us at the time.

Oscar Quote of the Week- Sally Field

Now that she is nearing my mom's age it is a tad bit unsettling to admit that as a teenage boy I had a huge crush on Sally Field after seeing her opposite Paul Newman in "Absence of Malice."

Field had won a Best Actress Oscar for the first time for "Norma Rae" (1979) based on a story that took place at a now-closed factory in Roanoke Rapids, NC, and then again for "Places in the Heart" (1984).

Here is her quote:

"I think the first thing I did was several scenes from Romeo and Juliet."

Special Quote for the Birthday of Charles Dickens

Since my good friend Tom Angleberger is a fan of Charles Dickens' works, we thought we'd quip the author for his birthday, which is actually on Monday (yes, we know the author of "Oliver Twist" has been dead for a good while now).

There is also a Charles Dickens Museum in London, a city I haven't been to since 1975 when I was five years old. Perhaps, it's time to go back.

And, Christopher Hitchens wrote a scathing piece on Dickens a few months ago in "The Atlantic." I was meaning to show Tom the article, but I thought unlike Hitchens, who has been known irk people on the right and left alike, I like having pals!

Here is the quote from Dickens:

"Charity begins at home, and justice begins next door."

Revised Top 10 New Year's Resolutions

There were actually 50 New Year's Eve resolutions that I made; many of them will never, ever be made public--- not even if I am water-boarded (sorry, Dick Cheney!).

But, we came up with ten that are somewhat plausible or reasonable. Hopefully, we will actually get or three of these things accomplished.

And, of course, I would never resort to Pinocchio tactics to go out with an attractive woman....why is my nose growing?

Taking a cruise down the Nile River was actually number 39, but that has been removed for painfully obvious reasons, though hopefully there will be enough political stability in Egypt to go see King Tut's tomb one day.

Here is the list:

1. Go out with a cute girl you've just met for coffee (well, it will have to be someone else besides Natalie Portman!)

2. Lose about 15-20 pounds...yeah, I say this every year

3. Go to Asheville already (I live in NC, but it's still a bit of a drive from Roanoke Rapids*).

4. Eat more Turkish food, less Mexican food (sorry amigos, nothing personal, but I could go for a good steak burrito right now...)

5. Try to watch fewer bad movies

6. Volunteer for the local animal shleter or a non-profit group with no political agenda

7. Volunteer for the Democratic Party so Palinzilla does not become prez!

8. Write a memoir, a novel or a play already (this is always on the resolutions list!)

9. Figure out what the guy with the attractive girlfriend did to get her, even if it involves lying!

10. More mocha; less cappucino!

*- I don't actually live in Roanoke Rapids, NC, but I had to come up with a place to thwart potential cyberstalkers.

Our Best Person for 2010 Is.....

.............Lisa Murkowski, the Republican senator from Alaska. Yes, we are a liberal-leaning blog, and we are choosing Sen. Murkowski!


The reason for this is that while she may officially beaten Tea Party favorite Joe Miller and the mostly not-talked-about Democratic candidate Scott McAdams on the ballot, the person she really defeated was mama grizzly Sarah Palin, or Palinzilla as we like to call her.

At age 53, Sen. Murkowski is rather attractive for an elected official. Someone from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, might well think she was in the cast of "Charlie's Angels" in her younger days. Politically, her father Frank Murkowski put her in the U.S. Senate after he vacated his U.S. senate seat to become the governor of Alaska (he was later toppled by Palinzilla).

This did not go over well with many folks in Alaska, and it actually gave her 2004 Democratic opponent Terry Knowles, who was also once the governor of Alaska, a fighting chance in the very red state.

But, in spite of losing the GOP nomination to Miller, a far right nut who is gunsGodncounty radical who actually cited the former East Germany as a country which could control their borders (they did this by shooting people trying to leave the country) by a 51-49 margin, Murkowski put up a good fight with a write-in campaign.

And, in spite of lawsuits and court hearings and even disputes about ballots in which Murkowski's last name were not spelled correctly, she emerged as the victor in the close election. Thus, Murkowski was able to give the Tea Party a left jab that few Democrats were able to deliver, and it was indeed a knock-out punch.

Murkowski is considered one of the most moderate Republicans in the Senate. She is pro-choice, favors stem cell research and opposed Don't Ask, Don't Tell. While she has opposed President Barack Obama on federal health care legislation, she should be a hero to anyone who thinks this country needs more people like David Brooks and fewer right-wing idiots like Glenn Beck.

Thus, in a Republican year, it only seems fair to break form and choose Murkowski as our person of the year. Take that, mama grizzly!

Special Quote of the Week- Dominique Dawes

Today, in honor of Black History Month, we are going to start a month-long series of quotes from African-American athletes, past and present.

In may sports, an athlete can still compete at age 34, but that's not the case with gymnastics!

Nevertheless, Dominique Dawes, who won Olympic gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, is still very active in the public speaking circuit.

Her alma mater, the University of Maryland (Dawes did not compete for the school) faces their EAGL rivals from the University of North Carolina on Saturday. The meet between the Terps and the 'Heels will be at 7:00 p.m. in Chapel Hill.

Last week, Maryland finished third (in a four-school meet) in Ann Arbor, Mich., in which the host Wolverines won. But, the Terps had standout performances from Kesley Cofsky, who scored a 9.8 on bars. Gymnasts Kaitlin Joseph and Ally Krikorian scored a 9.7 each on the same apparatus.

As for UNC, the 'Heels beat William and Mary at home last week with solid scores from Morgan Evans, Elizabeth Durkac (who happens to be from Yorktown, Va., which is near the campus of William and Mary) and Emily Cornwell. Alas, our favorite Tarheel gymnast Christine Nguyen graduated last year.

Dawes has been very vocal about the need for young women to view themselves positively and her quote here certainly reflects that:

"I found through research that between 50 and 70 percent of young girls who describe themselves as overweight are actually normal weight."