Director Series - The Coen Brothers

So, a while ago, like almost five years ago, I started a "Director Series" on this very blog.  The idea was to highlight some of my favourite North American directors, tell you a little bit about them, let you know what I thought of their films and so on.  I started with Woody Allen, then Martin Scorsese, then Steven Spielberg...then I stopped.  I've decided to start again, at least for today.  So, the next in my series, The Coen Brothers.  By the way, if you'd like to read about the other three, here are the quick links:
Woody Allen; Martin Scorsese; Steven Spielberg

Joel Coen                                                            Ethan Coen
Birth Name: Joel Daniel Coen                            Birth Name: Ethan Jesse Coen
Birth Date: Nov. 29, 1954                                   Birth Date: Sept. 21, 1957
Birth Place: Minneapolis, Minnesota                 Birth Place: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Features Directed: 17
Features I've Seen: 16 (94%)

The brothers Coen started making films early in life.  Joel, being the older of the two, saved his money from mowing yards in their Minneapolis neighbourhood to buy a Super 8 camera.  They started making movies based on the shows they would see on TV.  After graduating from university, Joel from New York University, Ethan from Princeton, they started writing what would become their first feature film, Blood Simple.  Although, up until 2004, Joel was the one who received the director's credit, they always wrote, directed, produced and often edited all their movies together.  The Coens quickly became the new great movie makers after Blood Simple won a number of independent awards, including one at the Sundance Film Festival in 1985.  Through the years it was shown that they had a very eclectic sense of humour, both in writing and film making.  Their films have been nominated for 13 Academy Awards over the years, with the brothers winning 4 Oscars.  A new Coen Brothers movie has become an "Event" over the last few years, and they almost never disappoint.  What follows are their movies that I've seen, listed in three different categories, chronologically.  (imdb.com scores in brackets).

MUST SEE
Blood Simple - 1984 (7.7): Their first, and in many ways, their best.  Gets better with repeated views!
Raising Arizona - 1987 (7.4): A slapstick comedy with tons of inventive camera work.
Millers Crossing - 1990 (7.9): A crime drama with wonderful performances, especially from Albert   Finney and John Turturro.
Fargo - 1996 (8.2): Expanded on the brilliance of Blood Simple, with hilarious consequences.
The Big Lebowski - 1998 (8.2): It took multiple viewings for me to love this one, but I now ranking it as my third favourite of their movies.
No Country For Old Men - 2007 (8.1): Slower paced, but so smart, and so involving, and so Javier Bardem!!

NICE TO SEE
Barton Fink - 1991 (7.7): Definitely not for everyone's taste, but very quirky and funny.  John Goodman is perfect!
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - 2000 (7.8):  Loosely based on Homer's "The Odyssey" with some fabulous music.
The Man Who Wasn't There - 2001 (7.6): Rarely seen, but atmospheric, dark and wonderful.
The Ladykillers - 2004 (6.2): Panned by most critics, but I found this remake very entertaining.
Burn After Reading - 2008 (7.0): More quirky hilarity.  Too much going on for some people.
A Serious Man - 2009 (7.0): Slower and often times meandering, but quite often fascinating.
Inside Llewyn Davis - 2013 (7.4): If it wasn't for the amazing performances, I don't know if I would have liked it as much.

NO NEED TO SEE
The Hudsucker Proxy - 1994 (7.3): Trying to recapture the lunacy of Raising Arizona, but didn't.
Intolerable Cruelty - 2003 (6.3): Hugely disappointing.  Easily my least favourite of their films.
Hail, Caesar! - 2016 (6.9): Although there were some moments of greatness, the story is too jumbled and too forgettable.  A real shame, actually.

So the only Coen Brothers' movie I haven't seen is 2010's True Grit, which I really want to see, but I want to watch the original first.  When that happens, I'll add it to this list...maybe...if I think about it.

That's The Coens.  Stay tuned for more directors coming soon.