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Reviews
Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
A great film!
I've loved every Coen Brothers film yet and always had high hopes for them in advance. I was worried that this one might not live up to my expectations, having other creative people involved, etc. But I was worrying for nothing. It's a great film, though perhaps not as clever as some of their others. But that's because all their other films have been so great, and I had to remind myself not to judge this one in relation to those. Standing on its own, I think it's very, very good.
I didn't find it to be a romantic comedy in the slightest, despite the advertising. It's pretty much just a comedy about a man who tries to win over a woman who's only interested in money. There's no conventional plotting that you normally see in a romantic comedy. No 'devices' used in all romantic comedies are used here. And it's to its benefit.
The 'twist' is established early so that the audience knows more than the characters. This is something no films do nowadays, but the Coen Brothers always let the audience know more than the characters. Fargo and Blood Simple are the best examples.
I am also very pleased that there wasn't time wasted on making us believe that these 2 people loved each other. They know we want them to end up together, and there isn't a single scene dedicated to showing us why they belong together or any of that rubbish. The scenes between Clooney and Zeta-Jones are pure comedy and delicious dialogue. There's no 'love montages' or anything like that.
It has many elements of a great Coen Brothers film, and it's a very original film given its genre, but not as original, or maybe as creative as some of their other work.
A great film by any standards. Saying that it might not be as good as some of their best films is not a detriment to this film, because it's a heck of a lot better than most other films.
I reccommend it to anyone and everyone, Coen fans included.
High Road to China (1983)
A perfect adventure movie!
This is one of the best adventure films I've ever seen. Tom Selleck and Bess Armstrong are great and Jack Weston as Struts is hillarious.
It has some great scenes of the planes flying across country. And John Barry's music is excellent.
The story is simple: Rich woman (Armstrong) hires drunken pilot (Selleck) to fly her to China to find her missing father.
Meanwhile, people are trying to have her killed, and each stop they make along the way allows for a sideline adventure.
All in all, one of my favourite films, and a rare treat of a movie. They don't them like this any more. I wish it were available on DVD!