The Time Traveler’s Wife

This Nicholas Spark’s wanna-be is worthy of a quick watch, but it never ascends like The Notebook or clicks with its own plot devices. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)   Jon says: Rent   Donny says: Rent

A Serious Man

The Coen Brothers’  best? I don’t know, or think so personally, but it is a really great flick-funny, odd, deep. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Buy   Donny says: Buy

The Stepfather

Another remake, another question of why. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)   Jon says: Rent   Donny says: Rent

Couples Retreat

I wish Vince Vaughn would return to dramatic roles, as this is a fine example of why I want him back. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)   Jon says: Avoid   Donny says: Rent

Bronson

The indie darling finally gets a DVD here, so the rest of us can see what the hype was. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD)  Jon says: Rent   Donny says: Buy

New to Blu

The Phantom

The Running Man

Drop Zone

That does it for this week, but be sure to come back for reviews of these discs and more, only on Killer Film!

Among the rest of the winners for this includes the best actress which goes out to Yolande Moreau for Seraphine. Best supporting actor went to Christoph Waltz for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds along with Paul Schneider who acted in the Jane Campion film Bright Star. Within the best supporting actress category Mo’Nique strikes again with her role in Precious.

It’s not too much of a surprise to see the Coen brothers get recognition for their writing again as they pick the two for their script for A Serious Man. The rest of the winners can be read right here, and judging from the list of winners maybe it’s a foreshadowing of nominees at least to come when it pertains to the Academy Award nominees.

Even in their lesser films, one can say their top directors. Each film is expertly done, and here with A Serious Man, they’re in prime form. The way they filmed the retro 1960s look, staging of scenes, and more importantly, for the comedic aspects, the set up, delivery, and punch-line for the laughs, prove that they are one of the few directors working, that are consistently putting out strong films, year after year. A new Coen Brothers film every year? Works for me.

Unlike their other comedy (and let’s be honest, that their comedy is far different than what most would broadly categorize comedy as) films, A Serious Man is far more ambiguous, yet still highly enjoyable. Most won’t get everything in the film, and I won’t blame them. This much is certain: Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is a happy middle class Jewish family man, with a nice career as a college professor, until one day everything starts to unravel. I will say the film feels like it’s an inside joke for the Coens and their fellow Jewish friends, since there’s plenty of talk and happenings that deal with Jewish religious practices, and while a strict knowledge isn’t needed to enjoy the film, it might help reveal some of the more ambiguous ideas they have. I will say that maybe only the Coens can make a film like this, something that feels like their most mature picture, but despite that damn ambiguous word, second by second, A Serious Man is highly entertaining.

At times, A Serious Man feels like a religious fable as told by the Coens, in that Coen Brothers way of telling things. In some interviews, they gleefully remarked on how much fun they had coming up with more bad things for their character of Larry Gopnik to go through, and an acute viewer will get a sense that maybe, if anything, A Serious Man is a modern retelling of the Old Testament story of the Job, and no matter how much pain and suffering Job goes through from God, he still has undying faith for Him. That’s easy to see. Larry is constantly asking for rabbi’s help and advice, and no matter how much crap he goes through, like a wife planning a divorce, trouble making brother who lives on his couch, work issues with a student trying to pay him off for a better grade, racist hick neighbor, he never repents and always beliefs. God is unseen, but you make the case God in A Serious Man is the Coen Brothers and of course, Job is Larry. How much more can Larry take? At the end, the Coens let it all out on him, and we will never know.

Even more interesting, is the pre-title Yiddish vampire fable. How does it tie into the happenings of Larry, I don’t really know, but that’s the fun outside of the humor, albeit dark humor, of A Serious Man. The Coens are on a hot streak, no doubt about that, and while some really won’t want to wrestle with what they’re doing here, that’s fine, because the rest of us will enjoy their stellar collection of characters and welcome Larry Gopnik into their stable of memorable characters. Michael Stuhlbarg, a relatively unknown stage actor, who plays Larry, might have just turned in one of the best male lead performances in 2009.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: InContention

Source: Awards Daily

No big stars are attached to the film though there is big Oscar buzz over Richard Kind‘s performance in the film as a supporting actor nomination.

A Serious Man stars Richard Kind, Adam Arkin and Simon Helberg, and opens in limited release October 2nd.

Source: Film School Rejects