Fargo

Rating:
Summary: "Fargo" is a new type of thriller
Review: "Fargo" opens with the following statement: THIS IS A TRUE STORY The events depicted in this film took place in Minnesota in 1987. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred. This is not absolutely true. The use of this statement is to give the viewer a stronger feeling towards all of the films events. "Fargo" shows small town life during the frigid winters of Minnesota and North Dakota. It constantly changes from comedy to suspense to satire. The Coen brothers grew up in St. Louis Park Minneapolis and this film is in memory of the people that they knew while growing up there. Jerry Lundegaard(Wiliam H. Macy in an oscar nominated role) is in desperate need of money so he hires two lowlifes named Showalter and Grimsrud (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife(Kristin Rudrud) in order for him to get the ransom money from his wife's rich father(Harve Presnell). From there all of Jerry's original plan goes awry and he becomes continually nervous. After the kidnapping, Showalter has to kill a few people in order to get away. The next morning the bodies are found and the case will be investigated by Marge Gunderson(Frances McDormand), Brainerd's pregnant police chief. Two eyewitnesses place the killers in a tan Ciera and she traces that to Lundegaard's used car lot. She speaks to Jerry but does not really believe what he says. Some of the best scenes are at Jerry's car lot, where he tries to cheat customers out of money for rust-proofing. Macy shines in one of the finest roles. Jerry always thinks that he will be able to pull the scam off but his mind is so cramed with his guilt and nervousness that he can't even think straight. Equally great is Frances McDormand who is a Coen Brothers regular. "Fargo" is without a doubt one of the Coen Brothers' best films, standing on a pedestal next to "Blood Simple" and "Barton Fink". Is this film worth a second viewing? You Betcha!

Rating:
Summary: One question: Why?
Review: This is one movie I don't understand all the hype about. What we have here, is basically a dull kidnapping/murder plot, but is supposed to be funny because this dull plot is used as a vehicle to make fun of the way people talk in the Upper Midwest. Well, I wasn't laughing. The "midwestern accents" are so overacted that, in combination with the generally unpleasant kidnapping/murder theme of the film, this is just unpleasant and annoying to watch.

It's also not too original; if you saw Raising Arizona (an earlier film from the same filmmakers), you will recognize the parallels in this film right away. And Raising Arizona at least was actually funny in spots.

All in all, this had to rank right up there with Three Kings and The Money Pit in the "most annoying films I've ever seen" department. As in, annoying like the mosquitoes in Minnesota are annoying. This movie just kind of buzzes in your ear and doesn't let up until it ends.

Rating:
Summary: This isn't your average mystery.....It's a true story......
Review: Unlike most horror, suspense, and mystery movies, Fargo is indeed a true story. The occurences in Fargo took place in 1987 where the movie is based. Paul, the main character in the movie, is having financial toruble. His situation is undoubtedly not too well-off. He seeks help from his father-in-law but he refuses to give him financial aid. Paul hires a group of testy thugs to capture his wife for ransom to pay off his debts....The plan of course goes sour. In a sense, this movei is a comedy. Watching it you think to yourself, "How stupid can these people be?" You can't tear yourself from finishing it. The direction in this movie is fantastic. The Coen brother, who also brought us such films as Blood Simple, did a fantastic job of portraying these fascious characters and thier outrageous behaviors. This film exhibits all of the qualities of an excellent fiction novel, its a true story and through wtaching the film I garuntee you won't beleive it could ever happen. If you buy this movie you will love it I promise you.

Rating:
Summary: Don't you Know??
Review: Like many others, I put off years watching this movie. I found myself bugged-eyed and often screaming "No way! No Way! How did this ever happen?" (the wood chopper was an over-share) The blood and guts just kept going and until the credits rolled. I thought the Northern 'slang' was a bit much, I am sure it was done in tongue-in-cheek, to lighten up the darkness of the movie, don't you know. Overall I would watch the movie at least once it is a fine example how stupid, greedy, mean, and everything in between, that people can be when pushed to the brink. I would like to think that there is a 'real' Chief Marge Gunderson out there. France MCDormand's part was amazing. Her style was not your 'Dirty Harry' way of catching the bad guys, but effective nonetheless. Fargo was Garrison Kellior on acid.

Rating:
Summary: What a waste of time...
Review: I love DVDs and watching movies. This is one I wish I had never seen, and there are not too many of those. If you are tempted to buy it please please please rent it first and use the money you saved to buy a good movie!

Rating:
Summary: A Clever Film
Review: This is an excellent and intriguing motion picture realistically acted by Steve Buscemi, William H. Macy and Harve Presnell. Offbeat it is well scripted and directed with great visual style. Buscemi gives a standout performance as he usually seems to. It contains another innovative score composed by Carter Burwell. Underrated Burwell just keeps coming up with one great score after another. His score attributes to much of the success of this film as it is very stylistic while subconsciously leads the viewer to one unexpected image after another. This is good filmmaking and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Rating:
Summary: Enigmatically Brilliant
Review: The Coen Brothers have long been known for weirdness.... They have also long been known for being quite funny; "Raising Arizona" remains one of the goofiest crime capers out there. But with "Fargo," the Coens somehow managed to take their unique mix of madcap and malevolence to a new level, and created a truly epic film that's only about 100 minutes long and has no real point. There's the obvious great things about it: the performances (most especially William H. Macy as the pitiful, pathetic, and somewhat diabolical car salesman Jerry Lundegaard), the accents, the setting of a crime story in perhaps the most banal of places. But this film is also a genuine example of how a thing can be more than the sum of its parts. For, with all of the advantages it has going for it, the least of which is an acute sense of humor, it's still rather difficult to pick out just why this film is so great. It's the way it all comes together, the connections, the unspeakable, that makes you rewind happy.

Rating:
Summary: What's the big deal?
Review: Fargo is a movie that I put off watching for 5 years for really no reason at all besides laziness or there were always "better" movies to rent. Well, it's too bad I actually took the time to watch this so-called great movie. The word that comes to mind is pointless and ridiculous. That's 2 words, but oh well. And the thing that I cannot believe is that this movie won awards. Yeah, the acting is pretty darn good. The accents are awesome. To know that people actually speak that way is hysterical. But, the movie really has no point. There was a lot of pointless dialogue that added nothing to the movie besides getting to hear people say "ya." At times I didn't know whether to laugh or be shocked. Normally if someone is shot in the face it's not very funny, but this movie seems to make it. The humor is what kept me watching, but still, this is not a great movie by any lengths. Overall, Fargo is an over hyped movie that fails to deliver anything besides a few laughs at some accents. Not very exciting. 2 Stars

Rating:
Summary: Decent movie, very poor DVD transfer
Review: I'd probably give this movie four stars (although I didn't feel it was Academy Award-worthy). The DVD transfer really turned me off, though. There were a lot of dust and scratch artifacts, and most VHS tapes I've seen have cleaner transfers. The digital picture only accents the poor quality of the transfer. I think that the 4 stars for video quality given in the technical details is generous. When comparing even to the average transfer, I'd give it two stars (hence my lowered rating for this movie). My Hitchcock DVD collection features much cleaner transfers, and most of those movies are fifty or sixty years old! There's no way that consumers should have to accept this kind of DVD transfer for a five-year-old film. Am I picky? You bet. Much of the movie, in all honesty, the artifacts didn't bother me that much, but just the fact that I noticed them without really looking for them ticked me off. They're most easily noticed in the snowstorm scenes and the darker scenes. Artifacts aren't something I study the screen looking for, and if I noticed it on a low-resolution TV, I'd hate to think what it would look like on my laptop's LCD screen.

Well, enough of that rant. I thought the movie was good, but I think the Academy just noticed it because it was quirky and did things a little differently than most movies do. The characters were all played tongue-in-cheek, but most of the actors weren't believable to me. Steve Buscemi was the exception. I love the way he plays offbeat characters and makes them seem believable. The other actors were okay, but I didn't think it was spectacular; I didn't think the characters had much depth beyond one emotion apiece. Kind of reminded me of "Whose Line is it Anyway" when they have the comedians play a character "angry," "hungry," etc. William H. Macy's character was always played as a "woe-is-me" downtrodden person who thought everything that happened to him was someone else's fault. Frances McDormand (who won the best actress Oscar for Fargo) played her character superficially, I thought. None of the characters showed much feeling or shock with all the brutal killing and violence, and though it added to the effect the film seemed to go for, it took away any sympathy I had for the characters and distanced me from the film. I liked the movie, but I just don't think it's worth all the hype.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely amazing!
Review: This is the second best movie i've ever seen (first also being the coen brothers big lebowski), the script is witty and darkly comical, the acting is incredible for the parts they are playin (hence frances mcdormand's oscar, and the direction need i say, is top notch. Buy this film, you're bound to like it.