The week in brief (17 - 23 December)

This week, I have been mostly watching...

Seven Psychopaths (2012): 8/10
Free Men (Les hommes libres) (2011): 7/10
The Big Lebowski (1998): 10/10
Life of Pi (2012): 7/10
In Bruges (2008): 9/10

A few days ago, I conducted a scientific analysis of my movie reviews over the last year and determined that the top week (in terms of average review) was the 5th to the 11th of November. However, if I'd waited until today, I would have found a new champion, as the average score this week comes in at a whopping 8.2. I think we can chalk this exceptional week up to a combination of seasonal cheer and the fact that due to delays in the Christmas post, my selection of new films from LOVEFiLM never arrived, so I watched a couple of old favourites instead. Anyway, on with a quick round up of this week's movies.

First up, Ang Lee's adaptation of Yann Martel's Booker prize winning novel, Life of Pi. It's the story of Pi Patel, an Indian lad of about 17 or so who survives a shipwreck, only to find himself floating across the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat with only a tiger named Richard Parker for company. I was a little conflicted about this picture. On the one hand, it features some of the most strikingly beautiful cinematography that I've seen all year - in particular, certain scenes in which Lee pans back to reveal the night sky reflected in the calm ocean are quite breathtaking. As well as this, newcomer Suraj Sharma gives a highly impressive performance in the title role - something which is essential to the success of the movie, as for the majority of the running time, he's acting opposite a CGI tiger as the only human presence on screen. On the other hand, despite the fine central performance and the wonderful cinematography, I felt the pacing of the movie was a little off. It takes a while to get going, and other than the shipwreck (which, I have to admit, is thrilling), it proceeds at a pace which might generously be described as 'meditative'. I wouldn't say I was bored during Pi's long, arduous journey - but I wasn't exactly glued to the screen either.

Moving on, I also caught Martin McDonagh's new film at the cinema this week. Seven Psychopaths is set in Hollywood, with our protagonist an Irish writer named Marty (presumably McDonagh didn't have to look too far for inspiration there). As the film begins, he's struggling to come up with a new screenplay; though he has a title (Seven Psychopaths), he's trying to avoid writing the same old cliched, violent story and is unable to make any progress. Luckily, his best friend Billy - a part time actor and full time dog kidnapper  - is able to introduce him to a range of real world psychos just dying to appear on screen... McDonagh has followed up In Bruges (which I watched for the second time this week) with another fine picture. It's sharply scripted, witty, violent and features some fine comic turns from a number of great actors including Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Tom Waits. Nevertheless, of McDonagh's two films, I'd have to rate In Bruges a little higher than the follow up. That film's great strength is that in amongst the funny, profane script, the gunplay and the bizarre situations involving loquacious Eastern European gangsters and midgets dressed in school uniforms, we have two well developed lead characters that you come to care about during the course of the picture. Though Seven Psychopaths is similarly sharply scripted, it's endlessly self-referential nature (with nods and winks to the viewer) means that you're always aware that despite all the wit on display, the characters in the story are just that - fictional characters. It's inevitable, therefore, that the events which occur during the film's violent climax never have the same impact as the denouement of In Bruges.

And finally, just a few words on the subject of The Big Lebowski, which I watched this week for what must have been the seventh or eighth time. I've talked about it before on this blog (for example here and here), but it really is just a brilliant film, one I can return to again and again. It's a movie which has, rather like The Simpsons, become almost a part of me; I'd say my brain consists of approximately 45% Simpsons quotes, 45% Lebowski quotes, and 10% for the other unimportant stuff like remembering how to walk without falling over, eat using a knife and fork, and breathe through my nose. I can't think of many movies which have founded their own religions, annual conventions or which have acres of online space devoted to fans endlessly regurgitating choice quotes - but The Big Lebowski has all of that and more. As the Stranger says at the end of the picture, it's nice to know that the Dude is out there, taking it easy for all us sinners. I don't know about you, but I take comfort in that.

Kirk's Quote of the Week

In Bruges (2008)

"Chloë: So what do you do, Raymond?
Ray: I... shoot people for money. 
Chloë: What kinds of people? 
Ray: Priests, children... you know, the usual. "

The week in brief (2 - 8 July)

This week's big(ish) list o' movies:

The Outsiders (1983): 5/10
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): 7/10
Sea of Love (1989): 7/10
Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936): 8/10
Rebecca (1940): 7/10
The Adjustment Bureau (2011): 5/10

So, a bit of a mixed bag once again. The pick of the bunch are a couple of 'oldies but goodies': first of all, Frank Capra's original version of Mr Deeds Goes To Town. Mr Deeds is a classic comedy which sees Gary Cooper as the small town poet who inherits a fortune, then finds himself at the centre of a media circus when he tries to give the money away. Rather like the other Capra films I've seen (Mr Smith Goes to Washington and It's A Wonderful Life), it's a story where innocence and honesty triumph over cynicism and greed. Despite being made 70 odd years ago, it's still very funny, with a fine screenplay, and brilliant comic turns from Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur.  Secondly, I also rather enjoyed Albert Hitchcock's first American movie, Rebecca - it won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1940, and is an intriguing mystery set at a isolated Cornish estate. The stand out performance for me comes from Judith Anderson as Mrs Danvers, probably the creepiest housekeeper in cinema history.

There were also a couple of films which I didn't really enjoy this week. The Outsiders is a bit of a strange one - a tale of street gangs in 1950s Oklahoma which squanders a remarkable cast (including the likes of Matt Dillon, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Emilio Estevez and Diane Lane) with a pretty limp, unconvincing story. The direction was just too showy, making everything seem completely artificial and taking me away from the action. I know Francis Ford Coppola is regarded as being one of the great American directors, but there's a fair bit of dross on his resume alongside genuine classics like The Godfather (Parts I and II), Apocalypse Now and The Conversation. Another minor disappointment: The Adjustment Bureau. Despite solid performances from Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, the movie just didn't work for me. The idea of a sinister cabal of besuited men controlling the world is quite an intriguing one, but the execution of that idea was muddled and confusing.

Finally, I should mention that I caught the new Spider-Man movie at the cinema. I've always been a big fan of old Spidey - he was my favourite superhero when I was growing up, and I thoroughly enjoyed Sam Raimi's first two Spider-Man pictures. As for the new one - well, I'd say it's a qualified success. Andrew Garfield makes for a suitably neurotic webslinger, and the scenes establishing the character's origins are about as good as I could have hoped for. However, I was disappointed with the villain of the piece, the Lizard - a CGI creation without any presence or personality - and the ending, with the spider - lizard face off, was a bit too predictable.

Kirk's Quote of the Week

The Big Lebowski (1998)

"The Dude: Mr. Treehorn treats objects like women, man.
Malibu Police Chief: Mr. Treehorn draws a lot of water in this town. You don't draw shit, Lebowski. Now we got a nice, quiet little beach community here, and I aim to keep it nice and quiet. So let me make something plain. I don't like you sucking around, bothering our citizens, Lebowski. I don't like your jerk-off name. I don't like your jerk-off face. I don't like your jerk-off behavior, and I don't like you, jerk-off. Do I make myself clear?
The Dude: I'm sorry, I wasn't listening."

Listorama! My Top Ten L.A. Movies

I thought it was about time I got around to doing another top ten list. On this occasion, I'm going to be counting down my favourite ten films set in Los Angeles. LA is a city which I've never visited, though due to the sheer number of films and TV shows I've seen which are set in Southern California, I feel like I know the place anyway. It's possibly for the best that I've never been there in person - the real Los Angeles could never live up to the city I've created in my mind.

Now, I know that a huge number of films have been shot in LA, but to qualify for this list, the films have to be set in LA (or its environs), and feature the city's locations prominently. As with my other lists, there were a number of excellent movies which didn't quite make the cut: Heat, Down In The Valley, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Boogie Nights, The Big Sleep,  Boyz N The Hood, Sunset Boulevard and Inland Empire.

Right then, that's enough of a preamble. On with the list!

10. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)

I've loved the Naked Gun movies since I was a kid, and for my money, Leslie Nielsen's first outing as Lt. Frank Drebin is the best. I had a hard time deciding between this movie and Heat, but for sheer re-watchability, Naked Gun wins hands down. Provided you've got a sufficiently puerile mind, it's hilarious from start to finish, and culminates in a brilliant scene set at a California Angels baseball game. Plus, we get this fine montage, set in such quintessential Los Angeles locations as the beach, tattoo parlour, and the rodeo (that's a popular activity in LA, right?).

Memorable lines:

"Jane: Would you like a nightcap?
Frank: No, thank you, I don't wear them."

9. Magnolia (1999)

An incredibly ambitious, sprawling three hour epic which shares the stories of a number of heartbroken Angelenos, it's hard to believe that Paul Thomas Anderson was only 29 years old when he made this picture. It's also noteworthy for featuring a performance from Tom Cruise that proves that the guy really can act if he wants to, as well as brilliant turns from the likes of Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffmann and William H Macy.

Memorable lines:

"Claudia Gator:  Now that I've met you, would you object to never seeing me again?"

8. Short Cuts (1993)

Another lengthy anthology of LA stories, this time directed by old master Robert Altman. It's tough to choose between this movie and Magnolia, but Short Cuts just about edges it.  Each of the segments here is based on the short fiction of Raymond Carver, one of my favourite writers, and it's crammed full of fascinating, desperate characters from all ends of the social spectrum in Los Angeles.

Memorable lines:

"Tess Trainer: I hate L.A. All they do is snort coke and talk."

7. Barton Fink (1991)

This is the first of several films on my list which touches on the dark side of showbusiness. Promising playwright Barton Fink is whisked off to Hollywood with dreams of making a difference to the common man, but like William Faulkner and F Scott Fitzgerald before him, he winds up crushed by Hollywood, writing Wallace Beery wrestling pictures for crazy studio mogul Jack Lipnick. One of the Coen brothers' finest pictures, it goes to fiendish lengths to portray the way the writer is treated by the studio system.

Memorable lines:

"Ben Geisler: Look, you confused? You need guidance? Talk to another writer.
Barton: Who?
Geisler: Jesus, throw a rock in here, you'll hit one. And do me a favour, Fink: throw it hard."

6. Double Indemnity (1944)

A magnificent film noir, starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G Robinson. This film has MacMurray as Walter Neff, a straight arrow insurance salesman talked into a murderous scheme by a beautiful femme fatale (Stanwyck). I suppose what I like so much about this film is the contrast between the beauty of the setting - a city where the sun is always shining and the American dream is being lived to the full - and the corruption and unpleasantness which resides just below the surface of that mirage. It's a film I can watch over and over again.

Memorable lines:

"Phyllis: I'm a native Californian. Born right here in Los Angeles.
Walter Neff: They say all native Californians come from Iowa. "

  
5. The Big Lebowski (1998)


Probably the most quotable film of all time, a movie which has launched conventions, festivals, irritating adverts for VW... you name it, Lebowski has done it. It's also a great LA movie, taking in the Dude's private residence in Venice, the Big Lebowski's mansion in Pasadena, Jackie Treehorn's place in Malibu, In-N-Out Burger and, of course, the famous bowling alley, which has apparently now been demolished. If you haven't seen this movie, you really need to rectify that situation right now. (By the way, I'm aware that in a previous list of Coen brothers movies, I placed Barton Fink above the Big Lebowski, but here it's a few places lower. I suppose there are two reasons for that: and (a) It was extremely difficult to separate the top four films on my Coen list - on another day, the top four could have been in a completely different order (b) I felt that Lebowski was more of a 'Los Angeles' movie, if that makes sense - it covered a broader range of LA locations and people than Barton Fink, which just took place in the world of Hollywood.)

Memorable lines:

"The Stranger: Sometimes, there's a man, well, he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that's the Dude. The Dude, from Los Angeles. And even if he's a lazy man—and the Dude was most certainly that. Quite possibly the laziest in all of Los Angeles County, which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide."

 4. L.A. Confidential (1997)


I absolutely love James Ellroy's books - particularly the L.A. quartet, four hardboiled crime novels which expose the seedy underbelly of Los Angeles in the '40s and '50s. For me, L.A. Confidential is probably Ellroy's greatest novel, and Curtis Hanson's adaptation perfectly translates the book to the big screen. It features career best performances from the likes of Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey and Kim Basinger, a beautiful recreation of postwar LA, a brilliantly twisty plot and an amazing ending.

Memorable lines:

"Sid Hudgens: Come to Los Angeles! The sun shines bright, the beaches are wide and inviting, and the orange groves stretch as far as the eye can see. There are jobs aplenty, and land is cheap. Every working man can have his own house, and inside every house, a happy, all-American family. You can have all this, and who knows... you could even be discovered, become a movie star... or at least see one. Life is good in Los Angeles... it's paradise on Earth. Ha ha ha ha. That's what they tell you, anyway."

 3. Mulholland Drive (2001)


Perhaps David Lynch's finest movie, this is another film on this list which examines the dark side of Hollywood. It has a hypnotic, mesmerising quality - like watching a beautiful nightmare that you can't turn away from. It took me several viewings to even get close to working out what's going on in the second half of the picture, but the film is so full of bizarre, memorable scenes that rewatching it is always a pleasure, never a chore.

Memorable lines:

"The Cowboy: You will see me one more time if you do good. You will see me two more times if you do bad.”

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

A film that launched a thousand (pale) imitators, Pulp Fiction is Quentin Tarantino at his absolute best. Cutting between different intersecting L.A. crime stories, we get to meet bungling hitmen Jules and Vincent, washed up prizefighter Butch, sadistic redneck Z, crime boss Marcellus Wallace, his coke-addled wife Mia and many other wonderful creations. It's just a brilliant Los Angeles movie - funny, exciting and unbelievably cool.

Memorable lines:

"Jules: And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know My name is the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon thee."

1.  Chinatown (1974)

So, we finally come to number 1 on my list, and as Chinatown is probably my absolute favourite film of all time right now, there wasn't much doubt in my mind that it would be top of the charts in terms of L.A. movies, too. It's brilliantly directed by Roman Polanski, wonderfully scripted by Robert Towne, and features iconic performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. I'd say it's probably the perfect film noir - one in which Nicholson as private eye Jake Gittes discovers the ultimate truth about Los Angeles - the poisonous foundations on which the City of Angels was built.

Memorable lines:

"Morty: Can you believe it? We're in the middle of a drought, and the water commissioner drowns. Only in L.A. "

Listorama! Ranking the Coens

From the mightiest Pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, who doesn't enjoy a good list? I was considering making this post my top 10 films of all time, but it proved a bit tricky to arrange my favourites in order. I am instead taking on a rather smaller project - listing the Coen brothers movies from best to worst.

When I say worst, of course, it's a comparative term - I don't think the Coens have ever made a bad movie, but the bottom two films on the list are dangerously close to mediocrity. As for the rest, it was tough to choose between them. I'd say there are four tiers of Coen brothers movie - the unbelievably good (roughly numbers 1 - 5 on my list), the excellent (numbers 6-10), the very good (11-13) and the fair (14 and 15).

Anyway, here's the list. It's been done by far wiser, better informed personages than myself, but nevertheless, I present the Coen brothers, from top to bottom.

15. The Ladykillers (2004)

As close as Joel and Ethan ever got to making a bad movie, this remake of the classic Ealing comedy just doesn't come off. It certainly isn't terrible, and has a number of funny moments (many of which involve Tom Hanks as a scheming Southern professor), but the comedy is rather broad and the film as a whole is very uneven. As this movie followed the film I've ranked as number 14 on my list, I feared that the Coens might have lost their touch. Fortunately, they bounced back (as Alan Partridge has proved, people can bounce back) with a brilliant return to form in No Country For Old Men.

14. Intolerable Cruelty (2003)

Another broad and only sporadically amusing comedy. George Clooney stars as a sleazy, unethical, smooth talking divorce lawyer who meets his match in Catherine Zeta Jones' beautiful gold digger.  To be honest, there isn't much to choose between this movie and The Ladykillers - they both represent the Coens at the their most uninspired. As this one's based on an original idea it gets the edge.

13. Burn After Reading (2008)

A big step up from the previous two films, I liked this one a lot more than numbers 14 and 15 on my list. A farcical spy caper involving the memoirs of a disgruntled former CIA agent falling into the hands of two moronic employees of 'Hardbodies Gym', played by Brad Pitt and Mrs Joel Coen, Frances McDormand. The bungling pair attempt to blackmail the CIA man in order to pay for McDormand's 'surgeries', with disastrous results.  The movie is a little lightweight compared to the two films which preceded and followed it (No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man), but it's still a lot of fun. Bonus marks are awarded for the shock reveal of the very special chair which George Clooney's character spends a good portion of the film working on.

12. Blood Simple (1984)

The Coens' very first movie, featuring many of the motifs which the brothers came to be known for: a dark atmosphere, snappy dialogue, a double cross or two, and an odious villain. I first saw this film in VHS format with quite a bit of background noise (which made it hard to pick up what was being said and to follow the story), and I remember not being too impressed with it. However, on second viewing I was able to see (and more importantly hear) what the fuss was all about, with excellent performances from a young Frances McDormand as the dame in peril and M Emmet Walsh as the sinister private detective on her trail.

11. Raising Arizona (1987)

A madcap comedy starring Nicolas Cage as a former criminal who marries a policewoman, then kidnaps the son of a furniture salesman. To be honest, I haven't seen this one for a long time, and maybe it would have come a little higher if I could recollect more about it than Nicolas Cage's quiff and a chase sequence involving a demonic biker. From what I recall, very funny and a little bit crazy.

10. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Despite being known for being a big box office flop for Warner Bros, I rate this one very highly. Tim Robbins stars as a naively optimistic graduate from the (not so) prestigious Muncie School of Business who is plucked from the postroom at Hudsucker Industries by Paul Newman's unscrupulous executive. His meteoric rise attracts the attention of a hotshot investigative report played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose speech patterns are based on the fast talking dames of '40s comedies. Though it runs a little out of steam in the second half, the film features some great characters and brilliant cinematography. Also scores highly for Tim Robbins' confusingly simplistic hula hoop design. "You know, for kids!"

9. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)

In which George Clooney leads two other chain gang inmates to freedom, stopping off en route to record a hit song, evade the Ku Klux Klan and get through a lot of 'Dapper Dan' pomade. I really should say that despite being in a comparatively lowly position on my list,  I think this movie is great - the 30s soundtrack is spot on, and it features brilliant performances from a number of actors who regularly feature in Coen brothers movies (Clooney, John Goodman, John Turturro). Why, then, hasn't this film charted higher? I suppose it's just the overall tone of the film - it's generally very light and breezy, and all played for laughs. I think when the Coens are really firing on all cylinders, you get that unique mixture of the very dark and the very funny, which puts a movie like Fargo up to the very top of the tree.

8. True Grit (2010)

The most recent Coen movie, and a fine addition to the collection. As with a number of their more recent movies, the Coens have adapted another author's work for the screen, rather than writing an original screenplay. Hallee Steinfeld is excellent as 14 year old Mattie Ross, a girl seeking revenge for her father's murder in a lawless town in the American West. In doing so, she enlists the services of the drunken, short tempered Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and is also assisted by a pompous Texas Ranger (played by Matt Damon). I have to be honest and admit that I haven't seen the original version with John Wayne as Cogburn, but I'd be very surprised if it could top this movie, a really gripping (and gritty) Western.

7. A Serious Man (2009)

Probably the Coens' most autobiographical film (though they refuse to confirm just how true to life it is), this dark comedy is set in a Jewish enclave in 1960s Minnesota. The film tells the tale of Larry Gopnik, a Maths professor who goes to a number of Rabbis for advice when his life begins to unravel. Pitch black, but very funny, this one has a great soundtrack, some really funny lines and a number of highly unexpected moments. As with No Country for Old Men, it ends on an ambiguous, inconclusive note. As the father of one of Mr Gopnik's students tells us, perhaps it's best to "accept the mystery".

6. No Country For Old Men (2007)

Probably the Coens' darkest film, this movie is an adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy's novel, a sort of modern day Western set in West Texas in the '80s. Trailer park resident Josh Brolin comes across the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad in the middle of the desert, and decides to take away a suitcase full of money from the scene. Unfortunately for Brolin, the psychotic Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) is soon on his trail. Chigurh is probably the scariest villain in any of the Coen brothers' movies - a relentless, murderous man with a terrible haircut, and a penchant for his bolt gun, he's somebody you really, really don't want chasing you. This one comes just outside the top 5 for me as it is just so bleak, but was definitely deserving of the Best Picture Oscar.

5. Miller's Crossing (1991)

At this point in the list, all the movies are fantastic, and it's pretty much impossible for me to separate them. But it would be a bit of cop out to have a five way tie for first place, so almost on a whim, Miller's Crossing comes in a number 5. The Coens' take on the gangster genre is set in the prohibition era, and features Gabriel Byrne as sharp witted right hand man of local mob boss Albert Finney, who is caught between loyalty to his boss and to the advances of his crass rival (played by Jon Polito). The film features it's own fascinating brand of made up '30s slang ("giving me the high hat, Tom?"), a plot which twists first one way and then the other, with Byrne trying to stay in control, and a tremendous scene in the woods in which the weaselly Bernie Bernbaum (John Turturro) begs Byrne to spare his life. Top notch.

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

A beautifully shot film noir pastiche in black and white, Billy Bob Thornton turns in the performance of his career (with the possible exception of Sling Blade) as the taciturn barber Ed Crane. In trying to raise some start up capital for a dry cleaning franchise, Crane attempts to blackmail his wife's lover (James Gandolfini). In the best possible noir tradition, this simple plan works out disastrously for all concerned (with the exception of Tony Shalhoub's sleazy lawyer), but with every twist of fate, Ed remains laconic and tight lipped, narrating his story in a deadpan drawl.  Some Coen fans don't rank this movie too highly, but for me it's nearly perfect and the more times I see it, the more I love it.

3. The Big Lebowski (1998)

In which a laid back slacker gets embroiled in a world of trouble when trying to get compensation for a soiled rug. What can you say about the movie so quotable that it's created a cottage industry of festivals, Dude impersonators, and an endless stream of hilarious quotes and in jokes? I have to confess that the first time I saw Lebowski, I didn't really get it. Sure, it was entertaining enough, but it seemed a little too wacky for my tastes. On repeat viewing, however, the genius of the film begins to reveal itself. So many fantastic characters, so many brilliant lines... The film really gets into your head, to the extent that sometimes a Lebowski quote will pop into my head when I'm in public, and leave me grinning to myself like an imbecile. Definitely the Coen's funniest film, it also provides a definitive answer to the question, do strong men also cry?

2. Barton Fink (1991)

Though it wasn't the kind of R rated movie that Bart Simpson and friends were looking for, in all other aspects this is a truly brilliant film. John Turturro plays the our eponymous hero; an earnest New York playwright who suffers a severe case of writer's block after he is sent to Los Angeles to work on a wrestling picture. The Los Angeles of the '40s shown in this movie begins to resemble hell, with Turturro trapped in the stifling confines of his cheap hotel with only cheerful salesman Charlie Meadows (John Goodman) for company.  The film features some brilliantly snappy dialogue and some of the Coen's most memorable  characters - including Steve Buscemi's chipper bellhop, Michael Lerner's deranged studio boss, Tony Shalhoub's disillusioned producer and John Mahoney's soused novelist. A vision of the dark side of Hollywood which I can watch time and time again.

1. Fargo (1996)

So, to the very top of the list. While it was touch and go between the final few films, Fargo just has a bit more heart than the rest. The reason for that is rooted in Frances McDormand's wonderful central performance as heavily pregnant cop Marge Gunderson, who is called in to investigate a multiple homicide in a quiet Minnesotan community. As is often the case with the Coen brothers, the plot revolves around a seemingly simple plan - in this case, the plan to ransom the wife of the financially troubled William H Macy, which soon escalates into tragedy. McDormand's quiet domestic bliss is beautifully contrasted against the seedy lives of the low rent criminals played by Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare, and the grasping desperation of car salesman William H Macy. A brilliantly plotted, scripted, acted and directed movie which is perfect in just about every way.