![]() ![]() James Franco plays a man who's set to be hanged. Zoe Kazan plays a woman completely out of her depth who makes the best out of a bad situation…until she can't any longer. Tim Blake Nelson's warbling cowboy reminds me of Darius Rucker from Hootie and the Blowfish-fame, singing about the Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch (but, you know, with underlying gravitas). Even so, I thought it should have at least been nominated in one of the acting categories, since everyone's incredible across the board! (to the Academy's credit, at least the movie got nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, Costume Design, and Best Original Song, for “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings” by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch). So, it didn't get nominated for Best Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards. ![]() (Image credit: Netflix) The Acting In It Is Impeccable And Diverse I’d say that only “Meal Ticket” (which is possibly the best segment of the bunch) feels mean-spirited, and the closest to having a No Country for Old Men sort of bleakness to it. Because as humorous as the segment, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is, it also has a really dark ending that makes you reflect on all of the goofiness that comes before it (being a bit of a musical doesn’t hurt, either).įor all the darkness of “The Mortal Remains,” there’s also a touch of levity in there. You have the darkly comedic side of their repertoire, with segments like "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," "Near Algodones," starring a pre- misconduct allegations James Franco, and "All Gold Canyon."Īnd then, you have the really dark ones, like “The Gal Who Got Rattled,” “The Mortal Remains,” and the all hope is lost segment, “Meal Ticket.” Plus, in typical Coen brothers fashion, a lot of the vignettes mix humor and drama. I, however, think every vignette is fantastic, as each represents different facets of the brothers’ style. Critics seemed to like it, but their comments usually veered toward the movie being interesting, but also a bit lopsided, with the consensus being that some vignettes were much better than others. (Image credit: Netflix) The Film Hits All Of The Trademark Coen Brothers' TouchesĪs I mentioned earlier, the movie was reviewed highly, but it wasn’t up for Best Picture like Fargo, No Country for Old Men, A Serious Man, or True Grit, the latter of which, by the way, I thought was nowhere near as good as Buster Scruggs. Thankfully, each segment here is a banger. Because some of their flicks just seem like they'd be better off if they were bite-sized. In fact, after watching it, I kind of wish that some of their other films, like Hail, Caesar! (which I actually think is overrated) or even Burn After Reading, were shortened, and put into one anthology film. Each segment shows a different side of the American west, and distinctly feels like its own separate movie. That's right! For those who don't know or have been ignoring Tim Blake Nelson's Netflix singing cowboy film since 2018, it's an anthology western. I mean, how can I not? It's like six Coen brothers movies in one! People will likely continue to discuss that last film, especially since it's probably the best Cormac McCarthy adaptation, but you know what movie people likely won't be discussing all that much in the future? Buster Scruggs, and I think that's a damn shame, because I'd definitely put it up there with their best work (and wish that others would, too). ![]()
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