Tom Waits In the Coen Brothers’ New Movie, "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"*

Tom Waits Cast in the Coen Brothers’ New Movie | Pitchfork

 

I don't think you did ticket sales a favor adding that title. Ugh, what a horrible title. Sounds like the double feature along with Aaron Slick of Pumpkin Creek.

 

Any 'lation ta Earl?

 

Tom has been unusually quiet this year musically. I wondered if he was going for the easy buck in films...............

 

I didn’t even know the Coen Brothers has announced they were working on a movie. The Coen Brothers have always been good with westerns and western-inflected films, so this should be interesting. Apparently it was supposed to be an anthology series at some point, which makes me wonder how it will stand as a single, cohesive project.

 

That headline's pretty hilarious too. Especially if it was actually written by a professional writer. Who speaks English.

 

Sure, but it just makes no sense. Your headline for the thread is coherent; theirs isn't. "Details of Tom Waits-Featuring New Movie" is just gibberish.

 

The first trailer makes me want to see this film but I've been fooled by Cohen trailers before ('Hail, Caesar!').

 

and he's in the new Robert Redford movie as well

 

this looks really cool! can't wait to see it !

 

Anyone go see it in a theater?
According to the review today, it's 4 or 5 vignettes, full of the wonderful fractured storytelling we expect.

 

So far...It's a good 'un.

 

I might seeing it tonight. Love me a new western and the Coen brothers are always great more or less

 

That's it, I'm hooked!

 

My wife is going to go see this tonight. She only wants to see films in the theater and she's really annoyed by this trend of every director doing television shows.

 

Mr. Thomas Alan Waits as "Waller" in the film The Old Man & the Gun.
Two "Forrest Tucker"s?
Who knew?

 

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Six short stories set in the Wild West.

It's a decent movie with the usual strengths and weaknesses of the Coen Brothers work. The strengths are first rate immaculate production values, great visuals, an abundance of style, lots of good dialogue, odd humour, surprising moments and inventive writing. The weaknesses are a hollow lack of soul and a lack of an actual overall purpose. Many of their stories just don't seem to have any actual point or purpose. I would say that five of these six stories suffer from having endings that don't particularly go anywhere satisfying.

Story 1: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Authentically peculiar, stylish, funny and very surprising but it felt pointless with a climax that didn’t seem to go anywhere.

Story 2: Near Algodones – Funny and mildly surprising but as a story it felt pointless with a climax that didn’t seem to go anywhere.

Story 3: Meal Ticket – By far the weakest story. It’s too long, too taciturn and isn’t interesting with an obvious climax I saw coming from a mile away. It should have been half the length. It’s a dreary plod with a depressing tone.

Story 4: All Gold Canyon – It was okay but there isn’t much of a story. Not a lot happens. It doesn’t really go anywhere nor do anything interesting as a story. It was too slow and overlong. This plodding story back-to-back with Meal Ticket means the middle of the film drags quite badly. These two slow stories should not be together as they kill the pace. It’s the least substantial of the stories.

Story 5: The Gal Who Got Rattled – By far the most substantial story. It starts a bit so-so but it gets better and better as it goes on and ends with an excellent action scene. This ended up being borderline brilliant with some real emotional heft. It has a great climax.

Story 6: The Mortal Remains – Entertaining talkative story but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere. It doesn’t seem to add up to the sum of its parts. It’s also very, very reminiscent of Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) to the point it has no identity of its own. The climax is very weak but frankly I have to confess I didn’t understand it. Everyone gets nervous and I’m not sure why. SPOILER: Did they think the bounty hunters were going to kill them and then relaxed as they now think they are safe?

Order of best to worst: 5, 1, 2, 4, 6 and then 3.

Overall: Good (but flawed)

 

Easy buck?

 

I was reading how this was supposed to be six separate episodes and a mini series, but the Coen felt the stories worked in a specific order and were worried people would skip around and not view them as a whole, so they made it a single movie. I don't why? First of all, people don't "skip around" series that much, secondly, I think you could have put these stories in any damned order you wanted

Somewhat Damaged rankings are about right for me, too.

Order of best to worst: 5, 1, 2, 4, 6 and then 3 -- which was also just sloppily done.

In fact, I think a few episodes could have been directed by anyone. Some were pretty generic. I thought the craziness of the first episode was great. Like a dark underground cartoon with a gleeful homicidal maniac as it's hero. Reminded me, in spirit, of the work of Al Columbia.