bross3

and that would have been a real shame. This movie was thoroughly enjoyable. I think this would make an excellent introduction to Korean cinema because it was MY introduction to korean cinema and I didn't find it inaccessible in any way.

It was not as gruesome or hard to stomach as I was expecting, nor was it really as dark as mentioned above. If you could sit through Fargo, you could certainly sit through and really enjoy this film.

To say it does not have many jokes misses the point, because some of the situations that characters find themselves are quite hilarious--especially the chase scenes. The acting and directing are excellent. If you get a chance to catch "Barking Dogs Never Bite" don't miss it.

If it weren't for the incredibly bad narration that was thrown in all over this film, I think it would be a first-rate action film. Like most action films, it doesn't have all that much in the way of plot surprises--you can see this one coming a mile away. But instead of leaving you to figure out the already obvious plot, they had Bruce Willis comment on EVERYTHING! My guess is that the first screenings produced comments saying that it was a quiet, desolate film and they decided to throw in the narration at the very end... it would be interesting to see a cut of this film without the narration.

Well... Jericho is a desolate place. It's a dusty ghosttown! A little more silence would have been appreciated.

The visuals were top-notch. Acting wasn't bad--it was just the annoying voice-overs that constantly invaded with some trite drivel. Christopher Walken was a menacing (but underused) adversary.

I think this film, probably more than any other, causes me to talk to the characters on the screen in an exasperated way--something akin to the way you want to yell at the characters in a slasher movie not to run outside to investigate sounds.

The only difference is that this film is fantastic, whereas cheap slasher movies are not. Blood Simple is emotionally involving and the suspense is played to perfection. While the characters are completely clueless as to what has gone on around them, we know everything. What we don't know is what the characters are going to do next.

As in every Coen film, things quickly get out of control. Some people have commented that the characters here acted unbelievably, but I'd have to say that when you think about their situations, the reactions are completely compatible with the way the characters are set up. The problem is that nobody knows what's going on except the viewers.

Coen fans will notice many recurring themes from their other films (especially Fargo and The Big Lebowski) such as the use of headlights, passing motorists witnessing a crime, shower curtains and bathroom windows, detectives driving VW beetles, husbands hiring the wrong people to carry out a crime... I had a longer list in mind earlier while watching it but I've forgotten some. It's almost like these films all go together as a series of films depicting how similar situations would end up in different locations in America.