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 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 

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 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs 
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Keeping it Light
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Post The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an American western anthology film written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers. It stars Tim Blake Nelson, Liam Neeson, James Franco, Zoe Kazan, Tyne Daly, and Tom Waits. It premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2018, where it won the Golden Osella Award for Best Screenplay and was released on November 16 on Netflix after a limited theatrical run.


Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:40 pm
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The Kramer
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The first bit is great. The second is pretty good. The fourth and fifth are pretty good as well, though I didn’t get why they ended the way they did. I didn’t get the last skit at all. I thought at first they were the main characters from the previous stories, travelling from the plane of life into something else. A neat way to thematically wrap up the movie. But it seems to have just been a remake of The Hateful Eight. And the third part is just unpleasant and I’d likely have given the movie an A were it replaced or removed entirely.

Definitely worth checking out. Very funny and beautifully shot as you’d expect from the Coens.


Tue Nov 20, 2018 12:58 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
This film is an absolute delight. It nails every tone and dynamic it aims for, from the zany sight gags and comic buoyancy of the first to the wintry dread and despondency of the third (which has a perfectly underplayed gut punch of an ending) and so on. It is, of course, excellently acted and sumptuously photographed. The short-story/anthology-film format serves the Coen brothers well. They narrow in on a feeling they want to create or a Western-film archetype they want to toy with or skewer; they achieve said goal with their signature wit and impressive economy; and then they craftily and swiftly move in another direction entirely. It is a rush.

Contrary to Flava'd vs The World, "Meal Ticket" with Liam Neeson might be my favorite segment. It is going to haunt me for a long time. But each is superb.

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Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:49 am
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
David wrote:

Contrary to Flava'd vs The World, "Meal Ticket" with Liam Neeson might be my favorite segment. It is going to haunt me for a long time. But each is superb.
I so knew you were gonna say this. :P

I’ve come to appreciate it a little more, it would compliment the first two thematically by saying that change is the only way to survive in the West and that some people can do it and some people can’t. But the endings to the next two chapters veer so widly that I found Meal Ticket to just be there for the sake of bringing the viewer down from the fun of the first two bits.


Fri Nov 23, 2018 1:12 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
I'll watch this in a couple of days and hope it won't look as ugly as the trailer and other preview videos I've seen of it. What I saw looked like a mix of the album cover David uses as his avatar and the bedroom scene in Return of the King.

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Fri Nov 23, 2018 3:55 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
"Meal Ticket" is the best segment.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Most of it is incredibly solid. I absolutely hated the final segment though.


Fri Nov 23, 2018 11:35 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Kind of amazing that Dudley from the Harry Potter films is the star of Meal Ticket.

The only weak entry, in my view, was the sixth with the fifth being my favorite.


Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:25 am
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
So I loved this. It is six vignettes all set in the wild west. There is an authenticity to them all that makes it a delight. The Coens certainly take their time, and each one is great in its own way (besides "The Mortal Remains", which was the weakest). The cinematography and mise-en-scène in each is spectacular, and worth watching on its own.

My favourite was "All Gold Canyon".

The only other that left an impression on me was "Meal Ticket". I have this theory that the man with no arms and legs did something awful to Neeson's character in the past. So Neeson got his revenge. And when he showed no longer to have value, he dumped him. Or maybe it was just meant to show that people at this time had no value for human life. Either way, it's cold as hell, and interesting to surmise.

I loved the final part of "The Gal Who Got Rattled". The little boy came out in me at that point. Just pure cowboys and indians fun time there!


Sat Dec 29, 2018 7:50 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
I really enjoyed this. I don't even remember seeing a trailer for it and I'm glad I didn't because I went in not knowing what to expect and that was definitely for the better IMO. It works incredible well as a western/anthology hybrid and I honestly wouldn't mind seeing more films in this format. Each story was very engaging and I just loved the cinematography throughout. I will admit that the ending to the Meal Ticket really fucking bothered me the first time I saw it, but now that I have had more to time think about it I must give the Coens credit for being able to hit us with something so left field and disturbing, but not ruining the overall fun tone of the whole film. That takes hell of alot of talent which they definitely have.

B+


Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:04 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
It was excellent. Top three Netflix original (Roma being another I can think of at the moment). My favorite segment is probably the old gold miner.

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Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:10 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
lilmac wrote:
It was excellent. Top three Netflix original (Roma being another I can think of at the moment). My favorite segment is probably the old gold miner.


I loved that one as well. It's honestly hard for me to choose which one I loved more between that one and "The Gal Who Got Rattled.


Fri Jan 25, 2019 10:15 pm
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Dil wrote:
lilmac wrote:
It was excellent. Top three Netflix original (Roma being another I can think of at the moment). My favorite segment is probably the old gold miner.


I loved that one as well. It's honestly hard for me to choose which one I loved more between that one and "The Gal Who Got Rattled.


I loved that one. The lead actress is actually the granddaughter of Elia Kazan. The entire movie is worth a rewatch.

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Sat Jan 26, 2019 12:54 am
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Post Re: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
I finally caught up to this and was surprised that I missed this one. Meal Ticket was my favorite segment but I loved first five of them. Didn't like the final segment as much. Its shot beautifully and one of the better Westerner's in a LONG time.


Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:50 pm
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