During last year's No Country for Old Men press conference, there were no more than a few dozen of us attending. The brothers seemed low key and disinterested, and the film left the fest with hardly more than a blip of buzz from major critics (save, naturally, this trusted critic). Going on to win Best Picture vindicated some, but once again opened up expectation games for those quick to dismiss the Coen's and their work.

Written during the pre-production of No Country (similar to their work ethic during the Barton Fink/Hudsucker Proxy era), they have followed last year's somber, quirky film with a silly, quirky film. This is no simple comedy, yet has enough farce and slapstick for laugh-out-loud moments. Borrowing from the Tony Scott school of filmmaking (complete with Satelite imagery push in, and stern, typed-in-turn screen text) we meet another bunch of clueless idiots in over their heads, this time in Washington. When a CD is found in the changeroom at Hardbodies, a blackmail plot is contrived to try and extort money from a fired CIA agent without enough clearance to have any information that would do any harm.

Snarling Russians, car chases, even gun play make for a semi-authentic thriller, but it's contantly undermined by the moronic activities of the central characters. The A-list actors milk their screen time, fitting into their "character actor" roles with great zeal. Malkovich, bitchy and aggravated in a housecoat, is outshone by Pitt's portrayal of a Hardbodies excercise employee cum three year old, complete with his side-of-mouth sippy cup. Clooney's almost as fun as he was in Oh Brother, and his "running" gag is a delight, along with his metal working, sculptural skills. Finally, wile it's certainly a pleasure to see Tilda being a bitch and McDormand nailing her vapid role, the film is completely stolen by, of all people, J.K. Simmons and David "Sledgehammer" Rasche. Summarizing the film neatly as some beurocratic greek chorus, they point to the existential futility and moral vacuity of Washington's populace.

Look for this to be a slow burn, with repeated viewings and time being far kinder to this flick. Already some are describing this as a disappointment ("nothing happens!") - this couldn't be further from the truth. While no Lebowski or Miller's Crossing, this is a top notch, silly piece of fun fluff, as if Michelangelo had dabbled in black velvet paintings of clowns after that ceiling of his. Bravo, boys, once gain you've released a triumph.

Spaghetti westerns are a fine indication of the incestuous nature of the history of cinema. The archetypical American Western is retold with samurai in Japan, while the Italians took the Japanese stylistic inventiveness, added their own flavor, set out to Spain and shot their own version of the Western mythos. Leone's epic is reclaimed by Asia, this time with the Koreans taking the helm of the genre. While last year's MM Sukiyaki Django made for a sardonic pastiche of Spaghetti conventions, TGTB&TW treats the source material much more reverently.

The plot is certainly delightfully convoluted, involving Japanese soldiers, bounty hunters, Manchurian guns for hire, and Korean ex-pats trying to eke out a living in the wilds of Southern China. There are pretty women, grizzled men on horseback with oilskin coats and stubble, and sinister villains. There are train robberies, gun battles and kinetic action sequences that would put most Hollywood flicks to shame. By the end, as the threads of the tale coalesce, there's a massive action/chase sequence that's like an amped version of the truck chase in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It's a spectacular, ridiculous 25 minute scene where even the horses are exploding in the midst of the action. When the well telegraphed ending comes to pass, the "treasure" finally located, we are left with a further direct homage to Leone's original as the film calms down to the inevitable tripartite confrontation.

There's nothing subtle here, but it's a tale well told, with exceptional sequences that directly nod to the original film without succumbing to parody or ridiculousness. This is "action porn" for any fanboy, with over the top scenes that are still directly tied to the fun, frolicking plot. A heck of a ride, The Good, the Bad and the Weird is a welcome, post-ironic nod to an early school of filmmaking, and provides a great deal of joy and excitement for even the most jaded of action movie fans.

The setup is a good one - exploring the radical changes that Chinese culture has undergone in this latest period of growth, through the experiences of those at the 5,000+ seat restaurant in a provincial town. Visions of epic kitchens, factory-like conditions and massive rooms soon give way to the fact that we're about to watch the daily events at what amounts to a theme-style restaurant, no different than the banquet halls or theme park restaurants throughout the world.

A little time is spent investigating the lives of the workers, compared to their much more pampered bosses. The fact that a woman goes from utter poverty to becoming a multi-millionaire is compelling, but after this trivia is revealed, there's little else to be gained from the story as it's repeated ad nauseum. The film suffers from the fact that it lacks focus, and does little to say anything particularly revelatory about the situation.

Bonus marks are allotted, as always, for showing me something I've not seen before. The scenes of competitive cooking, where live snakes are splayed and served in bite sized chunks, still writhing, proved to be too much for some in the screening. However, it's the preparation of "live fried fish" that proved to be the most "exotic", where the cook wraps a towel around the fish's head, dipping the lower portion in boiling oil. When served, flakes are picked off with chopsticks from the rear, while the head remains untouched, a seeing eye staring up, mouth seemingly gasping for breath, compulsively kissing nothing but air. Over done, and the fish dies. Underdone, and the rear portion looks like throbbing sushi.

It's hardly worth sitting through the whole film for this little experience, but it's certainly the closest the film comes to showing something truly different from the rambling mess of the rest of the flick.

The conceit is music to the ears of any music nerd - get Jimmy Page, Jack White and the Edge onto an intimate stage, have them bring their gear, and have them talk about their love of the guitar for a couple of hours. Film the results, and you have a hell of a doc.

Unfortunately, while this January, 2008 meeting remains the heart of the film, Guggenheim goes to great efforts to contextualize these musicians. We see the Edge in Dublin, plinking away at his home studio. We visit the mansion where some of Zeppelin's hits were recorded, visiting the hallway that led to the booming drum sound of "When the Levee Breaks". And with Jack White, we see him plink away at his cardboard guitar, recording direct to quarter inch tape a funky, raspy blues.

These scenes are compelling, but they are mere divertimenti from the main program. When you have Jimmy plunging into the riff for "Whole Lotta Love" on the circle stage, you see the sides of the Edge's lips curl into a smile, clearly reveling in the sheer joy of the moment. Even the ever cool Jack finds the crack of a grin, as giddy as he ever is on film in this moment of musical sharing. When the three sit down and tackle a few of each other's songs, there's a genuine camaraderie captured onscreen. Their final performance, plinking away at Robertson's "The Weight", is simply excellent.

These moments could have made up the entirety of the film, and it would have been all the better for it. This is one instance where providing the context and expanding the scope may have in fact hurt the project. This is a fine film, certainly worth experiencing, but I frankly would have preferred it to have focused entirely on the meeting of the guitar minds on that January day.

A mashup of jaunty J-pop and Death Metal drivel, what's not to love? Based on the celebrated Manga, this is a pitch perfect film that certainly doesn't take itself too seriously. The music is well made and produced, the situations a mix of hilarious and charming, and the performances almost uniformly excellent.

It's the tale of a small town boy, with a love of 70s pre-disco pop, who comes to the big city to go to school. Negishi Soichi's passion is to make music, and he hooks up with other like minded people interested in making "trendy", palatable music.

While his musical heart is tied to bubblegum pop, he finds himself a member of Detroit Metal City, the local Death Metal sensation. Complete with Satanic lyrics and a "10 Rape" yodel, this alternate, offensive personality masks the insecurities within. Torn between his responsibilities to be the prince of darkness for his fans and his desire to bring warmth and happiness to the world, he finds himself at a personal crossroads regarding fame, life and love.

When the battle of bands sub-plot inevitably arrives (he must battle, naturally, Gene Simmons) the whole thing cascades towards a less-than-surprising ending. Still, plot contrivances aside, this film has the trappings of discordant hard rock with the heart of romantic comedy drivel, the very same ambivalence that tears at Soichi. Excellent, fluffy fun with a fist pumping metal soundtrack, Detroit Metal City will, to paraphrase one notable line of dialogue, make you wet with excitement.