Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are considered filmmakers extraordinaire by many critics. Among their numerous awards is a Best Picture Oscar for No Country for Old Men. And they’ve garnered millions of fans as a result of their previous movies, including Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Blood Simple, Raising Arizona  and The Big Lebowski.

I fell under the spell of the Coens back in 1996 when Fargo was first released. What an intriguing group of characters were thrown together in that dark comedy! Who knew a pregnant police chief, her duck-painting husband, a financially-troubled car salesman and some inept crooks could be so fascinating? The Coens, of course, especially if they could cast Frances McDormand, John Carroll Lynch, William H. Macy and Steve Buscemi in the key roles. 

After seeing Fargo, I was fortunate to interview John Carroll Lynch, who played Oscar-winner Frances McDormand’s supportive spouse. John expressed his admiration for the writing and directing precision of the Coen Brothers. “There’s no room for improvisation,” he told me. “They know exactly what they want.”   

How does Burn After Reading, the latest movie by the Coen Brothers, stack up to their other pictures? “Movie Addict Headquarters” will explore this topic with film critics John P. McCarthy and Mad Movie Man A.J. Hakari on next Tuesday’s show. Both McCarthy and Hakari are frequent and popular guests of this BlogTalkRadio program as well as regular contributors to ReelTalk Reviews. In addition, McCarthy is editor of Cineman Syndicate, and Hakari operates PassportCinema.com, a site devoted to foreign films. McCarthy has also written for Daily Variety, Time Out New York and was on the staff at TV Guide. During the school year, Hakari hosts his own movie talk show for the University of Wisconsin at River Falls.  

The “Movie Addict Headquarters” show about the Coen Brothers airs on Tuesday, September 16, at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. An archived segment will also be available. During the live show, listeners are invited to call the show and to participate in a chat.

The call-in number is 646-478-5668. What’s your favorite film from the Coen Brothers?  We would love to hear from you!

Listen to this show by clicking here on or after September 16.

(Burn After Reading poster. © 2008 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved.)