Wood chippers. White Russians. Bad haircuts. Quintuplets.

"We're set to pop here, honey..."

Raging drunks. Dapper Dan hair gel. Nihilists. BLOOD.

"I'm not sure I agree with you a hundred percent on your police work, there, Lou..."

Beautiful Sirens. Burning hotels. Ferrets. SNOW.

"Walter, he peed on my rug!..."

You see what happens? You see what happens when you write an article about the Coen brothers?!...There's such a plethora of good stuff to choose from, it's hard to know where to begin (or, end). But, with Joel and Ethan's new film Burn After Reading opening this Friday, I thought it would be an opportune time to take a brief look back at the auteur's cannon and make a go at selecting their top 5 films...

5. BARTON FINK (1991)

Winner of the 1991 Palme d'Or at Cannes, Barton Fink is the Coen's apocalyptic masterpiece about Hollywood and the creative process - famously penned while the brothers were suffering a severe case of writer's block while writing Miller's Crossing. Starring Coen regulars John Turturro, John Goodman, and Steve Buscemi, Fink is a multilayered, complex psychological study of the creative mind that is as frightening and bizarre as it is hysterically funny (with the weirdest hotel and wall paper in movie history). This is the Coen brothers at their strangest and most visually daring, which means two things: 1) not everyone will get/like it, and 2) it's exactly what they're supposed to do...

4. RAISING ARIZONA (1987)

Starring Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter, this off-kilter, screwball comedy marked my introduction to the world of Coen (I saw Blood Simple a year later on VHS). Hilarious and heavily stylized in both language and imagery - a Coen hallmark - Cage's ex-con H.I. McDunnough has stayed in my mind ever since, his conflicted and tender Elvis-cowboy an overlooked anti-hero of the great southwest. Filled with kidnappings, John Goodman, an amazing banjo score that rivals O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and one of the most audacious, continuous mobile shots ever committed to celluloid (Barry Sonnefield served as DP), Raising Arizona is a wild ride that everyone should strap in for at least once...

3. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)

This is the Coen brothers at their most serious and accomplished - a mature, confident duo at the height of their powers. Winner of the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor, No Country dazzles from opening shot to final frame, containing what is perhaps the defining villain of our times - the monstrous, post-rational Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). No Country could easily be #1 on my list - in fact, I'm sure there are many of you out there who would argue such - but... I just can't see Country bumping my next two films from their 1-2 spots, Oscars be damned...

2. THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)

The dude abides.

What else is there to say, really? If you aren't already smiling and shaking your head in agreement, well, then, like Donny, you're out of your element. Like a fine wine that only gets better with time, Lebowski is that rare film that succeeds in capturing a specific time and place (Los Angeles in the early 90s), but, also, feels very current and poignant. Not to mention hilarious and bizarre. The best film noir about bowling. Ever.

TO READ THE NUMBER ONE COEN BROS MOVIE, CLICK HERE...