Joel Coen

Highest Rated: 97% Down From the Mountain (2001)

Lowest Rated: 18% Gambit (2012)

Birthday: Nov 29, 1954

Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

With producer, co-writer and brother Ethan, writer-director Joel Coen was part of the most celebrated brother act in recent entertainment memory. He helmed a series of stylish, irreverent and cinema-savvy movies that never failed to charm critics while thrilling an initially small, but loyal band of viewers. Though they evinced a powerful fascination with film genres - particularly screwball comedy and film noir - the Coen Brothers earned a great deal of respect by the Hollywood community, despite their penchant to work outside the system. These self-conscious movies-within-movies possessed humorous camera movements, richly textured landscapes, and powerhouse performers spouting beautifully artificial dialogue. While some complained that the brothers were nothing more than slick stylists, the Coens nonetheless achieved a rare feat in entertainment: making the movies they wanted to make with little-to-no outside interference.