No country for old men

Why not you first?

I thought it was brilliant. Javier Bardem has created one the best bad guys in film history. The scene where Anton chigur (Bardem) goes into the petrol station and flips a coin and askes the man behind the counter to "call it", and the man says " what do I stand to win?" and Anton says, "everything". That scene is so intense and one of my favourite scenes in the film.

I would say more but I can't be bothered at the moment.

I'll see the movie in the next week or so and then enter my comments. In the meanwhile, let's see what others think who've seen it.

We just watched this movie last night on DVD.

One of the best films I've seen in a long time.

Really had me on the edge of my seat.

One of the things I liked best about it was that it didn't insult your intelligence. Didn't have to spell things out to you in a dramatic/action packed way.

It was extremely realistic, I thought. It was like being a fly on the wall observing the way things really happen, rather than watching someone's version of the way deals like this go down.

The Cohen Bros did it again.

I love the absence of music in the film. I think that speaks to what Chai says about not insulting the audience's intelligence. There are no cliche gimmicks used to create suspense.

wow....I hadn't noticed about the lack of music....I guess that worked on me on an unconscious level though, bringing out the realism.

Also, the killers stillness. No animated "I'm such a bad ass" moves. Also made his killings more chilling......pop....next case.

Speaking of stillness, I loved the scene where he was confronting the lady in the "leasing office trailer"....

Him: Where does he work?
Her: I can't give out that information.
Him: Where does he work?
Her: I can NOT give out that information.
Him: Where does he work?
Her: I have told you, I cannot give out that information on our residents. ("residents" I love it)....notice how the only part of her that moved was her mouth, conserving energy.

He gave her a bit of a look, but, in another place, another time, they would have been meant for each other. A match made in heaven.

I think he didn't kill her because he knew she needed to stay around to make other peoples lives miserable.

Here's the scene....
Did you not hear me?

In this case IMHO , the movie resolved the plot better than did mcarthy's book. The entire theme of "I aint got anything left to take on this new breed of criminals" was not really well done in the book, but was really well done with Jones creased worn out face and entire demeanor and his conversation with Corbin near the end of the movie.
To me, The book stopped being interesting shortly after Brolin's character (Ross?) was killed . In the book you were rooting for him to bet Chigur.

I was wondering whether "In the Valley of ELA" and No Country... were filmed at about the same time, with the same cast already assembled?

Tommy Lee Jones does grown-up and world weary as good as any actor I remember. I saw him in one movie with Steven Segal where he played som jacked up terrorist who hijacks a battleship. In that movie he was hyperanimated and almost funny. He doesnt do "jacked up" well.

I agree. Bardem brought to life one of the most frightening characters in movie history, up there with Jack Nicholson in The Shining. I like that it works on multiple levels - as a straightforward suspense film, but as a movie that you can discuss for days afterwards (your interpretation of the ending, what the purpose of certain things and characters' fates were, etc..), or even how the theme of the present no longer being a "country for old men" is shown throughout the film. The movie is so layered that there was never an argument for me between this and There Will Be Blood.

As they did in Fargo, the Coen brothers know how to capture the feel of a place. Tommy Lee Jones was terrific as well.

Funny you should mention Fargo.

The people who mentioned to me they had seen the film used words that ranged from "weird" (from someone to whom everything outside the lines is "weird") to "I thought it showed Tommy Lee in a part where he was just being lazy" Yeah, I guess he should have Rambo'd his way in. Someone else said they had a hard time keeping up with what was going on. Well, again, that's the realism...stuff doesn't happen in RL in an orderly little line that gets packaged up neatly at the end.

In those respects, and more, the movie was a lot like Fargo.

Keep in mind, all this praise is coming from someone who doesn't go out of their way to watch movies. Huh, maybe it's because of all the things most movies are, that this one was not.

Hey, remember the character in Fargo, Steve Bushimi's (sp?) partner? He reminds me of this killer.

I could watch this one again.

Wow! For someone who doesn't go out of their way for videos, you sure got to see this DVD in a NY minute. 'No Country for Old Men' has only been on the DVD market since 3/11.

I respectfully disagree. I thought the book made way more sense in many instances. For instance: The scene where Tommy Lee Jones goes into the hotel in which Brolin was killed. He goes later after everyone is gone, and they show a scene where he stands outside the door thinking about opening it. At that point the show Chigur on the other side of the door in the dark. Once Tommy Lee Jones opens the door, it is not readily apparent that the killer is actually not there, but only in Tommy Lee Jones' mind. In the book, there is nothing ambiguous about this scene. Also, I thought the book got even more interesting as it went on, and I think many scenes in the movie were better in the book.

Also, you get a waaaay better sense of the "ethics" that Chigur follows, and the whole idea of the old man not being prepared to handle this "new" type of criminal's actions or ideals.

So there. The book was better. The movie was good, but not great. I thought Fargo was better. Even Barton Fink was better. And the Big Lebowski...forget about it!

Mr. Tea LOVES LOVES LOVES movies. He's got that deal where for one rate he can get 3 at a time all month long. He's on intimate terms with the people at Blockbuster.

This one I wanted to see too.


Have you seen it yet ragman?

Kicky...that's what I like about books, you can so much better get into the mind of the character.

I'd like to see what was running around in Chigur's mind.

Hey kick, no hard fast rules, we like what we like. I think that MacCarthy's best works were "Child of God" and my favorite "Blood Meridian". I read most pof his stuff and like McMurtry, I dont like all of it. I also didnt like "The Road". He tried to out do Stephen King and missed the mark a bit.

I think they are gonna make "The Road" into a movie also but how many post apocalyptic world movies do we need. I think we get it.