MUBI

This was not as good as I expected. I adored the directing, beautiful cinematography and very detailed takes with reflectional shots that could have been straight out of Hitchcocks pocketbook.

I found the “story” (although the anti-climax and inconclusive aspect of the movie was intended) a bit uninspired. Think Tarantino with a Twist of Oliver Stone.

The cast was good but not as spot-on as in Lebowski, Barton Fink or O Brother. Javier Bardem was not good enough to carry the protagonist lead, other than Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones (yet, we must admit, he plays the EXACT same role as in The Valley of Elah).

I am really not a fan of anti-statment movies. There is no conclusion in the world, so don’t make one in the movie. There are no heroes in the world, so do not show any heroes. I get that, but it is just not my cup of tea. I am still watching movies for the magic, not because I am a cynical intellectual.

Anyway, it is a solid road movie with great directing and cinematography, but for my taste, it is just trying too hard to be philosophical.

H.

This movie works on so many levels. It’s hard to describe. I will try the best i can but i suggest it’s better to understand by watching it without knowing too many details. Though i can imagine by now you have heard or seen quite a bit of it.

The film is a modern day philosophical western dressed up as a crime thriller. Much is said in the movie by looks and actions. it’s like watching a well choreographed silent movie with a little sound. There is no score so at times scenes feel as bare as the country wasteland, The characters reside in. Not so much dialogue. It’s brutally violent without a moments notice. In fact it is so quiet sometimes that when sound comes back into the film especially when the guns get pulled out and used just the shots are so loud now that it’s been quiet they startle.

There are many scenes like the one in FARGO where Marge the sheriff has lunch with a old high school friend. A scene that doesn’t furthur the plot along, but they give insight not only into the characters, but the philosophy of the film. The ending is not action oriented. It’s more calm and particularly non-eventful everytime you think the movie is going to end it keeps going. That is not a complaint. In fact i greatly appreciate it.

This film is a different kind for the coen brothers who are already great filmmakers. Here they take material that they didn’t originate and add part of their own spin and voice into it. They up their game and change up the style somewhat yet still allow for moments of quirky humor. Which is their trademark but this film is more realistic and brutal then their previous work.

The camerawork while beautiful and catching the landscape. Is not as structured and distracting as it can be like in previous films they have made.

The film has no true star. This film is more of an ensemble inthe truest sense. the character you won’t forget is Javier Bardem’s character who is Scary likea human terminator who doesn’t let anyone even the people who hire him stand in the way of him finishing his mission. He will not stop until the job is completely done. He seems tohave no moral code. He even has a memorable bullet removing scene that rivals the terminator’s where the terminator has to do his own self surgery on his eye.

The other actors create full three dimensional characters that are memorable but low key. Like woody harrelson’s character this film reminds you how good a actor he can be if given the right role and material. It’s rare to see him in a dramatic role of waht you think will be a savior. Unfortunately he is another soul dragged into the quicksand of trouble. Tommy Lee Jones is his gruff self whil making his character noteworthy. This is one of the few times Josh Brolin has really had a chance to sink his teeth into a role. That at first looks heroic but as the film goes on reveals more of a dark side that even he didn’t see coming. It was a role Heath Ledger almost was in but decided to turn it down to get some rest formhis hectic schedule.

A big theme of the movie is fate and greed. This is a film that belongs in your film library. It seems slow at first but as the story goes and the more you get to learn about it. You will be on the edge of your seat.

GRADE: A

A thrilling document of modern times spiraling descent into a quagmire of ruthless violence. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen have devised a criminally brilliant allegory of our increasingly violent landscape and they deserved the Oscar for their efforts. Javier Bardem is riveting as a relentless psychopath. Josh Brolin has never been better as Bardem’s challenge? Tommy Lee Jones is the films conscience and he defines the word supporting role. The cinematography of Roger Deakins is masterful and the Coen script is a touch of genius. A classic for our times!

I can contemplate, graphically, serial murder. I can appreciate a 90-minute depiction of slaughter. Movies I have enjoyed: Natural Born Killers, Saving Private Ryan, Scarface, Aliens, Tarantino’s, etc. I just need a ripping yarn. Or a big idea. Or a weird idea. Or wailing special effects and stunts.

Well, there are no effects or stunts to speak of in No Country For Old Men. There are no big or weird ideas, at least not presented in any way you could sink your teeth into. The official tagline is “there are no clean getaways”, from which you might hope for a commentary on “America”, or greed, or laziness, or the Buddha’s first noble truth. Instead, I get a video game. A guy finds money and another guy hunts him for it, killing everyone in his path. I don’t know why the first guy is trying to keep the money. I don’t know anything about him. No external forces bear on them. There are two other characters who appear to be pointless. Woody Harrelson’s character appears to be intentionally pointless. Tommy Lee Jones may be intended to provide a philosophical and/or moral input, which could be good, except that it goes something like this:

-”Anytime you quit hearin ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ the end is pretty much in sight”

Or maybe he’s intended to provide wry witticisms, which could be good, except that it goes something like this:

-”(It’s a mess, ain’t it.) Well if it ain’t, it’ll do til the mess gets here.”

I haven’t read the novel, but I’ve read that it’s about causality and fate. And indeed, the film has characters say, on several occasions, some variation of “you can’t stop what’s coming”. Now this could be an interesting idea, but as part of a “keep the psycho druglord away from his $2 million” plot, it’s kind of a no-brainer.

So you watch this series of murders of innocent bystanders, wrapped in absolutely nothing but the natural suspense of hunting, interrupted occasionally by the confusing pointlessness of Tommy Lee Jones, and for a brief time by the confusing pointlessness of Woody Harrelson.

And you say to yourself: Javier Bardem’s hairdo and method of shooting people is not enough to carry this material.

Surprising from the Coens.

This is a movie that is well deserving of its praise and honestly deserves more. This is the first time that the Coen Brothers have returned to something like Blood Simple, but this is obviously more well polished and exclusive to their style. Combined with a great Western-Noir story and extremely interesting characters, you really can’t fail to see the beauty. Anton Chigurh is just one of those characters that is so memorable and unique that no one will ever forget him. However, I really have to say that Josh Brolin gave the most impressive performance. From where he came from and his past few movies, it’s a complete 360. The way the story plays out is very manipulative and different from most traditional stories. It doesn’t tell you everything and makes it very confusing for you to figure out what exactly is being said. However, when it does finally hit you it’s like nothing else.

Phew… bagaimana harus memulai untuk menulis review tentang film pemenang Best Picture pada 80th Academy Awards kemaren. Film ini sebenarnya tidak rumit. Film bergaya western tentang seorang pria yang ketika sedang berburu suatu hari, menemukan sekumpulan mayat drug-dealers, yang diduga saling bunuh satu sama lain, dan menemukan segepok uang dalam suatu koper. Bukan… tokoh utama film ini bukan Anjasmara yang berbaik hati ingin mempertahankan uang tersebut sampai nanti yang punya akan datang dan berniat mengembalikannya. Llewyn Moss, sang tokoh utama yang diperankan oleh Josh Brolin, tentu saja ingin mempertahankan uang tersebut. Hal yang kemudian menyebabkannya dikejar-kejar seorang pembunuh berdarah dingin yang disewa oleh si pembeli obat-obatan, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), seorang sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) dan Carson Wells (Woody Harrelson), orang lain yang disewa untuk mencari koper berisi uang tersebut. Tidak rumit, bukan? Yang rumit adalah gaya penyutradaraan Coen Brothers yang mengarahkan film ini dengan tone yang lambat, dan dialog yang cenderung berat. Tapi mungkin hal itu akan segera hilang begitu para penonton dapat mengikuti tone tersebut dan masuk ke dalam cerita film ini. Dari sisi cast, semua tampil baik. Javier Bardem yang berperan sebagai Anton Chigurh tampil tanpa hebat sebagai seorang pembunuh berdarah dingin. Berdarah dingin disini ditampilkan dengan sepenuhnya. Seorang pembunuh yang tanpa rasa takut dan tanpa rasa kasihan. Tanpa emosi sama sekali. Overall, No Country for Old Men memang dapat menunjukkan kenapa dia memenangkan Oscar untuk Best Picture tahun ini. Walaupun sejujurnya, saya tetap akan memilih Atonement atau Juno sebagai yang terbaik.

Rate: 4 / 5

After the lull of both Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers remake, the Coens instantly moved back to the forefront of American cinema with this chilling and thrilling adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. They cut all of the unnecessary ‘fat’ from the book and turn it into a lean and and terrifying pursuit with a strong moral compass behind. There are moments of almost suffocating tension (one scene in particular owes a huge debt to Rear Window) which display the Coens astonishing eye for detail. Add three powerhouse performances from the three leads and the result is easily one of the Coens finest ever works.

The Coen Brothers are master storytellers. In one scene towards the end of the movie ***SPOILERS*** the psychopath shows up at the wife’s house. There is a question of whether or not he should kill her. Before the question is settled, the scene changes to the outside of the house. Two kids bike past. The cliche would be that you would hear a gunshot, and then the guy will walk out. Instead, he walks out first, making you wonder, teasing you further. Information is withheld. Then, the Coens let you know that he DID kill her, but in a non-cliche way: he looks at the bottom of his shoes! Not only is a cliche subverted, and information withheld until the last moment, but they are also able to show so much MORE information this way: we can deduce his character by that nonchalant gesture. But it is probably because of their mastery of subverting cliches that the movie as a whole seems disappointing. Afterall, the movie culminates in a very simple, almost cliche sentiment: the world is a fucked up place… And granted, the journey there was new and interesting and different, and there was even a kind of unexpected-ness in how quickly it shifted gears from a normal crime movie to suddenly be all about the cop. But in the end, the cop’s sentiment didn’t work for me because not enough time was spent with the cop for me to really relate to him. If I had ended up feeling for and with him in his cliche ridden sentiment, then that would be a different story. I might have really liked it, even. But as it stands, I enjoyed the ride immensely, but am left a little disappointed at the conclusion. (and, just to be clear, this disappointment has nothing to do with the sudden-ness of the ending, which I liked) * END SPOILERS *

Slow-paced, grusome, and suspenceful! Chigurh=Fate!! It is by Fate that we all die eventually. For me the story was allegorical. Brolin and Macdonald represent youth and want to beat fate. The Mexican gang represents people who try to compete with fate, but are sad wannabes. Root, the bureaucrat, tries to manage things with the gang and by hiring Harrelson. Harrelson represents some Jesus figure (in the white cowboy hat). Jones is the old man of the title struggling with memories of his father and realizing that he has out-lived him. How Jones had such a close brush with fate and lived is the question! A more recent thought I had is that Jones and Harrelson never have a scene together. Jones even speaks cryptically once about not finding religion or God, yet he is a law enforcement officer. This movie provides so much to think about!

(Monday, June 1, 2009 8:45am)

No Country For Old Men by the Coen brothers is a classic high quality movie that ranks with the best. The camera shots are well photographed by Roger Deakins, making the film free of dirt and free of roughness. Great choice for not putting any sound or music in the background because it served very well, it sounded pure, forceful, and simple. You can even hear the wind slashing through the empty desert top. Coen brothers made one of the most talked about villains in the history of the film, Antoine Chigur, played by the notoriously great actor, Javier Bardem. Also one of my favorite actors, Josh Brolin, played the most important character in the movie, as he connect the audience with other characters. The performances in this film are superb. Clean film with no dust or anything that can get your mind off the absorbing storyline. Give full credit to Cormac McCarthy of course, for giving us this beautiful film. This movie is not for everyone, but if you’re looking for a great quality film for your collection, No Country For Old Men should definitely be on there. Sharp dialogues, crisp pictures, and neat performances. 9/10.

The best fiction film made about terror. It reminded me, in a peculiar way, of the Kurosawa film, “High and Low,” when, at the very end of the film, the hero (Toshiro Mifune) asks the kidnapper why he committed his crime and the kidnapper just laughs.

Tommy Lee Jones, as the humanist sheriff, who is confronted by a terror he cannot stop or understand, stands for us all as our fundamental values are gnawed away by fear of the unpredictable and unknown forces of the centrifuge.

“Call it—Friendo.”

The American dream gone bust. The self-made man—Llewelyn Moss— finds he can handle everything but good fortune and true modern evil—the ruthless economy of drugs which turns everyone into a user, a pusher, or an enforcer. The metaphor is “Prey.” Early on he misses a long range shot at a deer. And the rest of the movie is his run from a sociopathic killer who will not stop till he has bagged him. There is no code of law, no cowboy rules of honor, there is only the blind luck of a coin flip. You take a shortcut to joy or riches and you fall into the American nightmare. The Coens continue to subvert and amaze.

More Baddaboom Reviews:
http://web.me.com/paddybon/Site/My_favorite_flicks.html

I love this movie… a rare example of a great book being turned into a greater film. Alot of people bad mouth the ending but I think it’s sort of perfect. This is not a genre film.. it’s really not a western, or a action chase movie, or a dark comedy or a noir… it is what it is and that’s it. If you try to stove-pipe this movie as a genre movie then you’d expect a certain resolution that comes with genre films and would be disappointed by not getting one.

I think Barry Corbin said it best at the end…. You can’t stop what’s coming. It ain’t all waiting on you. That’s vanity.

One of the very best films of 2007. While at face value there’s not too much to this movie, there is so much to drawn on about human nature, racial issues, and of course the theme within the movie’s title. The Coen brothers truly still know how to put a movie together, and get the best out of all involved- from the top to the bottom of the cinematic food chain. BOTTOM LINE: No Country For Old Men boasts magnificent film making, and the stuff of true classics: REAL character development. And the violent ride through the story will continue to drop gems the more you see it.

Upon second viewing of this film, I’m going to also be an odd one out here and say that its overrated. It is, for all intents and purposes, an awesomely orchestrated and entertaining thriller, but compared to other Coen brothers’ movies it really fell a bit flat for me as a compelling story.

While No Country For Old Men seems at first to be another example of how the Coen’s play with the cinematic tradition of the mythological and/or heroic journey in combination with virtually the most humble and mundane of settings/characters, No Country lacked the human sympathy, humor, and consistency of story arc that previous films such as Fargo (or even the Big Lebowski) had. If the indulgently sociopathic monster that was Javier Bardem’s character needed a human foil to give the story more weight, I sure didn’t find one. In Fargo, the whole point in the crassly violent story of bungling wife-ransomers and bodies in wood-chippers is really dependent on the very pedestrian, but undeniably endearing and modest, heroine found in Frances McDormand’s role as a pregnant police officer. The only person in ‘No Country’ that seemed to come even close to a sympathetic protagonist was Tommy Lee’s character; who’s rambling narration really added up to nothing more than a lame grasp at poetic justice in a movie that seemed to be devoid of any redemptive or worthwhile meditations on anything. Maybe it should have been called “No Country For Anyone”?

I think this will be remembered as one of the great American films. Many see it as a perfectly crafted thriller. Others have been disappointed by its abrupt ending. The latter is a point of view taken by those who view it as purely a chase film and a showdown between Brolin and Bardem’s characters. If you notice, towards the end of the movie, the violence as well as some of the major events take place off screen. This film is not about the chase or who ends up with the money. It is a sad, nightmarish look at an indifferent universe and the world man has created for himself. Brolin’s character is not a bad man, he just can’t help himself in the face of money and greed. Bardem’s Anton Chigurh, suffices to say, is one of the scariest and most memorable screen villains ever. Is he supposed to be a real person? Perhaps he’s the grim reaper. Perhaps he’s just a man who has his own set of values and cares nothing about the rest of the world or the people inhabiting it. All the while Tommy Lee Jones’ sheriff can’t do anything to stop this madness at a time in his life when he is coming to grips with his own weaknesses and inadequacies. This is a special film with many different layers beneath it’s surface. It is also one of the most gripping films I have ever seen.

There is a lot that washes over the viewer throughout the film’s two-hour runtime. Some people latch onto the movie’s engrossing action sequences and miss the real themes being studied, which are just as powerful as any ridiculously big firearm that Anton uses to open the door when he’s feeling lazy. If you’re just looking for a powerhouse of an action flick, you’ll certainly find it here. But if you watch closely, you’ll also see the Coen brothers create a world of generations pushing against each other slowly like shifting continents. No Country tops any previous effort from the Coens, and any fan of Fargo will have no trouble enjoying this.

The Coen Brothers are most definitely back in form. While No Country for Old Men is not a perfect film, it is masterfully crafted and orchestrated to brilliant effect. Miller’s Crossing remains the one and only masterpiece from them, in my opinion, but this new one ranks right below it with Barton Fink and Fargo. The Coens always did better when there was a little darkness lurking behind the dry wit and deadpan deliveries. I have not seen Intolerable Cruelty, but, along with The Ladykillers, it appeared to have lost that edge so desperately needed for their movies to succeed. My only reservation here is the lethargic pace in a few moments, but mostly the ending that seems to go on for about ten minutes too long. I will fault that with the brothers’ adapting process of Cormac McCarthy’s novel. We are able to drop so many characters throughout the proceedings without a second thought, that the necessity to go back to Sheriff Bell at the end was a bit too out of place, waxing poetic for pretension sake. Otherwise, there is very, very little not to like.

Upon viewing the trailer, I was under the impression the story would be more than just about a man stumbling upon two million dollars and his attempt to elude capture by the enigmatic Anton Chigurth. However, much to my surprise, and ultimate approval, there was not. Every periphery character comes to the story for the sole purpose to enhance the central plot and give a bit more information on the cat and mouse chase. It truly is Josh Brolin’s stoic Llewelyn Moss versus Javier Bardem’s psychopathic Chigurh, and these two do not disappoint. I cannot believe Brolin almost wasn’t in the film at all. He had done a test reel with Robert Rodriguez during Grindhouse filming and sent it in for review only to find that the Coen’s wanted to know who lit it, not more about the actor included. With a little pressure from his agent, the brothers reluctantly took a meeting, pretty much when the audition process was over, and that was all she wrote. Who says some hard work and persistence can’t get you anywhere? It may have gotten Brolin in an Oscar winning film.

The leads are so good here, they don’t even need to speak—and believe me they don’t for much of the movie. Sans score/soundtrack, the quiet foreboding atmosphere and the shear expression of exertion, mentally and physically, on either’s face amps the tension and suspense to unforeseen levels. I was on the edge of my seat for practically the entire film, waiting anxiously to see what carnage Bardem would leave in his wake and if Brolin would once again escape, barely able to walk, for a freedom that probably wouldn’t last too long. I can’t think of any character more menacing them Bardem in recent memory, if ever. With his Dutch Boy haircut, sly smirk when speaking, and harsh deep accent, he would give even the most unfretted person shivers. And his air gun contraption always dragging behind him is a fantastic touch. With so few words emitted, the props do all the speaking for him.

Every supporting role is magnificently handled as well. If the Coens know one thing, it is the small town, country bumpkin mentality. The old southern drawls and longwinded ways to say simple things, with just the right amount of flair to leave you shaking your head about how real people don’t talk that way, are here in force. Kelly Macdonald plays the wife who knows what’s happening but never lets on to perfection and Garret Dillahunt is a riot as the smarter than his words deputy. His description of the shootout is hilarious and his back and forth with the sheriff always entertaining. That sheriff, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is also spectacular. He is the stand-in for the old men of the title, a lawman from a bygone era trying to understand the cruelty and deceit running rampant. Brought up by men who did their duty without the need for a gun, now chasing around murder after murder with federal agents going over every gruesome detail ad infinitum, he knows he is outmatched, and realizes he just doesn’t have the stomach to exist in this new world. We get all that from his character and his actions alone, we don’t really need the epilogue of him visiting people from his past to discover it for himself—it is a bit of overkill. Oh, and don’t forget the city-types in Woody Harrelson and Coen regular Stephen Root, both funny and effective in small roles.

What really stands out, though, is the storytelling on display. The Coens are not afraid to go slow and make everything perfect. Each time I found myself questioning something about how Brolin’s Moss was handling a situation; I soon got my answer with him waking late at night with an epiphany. Those two moments were a revelation, as though the filmmakers were reading mind. Every motivation was spot-on and each word carefully placed with minimalist precision, letting the audience know exactly what they need, no more/no less. The film is also beautifully shot and composed. There must have been some storyboarding going on because some of the set pieces and angles are breathtaking. You know exactly what is in store from the beginning as you see Bardem quietly getting free from his handcuffed position to kill his first victim, all while being blurred in the background. We need to see this blood and violence at the start to understand his malice and remorseless attitude, but the Coens know too much can be too much. Towards the end we only see the aftermaths and residuals from the killings. What was once shown to startle, with its brutality, eventually changes to become a device for us to now watch the killer’s face as he commits his atrocities. He seems to have become slightly unglued; perhaps meeting a formidable foe for once, and we are forced to peer on his impatience—just one more detail woven into the effective tapestry of this film. Welcome back Joel and Ethan; hopefully you will stay for the long haul.

I manged to watch this whilst trawling through the internet for films to watch. Luckily I found it! And it’s not even released in my country yet. I was not disappointed. No Country for Old Men is one hell of a film, so good I might have to re-rate some other films. For sure an American classic and yes this is a masterpiece. And no American Gangster is not what I first thought it was after watching it. This is the first Cohen brothers film that I’ve watched. I don’t know how I have manged to not watch any of their films but I will now. No Country For Old Men is a character-driven masterpiece. I’m sure I will mention that again in this review.

No Country For Old Men is definatly one of the best of 2007, possibly in my top 5. Not as good as the superb Atonement, but is still sensational. The film’s narrative is relativly simple but by the end of the film you come out feeling like you witnessed something more. The film is incredibly stylistic. I mean you find yourself deliving into the scenery because it’s just awe-inspiring it truly is. I don’t think i’ve seen such a great film this year since Atonement.

The film plays with your own perception of morality. For instance the tossing of the coin by Bardem’s character and Le-Jone’s character’s perception of morality in this era. The sense that what is real now does not reflect the past is also reflected in the film. Vietnam is often repeated symbolising the “Old Men” in the title. .