text:
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash...
Margaret: David:
No Country For Old Men
Rated MA
Review by David Stratton
JOSH BROLIN plays Llewellyn Moss, a Texas Everyman who, out hunting one night, stumbles across a massacre. Rival drug gangs have killed one another, leaving behind a suitcase full of money, which Moss takes with him.
But hes been spotted, and renegade killer Anton Chigurh (JAVIER BARDEN) goes after him. The third key character in the drama is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, (TOMMY LEE JONES), who is hunting both the thief and the killer.
This magnificent film represents the best work the Coen Brothers have done since FARGO. Like that movie classic this is a cold-blooded thriller with a darkly humorous edge.
Stunningly photographed by Roger Deakins, who also shot THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES, its a film filled with suspense which manages to be very cinematic even as it remains true to the book in most details.
The strong supporting cast includes KELLY MACDONALD and TESS HARPER as the wives of Moss and Bell respectively. Theyre both splendid.
Further comments
DAVID: Margaret?
MARGARET: Everything about this film is absolutely wonderful. I mean, it is the most tense thriller...
DAVID: Yeah.
MARGARET: ...Ive seen in a long time but, you know, that subtext, as represented by the Tommy Lee Jones character, Bell, the Sheriff Bell, just adds that depth to this film that puts it beyond the normal. You know its really out there. And thank God that the Coen brothers, who have shown so much talent over their career and have had a couple of lacklustre efforts lately...
DAVID: Well, they have indeed. THE LADY KILLERS was unwatchable for me.
MARGARET: Really, theyre so back in stride its just...
DAVID: Yeah.
MARGARET: ...lovely to see and, you know, theyve based it on this wonderful book by Cormac McCarthy, whose really one of Americas most impressive writers these days. And I just loved it. Its resonates within me. Its got such a sense of place and language.
DAVID: Mm. Absolutely.
MARGARET: Oh, God, and Tommy Lee Jones is also the best hes been in ages, as well.
DAVID: Yeah. Absolutely classical scenes of suspense, too.
MARGARET: Yeah.
DAVID: I mean, you couldnt master...
MARGARET: No. I know.
DAVID: Hitchcock wouldnt have done the suspense better.
MARGARET: The motel. The hotel.
DAVID: I know. Its extraordinary. But the...
MARGARET: And the wilderness, you know.
DAVID: Yeah.
MARGARET: I mean, its just sort of like everything is used to its best advantage. I love this film.
DAVID: Well, its my first five star film of the year.
Your rating: No Country For Old Men
Comments have now closed for this movie.
Comment: I must say that there really is a lot to like about this movie with wonderful settings and great acting.
However, if you are looking for a movie with tidy plot lines, you will be disappointed and extremely frustrated because absolutely nothing turns out as convention might lead you to expect.
On the other hand, if you expect the unexpected and seek movies that are challenging and have something different to offer, then this film is tailor made for you.
Comment: Best Coen movie for yonks. No one else on the earth can keep you focused on the screen like these guys when they're in full flight. Blood Simple plus 360 degrees.
Comment: I've watch test cricket that was faster than this drivel
Wonderful scenery, Right, but, after a while looks like any other semi- arid- out- the- back- of- beyond
Was the mumbling by most of the actors supposed to add to the ambience? If so, all it did was make me want to slap them.
Tommy Lee Jones. Didn't he play that part in "Three Funeral"?
Humour? Where?
Comment: I enjoyed the first three quarters of the film, but the last quarter lost me. What was the point of Tommy Lee-Jones conversation with the man with the cats, his conversation at the end about his dreams of his father? In fact, I thought his character was superfluous to the movie. Also, what was the point of the car crash at the end? I prefer films to have an ending that makes sense to the viewer and brings the story to a satisfactory conclusion.
Comment: Just saw it and it's a marvel. My mate couldn't stand it because of the ending, but that topped it off for me.
Simply bril.
Comment: What on earth are the critics doing giving this five stars?! I love the Cohen brothers like anyone else but this is hardly their greatest film. Some nice cinematography (though not as good as Assassination of JJ) sure, but that hardly makes up for lack of story, mumbling characters and a very unsatisfying ending. Why this is in Oscar contention, I'll never know. What are the critics seeing that I'm missing?!
Comment: Kristine NO STARS!! really? For me this was even better than Fargo and that is saying something. Not too slow at all. Thoughtful, realistic and yes unconventional. Tommy-Lee Jones was brilliant and did indeed bring a wry humour to the role. If you don't get it then maybe Daddy Day Care is more your thing.
Comment: There are rivetting moments in this movie but a great deal of it doesn't make sense and it is one of the most sickeningly violent movies I have ever seen. The average woman will HATE this movie.
Comment: Good acting, casting, cinematography - but not up to the standard set by Fargo
Comment: Violence,oh my god,another stupid movie about a psychopath,who needs it ,not me.
Comment: The Coen Brothers do Quentin Tarantino. I think they have run out of good ideas and have been hanging out with QT at the pub. Not a new story - someone finds gang money and the violence begins. A beautifully shot film with a story I did not enjoy. What did the Sheriff add to the story he never actually did any detective work!
Comment: Amazing, but not a 5 Star movie. One of the best of the year, but no way #14 of all time (IMDB).
Comment: Yes I agree with the rating given by Marg and Dave. I was very surprised at this movie. Its teh first time Ive wondered into a movie with someone else who didnt know what to expect, I thought i would probably be crap, but no, it was v good. In fact I regard this fim significantly better tahn Silence of the Lambs. There is also a lot more scop, thogh this may sound bs to those who havnt seen it, for a sequel,. I hope there is a sequel to this move next year and it gets nomianted foranOscar. .
Comment: Got there expecting another psycho-thriller and the usual screenplay cliches, aided by good performances and a nice photography.
Well... the movie offers much more than that.
Just like in FARGO the slow pace is used to add suspense, and humor is used to give you the necessary space to breathe. However, the plot here is much deeper and will bring quite a few surprises, until the very end, which, IMHO is quite unconvetional.
The real challenge here is not really to follow the plot, but to understand the bloody Texan accent.
Comment: Brilliant. Bardem's villain chilled me to the core. I can't get it out of my head - a good thing.
Comment: Maybe I'm a bit slow, but the ending was a surprise. But then I got it, "No Country for Old Men". Right on. One thing, bloodstains on railing and path should have led anyone to find the valise of cash, but there was none. No wonder Woody was puzzled for a bit. Better than 'Fargo'.
Comment: People who say this is brilliant are a puzzle, I love the Coens but this is one too many from them, it becomes boring and though it has intense tension in parts, no doubt aobut that, and is meticulous in some ways and has some really beautiful shots it totally failed for me in the end. and I wanted it to end. I don't know what was chalenging about it either, it gave me nothing new.
Comment: I agree with Rachel wholeheartedly. The whole movie felt very Quentin Tarantino...the only thing missing was Uma Thurman. I hated the ending of this film. It felt like they got 3/4 of the way through and then just couldn't be bothered.
Comment: A few women left the cinema I was in, in disgust. For me I just couldn't take my eyes away from the screen. Bloody marvellous
Comment: How could I ignore Margaret's and David's 5 star recommendation to see this? My first reaction was to wonder if Margaret and David had watched it all the way through. There were a couple of good moments of suspense in this 121 minute film, granted. But that left 120mins 50 seconds of half developed characters and plot lines that went nowhere. This didn't entertain, educate, or have any emotional impact at all, and judging by the stunned silence in the cinema when the credits rolled, I wasn't the only one to feed duped.
Comment: If you like confusing plotlines, mumbling dialogue and no resolution to the story, you will love this. It's like taking a flight to visit New York City and when you get there you don't leave the airport lobby.
I admire the Coen Brothers for taking a risk with this film and I'm sad that I didn't enjoy it.
Comment: A disturbing but fascinating depiction of the brutality of American gun culture and the determination and resilience of the underdog in a land divided by economic apartheid, greed and criminality. A great story of redemption and desperation with the tones of a classic dark western. The Cohen brothers have developed charcaters that expose the contradictions and harsh realities of the 'American dream' whilst sustaining a suspenseful plot line that chilled me to the bone with Bardem's brilliant perfomance. Beautifully shot and excellently directed, it is great to see the Cohen brothers back at their best.
Comment: Haven't we had enough of the pornography of violence. Lovely scenery but all that cold blooded killing! Get over it guys.
Comment: top notch
Comment: As a piece of film making this is surely among the Coen Brothers best work, the acting is out of this world (Tommy Lee Jones is stunning) but the ending is what makes this film for me. And it all comes down to one scene, really- after Llewellyn's murder- where Sheriff Bell returns to the motel room and sees what is before him- but instead he walks away- unable to come to terms with the evil of the world, as embodied in Chigurh's character. Unquestionably one of the best films of the year.
Comment: I went to see this film yesterday on the recommendation of David and Margaret. I was most disappointed - a terribly violent film. I came out of the cinema wondering why I had let myself sit through such rubbish.
Comment: How much does chance, and how much does will determine events? What if the Sheriff had arrived a few minutes earlier? What if the coin had flipped the other way? How often do we allow chance to justify our actions? How often do we refuse to allow chance to be the justification? What if the suppression of evil requires chance to be with you? The inevitable is more likely not occur by the intervention of the unlikely than by some plan to prevent it. These are some of the questions that give this brilliant film sense.
Comment: Er suspense thriller alright. The most frustrating thing for me was the strong accent they put on and I couldn't understand half of the shite they were talking about. It's like watching a foreign movie - better with subtitles.
And no, I didn't enjoy or appreciate it as much as my other half or others did - I loathed it!
Comment: Suspense, when camera lingers on the faces of someone about to die violently at the hands of the psychopath? A cheap way to generate tension in a film.
The one compelling aspect of the story is when Moss returns to the scene of the massacre with water for the man dying in the car: our reviewers miss this.
M and D you need to find alternative work. You are so driven to debate tecnhical/historical aspects of films that you cannnot see the wood for the trees. Stand in front of a mirror and you will find that you have no clothes.
Comment: I'm shocked at David and Margaret's rating. If we were seeing a true life news report of a massacre, we would be horrified and "tuttutting" about the degraded level to which our society had sunk. Yet David and Margaret extol a serial cold-blooded killer as the best entertainment ever. This is the last time I look at their program. Their values certainly aren't mine.
Comment: Not bad but not as good as reviews rave. So what if they are celebrity directors? Critics should do their job properly/stop fawning over the makers/branding and concentrate on the film/product. I did not find it all THAT thought provoking, ground-breaking or entertaining.
[Edit: Comment deleted. Please avoid spoilers. That is, avoid describing the end of a film, or the fate of characters.]
Comment: Just saw this film last night, and thought it was worth it's entry fee and a little more. A few things I did'nt understand, but I think thats because i'm an aussie not a yank, for example; like how they value life in that part of the world. Bardem's performance is insane and worth a mention. I really enjoyed how a lot of the scenes did'nt have much dialogue but the acting was telling the story. Not as good as Fargo but that's my opion. I say go see it if you enjoy watching quality well made films.
Comment: Saw this tonight [after reading the mixed reviews on here]...flipped a coin on it....I think it's a film you'll either love or hate - personally I LOVED it. The themes of life/death, fate/chance and the overall comparison of flawed humanity vs. total evil [no humanity] were portrayed in this intense, edge of your seat style thriller - I was on the edge of my seat more than once due to Javier Barden's perfect portrayal of his character, Anton. In fact I found all the acting to be top-knotch and the cinematography simply stunning. It's something different.
Comment: Five stars from me, too.
The Coen Brothers right back on their top form; their best since "Fargo" if not their best ever.
The script is perfect and very tightly shot. The performances are rivetting, right down to the smallest character bit parts. Bardem goes into the gallery of great nightmare-inducing menace.
I would not describe the film as "violent"; the body count is Shakespearian but , as the film progresses we are shown less of it, Bardem's presence is sufficient .
. It is good to see one of this great writer's books finally done justice on the screen
Comment: Not so sure about a 5 star movie, the only thing good about it was that it had some excellent camera and editing work. The story was weak, it was overly violent. I have a great degree of respect for Tommy Lee Jones, but not for accepting the role in this movie, he never got out of the starting gate in this one, you can't tell me that delivering half a dozen drawled lines was acting. Sorry guys but give this one a big miss, far from a pleasent experience. The audience was unimpressed.
Comment: After seeing the review on The Movie Show all I can say is David and Margaret must have 'lost the plot' to give it 5 stars each.
OK there's the masterful performance by the killer Javier Barden, saves the movie in fact.
Tommy Lee Jones needs subtitles.
The 'use a 50mm lens wide open' style of cinemaphotography (that is -everything is in soft focus except the main point of interest) - is lazy.
Suspense is maintained till past half way then, in a crucial point I thought I must have fallen asleep and missed something.
It's an interesting flick, flawed but interesting.
Comment: The way the movie ends with two long dialogue scenes is a bit weird. Some where in that is the crux of the movie. I will have to see it again to make sense of it. Had a bit of a chuckle when the immediate end of the film was met by shocks of horror by the older ladies either side of me. Welcome to COHENWORLD!!!
Comment: This is the best movie I have seen this decade. If you don't understand the ending, think a little bit, it makes perfect sense. Superb direction and acting builds the suspense and captures the essence of Texas and the era.
Comment: Its obvious polarising qualities are only another arrow in its quiver. True, the film didn't really touch on any new themes - which may ultimately effect any serious oscar chances, but the story telling and film making on display here are exemplary. I haven't seen a film for a VERY long time that has so entwined me within its tapestry.
The brothers are back.
Comment: Ah, my tonic to overcome the awful Atonement? Must be if our erudite commanders are giving it 5 stars EACH! I'm about down the middle on this film - no more! [But I am increasingly nervous about that old feller I recently visited who uses the oxygen tank!]
Comment: The plot is great, and the movie starts well. But it does become lost about half way through the film. There are totaly un-realistic situations and deductions made by the film makers. And the plot gets lost and confused. The last 30 minutes of the film just gets worse and worse, culminating in an ending which is the most pathetic endings of any movie I have ever seen.
Comment: Not the best movie for me this year but certainly worth the price of admission. I found it engrossing but it left me feeling empty at the end because it didn't tie up the ends nicely and wasn't what I expected. However I like movies that challenge those kinds of conventions and respect them.
Bardem's performance is fantastic - certainly memorable and intriguing.
Someone made the comment that women will hate it - well not this woman.
Comment: Yeah, not bad but Brolin's decision to go back into the desert to the scene of slaughter and robbery was non-sensical.
When he toyed with the shop owner, Javier Badem was convincingly sinister.
Comment: I think the disappointment and even anger a lot of people's comments here essentially comes down to the fact that the film didn't tie up the plot in the traditional, expected bow. I won't give away the ending, but just remark that in defying done-to-death conventions, particularly in the final scenes, in favour of something a hundred times more truthful, No Country For Old Men actually ends up with something to say. A superb film, which you can tell by the fact that reaction to it is split down the middle. Someone else described the characters as half-baked ... nonsense.
Comment: The story wraps around you like a bandage about a bullet wound; then falls off limp and bloody.
A deer-hunter bypasses a dying man (and waits upon another who may be dead) to see his salvation: a cache of cash - promising the end of an arid, immisserating emptiness. Damned by hope - he flees from a valley of death.
Desert retribution follows randomly like a shadow: silent, dark, portentous, unrelenting, ineluctable.
The ending doesn't disappoint; it cheats:
like the old man left at the end - insipid and disjunctive - who never finds god because he never looked.
Comment: I'm confused by those who hate violence etc. WHY watch the movie then? If you don't like violence DON'T watch. Get back to reading lovely safe stories about Goblins who save children in a land draped with chocolate. Get over it and by the way 'Leon' is also a fantastic film.
Comment: Happy to give this five stars. I went along knowing nothing about the film, certainly not expecting the amount of blood - totally unaware that the book was by Cormac McCarthy - had to hit my head when the credits came on - of course, it was his - so intense and unremittingly disturbing all the way through - but un-put-downable. Sure, the story can be read literally - but how much more disturbing if the Anton Chigurh character is, in fact, not a real person - but a metaphor for the complexity and un-stoppable, relentless horror of modern crime.
Comment: Brilliant! I don't cope well in thrillers usually and find that the sign of a good one is how often I block my eyes and ears....I watched large portions of this movie through cracks in my fingers. Excellent acting, directing and writing. Although scared, I really enjoyed this movie.
Comment: i loved it and want to watch it again. even knowing the ending. that to me is the only sign i need of a good film.
its as addictive as the money and the drugs which form the objects, that create the moral dilemmas in the film. excellent.(plus its beautiful/ugly to watch)
i'm glad all i went in knowing about this film was that it received 5 stars from margeret & david(and hence deserving of my 15 dollars).
see it, just cos its got so many 'moments' in it.
Comment: Five stars for Javier Bardem, three stars for the movie. Not the Coen brothers' best. Fantastic cinematography, great atmosphere and an unforgettable performance by Bardem are the highlights. But I thought Tommy Lee Jones' character was a bit pointless and the film fell away in the last quarter. The ending disappointed. Still, there is enough here to warrant four stars. I'm surprised Bardem's portrayal hasn't attracted more accolades, it is truly brilliant and worthy of an Oscar. It's wonderful to see more of this great Spanish actor. Those impressed by his performance here should check out his other film credits.
Comment: This film was so good, I left the cinema still on edge and expecting to be confronted by the killer somewhere in the crowd.
Well worth the 5 stars given.
Comment: Beautifully crafted but ultimately frustrating film with terrific performances by most concerned. As other comments mention, the sheriff is a helpless bystander to the random violence. The ending is too self-conscious and downbeat for my liking and the suspense that had been built up was dissipated IMO. The audience seemed bewildered and a bit irritated at the finish.
Comment: Technically a very well made movie but apparently my wife and I need a coherent plot and at least a few characters to care about. The Tommy Lee Jones character did so much rambling on through this movie that frankly we just weren't aware that we needed to pay attention at the end and before we knew it, everyone in the theatre that I was in did a resounding "What the ....??!!!" in unison!! Sorry, I guess that we were just too simple minded to find this collection of movie scenes entertaining at the end of our evening.
Comment: Like "Zodiac" this modern classic of a film deftly avoids any easy answers as it navigates the dusty landscapes of todays Texas guided by a moral compass that alternately points between good and evil.
In selecting McCarthy's novel the Cohens have supplied themselves with a narrative spine that makes this both a compelling and accessible film.
Their technical mastery is also on full show and while the academy may be ultimately put off by the bleakness of the vision, I predict multiple nominations and 3 or 4 wins. Most likely contenders are script, direction, cinematography, editing, sound and performance.
Comment: I disagree, although well done, just too depressing and bloodthirsty with a totally unsatisfying end. I trusted your rating. But I hated it.
Comment: A perfect adaptation of a fantastic book. That the Coens were able to make a suspenseful thriller without losing any of the books' sense of time, place and universal philosophical, political and social relevance is amazing. One of McCarthy's enduring themes is the importance of borders and transgressions in illuminating the reality underlying our lives - hence Texas/Mexico, mundane/criminal, and of course violence. In this film the Coen brothers exemplify this cinematically, through the blurring of the thriller genre with a reflective philosophical piece, using, subverting and transgressing audience expectations to make a compelling movie that resonates strongly. A masterpiece.
Comment: David and Magaret, I will never go to see a movie on the strength of your recommendation again. I felt very annoyed and quite duped by your 5 star rating as I left the cinema. I watched the TV review and had to come here to read what it was about the movie that made you both give it 5 as I couldn't recall the details of your review. Now, looking through the transcript above I now see that you really didn't say anything. Suckered into watching a very poor movie.
Comment: Well shot. Started interesting but became gradually less so. Like an old western in parts, which was cool. Very violent (?too violent). Characters wooden apart from TLJ, who seemed out of whack with the rest of the film. Philosophical, but not breaking new ground for a film. Worth seeing but not the second coming.
Comment: A lot has already been said about this movie, and of all the reviewers, Steve V sums it up best by focusing on the true meaning of the movie - the questions/"what ifs".
Don't think it was 5 star but definitely thought provoking.
Also feel that whilst Bardem is the standout, Brolin should not be overlooked for his supporting performance. Played the role of Moss with just the right subtlety.
Violence was "appropriate" - though I will admit after, watching this movie and Eastern Promises in the last few weeks, I am ready to go to see Daddy Day Care!
Comment: I found it as suspensful as your average violent slasher movie.
The central plot...finds money, chase, complications - all done so many times over and way better eg. True Romance.
Other than that, in terms of comparison with Fargo, it couldnt even wipe it's boots - this movie was devoid of any humanity and characterisation - I didnt feel for anybody, and ultimately the badass was so robotic I didnt even feel against him.
Beautifully observed cinematography, and quirky sidetracks from the main story (Tommy Lee Jones) - for that 2 stars
Dont believe the hype.
Comment: A bit disappointing really. I think Fargo is a far superior movie.
I liked it for what it was and was rivetted to the end, but the Tarantino-esque violence and CSI blood and guts did not equal suspense for me. The 'Hitchcock' comment is way off the mark.
Good movie, not worth five stars though
Comment: exceeded my expectations and they were fairly high as it is the Coen Bros. Have to agree with earlier post, for me there were two points in the movie that were bothersome. Ending very frustrating! Good to have a movie that stays with you.
Comment: I almost always trust and agree with David and Margaret. But this one, I am at a loss as to what they saw in it. I'm normally a fan of the Cohens but this has to be one of their laziest, least effective efforts in quite some time. It lacked any sense of suspense, tension or terror for me. In fact, I was bored for most of the film. And Javier Bardem has given one of his worst performances - unsubtle and one-dimensional. Cinematography was good, but not exceptional. Please tell me what I'm missing!
Comment: Right on. Totally absorbing!
Comment: apart from a slight variation in the ending , there is nothing original about this film. it reminded me of at least five other films I have seen. I found it hard to maintain interest in certain scenes involving JONES as it seemed drawn out and irrelevant.
No wonder America is out of control with gun violence. I'm suprised Margeret and David gave this 5 stars although I must say that actor BARDEN is a five star psycho actor.
Comment: Obviously a love/hate movie amongst punters. For those who hated the movie, consider the title as a guide to its content. Social change has brought a world which old-style law-men can even recognise. There is a frank exchange about this is in the folm.
Comment: Coen bothers brilliance! I want to see it again. I'll never be at ease around anyone carrying an oxygen tank ever again...
Comment: A well made concept film with great acting and suspense. Unfortunately the plot occasionally gets tedious and the film in general lacks depth and genuine food for thought. I believe anyone giving this film five stars is just trying to appear 'fashionable'.
Comment: This is one woman who loved this film. You have to THINK and listen. People want a bow tie ending (boring)..that is not life and this one makes you think. I got it right away by listening and I had no problem hearing anything. You have to pay attention. Tommy Lee had a major part to the movie especially at the end. I like movies where I continue to think about it after I have left the theatre and can also discuss what others think happened. that makes this a GREAT movie. As good as Fargo. Agree w/ Steve B.
Comment: Instantly one of my favpurite films of all time.
I'm not sure why soem have a problem with the violence. It wasn't a surprise, surely?
As for the ending... well without giving anything away myself, all I will say is look at the title of the film. The ending - and particularly the final scene - is the very essence of the story. The violence level is an integral part of the core theme.
If you were put out by the direction the plot took, remember that this is a book adaptation.
Great film... if you leave your pre-conceptions at home.
Comment: If only all thrillers were as good and as intelligent as this. Even though I have read the book and knew what was coming this was as suspenseful as it comes. The cast and cinematography were wonderful. Loved the Texan drawl, not hard to understand if you are listening. Thankfully the Coen's didn't make a MacFilm and opt for a hermetically sealed ending. Recommended for film goers who don't want fries with that.
Comment: Comment deleted. Please avoid spoilers.
Comment: I didn't think it was suspenseful at all. It was ponderously slow! I didn't feel at all thrilled and I didn't get why anyone would want to tell this story. Nothing happened except a lot of people died.
Tommy Lee Jones didn't really do anything - he certainly wasn't interested in law enforcement he avoided crime scenes for most of the movie!
I thought "eh" up until the end, when I thought "WHAT?!!??
My husband loved it and was engrossed the whole time but I missed the appeal - musn't be sophisticated enough I guess!
Comment: There are so many films out there today looking to frighten you. This film managed to put me in a state of deep suspense like I have not experienced since the final scenes of Silence of the Lambs. Absolutely brilliant. Great character development and cinematography where every shot is a work of art. You must see this!
Comment: This is an amazing film. Although sometimes confusing the plot is clever. The film is a bit slow at the start but it eventually speeds up moves along at an intense pace. I've read a lot of reviews posted here saying the film was to violent and more saying it was boring. Yes, admittedly it is quite violent but what do you expect, it is an interesting, visually exhilirating film by the Coen brothers. I highly recommend it unless your like Wendy, Helga, or Terry and can't handle Fargo-esque violence. If you are, this film is not for you.
Comment: What a disappointment... I think Margaret and David should have warned us about the mumbling...Not everyone is fluent in Southern accent either. I had the same problem when I watched the Assassination of Jesse James. (Same goes for Scottish movies) Subtitles should be added to movies in which people speak in a heavy local accent, for audience who speaks English as a second language...
Comment: Waste of time and money. What is it that I didn't get I wonder. Anton Chigurh was great in the psycho killer character (and that's why this film has half a star from me), but I found all those murders by psycho so predictable, low-adrenaline and boring, where was the smart touch, I don't get it. The Sheriff mumbled, mumbled,.....,and mumbled. I am sick and tired of this cowboy accent. I might as well watch a film in Mongolian! Half a star from me to David and Margaret. Unless they give my money back ;-)
Comment: This is a very hard film for me to watch. I am the kind of person who values movies with high sensory stimulation. I didnt give this movie 4 (or 5) stars because i found it extremely hard to enjoy and found it to be extremely cold, hard and dry. I didnt give it 3 stars because i can appreciate that this is part of what the film was trying to achieve; hyperrealistic, unmelodramatic portrayal of the events. I am however still unclear as to many fine points and some not so fine of the plot.
Comment: No way is this a 5 star outing. The first hour and a half is first rate and promises much, but after that it trails off and ends quite weakly. Javier is superb as the killer but the Tommy Lee Jones "subtext" that Margaret likes so much could - and should - have been cut entirely. It adds nothing other than dull existentialist ramblings which drag the story down - especially the final scenes - to the point where you start checking your watch.
Comment: Everything about this film was wonderful, except....
The violence. it's so extreme, brutal, senseless and cold blooded. The fact that it's so realistic makes it all the more disturbing.
This is a great film but NOT for the squirmish.
Comment: Fantastic cinematography, acting and editing. The pace of this film is perfect - thrilling and suspenseful.
The story telling could have been more balanced across the film. The ending annoyed me. More needed to be told of the Sheriff's character to appreciate the end. As a result last 20 minutes of the film dragged.
Comment: I don't know that I've ever given a movie 5 stars, but for this, I will make an exception.
Bardem is the most intense and psychotic villain since Alex DeLarge in A Clockwork Orange (did anyone note the similarities between the characters). His justification for killing was even more chilling than his method.
Once you get past the southern accent, the script is so flawless, so perfect, it just had me hooked.
I cannot explain in the allocated amount of words, just how great this film is. If you are serious about good cinema, see it.
Comment: selected 0 stars because I have not seen the movie yet - BUT it seems that people who didnt get what they expected from this movie are having a back lash against Margret and David.
They liked it, you didnt. Get over it.
Every one has different tastes. Enjoy the difference and experience something new.
Comment: Massively over-rated.
Fargoesk, the main difference is Fargo was good, this isn't.
Comment: I think a great movie has to demonstrate some kind of truth. But I struggled to decode this one, to fugure out what the directors were trying to say. Was it that evil flourishes when good men are too old for decisive action? Ie that scene towards the end where the sherrif almost finds Chuger but doesn't check the room next-door. Or that with the failure of good men to defeat evil, even God/Fate/Karma is powerless? Ie the failure of the car accident to stop Chuger. But I don't know. PS I wish audiences could deal with violence without tittering.
Comment: Cormac McArthy's book reads like a Coen Brothers screenplay. With its multiple narrative perspectives it reminded me of many other of their films; BloodSimple, MillersCrossing, Fargo, which to me were all fantastic platforms for this master stroke. Many camera shots and movements encourage a doubling of characters to both other characters (ie. Moss & Chigurh) to even creatures (ie. Chigurh & a crow and also a deer that gets wounded by Moss)...
The kind of movie that students should be studying. Fantastic.
Comment: Initially, when the film finishd we were 3.5 stars, then as the afternoon wore on we got to 4.5. Now in retrospect this is a fiver. It's blood simple done with maturity and reflection, and with that depth and open endedness that warrants repeats viewings. It's the Coens' Vertigo. But does it have the lines and vital repetitive viewing of the big lebowski??? Brings about the dillema of some 5 star flicks - do you really want to watch and rewatch them?
Comment: I have read the book - yes. Enjoyed it - yes - nothing spectacular there. No country for old men - not for the younger either it seems!! This film -well shot, suspense yes (more in the book)- but really - surprised at the 5/5 rating - is there a commission in it for you? Underwhelmed.
Comment: Woh, what an experience watching that film was; still haven't quite processed it. There was so much violence - often in your face, other times so much more creepily subtle. It's not the kind of movie you enjoy but it does make you think.
Comment: Wonderful effort from the Coen brothers. Cinematography and landscape were haunting, actors (especially the minor ones)were colourful & entirely credible and suspense was nicely paced. I liked the fact that the outcomes were unpredictable. I will hunt down the book however as I have a few questions.....
Comment: I thought this movie was very unsatisfying. It was just not in the same class as Fargo. The plot did not make a lot of sense. Having found a couple of million dollars, why would you return to the scene of the massacre to give a near-dead drug runner a drink of water? Why would you be out hunting in a desert without any water in the first place? I found any real suspense lacking. Hitchcock would have done it much better!
Comment: It is a 'good' movie. With all the rave reviews that have been flung around, sorry, I expected much more from this film. Perhaps I wouldn't have been so disappointed had it not been hyped as 'The Best Cohen Brothers Film ever". Strongly disagree with that one.....
Comment: Tex mex, good/evil, life/death, wealth/poverty. Multi layered, powerful commentary on past, present & future,represented by old school sherif, the struggling vet who once fought for his country which has now let him down, and the sociopath lacking any warmth/ humanity; passing on responsibility to his innocent/incidental victims( coin tossing fate) -Directly involved victims don't get this choice. Jones' character book ends the movie perfectly. He made his choices & in some ways will be haunted by them ( cant look father in the eye in his dreams) although essentially a good man, he cant fight the battle against such evil.
Comment: Am I missing something here! This movie was really ordinary. It does not desevre the hype it is getting. I could not understand a word Tommy Lee was saying. David I always listen to your reviews, but this time you were way off track. Save your money and go and see Atonement!
Comment: Tarantino films may be violent, but at least they contain energy and humour and (strangely) sympathetic characters. I felt no suspense at all because I didn't care about the characters. The film told me nothing about the human condition or even the motivations of the characters. Maybe the Coens should spend some time in Iraq to get this obsesssion with gratuitous violence out of their system. Maybe Margaret and David should too.
Comment: Was really enjoying this film, the tension was building steadily, and then just as I thought the film was going to climax they add a twist and let the tension fizzle to nothing and then drag on for another half an hour (artistic and nonsensical end though, so no wonder the critics loved it as it makes them feel clever).
I've never seen a movie that's left the audience so silent at the end (and no, not in a good way).
Comment: An extraordinary acheivement. The Coen Brother's best film.
Comment: The previous reviewers can be catagorized into 2 groups:A)under 4 stars=Ignorant, shallow, unappreciative people.B)Over 4 stars=people who know what they're on about.
This film is a masterpiece.A brutal, haunting, stunning, shocking, moving, and vaguely comic masterpiece.
As I walked out of this film I noticed that the entire audience was in a complete silence, theywere as lost for words as I was.
This is not only a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat with your heart pounding, but a film which will stay with you for a long time.
P.S. If you love hollywood films, don't bother.
Comment: It would be great to get some extrapolation from David and/or Margaret on this so the interactivity of this actually results in a response. Surely this large and divisive response demands it?
I too left the confused and wondering what I missed, and also found the drugs/money/guns stock standard fare uninspiring but I am interested in the idea of Anton as a personification of inevitable inexplicable crime. It could explain the ambiguity at who who responsible for the protagonist's fate. Money as problem-starter was constant and unsubtle.
I left thinking, but I don't know if it was due to genius...
Comment: I agree with your comments concerning script, direction, camera and stupendous acting by all concerned. What I did not like was the predictability of murder and the inevitabilty that the amateur thieves were going to lose. A plot issue. I did love Tommy Lee's observation that the arch villain was not evil but merely doing the law's job for them.
Comment: For all the people complaining of violence, I thought it was completely appropriate for showing the kind of senseless violence that seems to dominate American, and for that matter Australian, culture and news. The idea of the old ' wild west' I really liked, especially when relating it to modern times. I loved the character of Llewellyn's wife, especially at the end when she wouldn't call the toss of the coin. I didn't really like the car crash at the time but afterwards I did. The more I think about it the more I love this movie!
Comment: I have to say this was the best movie i have seen in the cinema for a long long time. Yhe suspense levels in certain scenes were fantstic, the only sound in a crowded cinema was people holding their breath. The ending was great, i love the way the Coens refuse, deliberatley or lazily, to answer the questions they pose.
Comment: This movie was well crafted but lame, the suspense was okay but not the best I've seen.
I was so angry and felt cheated at the end as I think a lot of people were, and the apparent 'storyline that you talk about' wasn't fully developed. I only went to see it because of David & Margaret's rating...WHY WOULD YOU GIVE THIS OF ALL MOVIES 5 STARS????!!!!!
Comment: The beauty of this film lies in the photography of the barren country setting , which captures the loneliness and eeriness of such places. The performances were good particularly that of J brolin and Tomy lee jones as always. The plot reminds me somewhat of pulp fiction in a distant sense.
But the verdict is : if you're a huge fan of the coen brothers films, you'll be very happy i guess,... but if youre not a big fan of the coen brothers, the film is entertainging . thats all.
Comment: I agree with your assessment of this film as a Story, however I find it hard to believe that, with his Vietnam experienced caution (for instance waiting for the man under the tree to show some sign of life), the Josh Brolin character would seek to waylay his stalker by actually sitting opposite the motel room door. I think an ex-soldier would have chosen a more strategically advantageous position and succeeded, but then of course the film would have ended on the spot. A quibble, I know.
Comment: It was great to see a real film for a change. The language was beautiful (there's an added piognancy about a texan drawl) and the direction was stunning. But what stood out most for me was the brilliant casting. What characters... and not just the leads and supporting actors ...the gas station man, the hotel attendants, the mother, the border guard, even the extras were cleverly cast.
If you don't like listening to the words that are spoken then you may be disappointed. But it's all there if you're prepared to think. Powerful stuff.
Comment: Mainstream viewers of Australia never cease to amaze me. I truly think that we are a country inhabited by a majority of people who are completely inept to the concept of cinema. However, I digress, The Coens have yet again crafted an amazing genre piece that shifts its focus on human nature and compulsive violent actions. The core theme is morality as opposed to free will. The coin of which Anton uses to decide the fate of others acts as a metaphor to the film's intentions. Performances are top-notch, direction is faultless, writing is sharp and cinematography is sublime.
Comment: great film marred by the unintelligible Southern Drawl sliding out of Tommy Lee Jones mouth, sub-titles required: I can't wait to see on TV with teletext...
Comment: Whats with all the half hearted reviews? Possibly the best Coen film out there, i mena Millers Crossing is absolutely suberb and im yet to see Blood Simple, but come on people! This is a brilliant film! Tense and frightening, poignant and visually stunning with a deep underlying social commentry. Those who gave it less than 3 stars, you obviously don't appreciate film as a medium!
It is AWESOME. I will definately see it again before it hits the DVD shelves.
Comment: Just excellent !
Comment: Wow. The morally decaying underbelly of America is exposed for all to see. Amazing suspense and yet a very slow paced film.
Javier Bardem is one of my favourite actors and was astounding in this role, his first as a violent character.
Comment: Not 5 stars as the final quarter is edited poorly and the plot losses continuity compared to the book. This many will find frustrating and have by the comments listed. The book is amazing in ithe creation of a sense of place and characters. It puts the ruminations of Bell better in to context . Still the detail and suspense make it worthwhile but don't go if you don't like violent.
Comment: I should have read Joe Publics reviews instead of Margaret and Davids as it's movies like this that turn you off reviewers permanantly.
When you give something 5 stars then you're really not leaving yourself much room to move and I'm expecting something pretty damn good. Disappointly this wasn't it and I'm not alone in thinking this. Seriously, if 60+ people shuffle out a cinema, and too a person are mumbling "Margaret and David gave it what...?", then somethings amiss.
Please let me know when you rejoin the real world again and i'll come back. 5 stars... ridiculous.
Comment: This film lost a half a star coz the magnificently suspenseful silences were marred by the sounds of an obscenely obese man sitting nearby, chomping from a huge pack of popcorn, then an array of lollies and candy bars; along with laboured breathing and the occasional belch. Violence? It very nearly happened. When will we have food and drink free cinemas?
Actually this film is horribly violent - if you haven't seen it yet, and are adverse to violence, it would be better to miss it.
Comment: A sublime film so dense with dreamlike imagery, maverick style and subtle depth that it makes critically overrated films like the Assassination of Jesse James seem somewhat beige. No Country for Old Men gobs in the face of audience members who demand such oppressive restrictions as tight plotting and closure by purposefully dismantling its intricately constructed narrative of tension in favour of an elegiac outcome. However the film also mesmerises more astute viewers with the impact of visceral thrills, a staple of even the lowliest of genre pictures that entrance the public sphere. This is pulp poetry at its zenith.
Comment: Saw it with friends. A warning: "presents a vicious, depressing and dystopic view of life" would have been appreciated. Yes, great direction, tension, camera and acting, BUT it's an ugly story. The old paraplegic lawman, living alone in squalor says in effect "Give up; seeking justice just bleeds you to death", and so sherriff Bell retires with his nightmares of failure of his life's values. The film expresses, in an intelligently controlled way, that psychopathology is unstoppable . An unpleasant opinion no matter how well said. Bad ending. Bad aftertaste. Anyone who laughed, missed the point, just like deputy Wendell.
Comment: Very unsatisfying ending. Unbelievable story line with too many questions left unanswered. Why was only one sherrif chasing a mass murderer? What was the point of the conversations with the man with the cats and the reminiscing about Tommy Lee's father. When the screen went to blank everyone around me just laughed! What on earth was it meant to symbolise?
Comment: An awful movie with a plot full of loose ends and implausibilities which all result from a desire to create a platform for gratuitous and bloodthirsty violence.
No comparison with Fargo which was excellent.
Comment: If you want to see a feel good movie without having to think too much - don't waste your money. You won't enjoy it.
I, on the other hand, want to see this movie again, because I can't stop thinking about it's symbolism and it's message. I need to go back and clarify things after digesting them.
Powerful movie!!!
Comment: At the end my reaction was "Damn you Cohen Bros. Damn you for trying to make me think!" Now I'm less angry about it, and I find myself replaying moments from the film over in my head; finding the gel in the title. So much sadness! Tommy Lee's character was perfect. There was a real compassion for human frailty in this film. I didn't find the violence particularly disturbing, perhaps because I saw it as fulfilling a purpose. And I didn't find the accents difficult- you just have to listen. I pray there's no sequel. It deserves to stand alone.
Comment: I am disappointed with this film review. It reads too much like "golly gosh this is a good movie". There is insufficient substance in the review for viewers to make an informed choice. Some analysis of the messages on greed, wanton violence, USA/Mexico border issues etc would have been useful. The comparision to Hitchcock is not apppropriate. Hitchcock created tension without mass bloody highly visual killings. Not so for this movie. I also suggest the review should have included stonger warnings on the violence and loose ends in the plot.
Comment: "there's a bone sticking out of your arm".
"let's go upstairs."
I don't know how movies with sex (i haven't seen it but i'm using 'Lust, Caution" as an example) get R ratings, and movies like this get MA ratings.
The sole intent of Anton in the film was to kill. The first two killings were for fun, the money hadn't even come into the plot.
It's funny how kids are (in cinema) offered violence/murder but hidden from sex. Surely you'd want it the other way.
Comment: This film was slow at times and contained some strong violence. The villain Javier Barden was very good in his role, was very chilling while Woody Harrelson did a good job in his support role. The end was rather weak.
Comment: Beautifully filmed violence,Too bloody for me, but probably truly the way things are in that country. Are the Coen brothers a bit pretentious in the title, from WB Yeats ' poem "Sailing to Byzantium" viz.
"That is no country for old men/ the young in one another's arms..." Did they expect us to make a connection.. or are they having a laugh?
Comment: Loved it... was on the edge of my seat and sweating the whole time...the slow pace added to the suspense
Comment: One of the best films of the year. For the folks who went and saw the film on David and Margaret's reccomdation and felt shocked with the violence, or dissapointed with the content, my question is can you read? Perhaps the trailer didn't have the correct overtone? Anyway great film, has to be one of the scariest characters ever. Thanks Dave and Marg.
Comment: Amazing. A movie that I can't stop thinking about, although I don't remember the cinematography or the violence. Its about the people and the choices they make.
Tommy's monologues are the highlight of the movie.
Comment: I really got into this film. It was well filmed, logical, well acted, great character development and suspense full.
The biggest let down was the end where the film started to jump from one situation to the other, not explaining certain events. It was as if the Coen brothers thought "oops we have run out of time, better wrap it up". Had to explain this film to alot of people at work who also queried the end. Wait for DVD.
Comment: This film really is a puzzler.
I can't quite put it together myself, so I appreciate the frustration, but I think the guts of it lies somewhere between Anton's stark manifesto ("If you live by a set of rules, and those rules lead you to this point, then what use were those rules?") and the Sheriff's dreamscape, where his father rides, "building a fire in all that dark".
Two takes on survival? Survival of body vs survival of hope? Neither man complete?
Like I say, I don't know. But I sort of like that.
Comment: Gripping tension that doesn't ease up, a killer everyone underestimates, and a storyline that has you still thinking thru the angles as the titles roll. A great movie experience (as long as you can handle the violence),Priceless!
Comment: I'm giving this film three stars only because I acknowledge its production excellence. I loathed everything else about the film - an incredibly boring, blunt concept and script, archetypal characters with no purpose, gratuitous violence. Light weight subtext via TImmy Lee Jones character. Why was this film made? What was the purpose? The Coen Brothers ride a wave of fashion rather than contributing any deeper insights about their nihilistic world
Comment: This film was amazing and perfect. The Coen Brothers are pure genius at setting suspense. so many scenes stood out for me: the scene when Chigurgh is drinking milk and the camera zooms in on him very slowly, is so reminiscent of Alex De Large, including his bizarre hairstyle. Chigurgh's murder weapon of choice is so strange and original, and he is so cold and unfamilliar that i know he will go down in time as a classic and original villain, one of the scariest, as the film is not a fantasy, slasher or sci-fi but very, very realistic.
Comment: This is a challenging film that will make you think about violence, acts of randomness and greed. Its pace matches the slow Texan drawl and yet there are many subtle clues in the film that I recognised only after thinking about the film once it had finished. The casting and acting were superb and the absence of a music score only enhanced the suspense. For me the most disturbing scene in the film was when Sheriff Ed Tom (sounds like Anton) drank the milk and watched his reflection in the TV. The ending was just right. I'm female btw.
Comment: This film really did give me the creeps... very tense
Comment: Wanted to like this movie as a cormac mccarthy fan but never got into it. Should have read the book. Loved the start and then it went to nowhereville fast. What suspense? the fatalism inherent throughout meant it was clear what was going to happen. Also thought Tommy's character was characterless, Javier was unbelievably silly but did like Josh's character. Also wanted more sense of the Texas space - its all about the country....
Comment: Too many predictable and scenes, this movie actually bored me. The movie is full of crude bloody scenes, what's the deeper meaning here? What's the point of the close-up shots, just to show off camera skills? This is the worst movie I've watched in a cinema for a long time.
Comment: For me this was two movies glued together. Did the director die three quarters of the way through filming and a substitute stepped in to finish it off ? I spent the first part scared witless by Javier Bardem's character and can only compare him to Hannibal Lecter for creepiness. The 4 stars are for him really and the scenes in the hotel/motel rooms. The sound of the lock being blown out of the door was scarier than any of the murders. Unfortunately the end was lost on me as I couldn't understand Tommy Lee Jones' mumblings !
Comment: You people that don't like this are a pain. It is supposed to be an artistic film and what I love about it is you discuss it afterwards to piece everything together. You people that gave it low ratings, maybe Cruel Intentions of Enchanted are more up your alley. Coen Brothers rock
Comment: Javier Bardem was absolultely Brilliant in this film. If he doesn't get an Oscar, the Academy is an Ass.
Comment: I 'spose this is one of those movies you either love or hate. I was absolutely transfixed on this movie until the last few scenes which felt like a bit of a messy anti-climax. But that's the whole point of the movie isn't it? Things never turn out exactly how you want them to.
Comment: Npormally I love the Coen Bros. they ahve a knack--Fargo--for making stupid nasty violent people funny. But this was a misguided choice of material for them. Cormac McCarthy is perhaps America's most over-rated writer of the past few decades. He manages, with Psuedo-Falknerian prose and buckets of violence and horror to look as if he's saying something important, but think about it for a moment and there's nothing there.
Comment: Perfection. The best film I've seen in a long time, I absolutely loved it. Javier Bardem in particular is incredible. The scenery, score, suspense! Man, it was awesome. I must see it again soon.
Comment: It's difficult to imagine a way in which this film could be improved. For what it is, it seems flawless. It is not wholly concerned with narrative, which is probably why some people here had difficulty with it. The final scene to me was absolutely beautiful, and I don't think necessarily 'unconventional'; though it leaves you feeling desolate, it finally gives shape to some of the underlaying subtexts that so elusively pervade the film. A beautifully conceived and crafted film.
Comment: It's not often you experience a sense of foreboding throughout the entire length of a film but the Coen brothers have achieved this. The violence is disturbing because it isn't just visited upon the "baddies" and is no worse than anything inflicted by Arnie, Bruce, James Bond & co. The context, if anything, is more realistic. The multiple themes running through the film still have me thinking. The characters and casting were brilliant & the cinematography beautiful and confronting. I certainly didn't enjoy this movie but I thought it was brilliant and thought provoking nonetheless. Thankfully unconventional un-Hollywood ending.
Comment: I enjoyed every moment of this film and not just days but weeks after viewing it which is what makes it a stand out. What sets this movie aside is the depth of subtext that exists amongst each character and which paints an accurate and facsinating representative portrait of the life journey of men, their relationships, attitudes, expectations and struggles through life. Beyond this i also feel that the character of Anton is representative of a grim reaper style character - the inevitability and random selection of death. The silence is what speaks the loudest in this film.
Comment: By far the best film of the year, and one of the best ever. I can't believe all the people who didn't like this absolute masterpiece. They are probably people who talk during movies.
To all the people complaining about the violence, why would you see a film that is about violence? And has an MA rating because of said violence?
Comment: I thought this movie was too slow. One dead body after another, oh please! I agree that it needed to be sub-titled. Even if I could understand the relevance of the ending, it had the appearance of just being tacked on.
Comment: Very good; but the last quarter lost me a bit.
Javier Bardem is simply brilliant; and although there is loads of violence it nearly all means something and weighs on you with how tragic it is.
The first couple of suspense scenes had me on the edge of my seat. The next few had me nervous.
However, with 25mins left I could predict the ending.
I must admit that I didn't get some of the jokes and the police side of the plot; the people giving this 5 stars probably did.
Comment: An excellent film. A clever twist on a common story which features well written and developed parallel plots. The Texas mumble is tricky but the meaning is pretty clear.
Similar to Fargo yet unique and just as enjoyable. The "renegade killer" reminds me of the first Terminator. The two hours flew by. Highly recommended! :-)
Comment: This is the most gripping film I have seen so far. A thriller that pays homage to the classic techniques of creating suspense. I am astonished by the direction, the acting and the cinematography. Thanks to the brilliant use of comic reliefs dotted throughout the film I avoided loosing all my fingernails.
Comment: This film was perfect, i don't understand all the people talking about an unsatisfiying ending. If it is unsatisfying to them, then obviously they did not understand the film at all. It doesn't matter who got away with the money, or whether Anton died. The story doesn't matter in this film, the themes are what come to life in this film and the final scene proves it all, it is a commentary on society at those times. It is a story that reveals the true nature of people, and thats exactly what it achieved. Brilliant.
Comment: WTF? This film should have come with a pack of razor blades. Better watching golf!
Comment: Sorry but this has all been done before in the 80's....have the Coen brothers been locked away for 20 years or something...there are more interesting stories anyhwere else you look but they have regurgitated about every possible cliche.I was so bored and irritated that had to watch it MMMMM...not happy Jan I mean Margaret.
Comment: While it was great to watch the plot was crap. The book was so much better. There is this massive build up and a bit of a thrill ride THEN NOTHING. And the ending was so disheartening. While I think it was supremely acted by all it was so poorly put together. Disappointing.
Comment: Certainly a great film. As stated not a neat ending, but that prompted me to log on and search for some answers -I can't remember the last time that happened.
Oddly enough my girlfriend commented how viloent the film was as we left, yet I had to think hard to recollect scenes that were anymore violent than the usual fare.
Comment: This great movie is not as good as Fargo and blows at least half a star for gliches.
A lot of reviews and plot outlines say that the story starts with the hunting scene. It doesn't. First scenes are the deputy with Anton in custody, and not very believable. BR>
Comment: Killer. Yep. If you appreciate good film making, this is it. Every frame is packed with detail in a slow realistic style reminiscent (to me at least) of Jarmusch. Sooner see something like this than some flashy hollywood action, at eleast here the violence is way more chilling. Bardem is awesome, anyone remember Perdita Durango?
Comment: Best coen bros film, and probably one of my favourites of all time. the acting, the directing, the story truely masterful.
Comment: Finally - a film where people do the smart & logical thing! Def not "aggrivatin"
Comment: Starts beautifully, proceeds well, gets alzheimers and ends up dribbling in the corner.
The most energetic plot ends off-screen, which is a cute device but lame, and then we have the endless ruminations of a grizzled old fart and a lot of slack-jawed boggling from a remorselessly dull killer.
Tommy Lee does Tommy Lee and must have had "40 minutes minimum screen-time" written into his contract because god knows he does nothing with it.
Comment: Absolutely compelling if also frightening and nauseating. Loved the subtlety of the messages, seemingly lost on some who can only see the violence.
Worrying lapses in logic. Final scene pays homage to The Usual Suspects but with a twist.
Comment: Unremitting tension even though the outcome of each violent scene was predictable. Don't think it should be compared with Fargo- let it stand on its own merits, I thought it was brilliant
Comment: Most un-satifying movie experience. Have seem something like this done better in Fargo. It leaves a lot of loose ends, does not follow through with the characters. Left a lot of sour taste in the mouth. Most of the time it was slow. And the last hope, the Sherif, quits his job and ends the movie while talking about his dream? If the books end this way then the book isn't much good either. After investing more than an hour of your life following the characters and not getting any satifactory outcome is a shame.
Comment: I know the screen writers are on strike, but I didn't know they walked off mid movie
Comment: Wow! This movie nails you to your seat and doesn't let up until the very last frame.
With barely any score, there is nothing for the audience to hide behind as Chigurh, possibly the most chilling movie antagonist since Darth Vader, inches closer and closer to Moss.
Like any great suspense film, this is rooted firmly in character. The Coens establish these three characters (Chigurh, Moss and Bell) and set them on a collision course that the audience fears will only end in death.
Bring on the Oscars!
Comment: A good movie but IF YOU'VE READ THE BOOK DON'T BOTHER. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK DO SO INSTEAD. Having read the book when it came out (Big fan of Cormack McCarthy) there were no surprises in this at all and so many great moments weren't featured. Wouldn't have guess this a a Cohen bro film at all.
I also felt they should have cast the entire movie with unknown actors. The familiarity of Tommy and Kelly's faces distracted me.
Comment: Great movie until the last half an hour which completely lost me. Beautifully shot and tense though and at least it got me over the Coens "The Ladykillers" which was one of the first movies I have ever seen. Great acting performances, especially Woody in that short role.
Comment: The movie sucked. Some good acting, some suspense, but there was no point. It didn't go anywhere. self-indulgent rubbish
Comment: This film is overrated. It is boring and pointless, and not in the good way. I know it is filmed well- but not good enough to pull me through. Cliches abound.
Comment: This movie gets better and better with every viewing.
The ending is controversial, however, think about it, and it's the best ending you can think of.
Comment: for those upset with m&d, best consult them AFTER films. expecting safe instructions for viewing can disappoint.
beautiful film. love in coen films is always wry, laconic. here, humour arising from compassion's so refined it becomes
poetry. ultimately, landscape must form, define people. we're encouraged to ponder this process
and its channeling/deflection etc by the substrate, us.
it's painful when the forces of love ('light') feel themselves unequal to their opposite, but the film's ending is sweet nevertheless. our protagonist's still a good man; that goodness will still radiate.
script brilliant, cinematography, editing athletic, performances profound....
Comment: An Amazing Film...
Nothing else to say....
PS Anyone who hasn't seen the Big Lewbowski, Do so!!!
Comment: Top stuff, though haven't we had enough of the Juliette Lewis type girlfriend?
Little bit mish mashy too.
Comment: Hmmm
Probably one you have to see more than once to fully understand and appreciate, but I still thought it a wonderful film- aspects of it were completely new in its genre.
Comment: It's a film about so many things. It doesn't stamp a rubber stamp on any of them: "this film is about crime". "this film is about morality", "this film is about money" etc etc etc - and this is by far its greatest strength.
Discussion of issues, ideas and concepts does not require the person discussing them to take a stand, polarise themselves, and provide a polemic. The subtle nature of this film provides a much more real experience than one (sadly) has come to expect recently.
I will expect so much more of my cinema after having watched this.
Comment: Have avoided the Coen brothers after seeing Fargo - so boring - but this is great, tense and, despite the violence with a moral centre. Take the sheriff out and it becomes just another unreflective thriller.
Comment: Okay. I can see why the 'critics' would call this a great movie. Very tense, great acting, beautifully shot. But a confusing and yet predictable plot, mini story lines that went nowhere and many characters with as much character development as dead fish. I felt little for any of them. I feel strangly unsatisfied.
Comment: Old plot regurgitated with newly spectacular violence but no depth of character. Should have waited for the DVD so that I could have read the subtitles, in case behind the mumbled (so fashionable apparently) drawled "dialogue" there was something worth listening to. Alas, I doubt it anyway.
Not in the same class of awfulness as Dancer in the Dark however, which was rated 5 stars by Margaret. That has become my gold standard of all time for no stars, everything else is compared with that.
Comment: Wonderful movie, but agree with those that had problems with the ending. I think they tried a bit too hard to be faithful to the book, when a lot of what happens at the end of the book just doesn't translate well to the screen.
It did seem to get lost in the last half hour and I think a lot of that could have been left out, as it just didn't make a lot of sense on film, was trying to convey undercurrents that exist in the book but couldn't be explored properly on film.
Comment: The comments on this site are polarised 50% either way. One thing they demonstrate is that most movie production companies brainwash their Multiplex audiences to expect nice neat plots and endings. Just like life, eh??
This is a superb film - just try opening your little minds a bit and let it in. Relax into it - it won't hurt.
As for "Wendy" who thinks women won't like it............................................................
Comment: I had no idea what this film was about when I went to see it and I must say that I was very surprised at what I got. I agree that the ending was frustrating as it did not follow the conventions of a typical plot. If anything I must give credit to the Coen brothers for positioning the audience in such a way that makes them really feel what's going on - referring particularly to the poor gas station attendant. Comparing the direction to the kitsch of Quentin Tarantino is just deluded!
Comment: A little bit disappointed in this movie. After heaaring the reviews i was keen to see it but I must of missed something because failed to see the brilliance of this film. There were some really chilling moments but i truly thought it was mediocre at best
Comment: When a moviemaker asks you to overlook gaping plot holes and believe incredulous character actions you are entitled to expect something in return. But with this movie, when it comes time for payback, the storyteller has skipped town leaving only a plot deficit behind.
This felt like three separate stores: (1) A lazy lawman telling senile stories, (2) An omniscient, super-psycho running rampage and (3) A wannabe trying to outsmart the mob. The three parts could have occurred in three separate times and places and left me wondering if the actors were averse to working with each other.
Comment: Just saw it yesterday, fantastic movie.
Comment: A good movie, good script but it was way too slow.
If it wasn't like watching grass grow, would probably have earned 4 1/2-5.
Comment: Absolutely fantastic in every department. Acting, direction, cinematography etc. The Coens come up with their usual array of weird and compelling characters.
And the last quarter of the movie was absolutely brilliant. I went and saw it again 2 days later because I couldn't stop thinking about it.
Comment: To me this was another 'Fargo' set in Texas. I can't see why Tommy L J was even in it, or his wife, except to set the character-types of that forgotten part of the world. It is as much a character-study as anything else, such as Fargo was, re the N Dakota locals.
I can't see how a blood-bath such as this can ever qualify for 'best movie' or 5 stars. The ending was a let-down.
MUCH preferred '3.10 to Yuma', even with the blood.
Comment: With all the drooling done by David and Margaret, I expected to see something AMAZING. What a cop out of an ending, in fact it didn't have an ending, just a disapointing fizz.
I always have my doubts when a film has the same director, same producer and same screen writer - in this case it had two. It is impossible to sit back and criticise your own work and this is what this film needed, someone to say "look guys this needs a strong finish with some solution.
Sorry, but Atonement wets on this film.
Comment: For all those people out there who haven't seen this film and are about to. You will find that the people who hated this film thought it was stupid, slow, violent and didn't understand the ending. The reason they didn't understand the ending is because they haven't taken note of the title of the film. Many people get caught up with the story involving greed, stupidity and violence which refers to the current state of American society and forget that the movie is about Tommy Lee Jones' character. He is mourning the loss of decency and of a better society.
Comment: Waste of good stars like Jones.
Bardem had no mimic at all, where was his strength in this film? Killing people and pulling bullits from wounds? Too many nasty details and a lot of confusion with the story - but I have not read the book. What meaning had the figure of the poor Harrelson? What humour are you talking about?
The wilderness was the star, but the movie does definitely NOT deserve 5 stars!!
Evelyn Maehliss
Comment: Absolute rubbish. Slow, mumbling irrelevant dialogue. And the violence is shocking. You know now why America is so sick.
Comment: Sitting on the fence here. I didn't like it, but will watch again when it's on dvd and I can have sub titles. I'm sure I missed stuff because of Tommy's awful mumble. b
Comment: 1st time I have been compelled to go the the flicks in a long time. Usually wait for the DVD but upon David & Margaret's rating together with the fact it is a Coen Bros film it was a must see. Follows the book mostly but cuts out superfluous detail and improves some characters (Woody Harrelson). Captures the essence of the Texan landscape and vernacular. Although its theme is the increase in violence relative to Tommy Lee Jones' character and his peers, there are many such escalations down through the centuries.
Comment: This was a poor movie. The "violence" was unimaginative, the story line disjointed and at time not logical, in fact it was quite predictable. The ending was a great anti-climax.
David and margaret, at the end of this movie at least 6 people in the seats around me in the theatre stood up and said that this was a very poor movie - I've never seen or herd such a reactrion.
How could you rate it highly?
Comment: It's Coen, it grips and you don't know where it will go or turn but there have been better developed bad guys (this one almost had horns and a tail); also the subtleties might stroke the 'intellectuals' and the french but it can also be a slightly cheap way to make sure everyone leaves the cinema thinking about your film. Btw what was so great about Fargo?? Give me Millers Crossing or Barton Fink any day.
Comment: Why does everyone want their films to follow the same old formula. Give me a film like this that really makes you think about the nature of humanity. This is a masterpiece which shows us that we must all share the responsibility for evil in our world.We live in a guilty society which is founded on the murder and displacement of other mammals, be they human, wild or domesticated. It's a stain that can't be eradicated and relegates our longing for goodness to triumph to our dreams.
Comment: Certainly a well shot, well acted film and the sinister Anton is a great unbeatable villian, however it has unexlained holes which can confuse and the ending was dissapointing
Comment: The scenery and locations of this film were spot on - the seedy underbelly of America in the early 1980s - trailer homes, cheap motels and hotels - the harsh beauty of Texas praires.
For some of its length it is a savage enditement of greed and the lengths that people will go to pursue wealth. It then strangely pursues the confrontation of growing old and the inevitability of death.
The ending is not conventional and will not satisfy all In fact I sat in the cinema for 5 minutes longer than I would have with a conventional ending.
Highly recommended.
Comment: Horrible.No one in the theatre got the ending.
Comment: The last 15 minutes and the ending ruined an otherwise enthralling and suspensful movie for me. Acting and scenery were brilliant.
Comment: I left this movie challenged and inspired. I know many have complained about the "apparent" incomplete ending, but if you pay attention to the narrative and particularly Sheriff Bell's conversation with his Uncle Ellis (who is crucial to the cohesion of the movie and definitely a necessary character) things might make more sense.
I thought the characters we great and dry humor fantastic, Brolin and Bardem were particularly good.
To those complaining that Tommy Lee Jones has already played this same character In "Three Burials" you're mistaken, he was a rancher in that movie.
Comment: Good movie that could of been great its like they just didnt have the energy to think of a good ending tommy lee talkin about his dreams at the end was just stupid
Comment: A good film but I must admit I got a bit scared in certain spots. A bit to violent for my likings.
Comment: I also got lost in the end, and so did the audience. We sat there in stunned silence wondering what the hell happened to what promised to be a good movie. David did you watch it all the way through, five stars?? I rely on your judgement from a male persective when I choose a movie.
You owe me one!
Comment: A good film.
Perhaps even a very good film.
But most definitely not the brilliant film that many people are making it out to be.
I cannot shake the feeling these people have come down with a case of "Faux-intelligentsia Me-tooism".
Comment: Well executed bleak violent thriller with a high body count. A plot we have seen a thousand times before: Drugs/money/joe average finds the money/bad guys come looking for the money/ old cops watch on and try to help. So what makes people think this is a masterpiece? I guess it is the old cop's monologues, the world has passed him by, we get it! Oh and the baddy likes to toss coins before he kills people, how random of him! Honestly, If you think there is any thing new or deep here you are mistaken.
Comment: This is being generous.
Why 5 stars? Please explain. It just didn't fit together.
Comment: At last, a film worth seeing. (And what a contrast to the prevailing hollywood dross.)
A thriller with thought, great performances all round, a touch of humour (not least the role the mother-in-law plays in getting Moss killed!), and some wonderful subtle touches. Violent but not about violence.
Looses half a star because Tommy Lee Jones is too well known - too identifiable as the actor, rather than the character. As a result I kept expecting something more of him. Brolin, Barden, Macdonald - fantastic.
Very cool. Should be much more of it.
Comment: A flawless piece of post-modern cinema. Leaves the audience hanging on many things that understandably, we don't need to know. The screenplay makes Juno look like an episode of playschool. Beautiful cinematography capped by magic performances by all 3 leads. The funniest, scariest, most confusing and chilling film I've seen in a loooong time.
Comment: Gotta say, love a movie that has such strong reactions both good and bad. I was completely absorbed by what I see as the most intense movie I have ever made. (Of those I have seen). There were four of us, two said "BRILLIANT" and two said "WTF?" The problem is people expect a chase film. I don't think it was ever about catching the killer; probably why I enjoyed it so much. PS. Woody's part, have there been any shorter in recent times?
Comment: It was wonderfully eerie and incredibly terrifying. Javier Bardem was fantastically creepy and wonderfully weird. Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones were both spectacular as well. Parts of it annoyed me (for example Tommy Lee's speech) but that was because I didn't understand it and wasn't patient enough - i think thats why the majority of people have given it limited stars on this site - but once I thought about it more I realized it added to the storyline and made it that much better. The most tense film I have ever seen, and oh how depressing.
Comment: Weak, thin and utterly boring.
Take Fargo then subtract the clever dialogue, remove all soundtrack, go for cardboard characters that evoke no empathy at all, and add 45 mins extra to when the film should have ended, and there you have it.
The only worthwhile character was Woody Harelson.
A woeful effort in comparison with their best work, Fargo. And hopelessly short of contemporary bloodbaths Jesse James and There will be Blood.
Comment: Totally agree with M & D. One of the best films I've seen in ages. It has only just come to the provincial city where I live hence my late viewing. The absence of music (except for the Mexican band) was stunning. I could taste the dust and dirt of the desert and hear every fly buzzing. But I do think it's basically about the culture of killing - the way in which everyman crossed back in USA because he's been in Nam was at the heart of this film. ART.
Comment: What rubbish, none if it glued at all. It was like a bunch of interesting ideas just chucked into a movie without any adhesion.
filming was good but it takes more then filming to make a good movie.
I figure people must of thought they missed something crucial so they give it a high rating but truth is nothing crucial was in it.
Comment: Overrated. Even 2 1/2 is generous.
The Oscar decision tonight doesn't make me change my mind, either.
The first nine-tenths was great. But, the ending! Dismal. Puzzling. Unlike many of your other correspondents (who don't like things wrapped up neatly; or felt challenged about the big questions etc), I felt the film simply ran out of puff. The final kitchen scene was a weak cop-out (excuse the pun).
Artiness does not equal viewer satisfaction! It's the sort of ending I readily expect from an Australian movie.
Comment: This was a good film, with good action scenes , but artificially innoculated with strangeness that didn't really gel with the film for me. What does it all mean? A postmodern look at cherishing the past, unable to comprehend the senseless present? Well, so what. And another thing, I have seen a lot of very violent films and thoroughly enjoyed many, including 'Eastern Promises', but I found this really quite sadistic. Not necessarily because of Barden's evil portrayal either, as good as it was.
Comment: Great suspense for the first two-thirds, but the last 15 minutes looked like they ran out of money and time it became series of poorly linked and poorly developed happenings.
Comment: For those of you who haven't read the book, thre are some significant changes to it in this script...not necessarily detracting from it but it is puzzling.
Comment: half a star for the scenery.
no rounding out haracters .
my husband, who usually follows David.'s recommendations avidly, told me i cheated him when i urged him to see this movie.
Comment: Loved Fargo and Big Labowski, but seriously what was this?
Coen Brothers try to make the worst script they've ever written/read into a film, just to test how good they are?
No doubt they can make films, sound design, cinematography and other Coen Bro trademarks. But doesnt make up for having little content.
Tension is tension. Doesnt make up for archetype characters, been there done that plot.
Seriously I must be missing something.
Comment: Great suspence, great baddie , most scary haircut of all time but the showdown just fizzed out. It was like watching Hi Noon only to find Garry Cooper had a heart attack at 11.50
Comment: WOW!! Fabulously suspenseful movie. The Coens have outdone themselves. The implied violence is often creepier than seeing it ie. Chigurh checking his shoes for blood after killing Moss' wife must be one of the best scenes of the movie. Whoever thinks Tommy Lee Jones' character is superfluous just "doesn't get "what the movie is all about. And that goes for the great ending too.
Comment: Gosh, 5 stars and an Oscar or two for shooting the same scene over, and over, and over again. Why the fuss? Such emprtiness, all of it. Why the meaningless ongoing bloodbath? Why the simple, single dimension characters.? All lost on me I'm afaraid. Give me Million Dollar Baby, Look Both Ways, The Lives of Others, Eastern Promises, Hunting and Gathering, any day.
Comment: Like others i had to come here to make sure they hadn't left some of the scenes out.. a lazy movie, with a disapointing rushed ending, great scenery though .One person commented here about wanting a bowtie ending and life isn't like that.. movies are a way of getting away from real life. Next time i wont bother going on Marg and Davids recommendations
Comment: Worst movie I've seen in a while. Plot didn't pan out. Scenes didn't make sense. Very frustrating. Certainly not worth 5 stars. This is a sad day as I no longer trust David and Margaret's ratings.
Comment: No Country For Old Men leaves ever other movie this year for Dead. It's probably the best thriller I have seen since Silence Of The Lambs.
Comment: It was quiet suspensful but the end really bummed out, ervery one in the cinema said ''is that it" but Tommy Lee Jones was very good compared to his last few films.
Comment: Goes from nowhere to nothing with characters you don't give a rat's about - and then ends at what seems about three-quarters of the way through. Five stars? Pity we can't go into below zero, like minus 5 for such a slow, dull, witless, enervating and futile waste of time! Have to wonder if D&M were reading the paper or doing crosswords while this was on.
Comment: I had been warned that this movie was violent....but went to see it because it got best movie, blah, blah. It was extremely violent but I forced myself to sit through it. I lost track of the number of people who were "blasted away" & averted my eyes continuously (knowing what was coming). It troubles me a bit to think such a violent film can get the Oscar for best picture.
Comment: Look, it was very, very slick, tense and atmospheric...but just too damn maliciously violent. I guess my inner pacifist was just offended once too often with this flick. For the record though, I DID like the ending. It worked great.
Comment: Flawless in every way. Best movie in a long time.
Comment: Fargo2, revoltingly inhumane, unsatisfying, unresolved, finely crafted but pointless. I think it took the oscar coz there was nothing better. If you must see it , wait for the DVD.
Comment: absolute craker
Comment: Shame on the two of you to give this five stars, gone are the days where stories need a being, middle and an ending worth while staying awake for.
The final scene had no baring on the entire film. Do all hobos get waken up at 4am by a mariachi band in mexico? So was the guy behing the door of thehotel room with Tommy or not, we know he didn't leave out of the window?
There is a lot more to a film that just cinematography.
Shame on you all.
Comment: I have always loved the Coens, so I'm a bit biased - but this is such an engrossing movie that I looked forward to seeing it again about five minutes after the credits had stopped. The balance between the harsh reality of the subject, the usual Coen Brothers gallows humour and some at times insightful dialogue is perfect. And not a trace of formula in sight.
Comment: After all the accolades and awards I was was very disappointed.
OK, so the shots of the Texas wilderness, the claustrophobic interiors, etc are fine, but the action itself goes nowhere. A pathological killer trails a bumbling redneck so unbelievably stupid that it's hard for the audience to care what happens to him.
When the sheriff rambles on about his job, his father, his dreams, we wonder just what this contributes to the movie. Or don't I get it?
Far from being a tense psychological thriller, this movie has a garbled messge and an improbable plot which goes nowhere.
Comment: Brilliant filmaking and screenplay!!!
I found the most terrifying scene by far was when Chigurh meets the shopkeeper. Never have I seen a more astute portrayal of a sociopath, their lack of empathy and desperate need for control. Like a child pulling the wings off a fly and seeing what it does....
Truly great films don't insult the intelligence of the viewer by forcing them down a linear and pedictable path. If you want perfectly enunciated and prosaic dialogue, a storyline that is easy to grasp,and two dimensional characters this film definately isn't for you. Go see TITANIC!!!!
Comment: A cold-blooded guy kills a bunch of people and then Tommy Lee Jones laments over how the game has gotten beyond him and all of a sudden this film is supposed to be loaded with meaning? That last speech about his dream would have been one of many insightful scenes in a much better film, instead it's the only scene in this film that attempts to mean something instead of be stylish. Most overrated film since Fargo. (I''m not a Coen hater, by the way)
Comment: Great acting all round, especially from Barden who was sinister yet with subtle dark humour. Atmosphere very good, until I found the Barden character too robotic and unstoppable ("just a flesh wound"). To maintain suspense the situations have to be recognisable so that we can imagine ourselves in them, but Chigurh reveals he isn't human but a personification of Evil, and "the rules" of the real world are suspended. The baddies are omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, while law enforcement is non-existent. I gave up caring. The pointless Woody Harrelson detour and the non-ending may be unconventional. Doesn't mean it's effective.
Comment: Mumbling dialogue? Get your ears tested. Excessive violence - what were u expecting with an MA rating. This is one of the best films released in the last ten years.
Comment: I went to the movies with my girlfreind a saw it! it was great had a good storyline and ranks up there with lord of the rings, titanic and garfield! simply a plesure!!
Comment: WOW! Some people really didn'y get this film, it's a shame. Those seeking 'resolved plots' and conventional structures are clinging to the shallow storylines 'blockbuster' movies profit from. Just a bracket in time, stories don't end in real life, this i feel is beautifully captured.
I loved this film, the internal struggle to remain honest to ones beliefs and philosophies endured by every charactor was so powerful. Those getting hung up on the violence unfortunately are giving to much wieght to the very thing they find unnecesary.
Art reflects context, how many of you feel like your life is resolute?
Comment: non-stop insanely violent. If you think watching a two hour car chase is fantastic - this film is for you.
Sure it has some suspence, but without a plot that has more to it than a chase - its nicely filmed trash using violence as its selling point. Dont bother.
Comment: Being long time Coen & Fargo fans we WANTED to like this. This attitude normally guarantees disappointment. BUT NOT THIS TIME.
Five minutes into it we just knew we were on a winner. Dunno why/how.
On reflection, we are pretty sure there was no background music telling us how we should be feeling either.
We went straight home and watched Fargo again to sustain our pleasure.
Thanks brothers, you have rekindled our waning enjoyment of movies.
Comment: As the lovely, bitchy Joan Collins said recently (I agree with) "It seems that making a feelgood film now is about as politically incorrect as wearing a Swastika" - in reference to all the violence and bleakness in films now, especially the ones that win awards...It's like, staring at a cold blooded psychopath knife someone to death, and indulging in some 'great acting' is all that matters...I felt like watching Dumb and Dumber after this lot!
Comment: The senseless killings totally overrode the other very very fine aspects of this movie. GREAT films have a some killings but the rest could have been much more cleverly implied etc. It really (and almost literaly) sickens me that film makers need to be so graphic and frequent with killing but the stupid audience demands it eh. Just ask ambulance staff what they think about the effects of guns on the body and the effect of such films. The producers make big bucks; the sucker viewers make big...
Comment: How can people like this inaccurate, want en violent rubbish. You must be all effected by peer pressure to give it 5. Stupid violence with no ending. Dreadful movie
Comment: better than Fargo or O brother, where art thou?
Good stuff, for sure...javier is the evil person since Anthony Hopkins, but not quite as risable.....
Don't forget how much we all laughed at George Clooney staring at his teeth in the rear vision mirror (intolerable cruelty) or combing his hair (O Brother)....
Comment: This movie amazed me. As violent and thrilling this movie was it had so much depth and humor
behind it. Chigurh is a beautifully crafted psychopathic character and after reading the book and then seeing the movie i was highly pleased to see that the movie stayed very true to the master piece, book of our times.
There hasn't been a better movie made for years.
Comment: This is one of those classic movies where, after it ends your first thought is 'What a waste of time'. I shall be treating David and Margaret's future reviews with extreme caution.
Comment: Violent films I avoid, so saw this with reservations. The production and performances are magnificent. The violence is not graphic, by the standard of the youth films of today, and becomes less so as the film progresses. Chigurh is death , touching the good and the evil with equal impassivity; whether he visits you can be the toss of a coin. Greed is a powerful force threading through society, against which good men can feel isolated and impotent. We want compassionate law enforcement, but is it adequate in dealing with organised criminals? The film suggests not. Indeed, multi-layered.
Comment: It seemed interesting at the start of the film, however, the perpetual murder and gory became incessantly mundane by the end. I was annoyed by the fact that the film had no resolution at the end. A few scenes were superfluous, and the storyline wasnt all that great. But it was still OK overall.
Comment: This movie is so well done, it has great acting, great suspence, great filmmaking. I think for me it was best to watch it twice, and pay more attention. I like the fact that some of things that happen in the film aren't really explained, they're for the audiences to figure out (or decide).
Comment: don't bother.
Comment: Right up there with "Jaws" for (morally reprehensible) fear mongering. No doubting the film's brilliance BUT..
...what is the point of souless pessimism glorifying a heartless destructive greedy criminal antihero. Neither the harmless nor innocent can survive this untouchable!. OK I get it..don't mess with the Mexican mafia...and uhm don't forget to bring water asap to the dying and wounded.... don't live or hover in remote semi desert regions without a machine gun.
This film belongs in the Horror genre.
Spielberg did it to the beach and sharks too . Lets hope there is no sequel to this one.
Comment: Agree with Rachel - Coen Bros doing Tarantino.
The difference is that Tarantino's violence is largely homage to pop culture and transparent reference to media. No Country for Old Men is full of gratuitous bloody violence for shock sake alone. Its a thriller and I suspect a sick 'game'by the Coens because they can.
Immature themes in the hands of big budget.
Comment: I think this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Talk about being overhyped. There is nothing to this movie. What is the point of it? Admitedly, the filming was beautiful, and some scenes were creepy (eg Anton and Moss in the hotels rooms), but I found the rest of it pointless The characters were weak, flat and one-dimensional, and the story was unconvincing and not really compelling. I just didn't get it. What was the point of Tommy Lee's character? It was pointless
Perhaps a more Audience friendly version as suggested by many of the revews here and elsewhere would beof the Film would be a 3 way Gunfight Between Javier, Brolin and Jones. The upshot of which is Jones' renewed Faith in Humanity. A Country For Old men Indeed.
Comment: Saw it recently for the second time and it seemed to fly by. So beautifully shot, you could almost smell the air in the early scenes, and the closing dialogue between Tom and his wife made the point of the whole film.
Comment: I'm sick to death of people telling those of us who didn't enjoy this film to 'go and watch feel-good film's like Daddy-day-care'. How dare you talk down to us like your opinion is 'more sophisticated'! Personally, i'm VERY passionate about appreciating quality movies, and this film just didn't do anything for me...yet "The Assasination of Jesse James" (to me) was a VASTLY superior movie! The acting, cinematography and script were outstanding! But "No Country" felt mediocre, had a unsatisfying ending, mumbling actors, excessive violence and an uninspired story. P.S- "OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOU" IS THEIR BEST FILM!
Comment: But "No Country" felt mediocre, had a unsatisfying ending, mumbling actors, excessive violence and an uninspired story.
Totally agree with you Sam. The problem is that people don't (or will not ) appreciate that there are perhaps more persuasive countervailing arguments against this film. You can point out good things you like about it, or you can say it was good for x. y and z. But some people forget to look at the bigger picture, or put the film in perspective and look to what it is lacking etc. Ok it was a chilling thriller. but so what?
Comment: This movie had a lot of potential but it was sadly wasted. We had to resort to putting subtitles on because we couldn't understand most of the dialogue. Is mumbling cool these days? A ridiculously disappointing ending - did they run out of budget?


text:
This section contains 161 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)
Captain from Castile Summary & Study Guide Description
Captain from Castile Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:
This detailed literature summary also contains Related Titles on Captain from Castile by Samuel Shellabarger.
Preview of Captain from Castile Summary:
Captain from Castile takes place during one of the most exciting periods in western history — the conquest of Mexico by Cortes and the opening up and exploration of the New World. The conflict between Cortes, the daring and ruthless adventurer driven by glory and gold, and Montezuma, the gentle and generous Aztec king committed to a religion of bloody human sacrifice, is one of the great stories in history and is one...
This section contains 161 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Brake Pedal Arm; 41-71 Willys and CJ Models
This reproduction brake pedal arm from Omix-ADA fits 41-71 Willys and Jeep models.
Pricing: $38.99
Direct OE replacement Jeep parts and accessories built to the original specifications by Omix-ADA. Limited five year Manufacturer's warranty.
- 16750.04
- 16750.04
- 804314012991
- Omix-ADA
- New
Shipping Information
- Item Requires Shipping
- 2.0 lbs.
- W4.0000" x H1.0000" x L16.0000"
Customer Reviews
Total Reviews (0)
Write the First Review!
You must login to post a review.