No Country For Old Men is one of the most perfect movies ever

[MrScorpio]

Truly a masterpiece

Thank goodness for On Demand

[Shell Beau]

1. Not so sure about that, but it is a fantastic movie!

Crazy ass dude though! Killer dude. I forgot his name in the movie.

[Haole Girl]

2. I call b.s.

Because I didn't like it. So there!

[fizzgig]

3. it's not that it wasn't good

but it was one of those movies that left me goggling at the tv wondering wtf i'd just watched

[Shell Beau]

4. True. When it is over, you think WTF?

[Forkboy]

10. My take on the ending...

In the dream he talks about at the end of the movie he says he heads into the snowy mountains (representing his life as a sheriff), and that a man goes on ahead of him (the killer awaiting him, in this case Chigurh). And then he woke up and realized he was in the process of acting out the dream. So, instead of having that dream come true he chooses the safer life of retirement, no doubt influenced by the handicapped friend he visits in the movie, a former lawman who paid a heavy price and is now confined to his wheelchair.

The new breed of criminal that he encounters (circa 1980 Texas, which the movie is set in, when drug smuggling was really taking off) shakes his faith in what he does and whether he's good enough to match them, and the dream he talks about at the end is a way of him saying he finally recognizes that he's out of his league now. Hence, "No Country For Old Men".

[av8rdave]

34. In his dream, the man going on ahead of him is his father

After reading the book, I didn't find the ending hard to understand at all. In his opening narration, the sheriff pretty much tells you how it's going to turn out for him. He says he knows there is a "true prophet of destruction" out there, and he (the sheriff) is not willing to meet him.

I loved how he talked about having to be willing to die to do the job of sheriff, but facing something like Chigurh goes beyond that. "A man would have to put his soul at hazard."

Such a well written book.

[MrScorpio]

7. It's very Kubrickian

In that everything isn't so fucking obvious, like in most other movies

The viewer has to listen and pay attention

I pick up new things after each repeated viewing

[Duer 157099]

13. Is this true?

I'm in a Kubrick phase right now, so if this is true, I'm interested.

However. I originally saw the film back when it came out, and my first reaction was WTF? I mean, I liked the acting and the story, but it was a big shrug to me. So much so that recently when I tried to remember what it was about, I could not remember ANYTHING! Nada. It was like a huge blank hole in my memory -- and that just never happens to me with films.

So I watched it again last week. Almost the same reaction as the first time, although I appreciated it a bit more, but not sure why yet. And even today, I have to actively *try* to remember what it's about. Very odd.

So I'm intrigued now.

[ScreamingMeemie]

5. That and Curious George are the two movies that put me to sleep

in the theater. I'm afraid to waste the money on a rental. But, then again, I have never been able to stay awake through "Pulp Fiction" either.

[Forkboy]

14. Pulp Fiction and No Country are both very hit or miss films for a lot of people.

I haven't seen Curious George, but I'm betting it would be a miss for me as well. :)

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. BabyG had to wake up both his Mama and his Daddy at the end of

that one. You didn't miss anything. :)

[Texasgal]

6. It was a bit violent for my taste.

Although I thought it was done well.

I haven't seen a good movie in a long while.

[ScreamingMeemie]

8. I don't know if you've seen it yet, but "Doubt" is excellent.

Better than I thought it would be and I am still trying to make up my mind on guilty/innocent.

[texanwitch]

9. I recorded the movie the othe night.

I had missed some of the movie the first time I saw it.

I really enjoyed watching it again.

[Forkboy]

11. I consider one of the best movie in the last decade, and perhaps well past that.

It's a fanatastic study on the nature of violence itself (something The Dark Knight tried to do, just with the usual Hollywood trappings). Tommy Lee Jones' character simply can't wrap his head around a person like Chigurh and his seeming "violence for violence's sake" thinking. What drives such a man? Greed, revenge, a simple desire to kill? TMJ can't even begin to understand this new breed of criminal. At the end he finally realizes he's one of the "Old Men" in the title.

It's a brilliantly textured and nuanced movie that assumes the audience is smart instead of the other way around like most other movies do.

[MrScorpio]

12. I'm glad that you saw it as I do

It's definitely a thinking person's movie

[Mike 03]

16. It's passable. Why is it "most perfect"? When I used to make statements like this about a work

of art, I had to make some effort to demonstrate my point by argument.

At least give us some reason is it a great work of art?

Is it superior to the novel it is based on?

For what reason is it a brilliant work of art?

[MrScorpio]

17. The nuanced way the movie plays out

It expects you think about motivations while you're looking at it, rather than use staid and unsophisticated narrative devices.

I appreciated the movie, as an artist, in that it's work of art that required to viewer to pay attention.

[jobycom]

18. Yes.

The cast, the performances, the choices made by the directors to tell their story, all are perfectly done. The subtle, rich message of the film doesn't overshadow the emotional response to the characters. Everything is balanced, every scene has a purpose, usually more than one purpose, and everything entertwines to lead the viewer to the conclusions at the end without simply dictating the concusions. The audience has to work a little because the message isn't a simple statement, and if the directors had been more direct the message would have been diluted.

Perfect movie. IMHO.

[cemaphonic]

19. One thing I just realized about it the other day?

You know that dumb action movie cop cliche "I'm getting too old for this shit?" Sheriff Bell actually means it.

But yeah, they did a great job with adapting it. I love McCarthy and I love the Coens, so I was pretty stoked when I first heard about it. Luckily, it turned out very well.

Nice that they actually won an Oscar on a career highlight.

[texanwitch]

20. One question.

Did the good old boy who found the money wife get killed at the end of the movie.

I think so.

[MrScorpio]

21. Yes

Chigurrh was checking is shoes for blood stains as he stood on the porch.

And besides, he made a promise to kill her.


He was all about keeping his promises.

[texanwitch]

23. That is what I said.

I saw him checking his boots.

[mentalsolstice]

22. It is a masterpiece, and in the same year we had "There Will Be Blood"

...which was another uber-masterpiece, particularly in acting. A good year for movies and performances all around (even if the material wasn't attractive to all). This past year, 2008, was also a good year, so many movies were well-produced and well-acted.

[Lethe]

24. somehow i think Somerset Maugham would have rolled his eyes at it

i saw the movie, haven't read the book.

i've read blood meridian and all the pretty horses.

bleh

the cohen bros. came under the spell of CMc, Fargo was better.

[old mark]

25. Very smart movie, well done, great cast - I loved "Old Men"....nt

[texanwitch]

26. What happened to the money.

I am trying to remember.

I lost track of it when the good old boy picked it up in the river bed.

He took it with him to the motel, and then he was killed.


I need to watch this movie again.

[leftofthedial]

27. it is outstanding.

[av8rdave]

28. I love that film, though the book is even better

[Dogtown]

29. Have to agree, MrScorpio

I think many who didn't like it were off-put by the lack of resolution.
In that respect, it mirrors life and people want their entertainment to have nice tidy endings.

Truth is, the bad guy usually wins and there really isn't any justice.

[CJCRANE]

30. Question (*SPOILERS*)

I didn't understand why the Woody Harrelson didn't pick up the money when he saw the briefcase...and why didn't he have a gun or be more careful about avoiding the Chigurh character...?

[Blue_Tires]

31. i had to have been watching a different movie

because it seems like i'm the only human in the universe who thought it self-important and overly pretentious...

what in the name of hell is everyone else seeing that i must be blind to?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

32. It was well done (as Coen brothers movies almost always are), but I would have enjoyed it more...

....had I read the book first. At least that's the impression I got.

Actually, IMHO the Coen's best work is still Fargo, and their most enjoyable work is The Big Lebowski.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

33. Dupe nt