Hi,

Anyone catch this flick?

It seemed to end abruptly?

John.:music:

Sequel :scratch2:

Almost as saisfying as the Sopranos finale.

Seems to end on a discordant note, but all is pretty much resolved as far as I could see.

What a GREAT movie!!
I loved the ending: An undercurrent of Evil persists unabated.
And all our fathers are out there waiting for us in the dark.
CLASSIC!!!

Best.....Movie.....Ever

I've come to expect big things from the Coen brothers and they didn't disappoint.

the book is a must read. not mccarthy's greatest, but a good one. i rank them like this: #1, The Road (2007 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) #1, Blood Meridian, and last #1, Suttree. from there we go to mccarthy's lesser fiction, which of course, are all rated like this, as far as i am concerned--#1

superb movie, one of my favorites of the year. of necessity, they dropped a major character development element in the sheriff, which played highly in the book, and which in many ways helps you grasp the title.

Sorry Folks, but that movie was a total mutt. Lots of top notch talent in one sorry waste of a movie..........Pearls before swine, I'd say.

Coen Brothers could, and have, done far better.

That's my opinion, anyhow.

Dave

It's on the "DVD to rent" list...

:thmbsp:Bought it:thmbsp:
willie

Great movie with a dialogue that is sparse but telling. The moral:when you are ahead bury your good side.

"Aqua"

Sorry Folks, but that movie was a total mutt. Lots of top notch talent in one sorry waste of a movie..........Pearls before swine, I'd say.

Coen Brothers could, and have, done far better.

That's my opinion, anyhow.

Dave

A mutt that earned the Coen brothers three Oscars.

Not my favorite Coen film, but I liked it overall.

dew.

I just hated the ending and I wasn't the only one. Everyone in the bathroom after it was over were just shaking their heads. I would have loved for Sheriff Bell and Chigurh duel it out and finish on a realistic note. What became of Chigurh?? He hurts his arm in the car wreck and walks away and gets away with murder.

I just hated the ending and I wasn't the only one. Everyone in the bathroom after it was over were just shaking their heads. I would have loved for Sheriff Bell and Chigurh duel it out and finish on a realistic note. What became of Chigurh?? He hurts his arm in the car wreck and walks away and gets away with murder.

In real life sometimes the very bad walks off into the sunset.

In real life sometimes the very bad walks off into the sunset.

And the good guys for all their noble attempts sometimes get nothing for efforts...

EXACTLY the point!

Absolutely stunning movie.

However, as Ethan (?) Coen said on Oscar night, "Winning Oscars is easy when you use writers like Homer and Cormac McCarthy."

The "ending" was the whole point of the book/film. A "Hollywood" ending would have been just that... Hollywood.

rock on, summer

I call it No Ending for Good Movie.

In real life sometimes the very bad walks off into the sunset.

If you think about it, Chigurh really showed about the best adherence to his morals as warped as they were. Whereas the "good-guy" Llewelyn tries to make off with money that isn't his, originally leaves a man to die without water in the desert, and treats his wife like dirt, Chigurth prefers killing people with his cow-bolt because it's more quick and clean, always keeps his word in terms of adhering to the coin toss for killing, and works hard for his employer and gets the job done without demanding more money for his troubles. I enjoyed it because it was so different in that it had no true good or bad characters and they killed off the lead 3/4 through the movie. I think I did use hyperbole in my first post though, since I do like Fargo better as far as Coen movies go.

superb movie, one of my favorites of the year. of necessity, they dropped a major character development element in the sheriff, which played highly in the book, and which in many ways helps you grasp the title.

I plan on reading the book, but I still think they had that character development you mentioned, probably not as in depth as the book might have made it. I still picked up on it.


Absolutely stunning movie... The "ending" was the whole point of the book/film. A "Hollywood" ending would have been just that... Hollywood.

Couldn't say it any better, so many tie ins from the movie to the title to real life it's ridiculous.

I didn't see the characters as quite that morally ambiguous, but thankfully the treatment wasn't "Hollywood" clear.

Ever hear that country song, "...I may be a real bad boy, but I'm a real good man?" Corny sounding sentiment, but you'll find many good examples of just that in this part of the country...

[QUOTE

superb movie, one of my favorites of the year. of necessity, they dropped a major character development element in the sheriff, which played highly in the book, and which in many ways helps you grasp the title.[/QUOTE]

He really sounded and looked tired.

In real life sometimes the very bad walks off into the sunset.


Sometimes? :scratch2:

The tone of the work was reminiscent of "Fargo" to my wife and I. I enjoyed it; all that great talent, good writing, what else should a person expect?

:tresbon:

[QUOTE

superb movie, one of my favorites of the year. of necessity, they dropped a major character development element in the sheriff, which played highly in the book, and which in many ways helps you grasp the title.

He really sounded and looked tired.[/QUOTE]
I'm not a huge Tommy Lee Jones fan, but he was excellent in this and in the last scene he was incredible as a frustrated beaten man who knows there was nothing he could do to stop the inevitable. I really felt the anxiety he was portraying.

A mutt that earned the Coen brothers three Oscars.
Not my favorite Coen film, but I liked it overall.

dew.

Is that supposed to mean something? New movies, like new music are weak. I have not seen the movie, and have absolutely no desire to.

I'm glad I only paid $1 to rent it at the Redbox kiosk in my local supermarket.

Wonderful, wonderful movie.

I'm a big Coen brothers fan this one is right up there with the original Blood Simple, Fargo, and Raising Arizona.

I saw it in a theater at 1pm on a wednesday afternoon and I was still nervous at 11pm that night. Couldn't wait to get the DVD.

If you think about it, Chigurh really showed about the best adherence to his morals as warped as they were. Whereas the "good-guy" Llewelyn tries to make off with money that isn't his, originally leaves a man to die without water in the desert, and treats his wife like dirt, Chigurth prefers killing people with his cow-bolt because it's more quick and clean, always keeps his word in terms of adhering to the coin toss for killing, and works hard for his employer and gets the job done without demanding more money for his troubles. I enjoyed it because it was so different in that it had no true good or bad characters and they killed off the lead 3/4 through the movie. I think I did use hyperbole in my first post though, since I do like Fargo better as far as Coen movies go.


I ignored this film when it came out. Saw it at home on Friday night and I'm still thinking about it. Kind of like Fargo but "No Country" had fewer moments of normalcy, everything was even more surreal.

I'm down on graphic/gratuitous violence. But this film (like Fargo) had to have it to punctuate it's message. Regardless, in the end, I was numb to it, as absurd as it was.

Been thinking about it the last couple days and I thought I figured it out: Villain and hero switch places somewhere through the film. Looks like Agent928 came to the same conclusion.

Very tough for me to get through the first 20-30 minutes. Truly riveting thereafter.

A great film.

My Dad and I watched it on Sunday, He wanted to see it even after I warned him that others had commented (here) that the ending was abrupt and unusual.

After it finished, he looked at me and said "Well, you warned me..."

Of course we don't know for sure the wife's fate, but she had actually gotten herself to the coin toss stage, an accomplishment in that context. And then probably blew it.

I think the most significant accomplishment was that Tommy Lee Jone's character actually survived...

Of course we don't know for sure the wife's fate, but she had actually gotten herself to the coin toss stage, an accomplishment in that context. And then probably blew it.


Read the book. Her fate is clear and slightly different from the film, but not ultimately.

I ignored this film when it came out. Saw it at home on Friday night and I'm still thinking about it. Kind of like Fargo but "No Country" had fewer moments of normalcy, everything was even more surreal.

I'm down on graphic/gratuitous violence. But this film (like Fargo) had to have it to punctuate it's message. Regardless, in the end, I was numb to it, as absurd as it was.

Been thinking about it the last couple days and I thought I figured it out: Villain and hero switch places somewhere through the film. Looks like Agent928 came to the same conclusion.

Very tough for me to get through the first 20-30 minutes. Truly riveting thereafter.

A great film.

Aren't I awesome? and so humble too. :D

I thought the movie was pretty good, but also thought the ending hurt it as well to.
It didn't need some big hollywood ending but at least continue on like the rest of the movie.

I saw all of the movies up for best picture and kinda sheeply have to admit it but Juno was best!

I love the Coen brothers and there movies but felt they fell just a bit short for me here on this one.

I saw it at a theatre with only five other people in the audience. I wasn't in the mood at the time for the talky parts in the latter portion of the film, but I'll rent it and listen to it again for more insight. Liked the movie.

Watched it on DVD last weekend.

It was good, but Fargo was a much better picture.

I'm a fan of the Coen brothers, but this was not their best.

Several riveting scenes (dog chasing the guy in the river), but the overall plot and character development are not up to "best picture" standards.

Guy stumbles on the remains of a drug deal gone bad near the Mexican border - seems like I've seen this movie many times before.

I thought about Fargo for days and it was a completely original movie experience. Not with this movie.

My two cent review. Snade

Watched it on DVD last weekend.

<snip>

My two cent review. Snade

Read the book. You'll be glad you did.

http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/1001/p3010022pq2.jpg

Please tell me this stupid movie did not win best picture ????

This movie was a two hour and two minute waste. Hollywood gets worse by the hour !

Watched it on DVD last weekend.



Guy stumbles on the remains of a drug deal gone bad near the Mexican border - seems like I've seen this movie many times before.



He returned to give water to one of the severely injured drug dealer. This was out of character when viewed against his initial reaction to the man. His yield to the humane side led to his lost of a fortune and his life.
This film is making some serious statements.

He returned to give water to one of the severely injured drug dealer. This was out of character when viewed against his initial reaction to the man. His yield to the humane side led to his lost of a fortune and his life.
This film is making some serious statements.

It certainly is!
The most important being man's need to assert concepts of good and bad on a world that operates on a level far exceeding our arbitrary moral judgements.

William Blake once wrote:
"The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy seas, and the destructive sword are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man."

It certainly is!
The most important being man's need to assert concepts of good and bad on a world that operates on a level far exceeding our arbitrary moral judgements.

William Blake once wrote:
"The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy seas, and the destructive sword are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man."

I still won't pay a cent to see it.

Please tell me this stupid movie did not win best picture ????

This movie was a two hour and two minute waste. Hollywood gets worse by the hour !

:yes:

I still won't pay a cent to see it.


Point well taken!:yes:

>read the book, you'll be glad you did< pmsummer

i believe that those evaluating the film before seeing it are doing so out of a frame of reference that can't apply to this particular film. that being 'film as entertainment'...this particular movie absolutely cannot be seen as 'entertainment' because it goe so much farther and deeper in its meditation on the processes of good and evil. and it is mccarthy, the author of the novel, who creates the scale of the story. summer recommends reading the novel, i second that by recommending that posters here read any mccarthy novel. he is the author of last year's pulitzer prize for fiction winning The Road. this book had the literary world on its knees gasping for air at its sparse, utterly gripping prose; its simplicity, its darkness with the faintest ray of light shining through. as fine a novel as i've ever read.

but back to NCFOM. the coens successfully translated almost the entire depth of the book into the movie, failing by choice it seems, to fully reveal the kind of struggle and the nature of it that the sheriff was in with himself. in the book, he carries a secret knowledge about a failure of his own past which he knows to reveal a character flaw in himself which he cannot forgive himself for. we are only given a taste of this in the movie.

but the coens are staying true to their fascination with the faulty wages of crime: from Blood Simple, through Raising Arizona, Millers Crossing, The Hudsucker Proxy, Barton Fink, The Man Who Wasn't There, Oh! Brother, Where Art Thou, Fargo, and now this movie, they continually explore the comedy and tragedy of intentional or unintentional crime and the way the human heart can always find a way to justify getting something for nothing.

to me, NCFOM takes the movie far, far beyond a few hours of light entertainment into an incredibly deep, complex meditation on the propensity of all of us for evil. here we have a good guy who steals, fails to report a crime, becomes insanely connected to the idea that he can prevail and retain the million odd dollars he has found. this notion costs him everything. when he made the decision to steal, he connected himself to his own fate, in the finest tragic storytelling tradition of the last 3000 years of western culture. from homer through shakespeare, faulkner and mccarthy.

the movie is saying 'this is what you get when you make this decision; these are the forces you unleash'. moss' hubris connects him to his fate. this is a very old notion. it is the central device of tragedy-- achilles makes the decision to attack troy, certain of his ultimate triumph, unaware of his one weakness, the heel his mother neglected to wet in the river styx, and this is the one place of his vulnerability, and naturally the place where the fatal arrow will fall. the 'achilles heel' has become over the ages the metaphor for all in ourselves that we neglect and overlook when making that judgment that says 'I am different, I can rise above my own human nature and the laws of the universe'...Moss' achilles heel is his failure to understand when appraising the scene that there is evil at hand that he could never overcome. at the very beginning, he crosses over the river styx, chased by the hound of hell, and as we go on, we see that he will never return.

this is a morality tale at the deepest level possible of storytelling. how could it get any deeper? it asks us to look into our own hearts of darkness and say whether or not we would find there our own Llewellyn Moss who would try to get away with the impossible, gripped by the dream of something for nothing.

and a review of the coen movies will show that in each one, they explore this theme over and over again, sometimes comically, sometimes tragically, often both at the same time. they are the authors of some of the blackest, most enduring and unflinching humor in film you'll ever see. because when you watch these films, you are seeing your self and your own human failings portrayed on the screen.

because when you watch these films, you are seeing your self and your own human failings portrayed on the screen.

Uh oh. Who am I?

I must be the old guy running the gas station. ;-)

call it...just...call it

what am i callin'?

everything...

Regardless of what the book did, or how deep the meaning, the ending fell way
short and took a very good MOVIE to decent at best!

That is ultimately how many of us feel about this MOVIE.

Watched it on DVD last weekend.

It was good, but Fargo was a much better picture.My wife and I watched this movie over the weekend and I agree that it was good but not as good as Fargo. Much of the movie was predictible yet still suspenseful. At the end of the movie you knew he was going to get nailed by another car yet I still jumped out of my seat. I gave it four out of five stars on Netflix.

My wife and I watched this movie over the weekend and I agree that it was good but not as good as Fargo. Much of the movie was predictible yet still suspenseful. At the end of the movie you knew he was going to get nailed by another car yet I still jumped out of my seat. I gave it four out of five stars on Netflix.

Right Duffy. The movie reminded me of Pulp Fiction in that it is a series of riveting scenes, but they don't consistently build the suspense or storyline throughout the movie.

Also, the car crash near the end reminded me exactly of the same crash in Pulp Fiction.

Agree with earlier comments, decision of the vietnman vet guy to go back and bring water to the dying guy in the car made no sense at all and was out of character.

Also, the way Woody Harrelson gets caught by the bad guy just walking up the stairs at a hotel, I thought that made no sense.

I'd give it three or four stars as a good movie, but it's not best picture. Compare this movie to other best pictures like the original Godfather - not even in the same league.

Regardless of what the book did, or how deep the meaning, the ending fell way
short and took a very good MOVIE to decent at best!

That is ultimately how many of us feel about this MOVIE.

I thought the ending was perfect... and that was BEFORE I read the book.

But that's why they have multiplexes. To each his own.


P.S. I also like Bach's Art of Fugue without the new ending most ensembles tack onto it. ;)

For those who didn't like the ending, what would've been better?

(Don't say "anything" or I'll send you a box of goose poop in the mail.)

Seriously. The banality of evil, the idea that good doesn't win every battle, that evil slips away and continues causing problems... Were you looking for a big showdown with guns blazing, Carson, The Sheriff and Moss killing the bad guy?

Oh I don't know something that didn't stop dead in it's tracks and lay a turd woulda been nice!

But that is just ones oppinion who didn't like the ending, YMMV!
For me the last 30 minutes of the movie just basicaly wasn't there.

I notice some members referring to the book. I think we need a book forum. I enjoy this forum. I think I would appreciate one on books.

I notice some members referring to the book. I think we need a book forum. I enjoy this forum. I think I would appreciate one on books.

That's a great idea, actually.

Snade