SSS Goes Country

Message

silverscreenselect · #1 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Thu Nov 22, 2007 11:14 pm

We went to see No Country for Old Men tonight, and all I can say is wow!

This is the best film of the year so far by a good bit, with some great dialogue by the Coen brothers and several terrific acting performances. Look for Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem to all get Oscar nominations for this, and Bardem's character is one of the great all time screen villains. There is a scene early in the movie between Bardem and the owner of a gas station that is terrific.

Having said this, a lot of people are disappointed by an ending that requires careful attention to see exactly what is happening and is also radically different in tone from a lot of what went before.

Spoiler

On the one hand, the film is a terrific suspense thriller for most of the way, so much so that it is easy to lose track of the deeper philosophical themes involved in it. However, the last fifteen minutes of the movie puts all that back in focus and allows for a number of possible interpretations. It takes a while for it all to really sink in

Definitely worth seeing and a movie that will have people thinking and talking about for quite a while. This is a movie that will undoubtedly get better on a second viewing as well.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #2 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 12:05 am

We saw Enchanted today. All four of us really enjoyed it. I would probably go see it again in a heartbeat.

earendel · #3 Post by **earendel** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 6:16 am

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:We saw Enchanted today. All four of us really enjoyed it. I would probably go see it again in a heartbeat.

After elwing returns from the Black Friday madhouse she and I plan to go see Enchanted. Your recommendation only strengthens that resolve.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #4 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:48 am

earendel wrote:
PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:We saw Enchanted today. All four of us really enjoyed it. I would probably go see it again in a heartbeat.
After elwing returns from the Black Friday madhouse she and I plan to go see Enchanted. Your recommendation only strengthens that resolve.

Look for cameos by other Disney Princesses in the movie.

Spoiler

The movie had Idina Menzel (Elphaba in Wicked, Maureen in Rent) in it and she didn't sing at all. I just wonder if they intended that she would have a song and it got cut.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #5 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 8:59 am

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:
Spoiler
The movie had Idina Menzel (Elphaba in Wicked, Maureen in Rent) in it and she didn't sing at all. I just wonder if they intended that she would have a song and it got cut.

Spoiler

Be careful about clicking on this spoiler, it reveals a lot.

Spoiler

I just read on IMDB that there was supposed to be a duet between Idina Menzel and James Marsden, but it was cut. Hopefully it will show up on the DVD.

Bixby17 · #6 Post by **Bixby17** » Fri Nov 23, 2007 11:05 am

We saw "No Country" a couple of nights ago.

My husband hates most movies. He can't wait to see this movie again.

It was a cool movie. On so many different levels.

SSS, I am not sure that I understand your comment about the ending. I didn't find the ending disappointing, but would appreciate if you explain your comment in a spoiler.

I'll probably take the kids to Enchanted next week.

silverscreenselect · #7 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 7:25 am

Bixby17 wrote:
SSS, I am not sure that I understand your comment about the ending. I didn't find the ending disappointing, but would appreciate if you explain your comment in a spoiler.

Spoiler

A number of people are disappointed: (A)that Josh Brolin and/or his wife died; (B) that Javier Bardem got away; (C) that the movie didn't show the death scenes more clearly; (D) because the scene with Tommy Lee Jones going into the hotel room was somewhat confusing because they weren't sure what happened to Bardem in the room; (E) that the film ended rather abruptly with a rambling monologue by Tommy Lee Jones after another rambling scene with him and the old deputy shortly before that;or (F) some combination of the above.

Many of these people wound up buying into the film as a conventional thriller and had themselves set up for a slam bang finale with Brolin blasting the bad guy to bits, or, at the very least, Tommy Lee Jones getting some measure of justice at the end. The fact that this didn't happen, of course, was one of the major points of the film.

This really demonstrates one of the big differences between print and film. The book that this film is based on was much more clearly the reminiscences of Tommy Lee Jones' character (there are far more of his backward-looking speeches in the book in italicized print interspersed with the main story), so it's easier to accept on that level. Film gives the action and Brolin's and Bardem's character far more of a flesh-and-blood quality than in the book, which makes what eventually happens a bit tougher for audiences to accept.

BTW, the film is very faithful to the book, and I'm sure the Coens had to fight the temptation to Hollywoodize the ending which would have really lessened their film, albeit possibly making it more of a short-term box office success. One thing is for sure, you won't ever see a Michael Bay film end like this one.

Bixby17 · #8 Post by **Bixby17** » Sat Nov 24, 2007 10:46 am

SSS-

Thanks for splaining. I guess I liked the ending because it made sense with what the movie was all about.

Bob Juch · #9 Post by **Bob Juch** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:41 pm

The National Board of Review just picked it as the best film of the year.

The other winners:

Director:
Tim Burton, "Sweeney Todd"

Actor:
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"

Actress:
Julie Christie, "Away From Her"

Supporting Actor:
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

Supporting Actress:
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"

Foreign Film:
"The Diving Bell And The Butterfly"

Documentary:
"Body Of War"

Animated Feature:
"Ratatouille"

Ensemble Cast:
"No Country For Old Men"

Breakthrough Performance by an Actor:
Emile Hirsch, "Into The Wild"

Breakthrough Performance by an Actress:
Ellen Page, "Juno"

Best Directorial Debut:
Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"

Best Original Screenplay (tie):
Diablo Cody, "Juno" and Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country For Old Men"

Besides "No Country," here's NBR's top ten, in alphabetical order:

"The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Bucket List"
"Into The Wild"
"Juno"
"The Kite Runner"
"Lars And The Real Girl"
"Michael Clayton"
"Sweeney Todd"

MarleysGh0st · #10 Post by **MarleysGh0st** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:50 pm

Bob Juch wrote:Breakthrough Performance by an Actor:
Emile Hirsch, "Into The Wild"

A movie on this list that I've actually seen!

silverscreenselect · #11 Post by **silverscreenselect** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:52 pm

The National Board of Review tends to come up with some very offbeat choices, sometimes from very marginal films. I'm always at a disadvantage at this time of year since I haven't seen a lot of the films that are mentioned.

I certainly agree with No Country for Old Men. In my view, Javier Bardem will probably win most of the supporting actor awards. I saw Jesse James and was underwhelmed by it and not overly impressed by Casey Affleck, who was better in Gone Baby Gone (a lead role).

George Clooney is very popular in Hollywood and he could sneak a Best Actor nomination for Michael Clayton, which is borderline for other nominations. Again, I just don't see his performance as as award caliber though.

Cate Blanchett is by far the best supporting actress performance I've seen as Bob Dylan, although Amy Ryan (an actress who hasn't done much until this movie) deserves a nomination for her role here. Julie Christie isn't a bad choice, and she would be a sentimental favorite, but Marion Cotillard as Edit Piaf is again, far and away the best performance of the year.

trevor_macfee · #12 Post by **trevor_macfee** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 4:27 pm

I see "Michael Clayton" made the list. I don't get to go out to movies much (except for things like Bee Movie with the kids), but had the opportunity to see Michael Clayton. I thought it was one of the most overrated films I've seen. It was OK, but I just never really got into it - nor did the folks I saw it with.

Incidentally, the best time I had at the movies last year (not necessarily the same as the best movie I saw) was definitely Hairspray. We just got the DVD and it's definitely a keeper.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #13 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 5:37 pm

Bob Juch wrote:The National Board of Review just picked it as the best film of the year.

The other winners:

Director:
Tim Burton, "Sweeney Todd"

Actor:
George Clooney, "Michael Clayton"

Actress:
Julie Christie, "Away From Her"

Supporting Actor:
Casey Affleck, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

Supporting Actress:
Amy Ryan, "Gone Baby Gone"

Foreign Film:
"The Diving Bell And The Butterfly"

Documentary:
"Body Of War"

Animated Feature:
"Ratatouille"

Ensemble Cast:
"No Country For Old Men"

Breakthrough Performance by an Actor:
Emile Hirsch, "Into The Wild"

Breakthrough Performance by an Actress:
Ellen Page, "Juno"

Best Directorial Debut:
Ben Affleck, "Gone Baby Gone"

Best Original Screenplay (tie):
Diablo Cody, "Juno" and Nancy Oliver, "Lars and the Real Girl"

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Joel and Ethan Coen, "No Country For Old Men"

Besides "No Country," here's NBR's top ten, in alphabetical order:

"The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford"
"Atonement"
"The Bourne Ultimatum"
"The Bucket List"
"Into The Wild"
"Juno"
"The Kite Runner"
"Lars And The Real Girl"
"Michael Clayton"
"Sweeney Todd"

The only movies that I have seen on this list are The Bourne Ultimatum and Ratatouille. I would like to see Juno and Atonement and will probably see Sweeney Todd the day it comes out because somebody in my house loves musicals. I read The Kite Runner and while it is a good book, I don't know if I would want to see it as a movie.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #14 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Wed Dec 05, 2007 5:38 pm

trevor_macfee wrote:Incidentally, the best time I had at the movies last year (not necessarily the same as the best movie I saw) was definitely Hairspray. We just got the DVD and it's definitely a keeper.

I agree! We saw it in the theatre twice. We were going back for the Sing-a-Long version with a group of friends, but it left the theatre before we had a chance to see it.