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The Beef Gnaws On NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN!!
Merrick here...
...with a look at the Coen Brothers' , sent in by The Beef. The film releases November 9.
Earlier this week, Massawyrm said the film pisses him off. The Beef doesn't seem to agree.
Read on...
Here's The Beef!
You've probably had more than enough of these already, but just in case you can't hear a satisfactory amount of praise about The Coens' new cinematic gift to humanity I figured I should help you on your search for an abundance of cheers for an incredibly praise-worthy piece of work.
If you need to know the story, Josh Brolin walks in to the aftermath of a drug deal gone terribly sour. He finds a couple of vehicles, and the carcasses of a couple of mexicans and a pit bull. Also, in the vicinity he locates another body leaning against a tree, and a briefcase stocked with thousands of fresh cut one-hundred dollar bills. He takes the bag, and thus becomes the primary target to a group of Mexican drug dealers, and the closest thing that man can produce to The Grim Reaper, Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh.
There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said, over and over again. By this point, everyone anticipates Javier Bardem to be the baddest sonofabitch/motherfucker to ever set foot in front of a rolling camera. Which everyone should, because he is.
Bardem's Anton Chigurh is the epitome of pure screen terror. A man with intelligence, wit, resourcefulness, a carefree nature, and worst of all, a conscience the size of a crumb to create the most beautifully crafted killer that the world will hope never exists.
He's a beast of a man. He's the Atticus Finch for bad people. He can be simultaneously right on your heels, and yet be a step ahead of you. He is what the Coens described the Randall "Tex" Cobb character as in RAISING ARIZONA. The man is the Angel of Death, with an air gun and a 70s haircut. And, what's most terrifying about him is that he seemingly views a human in the same light that a giant would view an ant. It's as if he's on another plane of existence, and we're not allowed to share his space.
You're not likely to find someone to accurately relate to you the sheer level of shit-your-pantsedness that you'd have if you ever met someone like Chigurh. The Terminator would probably shit himself, that's the best I can come up with. You simply have to see it, and experience it like everyone else that's seen it. You can't be told about it, and comprehend it. The character goes beyond describability, and Bardem somehow makes this nightmare of a human being seem one-hundred percent real. I doubt you'll ever see a performance this incredibly confident in its subtlety to portray pure evil again. Bardem is perfect. He is more perfect in this than anyone can be at anything. Jimi Hendrix can't play the guitar like Javier Bardem can portray a natural born killer.
Now, what you're probably going to hear less about is the performance of Josh Brolin, and the only reason why is because he has the misfortune of being the protaganist to the greatest antagonist of recent memory. The man is damn near everything that he needs to be in order to overcome the killing mastermind that's on his tail. He's a man trying to outdo the outdo-able, but he convinces you through his confidence, know-how, and calm in dire situations that he may just be able to pull off what looks to be impossible. He earns every bit of breath that he takes in from the moment that he grabs the bag of cash, all on his own. If Bardem is the most frightening villain in recent memory, Brolin is right up there with the most admirable of heroes in recent memory. He's just as confident in his ability to be victorious as Chigurh is in his. But, he falls just short of reaching that same platitude of superiority over everyone else. He is the Hercules to Bardem's Zeus, and though he may fight bravely, plan intelligently, and gain your belief that he can walk away the victor, he's still up against the king of the gods.
If performance was everything then this movie would be head and shoulders above nearly everything else I've seen all year from an ensemble standpoint. It isn't just Bardem and Brolin (that sounds like some kind of accounting conglomerate or something...). Tommy Lee Jones steps up to the plate as the town sherrif and consistently puts up some of the best scenes in the film, with some of the more comedic moments coming out of his onscreen time with his younger deputy. Their chemistry together is impeccably funny, similar to that of an Andy Griffith / Barney Fife relationship, only with a lot more sarcasm and a lot less wacky faces.
Also throwing their two cents into the mix are Woody Harrelson as the Chigurh expert (sort of like Dr. Loomis but replace the PHD with a license to kill and a drawl), and Kelly Macdonald as Brolin's adoring wife. Their contributions are vital to the overall experience, as we learn quite a deal about the personality of Bardem's character from Harrelson, and not just in heresay but also through their brief interaction, and Macdonald's character is the heart and soul of our emotional focus on rooting for Brolin to succeed. There's one main thing that separates Brolin's character from Chigurh, and that's Brolin's motivation to fight not for himself, but for the future of his wife. And we want her to have that future.
I have reservations of saying that the Coens are now "back to form", because I don't think they completely ever got out of form. We're still only 7 years into this new millenium and I think O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU and THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE are still two of the best American pictures made since 2000. INTOLERABLE CRUELTY and THE LADYKILLERS may not be on that level, but they're still interesting, at least moderately amusing, and looked as if they were crafted with same amount of detail and effort that they put in to their greatest works, such is the same for their 90s "misstep" THE HUDSUCKER PROXY. But, for those that insist on saying that the Coen's have lost their magic, this film should convince you that they're still in the upper echelon of working filmmakers. Their craft from a technical, visual, and literary standpoint is as evident here as it was twenty years ago, If not more so. The dry and dirty scenery of the South has never looked so good as it does here, and the Coens continue to have the best taste in sheer picture composition. Each scene of this film looks as if it couldn't have been acted, staged, lit, and shot any better than it was.
They brought noir elements to a story that takes place in West Texas, and brought them hard, and pulled it off to make the best American crime thriller since their last crime thriller. It doesn't get much more impressive than this.
The Beef
If you need to know the story, Josh Brolin walks in to the aftermath of a drug deal gone terribly sour. He finds a couple of vehicles, and the carcasses of a couple of mexicans and a pit bull. Also, in the vicinity he locates another body leaning against a tree, and a briefcase stocked with thousands of fresh cut one-hundred dollar bills. He takes the bag, and thus becomes the primary target to a group of Mexican drug dealers, and the closest thing that man can produce to The Grim Reaper, Javier Bardem's Anton Chigurh.
There isn't much I can say that hasn't already been said, over and over again. By this point, everyone anticipates Javier Bardem to be the baddest sonofabitch/motherfucker to ever set foot in front of a rolling camera. Which everyone should, because he is.
Bardem's Anton Chigurh is the epitome of pure screen terror. A man with intelligence, wit, resourcefulness, a carefree nature, and worst of all, a conscience the size of a crumb to create the most beautifully crafted killer that the world will hope never exists.
He's a beast of a man. He's the Atticus Finch for bad people. He can be simultaneously right on your heels, and yet be a step ahead of you. He is what the Coens described the Randall "Tex" Cobb character as in RAISING ARIZONA. The man is the Angel of Death, with an air gun and a 70s haircut. And, what's most terrifying about him is that he seemingly views a human in the same light that a giant would view an ant. It's as if he's on another plane of existence, and we're not allowed to share his space.
You're not likely to find someone to accurately relate to you the sheer level of shit-your-pantsedness that you'd have if you ever met someone like Chigurh. The Terminator would probably shit himself, that's the best I can come up with. You simply have to see it, and experience it like everyone else that's seen it. You can't be told about it, and comprehend it. The character goes beyond describability, and Bardem somehow makes this nightmare of a human being seem one-hundred percent real. I doubt you'll ever see a performance this incredibly confident in its subtlety to portray pure evil again. Bardem is perfect. He is more perfect in this than anyone can be at anything. Jimi Hendrix can't play the guitar like Javier Bardem can portray a natural born killer.
Now, what you're probably going to hear less about is the performance of Josh Brolin, and the only reason why is because he has the misfortune of being the protaganist to the greatest antagonist of recent memory. The man is damn near everything that he needs to be in order to overcome the killing mastermind that's on his tail. He's a man trying to outdo the outdo-able, but he convinces you through his confidence, know-how, and calm in dire situations that he may just be able to pull off what looks to be impossible. He earns every bit of breath that he takes in from the moment that he grabs the bag of cash, all on his own. If Bardem is the most frightening villain in recent memory, Brolin is right up there with the most admirable of heroes in recent memory. He's just as confident in his ability to be victorious as Chigurh is in his. But, he falls just short of reaching that same platitude of superiority over everyone else. He is the Hercules to Bardem's Zeus, and though he may fight bravely, plan intelligently, and gain your belief that he can walk away the victor, he's still up against the king of the gods.
If performance was everything then this movie would be head and shoulders above nearly everything else I've seen all year from an ensemble standpoint. It isn't just Bardem and Brolin (that sounds like some kind of accounting conglomerate or something...). Tommy Lee Jones steps up to the plate as the town sherrif and consistently puts up some of the best scenes in the film, with some of the more comedic moments coming out of his onscreen time with his younger deputy. Their chemistry together is impeccably funny, similar to that of an Andy Griffith / Barney Fife relationship, only with a lot more sarcasm and a lot less wacky faces.
Also throwing their two cents into the mix are Woody Harrelson as the Chigurh expert (sort of like Dr. Loomis but replace the PHD with a license to kill and a drawl), and Kelly Macdonald as Brolin's adoring wife. Their contributions are vital to the overall experience, as we learn quite a deal about the personality of Bardem's character from Harrelson, and not just in heresay but also through their brief interaction, and Macdonald's character is the heart and soul of our emotional focus on rooting for Brolin to succeed. There's one main thing that separates Brolin's character from Chigurh, and that's Brolin's motivation to fight not for himself, but for the future of his wife. And we want her to have that future.
I have reservations of saying that the Coens are now "back to form", because I don't think they completely ever got out of form. We're still only 7 years into this new millenium and I think O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU and THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE are still two of the best American pictures made since 2000. INTOLERABLE CRUELTY and THE LADYKILLERS may not be on that level, but they're still interesting, at least moderately amusing, and looked as if they were crafted with same amount of detail and effort that they put in to their greatest works, such is the same for their 90s "misstep" THE HUDSUCKER PROXY. But, for those that insist on saying that the Coen's have lost their magic, this film should convince you that they're still in the upper echelon of working filmmakers. Their craft from a technical, visual, and literary standpoint is as evident here as it was twenty years ago, If not more so. The dry and dirty scenery of the South has never looked so good as it does here, and the Coens continue to have the best taste in sheer picture composition. Each scene of this film looks as if it couldn't have been acted, staged, lit, and shot any better than it was.
They brought noir elements to a story that takes place in West Texas, and brought them hard, and pulled it off to make the best American crime thriller since their last crime thriller. It doesn't get much more impressive than this.
The Beef
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+ Expand All
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I am DESPERATE to see this film. DESPERATE I SAY!!!
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First
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That is the question.
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Does it manage to piss off everyone?
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Actually, this almost qualifies as a good Halloween movie--it's that spooky.
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Oct 25, 2007 8:51:25 AM CDT
"Bardem's Anton Chigurh is the epitome of pure screen terror."
by haggardatbest
I thought Dane Cook was the epitome of pure screen terror. Oh wait, you mean it in a good way. Nevermind.
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heh, just kidding
it's a relief to read a reasonable review after the imbecilic screed that massawyrm gave us. -
Thank fuck for that! Massa had me worried there til I remembered he sometimes goes off one, bigtime!
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Perhaps the Coen Brothers will have another hit on their hands - they could certainly use one after the string of flops they've had. They should team-up with Nicolas Cage, everyone would go to see that. They work best when pushing a leading man in different directions, as they did so well with Clooney.
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It's unconventional, but it doesn't suck. The ending's anti-climax (which is about 20 minutes before the credits roll) sort of brings the film down to earth out of the realm of a film, and makes it feel a bit more natural to real life. That's what Josh Brolin said anyway during the Q&A. I happened to agree.
I didn't include it in the review because I didn't want it to seem as if I'm just pissing on Massawyrm's review. I can definitely see that a lot of people are going to feel cheated, as Wyrm did, by not getting what you hope to see. I didn't feel cheated. It leaves room for interpretation and I enjoy that in movies.
I'm guessing that anyone who's read the book will know exactly what doesn't happen, and for those that go in blindly and expect the movie to end the way you want it to you may end up cursing the screen. I'm not saying their wrong, that's just not how I personally felt.
I had a similar experience with LOTR. I read the books, but after seeing how Peter Jackson brought Sauron to life in the Fellowship prologue, I was kinda hoping that he might rewrite the ending to ROTK and bring Sauron back to form for a big showdown. It didn't happen, even though I wanted it to. -
The trailer was a little overwrought but I knew I had to read the source material immediately after seeing it. Barring a few intentionally loose ends, twas a pretty good read...successfully put me into a 'ah, why even bother trying with life' mood. I had no problems with the 'shortcut' that the author took either...just makes what one character says to another soon after (something like "I don't know how the boy did that") hit even harder. Will be interesting to see how it works onscreen. Good to hear the Bardem performance isn't all scenery chewing either.
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Oct 25, 2007 10:02:53 AM CDT
Last time i remember an ending getting so much AICN hate
by jackrabbitslim
was Harry going apoplectic over the Matchstick Men ending. Which, as it turned out, did pretty much fellate steamy globs.
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...they did this team-up and it's one of the greatest "comedies" in cinematic history.
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Oct 25, 2007 10:36:59 AM CDT
I guess this is this year's "you have to see it for yourself"
by spandau belly
For the most part reviews usually confirm my doubts or hopes, but I really have no instinctual feeling for this film. I don't feel any of the reviews are even describing the same movie. So Coens, you've got my money. I'll go see your new movie. With the most open mind I've probably had to a movie in years.
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dude, were you really hoping that Jackson might rewrite the ending to ROTK and bring Sauron back to form for a big showdown?
holy frak, that's gotta be the worst idea i ever heard. That's like a nightmare scenario of some hollywood adaptation of ROTK... -
Yep. After seeing Sauron in the opening minutes of Fellowship, I wanted to see more of him. I wanted Frodo to fail.
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is generally 10 times better than anything else playing at the same time. The Hudsucker Proxy remains one of my favourtite movies to date, warts and all.
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At least now I can just sit back and enjoy the movie, knowing what will happen. Although, I'm pretty sure I'm going to hear people grumble and complain leaving the theater.
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It's not so much me wanting a different ending, as much as it is just me wanting more Sauron. When they dropped the ring in the lava at the end it was just my realizing that I'd have no shot at seeing more of him. I didn't need Sauron at the end, I just wanted him more at some point in the series, somehow, somewhere, some time, didn't matter to me. It could've been flashback for all I cared, so as not to rewrite the text (which they did anyway with a few things, such as the elves at Helm's Deep).
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I really enjoyed that movie, for some reason. All star cast, including the modern deity Bruce Campbell and Paul Newman, great dialogue, some interesting magical realism, and Tim Robbins in the bumbling naif role he does so well. A sweet little movie. What was wrong with it? Not edgy enuff?
My main beef with LOTR remains the portrayal of Samwise, too weepy and emotional. He's a British batman (old meaning, google it), for crying out loud! -
I don't think it a mis-step, that's just what I've heard people consider it compared to the rest of their work. I don't really know why either, I love the movie.
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That was good shit, it's a movie I can sit down and watch anytime. I don't get the whole mis-step thing either.
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Great review
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That is all.
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After watching Jennifer Jason-Leigh in Hudsucker Proxy, I went back a re-watched a few older screwball comedies, and it's pretty apparent that's that's the feel the Coens were going for. I skipped their last couple of efforts, but these guys have an eternal pass for giving us Lebowski. I re-watched Blood Simple a couple of weeks ago, and it still holds up better than 90% of the crap Hollywood produces. And the trailer for No Country has me very intrigued. I'll be going to see it. Hell, it can't possibly be worse than any of the Star Wars prequels, and I got duped into seeing all of those turds in the theater.
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It's like R. Lee Emery as a Drill Sgt, Humphrey Bogart as a P.I., or William Shatner as an over the top actor. It just feels right.
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I love the Coens, but I just couldn't like The Man Who Wasn't There. They completely lost me with that UFO bit. I might go back and try it again, but that scene stopped me cold and completely took me out of the movie.
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Is this the first ever grammatically correct review. And as a plus, this reviewer's skill at hyperbole is very subtle (hmmm, hyperbole/subtelty, mutually exclusive?).
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...because of Tom Hanks giant fucking feet walking all over it. What a mismatch! What a big fat fucking star! His career should have consisted of a few more okay variations on Big and Splash type movies, a couple years after which people say "Hey, I haven't seen that Tom Hanks guy in anything lately. He was pretty funny, and kind of likeable, wasn't he", and then, after that, he shows up out of the blue in the pilot of some dark horse tv show that goes through the roof, and he just spends the rest of his life as a beloved tv star. His serious movies would have all been way better with someone else in them, and things like Band of Brothers would have probably happened in some way, shape, or form anyway with Spielberg still being, well, Speilberg. Of course this is going to be a good movie. It's the COEN BROTHERS. As long as they are fully in charge, they can't make bad movies. Too bad they need money to make the good ones. Oh, and Intolerable Cruelty takes a distant second in the worst Coen Bros film category.
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...not that Ladykillers was a "serious" Tom Hanks movie...More just that it was clearly very much a "Tom Hanks Movie".
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Light years above that pile that Massa unleashed on the internets. That's the last time I waste even a second reading his crap.
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Hudsucker is cool because it had JENNIFER JASON LEIGH'S SWEET ASS IN PERIOD COSTUME!
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'Intolerable Cruelty' is not a Coen movie in the sense that every other Coen movie is. This is because the script was polluted by Matt Stone. Now, I like South Park, but Coens and Stone are oil and water, and it showed. Butt fat? Really? Thanks Matt.
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my date was impressed. Great flick but its got nothin on The Roommates!
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Oct 26, 2007 2:51:33 AM CDT
Where're Massa and MiraJeff whining like a little bitch?
by imfixingtodie
But the ending! Dropped the ball!
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on Talkbacks. Not sure if Massa does.
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