Now I have time to write reviews again
No Country for Old Men: This is a movie with a fine pedigree; based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy, produced and directed by the Coen Brothers and starring a plethora of the better Hollywood actors including Tommy Lee Jones and one of my favourites Scotswoman Kelly Macdonald. Nonetheless I went into this film very wary, it was bound to be good cinematography but as a tale of a drug deal gone wrong and a gangster's vengeance it was hardly going to be a laughfest. This is no comedrama as many of the Coen brothers films can be and is genuine film noir, suspenseful and needlessly wasteful of life in some places... Miller's Crossing after 5 too many gin martinis.
Josh Brolin plays to perfection the role of Llewellyn Moss, an amusing fact given supposedly the Coens wouldn't let him audition and he was forced to submit a video audition created during the filming of Grindhouse with the help of Tarantino and Rodriguez. In the film Llewellyn accidentally stumbles on the ruins of a failed drug deal while hunting and runs off with the cash only to realise his mistake later down the line. He flees to Mexico in an attempt to save himself, his wife and his money. The movie tracks his movements, the antics of Anton Chigeur who is attempting to recover the money and kill its thief (and well... anyone who gets in his way) and the law enforcement trying to stop Ghigeur and protect Moss, lead by the erstwhile Jones as the perfect tired old sheriff.
The majority of the film is remarkably on edge and delightfully executed, even if it causes you to squirm and gasp a little at times for the shotgun wounds are plentiful and gorey. The end of the film however left me so cold I walked away unimpressed. Anticlimax after anticlimax appeared to come tumbling down, where so much time and effort was given to previous attempts at assassination character deaths are blown over, not viewed or alluded to only. The final scene with Jones is ... philosophical one might say but otherwise an oddity for inclusion. All this is a little balanced by the fact that it was supposedly taken almost action for action from the Novel but I was expecting far more of a crescendo from such fine film makers.
I've seen it, it was worthwhile, I have no reason to see it again... and afterwards all I wanted was a walk in the sunshine and maybe a toe tapping musical.
Also...
Josh Brolin plays to perfection the role of Llewellyn Moss, an amusing fact given supposedly the Coens wouldn't let him audition and he was forced to submit a video audition created during the filming of Grindhouse with the help of Tarantino and Rodriguez. In the film Llewellyn accidentally stumbles on the ruins of a failed drug deal while hunting and runs off with the cash only to realise his mistake later down the line. He flees to Mexico in an attempt to save himself, his wife and his money. The movie tracks his movements, the antics of Anton Chigeur who is attempting to recover the money and kill its thief (and well... anyone who gets in his way) and the law enforcement trying to stop Ghigeur and protect Moss, lead by the erstwhile Jones as the perfect tired old sheriff.
The majority of the film is remarkably on edge and delightfully executed, even if it causes you to squirm and gasp a little at times for the shotgun wounds are plentiful and gorey. The end of the film however left me so cold I walked away unimpressed. Anticlimax after anticlimax appeared to come tumbling down, where so much time and effort was given to previous attempts at assassination character deaths are blown over, not viewed or alluded to only. The final scene with Jones is ... philosophical one might say but otherwise an oddity for inclusion. All this is a little balanced by the fact that it was supposedly taken almost action for action from the Novel but I was expecting far more of a crescendo from such fine film makers.
I've seen it, it was worthwhile, I have no reason to see it again... and afterwards all I wanted was a walk in the sunshine and maybe a toe tapping musical.
Also...
- A Melbourne girl has recently had her debut as a geiko at the Asakusa hanamachi, though only a few articles have noted she's not the first Westerner to do this and fewer still note that as a Tokyo geisha she is not subject to the several year minarai/maiko apprenticeship. But nonetheless ... go team gaijin!
- In a major hit against Das Boy Neuroticfish is finally calling it quits, though with WGT2008 as their final gig I'm sure we'll see one last masculinity removing performance. EBM is dead yada yada yada
- Magnetic nailpolish. Zomg want.
- Also somehow I missed the creation of a new light shirt that flashes when open wi fi is available.