Once they had the pause after Bell's "And then I woke up" line, I had a feeling it could end there, but still wasn't really expecting it.

Yeah it looked obvious after that line. I wish I paid more attention to his dream. Had to look up his speech on IMDB. Still havnt made full sense of it.

I thought they may end it directly after - SPOILER - the car crash but I guess it wasnt long after.

I think the car crash may have been a better scene to end on, though it would have felt a little odd to have two "Bell reflection scenes" in a row. I really liked the end of the scene with the uncle in the trailer (particularly the "You can't stop what's coming" line- pretty much summed up the movie), but I thought it took just a little too long to cut to the chase.

But then again (maybe this is just from seeing the movie a couple of times), it would be tough to imagine something else happening after such a brief scene. That scene would feel a bit incomplete.

javier Bardem needs to finally get his damn oscar.

Who knew Josh Brolin was this good.

All of the acting was superb, just worked on every level for me, and I liked the points of dark humour (though I was the only one in my theater to laugh).

Yeah, the only time the audience laughed when I saw it (both times) was the "Call it.... FRIENDO" line. In some dark parts, I was the only one chuckling. Some lady asked me why I laughed when Chigurh was hosing down the truck full of chickenshit. "Um, because he has to clean it after killing the guy?"

My comments, plus spoilers.

Really, really good movie. For some reason I thought Llewelyn was going to reapear somewhere near the end because we never actually saw him killed and they never directly acknowledged his death, but I suppose it's better that it didn't happen.

One regret I have is that I wasn't really paying attention to Tommy Lee Jones' speech at the end because I wasn't expecting the movie to litterally finish right after. Because of that I'm somewhat lost on the overall message.

Heh, I basically had the exact same reaction. As a result I think I really need to see this film again before I can rate it fairly.

Dont know if you guys noticed but the first words both Anton and Llewelyn utter in the film is "Hold Still". Llewlyn says it while shooting the deer while hunting and Anton says it when killing the first guy he pulls over in the cop car after he escapes from the police station. A hunter of animals vs a hunter of men...

Yeah, I hate to be predictable, but this is pretty much an instant classic. It really seems that just about every scene brings a wow factor that they could easily show up on a film retrospective. Anton's first appearance, the dog chase, the coin flip, the dual motel rooms, the Llewln-Anton shootout, the phone call/Harrelson-Bardem scene, the off-screen deaths, the final narration... It's just loaded with amazing and iconic moments you go to the movies to see.

The acting is all around superb, no surprise there. Bardem definitley creates an all time on-screen villain, but I also loved Tommy Lee Jones and think he should've gotten a nomination without a doubt, along with Kelly McDonald. Brolin also plays his part pretty perfectly, as do in thankless roles Harrelson and Garret Dillahunt as Jones' partner with his pretty impeccible and hilarious deliveries. The cinematography, editing, etc. is all flawless and among the year's best, and I have no problems with the screenplay winning Best Adapted this year.

I actually quite loved the ending. Maybe it's because I was expecting it coming in, but I really thought it fit Ed Tom's arc and the title and themes of the movie perfectly. It's refreshing to see an ending that pulls no punches like that, there is no answer to people like Anton Chigurh and the bad things people do in the world.

Anyways, one of the year's best for sure, possibly the best, I'll let it sink in to decide. I actually think this will be one of the best Picture winners of this decade. Ill be happy if/when it wins.

5/5

I thought the last 20 minutes derailed the film. It reminded me somewhat of Blood Meridian, where Cormac McCarthy intentionally made something hard to follow.

Was there any point in the Woody Harrelson character? Why did he need to show up in the middle, discovery the location of the money, and then meet a quick death? How could a town fail to notice a 3-4 minute long shotgun fight going on?

Overall I did like the movie but felt it could have been so much more.

B

Just read this thread in its entirety, I'll admit you guys and the Emerson article helped me catch on to some stuff I otherwise would've missed. You know, normally I'm on the other side when makeshift goes on about the brilliant expressionism of Black Christmas and Bad Boys II or whatever, but I think he and yoshue are dead on this thread. The meaning of Ed Tom's arc and the ideas of a bleak world and fate presented in the last act is present throughout the whole film. It fits perfectly.

That sums up the movie perfectly in sentence form, but i can do it in one word...

OVERRATED!!!

Hmm, looks like I have no reviewed this yet. It has been a little while since seeing it and I'll definitely need to see if again to catch the little things I missed upon the first viewing. What I loved most above everything in this almost flawless movie was Javier Bardem's peformance. He played the cruel, calculating madman eerily well from beginning to end. I absolutely loved his (second to last?) scene, the one with Kelly McDonald after her mom's funeral. Another aspect I thought was brilliant was the sound. Films like this (with no score or music to be found) have always amazed me. They don't rely on action sequences either, which makes it even harder. I think it was makeshift who mentioned the incredible sound when Chigurh got to the first hotel and drove past Llewelyn's room. I don't remember a whole lot of the small details, which is why I need to see the film again, but I'm sure there are so many things I didn't pick up on. If for no other reason, I need to rewatch it for the last scene. I had no idea it was going to end so abruptly, otherwise I would have payed closer attention to Bell's story of his dream. One of my only complaints is the offscreen death of Llewelyn...they missed a huge emotional-punch opportunity there. I have no complaints with this winning best picture, although it's not the best movie of the year. I would probably only place Fargo above this as the Coen's best movie.

A

Saw it iLLegaLy (since its not yet reLeased here) the day before the Oscars. Great performances (Bardem most probabLy deserved that award), intruiging storyLine, top-notch direction and some intense scenes. Yet I don't think it got me reaLLy engaged nor very amazed throughout; it feLt pretty sLow for most of the time and some scenes I thought were not that necessary. For now, I wouLd have rather Liked TWWB winning BP over this, though I certainLy need to see this in theaters to get my thoughts cLearer and make a more fair comparison to TWBB.

A-/B+

Congratulations No Country for Old Men.

We were with you all the way.

Without question, the best BP winner since American Beauty. Maybe even longer than that.

Yeah, it's the first time my yearly list has agreed with the selection since Gladiator/AB at the turn of the century.

I'm glad this won BP, I'd have preferred Atonement but this was a massively worthy winner.

The scene with Chigurh and Kelly McDonald is quite possible one of the best I have ever seen.

Most definitely, but I'd go back even further than that.

My admitted hard-on for all things Blood has slightly diminished my overall appreciation for No Country, but it is still one of the best best movies of the decade.

Best Best Picture winner since the early 90s, I'd say.

i really need to see this again because i must have missed something that made this film so great.

I like your optimism, but despair for the results of your experiment...

OVERRATED!!!
There... i said it again!

Maybe i'll be ok for another month now...

When your haters are Bradley Witherberry and a guy who has Will Ferrell in both his avatar AND his sig, you're in a pretty good place.

Don't forget Jayhawk.