Fuck, I'm done trying to talk about this movie. (It's not really this forum, but the combinations of the discussions at BOM, Filmgasm, and this place, particularly Filmgasm.) I understood it, and it's no masterpiece. But apparently, for having an opinion that diverges from the crowd consensus, I'm just some fucking moron who doesn't "get it" and has "dumb opinions." Fuck, I really haven't been this pissed about a movie since the SR/DMC days back at BOM.

Erhm, who's making you feel uncomfortable here?

You shouldn't feel that way.

Well gee, I don't want to further deride you but I think it's a bit thin-skinned to get flustered that people are very actively debating this. No one made any personal insults against you, they just feel very strongly about this one. I think it's refreshing, but to be fair I don't know how less civil things were at Filmgasm (ew). All I'd say is that this is the internet, where a lot of people who aren't very confrontational in person get to unleash their inner asshole, so don't take it personally.

I'm sure he means mostly at the other two sites. That would be some mood swing, since I'm pretty sure the couple posts prior to that one were pretty simply "Eh, just didn't dig it" kind of things, and no one said anything antagonistic in that time. So yeah, I think it was just an expression of frustration for how other people are acting, not us.

It's like that fuckin' New World all over again...

Ummm....this isn't The New World. The New World kinda blew big chunks all over my khakis.

Sorry, Malick-heads! Days of Heaven rules!

And with that, No Country for Old Men fans lose some credibility. : (

Can't you see what they're trying to do? They want to cause divisions in our ranks because we're more vulnerable that way!

Stay strong.

Defend the abstract!!!

To me, that is hands down the funniest scene in any movie all year. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Some people in the theater were looking at my friends and I like we were crazy or something. It was just the combination of the pure innocence of the clerk and the pure evil in Bardem. I'm just happy he made the right call. I guess Carla Jean must have called tails.

She didn't call anything in the novel. I assume it was the same in the film. Coens made it ambiguous, but she seemed content on her decision not to call and let Chigurh do his bidding.

What did Chigurh call the store clerk? Friendo?

Yeah, my last comment kind of came out of nowhere. I'm just having one of those times where the complications flusterings of real life interfere with what I'm doing for my own enjoyment.

finally saw it. The movie was fantastic, until the last 20 - 30 minutes. The film went all down hill when they went to el paso. It just fell apart so badly I couldn't believe it. And the ending just pissed me off. It just ended. I still think it was a very good film and could have been great but just couldn't.

B+

stop being sheep and giving this an A just because a bunch of pretentious film snobs say you should. This was the most overrated movie of the past 5 years bar-none and I'm sick of all the hype. This barely cracks the top 5 Coen films of all time. That said, I give it a solid B bordering B+.

What a well-written, well-reasoned post!

Hope there's more wit and wisdom still to come.

He speaks the truth - - the Coen brothers wear no clothes - - welcome newcomer...

Sssssh don't encourage it Bradford, at least you have your enticing Bradley grading system to account for your unique nature, this thing however requires a can of RAID!!

Okay, okay, let me state the obvious. The thing that's got all these film theory geeks and English Lit majors in such a tizzy is that:


Personally, I enjoy movies that have a symbolic level, but not to the point that it stops the literal level in it's tracks. With the best filmmakers, it's transparent. You can enjoy the film's plot thoroughly and completely without even being aware of the mythical mechanisms chugging along in the background. Unfortunately, the Coens decided to let the marvelous set-up of NCFOM grind to a halt in the last act, so they could get all artsy for artsy sake. Storytelling be damned.

Pitiful.

At no point did I adopt or really consider that little analysis of yours, bradley, sorry.



You clearly only want to see a chase film. Be patient. I'm sure Jason Statham or some other icon of bad action filmmaking has another movie coming out soon enough.

And all this "ending is artsy for artsy sake" bullshit. The movie, as I understand your use of the stupid phrase, is 'artsy' from frame one. You can deal with it while the violence and thrills are going on, but as soon as that's over, "OMFG! Gets me out of here! Is Heartbreak Kid still playing at the dollar theatre?"

Yosh pretty much said everything that needs to be said Bradford, but I just wanted to chime in to say your "theory" never crossed my mind either.

You need to remember he's the same guy that thought Evan and Seth did it at the end of Superbad. So...

BTW, this movie 'twas excellent.

****

Saw it this afternoon. I need to see it again since I think my mind was mostly focused on finals. The last 30 minutes or so, admittedly, kind of flew over my head. When I get the chance I'll use a certain link that was posted to rewatch them. Until then, I can't grade or talk about the movie fairly.

I'm always weary of movies that get a lot of praise critically and on forums because they usually end up disappointing at some level (ahemThe New World anyone?), but this lived up to all the hype and then some. I also stayed away from this thread because I didn't want the ending spoiled for me. A bit disappointing that 8 pages of conversation is mostly bickering about whether or not the ending is good or bad.

For the record, it's fucking brilliant! I've never been so excited about a "wtf?" moment in my 20 years of movie watching. The collective "Huh?" in the theather at the end was priceless. Walking home it hits you: the bleakness; the mastery.

This movie was brilliant. The direction reminded me a lot of Ang Lee's direction in Brokeback Mountain: subtle, detailed, quiet. (That scene between Chigurh and Carla Jean, like the scene where Ennis visits Jack's parents in Brokeback Mountain, was perfection.) A lot of people didn't "get" BBM movie either. I don't want to come off as snobish or as an intellectual because I'm neither. But I do agree that those not satisfied by the ending may have been watching a different movie. I don't know I can add any more insight into than what has already been said, but I found it to be an extremely satisfying way to end it.

I found the movie to root for come Oscar night! :-)

A+

Another example of the phenomena I was talking about...