1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

No Country for Old Men -- 7/8ths of a great movie

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by TigerVols, Nov 6, 2007.

  1. TigerVols

    TigerVols Well-Known Member

    Fantastic cast
    Fantastic directing
    Great cinematography -- captures West Texas to a T
    Even better dialogue.

    Worst ending I've ever seen in a movie.
     
  2. Twoback

    Twoback Active Member

    It'd have to end with a Bugs Bunny cartoon to be a worse ending than Million Dollar Baby.
     
  3. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Tiger,

    Not to get into spoilers here, but have you read the book? The book has kind of a "What the hell was that?" ending, too.
     
  4. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    Brilliant movie. Fantastic acting. I don't think any of the three main characters was even in a scene together at the same time. Even when the two dudes were shooting at each other you couldn't see one of them.

    And the ending is basically the same as the book ending. No, it doesn't wrap it up in a bow and put the whole movie under a tree for you. But there sure ain't nothing wrong with it.
     
  5. Clever username

    Clever username Active Member

    Hey, keep this shit on the Movies thread! Oh wait ...
     
  6. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    I agree ... tremendous performances.

    Bardem and Jones.... incredible faces/eyes... I could watch Tommy Lee all day.... is Bardem Raul Julia reincarnated?

    I did have a problem/question with the physics involved with the last scene we see Bardem in.
     
  7. ArnoldBabar

    ArnoldBabar Active Member

    Not having read the book, I admit the ending threw me. Particularly the abrupt end to the Brolin storyline after we had so much invested in it. But a fantastic piece of filmmaking, the Coens at their "Blood Simple" best.
     
  8. John

    John Well-Known Member

    I'm just glad they stayed true to the book and kept that ending, rather than coming up with something different.

    I haven't seen the movie yet, but it's near the top of my list of things to do tomorrow.
     
  9. Songbird

    Songbird Well-Known Member

    Hope to see this tomorrow. As for endings, the way y'all describe it reminds me of 3:10 to Yuma. You kind of think you know where they're going with the ending, but it's completely different and leaves you thinking, "Hmm, interesting."
     
  10. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    Saw this movie last night and it was stunning. The land was definitely West Texas, though it looked like it must have been shot down near Marfa or Alpine because there were a few too many hills and vistas involved.
    I liked the ending. I like how it didn't tell you what the hell happened.
    I really loved the plot, I jumped at least three times.

    My only complaint were the fuckwads sitting in front of me who waited the entire movie to start giggling and talking out loud - right during the end when Tommy Lee Jones is telling his wife about his dreams the night before. I thought about telling them to shut the fuck up, but didn't want to cause a major disturbance during what I could tell was the last scene.

    Also, I have some theories on what the ending meant, but not sure if spoilers are allowed on this thread, so I will keep them inside my head for now.
     
  11. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

    I wonder if I'm the only one that needed to be reminded from time to time that the movie was set in 1980. Aside from the look of the killer, the towns looked like most rural areas you see, and its not like you don't see a lot of old pickups around. What was Bardem using for ammon for his air powered rifle, were they just bullets?
    Anyway, I did find it interesting the way it ended, particularly in light that another well-reviewed movie, Zodiac. A lot of the movie was filmed in Las Vegas, NM (which was also the town featured in Red Dawn).
     
  12. Angola!

    Angola! Guest

    I didn't figure out until halfway through the movie that it was set in 1980.
    Also, as far as I could figure about the gun that Bardem was using was a line Tommy Lee used when talking to Lewellyn's wife earlier in the movie: He was telling the story about the guy that shot the steer and the bullet ricocheted out and hit him in the shoulder.
    After that story, Tommy Lee said something to the effect of: Of course, they shoot steers a lot different now. They use an air gun that pushes a cylinder into the head of the steer killing it instantly and then the cylinder is sucked back into the gun.

    I assumed that was the kind of gun dude was using, but then again Tommy Lee never said anything else about it.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page