'No Country For Old Men' Had it not been for seeing Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" at Fantastic Fest in September, I'd say "No Country for Old Men" is vying for the top spot on my best-of-2007 film list. After two missteps - one minor ("Intolerable Cruelty") and one major ("The Ladykillers") - the Coen brothers return to form with their best film since "The Big Lebowski." Harkening back to "Blood Simple" and "Miller's Crossing," the Coens adapted Cormac McCarthy's stripped down novel into what could be called a masterpiece.
From the opening scene, it's quite clear that Javier Bardem's assassin, Anton Chigurh (with a bowl haircut that is equal parts ridiculous and ever-so-menacing), is the scariest character to grace the silver screen in years. He kills without remorse or regret, and he's very good at it.
Unfortunately, Llewelyn Moss, played with a quiet stoicism by Josh Brolin (currently on a career high), finds a satchel of money at a drug deal gone bad and decides to take it. The man does it under the best intentions, wanting a better life for his wife and future family, but no good deed goes unpunished, especially when Chigurh comes looking for Moss. What ensues is one of the most intense and exciting games of cat and mouse in the past few cinematic years.
The film, while being bleak and terrifying, also manages to include the Coens' trademark dark humor. Never taking the film as a piece of light entertainment, the directors are still able to infuse natural humor into scenes that alleviate some of the non-stop tension. Long time collaborators Roger Deakins (the brothers' cinematographer) and Carter Burwell (their composer) both do wonderful work, despite Burwell not having much score to contribute, since the film is almost purposefully music free to emphasize every breath, grunt and footstep.
The acting is what really elevates this film beyond most other films this year. Brolin is an incredible leading man, and it's stunning that he hasn't been given an opportunity such as this before. Bardem continues to prove he's one of the best actors working today, effortlessly slipping into the creepy shoes of Chigurh. Tommy Lee Jones lends a weathered and leathery gravitas to his Sheriff Ed Tom Bell, while Woody Harrelson pops up as Carson Wells, a slick hired, gun-tracking Chigruh.
Come year's end, there is no doubt the latest opus from the Coens will be at the top of many "best-of" lists, as well as on the short list for Academy Award nominations. A beyond-strong cast, powerful script and confident directing helps make "No Country for Old Men" one of the best and most exciting films to come out in 2007. 'Beowulf' In "Annie Hall," Woody Allen says, "Never take any class that makes you read 'Beowulf.'"
Love it or hate it, this Old English poem is full of everything you could want in a movie: major monster battles, heroic characters and saucy dames. The original Anglo-Saxon epic poem, known as "England's national epic," has come to the screen several times before, but never like the version director Robert Zemeckis is unleashing today.
Utilizing the same performance-capture technology used for "The Polar Express" and "Monster House," "Beowulf" is a gorgeous and detailed action-adventure picture that can only truly be experienced in 3-D, which it is at about 1,000 theaters across the nation - the biggest 3-D rollout ever for a motion picture.
The film doesn't suffer nearly as much as "The Polar Express" from the dead-eye effect, where everyone in the film looks as though all life has been drained from their bodies. While both the 3-D and the computer-generated mise-en-scene take a bit to get used to, I found myself, later on in the film, wondering if I was actually watching a real person.
Wonderful British character-actor Ray Winstone (best known as Mr. French from last year's "The Departed") plays the titular role of Beowulf. Just like Leonidas from "300," Winstone's Beowulf decides to yell everything to squeeze maximum testosterone out of a scene, and it works.
What you've seen of Angelina Jolie in the trailers and commercials is pretty much everything of her in the movie. It's a really small role as Grendel's Mother, and, unfortunately, she's one of the few weak aspects of this film, thanks to her using the same awful accent she used in "Alexander." After years of animosity between the two of them, Crispin Glover finally returned to work with Zemeckis and delivers a terrifying, yet emotional, performance as Grendel. Rounding out the cast is Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar, John Malkovich as Unferth and Brendan Gleeson as Wiglaf.
Adapted by Roger Avary ("Rules of Attraction") and Neil Gaiman ("Stardust"), the two writers, thankfully, take the unwieldy Old English and adapt it into good ol' "new" English. They've also managed to squeeze in more innuendos than all three "Austin Powers" films combined. Despite being a PG-13, this is the hardest film that rating has ever seen.
Blood is spilled in copious amounts, tons of sex jokes are thrown about, and there's more nudity than in the Grotto of the Playboy Mansion. The only way they were able to get away with all this has to be because of the animated nature of the film.
After a long break from something truly awe-inspiring, Robert Zemeckis returns to show that he's still the filmmaker who won audiences over with "Romancing the Stone" and "Back to the Future." Since he was the first to utilize his own particular brand of performance-capture technology back with "Polar Express," he's able to use the technique to the best of its abilities. He frames the shots in such a dynamic way that seeing it with the 3-D glasses fully immerses you in the film.
Packed to the brim with blood, guts and glory, "Beowulf" is just the type of epic that fans of "300" have been craving since that film left theaters. Not only is the movie a technical marvel, but it's also a damn fine and fun film that will entertain pretty much every human being on Earth ... ever.
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