In article The Odd Stray said ...
> On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:25:56 GMT, Baz
>
yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >>On Sun, 06 Jan 2008 16:37:54 +0000, Snowleopard
>>
gmail.lair.com> wrote:
>>>>>On Sun, 6 Jan 2008 12:07:03 -0000, Bear
gmail.com>
>>>said
>>>>>>>No, it's not the launch of a new, extra-sharp kitchen gadget, it's a
>>>>warning about a film.
>>>>
>>>>Knowing you, you may hear of "No Country For Old Men", see that it's a)
>>>>written by the Coen brothers and b) stars Tommy Lee Jones, and think "I
>>>>must get me some of that!".
>>>
>>>*sobs*
>>>
>>>All I've been hearing for the last couple of months is how good it is!
>>
>> I have too and I was going to try going this week....hmmmmmm
>
>
> Maybe read the book instead, then.
>
> There's absolutely nothing funny in the book. I wouldn't have
> expected funny, even from the Coen brothers, for this story.
One of their skills is the injection of black humour into scenes where
you wouldn't expect to find it; "Fargo" is an excellent example of this.
No Country For Old Men is just a very simple tale of a bunch of people
after a bunch of money, with one of them being a highly unpleasant
sociopath.
There are maybe 2 minor scenes which "work", in the context of just how
irritating ordinary people can be, in an accidental way, but the rest
has been done so much better by others, many times before. Oh, and the
dialogue is often dreadful; stilted, unbelievable and above all
predictable. From the average Hollywood film I could understand that,
but from the Coen Bros? Never.
Compared to the total genius of The Big Lebowski, or the simply-stated,
lovingly crafted viewing that was Fargo, this is just very ordinary
fare.
> And I think "overly violent with no good reason" is probably the theme
> of the book.
But it's not even got the flavour of some similar stories which bring
home the pointlessness of violence; this just gives the impression that
they thought adding a sociopath would make the film "sexier" to watch.
It doesn't. It makes it dull, repetitive and wholly predictable. The
ending is also dire, leaving me with the feeling of "well there's 2
hours of my life I'll never get back".
> So I expect I'll enjoy the movie ... or maybe not. I haven't yet
> liked a movie better than its book.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, now that's an interesting statement ... I could probably
come up with a few answers, given time, but generally yes, I'd agree.
--
Bear
