No Country for Old Men

The Coen Brothers strike with a screen version of Cormac McCarthy's book- and they strike with a bloody, violent, graphic, heart thumping vengeance. A modern day (1980s) western composed of white drug runners, border Mexican drug gangs, and people who live in the rugged and conveniently lawless areas of the west Texas-Mexican border , it uses the talents of Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin to bring it grittily to life. The body count is large for such a "small" film. The title tells the story. No one expects to live a long life here and when money comes in an opportunistic form- well, what is there to lose by taking it? Ah, Bardem-a more heartless villain has never appeared in film. With the exception of the vile Natural Born Killers, there just isn't another person as cold, disconnected and methodical as the villain played by Bardem. The story has a very nuanced reference to the VietNam War and how it has produced killers like the ones portrayed by Bardem and Woody Harrelson (botoxed and smooth as a baby butt). It is hard to watch yet you will watch it- every gory, bloody, bone crushing second of it. And the end? It made perfect sense.

The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

A different critic used the word indulgent to describe this movie. And I have to say that 2 1/2 hours of sepia tones and longing looks and pregnant pauses does get to be a literal pain in the ass. No other way to put it. Luckily, I was at one of those luxurious theaters with padded leather chairs and great ice cream and my friends Liz and Brian. Brad Pitt looks older and worn out- like his character. He does a great job with the sadistic Jesse James. Casey Affleck does a great job staying in character as the dim-witted but determined Robert Ford. The James gang comes across as thugs and Jesse is the biggest thug of all. When Robert Ford finally shoots him, we are relieved it's over. We have, after all, waited for 2 1/2 damn hours to see it. Ford's end is sad but the viewer doesn't care because we only like movies that have honor among their thieves. Not one of the James' gang has honor. It's always interesting to see films that remind us there was not always a photo on the nightly news or internet or a 911 number when the bad guys were in town. This is a brutal, somewhat vicious film that moves at a snail's pace- intriguing, but nonetheless annoying. The book is actually probably faster to read since it is a paperback and is relatively short! Spoiler alert: you will have to look at Mary Louise Parker on the big screen and that takes courage. BUT if you like Brad Pitt and/or Casey Affleck, they are on the screen for a looonnngggg time.

3:10 to Yuma

A good western is hard to come by. They often come across as trite and laden with cliche. The Unforgiven was a great western. This is not great but it is good. It does have some hilarious moments where the gun fight is so unrealistic that you find yourself groaning. I know I could be a better shot than some of those people. But because of the cast-Russell Crowe and Christian Bale being the big guns in this- the western is better than it would have been had they cast Johnny Depp and Leonardo di Caprio. There is a lot of action- almost too much. If this many people got killed in the west, then we'd be sitting in a bar in St Louis rather than living on the west coast. I liked it much more than Alex did.