“No Country for Old Men” (2007) [R]

     Based on Cormac McCarthy’s book of the same name, “No Country for Old Men” has got to be one of the best movies made in a long time. There are so many interesting things to talk about in this film that it’s hard to pick a place to start, but it has to be done. To begin with, this is without a doubt one of the best tales of good versus evil, all while being set over a sort of modern western when the protagonist, Llewelyn Moss, has to flee from and fight a psychotic killer known as Anton Chiguhr, who prowls the Texas outback area. In his portrayal as Chiguhr, Javier Bardem does an impeccable job, especially considering this was pretty much his big break into well-known theater. This is also one of the few films to go to go so far against the grain, and does that very well.

     There are many times throughout the history of stories, movies included, where the basic premise is a telling of good against evil. Many of these stories should be familiar to everyone; however this tale in particular takes it to the next level. The fight between good and evil has never been presented in a more perplexing way than in this film. Set in the style of a modern western, the protagonist, Llewelyn Moss, discovers something he shouldn’t and is then forced to match strength and wits with the psychotic villain known as Anton Chiguhr. Full of edge-of-the-seat suspense, the viewers can only guess how this incredible motion picture turns out.

     Before this movie, Javier Bardem wasn’t very well-known in popular cinema; however it would seem that this one has landed him a very nice place in popular culture. He is now being sought out for roles in various movies, and this is obviously because of his astonishing ability to portray the Chiguhr character. Bardem truly embraced Chiguhr, and makes the audience fall for his act as what would seem to be a complete lunatic. The audience won’t be able to even tell that he is a normal person in real life because of how amazingly he convinces viewers that he is the character.

     There are, of course, many different ways people can think of on defining how something can go against the grain of what is average. They can say that there are many movies these days that do that, and I would disagree with this. What I consider to be going against the grain in cinema is a film that is ground-breaking in nearly every aspect of which it can be spectated. This movie is one of few, especially these days, which truly does break ground into something that can lead the future. “No Country for Old Men” requires only one thing of its audience, which is for them to think further than what is simply presented in front of them and enlighten themselves to an idea the movie discreetly provides.

          My overall rating: 4.8 out of 5

“Barton Fink” (1991) [R]

     “Barton Fink” is one of those movies that usually don’t show up on people’s radar. Some people probably won’t even remember much advertising for it either. This period piece set in the forties is an excellent look into a writer’s life. It is an intriguing drama with some of the best dialogue seen in any of the Coen brother’s movies. It is also filled to the brim with symbolism, including things in the dialogue and objects in the scenes. This film is truly deserving of the Oscar-nomination it received, however the only bad thing about it is that the way it was laid out can be a bit confusing at first to anyone who doesn’t quite catch the symbolism.

     The story, set in the forties, did a remarkable job of taking the audience back to that time. It is one of the most entertaining period pieces that have been made so far. The Coen brothers proved themselves yet again as incredible filmmakers. They also gave an excellent look into the life of a writer, and what it can be like struggling through writer’s block. The whole movie, in fact, is set over the writer, played by John Turturro, who is trying to write a script and can’t because of the block. John Turturro really became the character in this movie, acting like writers of that time.

     Dialogue is an interesting thing to pay attention to in movies, and can be a stressful thing when writing it out. It’s hard enough to write out a dialogue for a movie, and it’s just as hard, if not harder, to act it out. The Coen brothers did an amazing job on the dialogue, and the actors did just as good when acting it out for the cameras. Much of the dialogue is filled with little conversational fillers that were true to that time such as “I sure am sorry there,” and “Well ain’t that a kick in the head.” The conversational fillers were simply ways of making your conversation longer, and were popular in that time, which only does more to make the audience feel like they really are in that era.

     Another thing that can be a hassle for filmmakers to put in their movies is symbolism. It can be a hard thing to remember throughout the story and it can also put up a struggle because of the assumption that everyone in the audience will pick up on it right away. The Coen brothers took the gamble of filling the film with symbols from start to finish, and for the most part it worked. Much of the symbolism is very entertaining, some of which can also be comical, however there is a risk that they run in putting so many symbols in it. Not all of the viewers are going to catch on so easily to some of the symbols. This means that the symbols will go either unnoticed or may even confuse the parts of the audience who don’t catch on. All in all it was a highly entertaining movie worth watching more than once.

          My overall rating: 3.5 out of 5