“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

“From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996) [R]

     “From Dusk Till Dawn” is a turn in filmmaking for Robert Rodriguez. It was the first of his movies to have vampires. The screenplay is commendable, along with the fact that this picture was one of the first to change genres halfway through and the cinematography was experimental to say the least. The one disadvantage to this film is that it is too similar to other Rodriguez movies, which shows that he makes incredible flicks, but only does so with one type.

     The screenplay of this film is commendable for its action and its surprises. Written by Quentin Tarantino, the script has action that almost never stops. The movie is meant to be action-packed, nothing else, and it answers to that call. It also contains a few twists and turns for the viewers; if for some reason the surprises don’t hold enough of the viewer’s interests, then the action most certainly will keep their attention.

     The genre for this show is a little more difficult to pin down than it is for others. The story starts out as a crime action and takes a major turn about halfway through. Just when the audience gets used to watching a movie about criminals on the lamb, it changes like an animal going one direction and suddenly deciding to go completely the other way. It changes into a horror film when the criminals find themselves in the company of vampires. Such an interesting twist can make or break how well the viewers will enjoy this movie.

     Robert Rodriguez showed the world some of his best cinematography with this movie. He made sure the cameras shot everything just the way he wanted and when it came time for the edit he set the filming in the perfect order to compliment the story and give the audience the full view of everything that happened. He also used it as a chance to do some experimental cinematography which led the way for some lower end directors. This new style of filming was to make the audience feel as if they were in a video game during the high-paced action shots; it works incredibly well with Tarantino’s screenplay.

     The main weakness of “From Dusk Till Dawn” is that it is far too similar to other works that Rodriguez and Tarantino have done. They have time and time again proven that they can make intriguing crime action features, which will tell movie-goers, one thing: they need to show that they can do well on other types of motion pictures as well. After watching many other Tarantino or Rodriguez pictures people can begin to get the idea that they enjoy making only action thrillers. This is all well and good, but truly amazing filmmakers throughout history have been able to show that they are adept at many different styles. Although this movie was one of their first takes on horror stories, it just has too much in common with their other projects.

          My overall rating: 2.5 out of 5

“Reservoir Dogs” (1992) [R]

     This story of a crime that goes wrong and the shocking aftermath is a groundbreaking film. As Quentin Tarantino’s break into the writing/directing world, this movie has an incredible sequence setup with flashbacks, and the cast, who all gave stunning performances, brought the crime drama together. There is only one thing about this show that can eat away at the viewer’s experience: there was too much cursing in the dialogue. Even though this movie is about criminals, the dialogue went overboard with it.

     This was Quentin Tarantino’s gateway into the world of famous writers and directors. It was released during a time in which there were other lesser known directors making their way to fame, and out of that group, Tarantino was one of the few that have continued on to make even more interesting movies. He seems to have gotten a big influence from classics like Stanley Kubrick’s “The Killer” and Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas.” He also took the familiar crime genre and converted it into a psychological thriller. However, it wasn’t only his main idea of the story that made this film into the amazing drama that it is.

     The way in which the movie is set up and structured helped the intensity of the plot as well. Tarantino put the story in a sequence filled with flashbacks, which gives viewers the action of the present and the background of what had happened before the start of the movie. The way the show jumps from present to the past and back again was pioneering for others, and has since then become more popular. The structure for this film is complex, yet easy to follow, allowing viewers to quickly grasp the concept and feel compassion for the characters.

     Truly a masterpiece, this film wouldn’t be as good as it is without the actors. Tim Roth, Harvey Keitel, and Lawrence Tierney are just a few of the main actors that helped bring this thriller together even more. They all gave superb performances, fitting in the last piece of the puzzle that made for one of the best crime dramas yet to be seen. There was, however, only one slight problem with the film, and that was the amount of swearing in the dialogue. Now, the story is one of criminals, so viewers will expect bad language to an extent. Although some cussing is necessary for the characters, the dialogue went too far with it. Aside from that, this is an intense and fast-paced drama that changed the world of movies for the better.

          My overall rating: 4.5 out of 5