Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
^^^^^^^
This guy hates No Country for Old Men. Take all of his movie reviews with a grain of salt.
This guy hates No Country for Old Men. Take all of his movie reviews with a grain of salt.
Probably a good idea. I like what I like.^^^^^^^
This guy hates No Country for Old Men. Take all of his movie reviews with a grain of salt.
Blasphemy. His cameo as Jimmie adds to the perfection of the movie because he is so awkward. It couldn't be any other way.QT should stick to directing.
Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
You could have had any other real actor in that scene. I thought he was gonna pass out wheezing some of his lines - "YOU GOTTA CALL SOME PEOPLE?".Blasphemy. His cameo as Jimmie adds to the perfection of the movie because he is so awkward. It couldn't be any other way.QT should stick to directing.
So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
The fact that he was so horrible added to the OTT nature of the entire Bonnie situation and the ridiculousness of that whole segment and from an artistic perspective I think that was THE POINT. I can't imagine that scene playing out any other way than Tarantino's awful trying to be a tough guy schtick that was so awkward. It wouldn't have been the same.You could have had any other real actor in that scene. I thought he was gonna pass out wheezing some of his lines - "YOU GOTTA CALL SOME PEOPLE?".Blasphemy. His cameo as Jimmie adds to the perfection of the movie because he is so awkward. It couldn't be any other way.QT should stick to directing.
The acting was so good around him that he didn't matter though.
It's a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. Coen Brother's dialogue is consistent as Tarantino's, but with much broader range. I just don't see many parallels.So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
His opening monologue in "Reservoir Dogs" gives him enough street cred to be on screen.QT should stick to directing.
He put himself in Reservoir Dogs too. He just gave himself a lot more lines in PF. Seriously, I can't even post one of his repeated lines with his scene. Somehow flapgreen thought it was genius that he had a black wife.The fact that he was so horrible added to the OTT nature of the entire Bonnie situation and the ridiculousness of that whole segment and from an artistic perspective I think that was THE POINT. I can't imagine that scene playing out any other way than Tarantino's awful trying to be a tough guy schtick that was so awkward. It wouldn't have been the same.You could have had any other real actor in that scene. I thought he was gonna pass out wheezing some of his lines - "YOU GOTTA CALL SOME PEOPLE?".Blasphemy. His cameo as Jimmie adds to the perfection of the movie because he is so awkward. It couldn't be any other way.QT should stick to directing.
The acting was so good around him that he didn't matter though.
Like in From Dusk Till Dawn?His opening monologue in "Reservoir Dogs" gives him enough street cred to be on screen.QT should stick to directing.
See I don't feel that way. Coen Brother's movies are hit or miss for me and I don't see a lot of consistency. For example... I adore Burn After Reading and that movie got panned both critically and financially IIRC. And there was nothing about Burn After Reading that I thought was similar to No Country for Old Men. Maybe that is the "range" you are discussing. There is a bit of an indy style there, but it most certainly is not uber consistent between Coen brothers movies because they do move around a lot. My reaction to No Country For Old Men was that it was desperately trying to be a Tarantino movie and failed miserably. It had that very raw violence, but for me personally it wasn't successful unless it had some sort of wit or cleverness that accompanied it, which it had none, but I felt it ignorantly thought it had.It's a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. Coen Brother's dialogue is consistent as Tarantino's, but with much broader range. I just don't see many parallels.So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
Burn After Reading is closer to Pulp Fiction than No Country is.See I don't feel that way. Coen Brother's movies are hit or miss for me and I don't see a lot of consistency. For example... I adore Burn After Reading and that movie got panned both critically and financially IIRC. And there was nothing about Burn After Reading that I thought was similar to No Country for Old Men. Maybe that is the "range" you are discussing. There is a bit of an indy style there, but it most certainly is not uber consistent between Coen brothers movies because they do move around a lot. My reaction to No Country For Old Men was that it was desperately trying to be a Tarantino movie and failed miserably. It had that very raw violence, but for me personally it wasn't successful unless it had some sort of wit or cleverness that accompanied it, which it had none, but I felt it ignorantly thought it had.It's a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. Coen Brother's dialogue is consistent as Tarantino's, but with much broader range. I just don't see many parallels.So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
I felt like No Country for Old Men was desperately trying to be something it wasn't and it just resulted in an unappealing mess. Sorry.
Yeah, you just knew any scene with Javier Bardem had a slim chance of ending well.NCfOM didn't fail miserably at anything. It's firmly in my Top-5 movies ever, only behind the first two GFs for certain.
OK? I don't see even the slightest similarity between Pulp Fiction and Burn After Reading, but OK? Maybe I'm completely off-base but I saw No Country For Old Men in the theater when it came out and I felt like it was going for that whole raw violence yet witty and clever storyline (aka Tarantino aka not just Pulp Fiction) and just did a miserable job of it. The actual concept and underlying story was so shallow it didn't require two brain cells to get it after the whole thing was over. Which just left us with a story of raw violence. Some people are into that. I'm not. I guess I was giving it the benefit of the doubt by saying there was some intelligence behind the whole story and the Coen Brothers were going for ironic violence. But that never really came together and Tommy Lee Jones' speech at the end of the movie was freaking cringeworthy. I was embarrassed for him because it was so dramatic in a story that wasn't actually that big of a deal. He was making a whole big deal out of a whole lot of nothing and I felt bad for him because it was embarrassing. The whole movie ended up being a cat-and-mouse thriller with the plot being an afterthought. Actually the end of the movie shoves it in your face that the plot didn't matter and the whole point was this cat-and-mouse game between two characters you've never grown emotionally attached to because they are completely emotionless characters and you don't give a bleep about them.Burn After Reading is closer to Pulp Fiction than No Country is.See I don't feel that way. Coen Brother's movies are hit or miss for me and I don't see a lot of consistency. For example... I adore Burn After Reading and that movie got panned both critically and financially IIRC. And there was nothing about Burn After Reading that I thought was similar to No Country for Old Men. Maybe that is the "range" you are discussing. There is a bit of an indy style there, but it most certainly is not uber consistent between Coen brothers movies because they do move around a lot. My reaction to No Country For Old Men was that it was desperately trying to be a Tarantino movie and failed miserably. It had that very raw violence, but for me personally it wasn't successful unless it had some sort of wit or cleverness that accompanied it, which it had none, but I felt it ignorantly thought it had.It's a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. Coen Brother's dialogue is consistent as Tarantino's, but with much broader range. I just don't see many parallels.So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
I felt like No Country for Old Men was desperately trying to be something it wasn't and it just resulted in an unappealing mess. Sorry.
Clever and witty violence isn't a patented Tarantino sub-reality. We grew up with that in cartoons like Tom and Jerry. I get what you're saying, but you're comparing one movie to another with directors who made quite a few of them. What you expect out of a Tarantino movie is ultimately compared to the last Tarantino movie. The Coen Brothers have the same expectation of Tarantino of what's consistent. What makes them different is the scripts, and the influence behind them. Across the board, they both are very consistent at creating films that made small studio's huge, like Miramax.OK? I don't see even the slightest similarity between Pulp Fiction and Burn After Reading, but OK? Maybe I'm completely off-base but I saw No Country For Old Men in the theater when it came out and I felt like it was going for that whole raw violence yet witty and clever storyline (aka Tarantino aka not just Pulp Fiction) and just did a miserable job of it. The actual concept and underlying story was so shallow it didn't require two brain cells to get it after the whole thing was over. Which just left us with a story of raw violence. Some people are into that. I'm not. I guess I was giving it the benefit of the doubt by saying there was some intelligence behind the whole story and the Coen Brothers were going for ironic violence. But that never really came together and Tommy Lee Jones' speech at the end of the movie was freaking cringeworthy. I was embarrassed for him because it was so dramatic in a story that wasn't actually that big of a deal. He was making a whole big deal out of a whole lot of nothing and I felt bad for him because it was embarrassing. The whole movie ended up being a cat-and-mouse thriller with the plot being an afterthought. Actually the end of the movie shoves it in your face that the plot didn't matter and the whole point was this cat-and-mouse game between two characters you've never grown emotionally attached to because they are completely emotionless characters and you don't give a bleep about them.Burn After Reading is closer to Pulp Fiction than No Country is.See I don't feel that way. Coen Brother's movies are hit or miss for me and I don't see a lot of consistency. For example... I adore Burn After Reading and that movie got panned both critically and financially IIRC. And there was nothing about Burn After Reading that I thought was similar to No Country for Old Men. Maybe that is the "range" you are discussing. There is a bit of an indy style there, but it most certainly is not uber consistent between Coen brothers movies because they do move around a lot. My reaction to No Country For Old Men was that it was desperately trying to be a Tarantino movie and failed miserably. It had that very raw violence, but for me personally it wasn't successful unless it had some sort of wit or cleverness that accompanied it, which it had none, but I felt it ignorantly thought it had.It's a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. Coen Brother's dialogue is consistent as Tarantino's, but with much broader range. I just don't see many parallels.So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
I felt like No Country for Old Men was desperately trying to be something it wasn't and it just resulted in an unappealing mess. Sorry.
I'm not knocking your opinion, however I tend to be snobby about movies and a movie such as No Country for Old Men is going to get all my spidey BS senses up as something that is a hot mess because it was a hot mess.
Wasn't the whole Taxi Driver thing merely occurring in Travis Bickle's head and no actual violence took place? Tha is what I got from Taxi Driver. It was all in his head.Clever and witty violence isn't a patented Tarantino sub-reality. We grew up with that in cartoons like Tom and Jerry. I get what you're saying, but you're comparing one movie to another with directors who made quite a few of them. What you expect out of a Tarantino movie is ultimately compared to the last Tarantino movie. The Coen Brothers have the same expectation of Tarantino of what's consistent. What makes them different is the scripts, and the influence behind them. Across the board, they both are very consistent at creating films that made small studio's huge, like Miramax.OK? I don't see even the slightest similarity between Pulp Fiction and Burn After Reading, but OK? Maybe I'm completely off-base but I saw No Country For Old Men in the theater when it came out and I felt like it was going for that whole raw violence yet witty and clever storyline (aka Tarantino aka not just Pulp Fiction) and just did a miserable job of it. The actual concept and underlying story was so shallow it didn't require two brain cells to get it after the whole thing was over. Which just left us with a story of raw violence. Some people are into that. I'm not. I guess I was giving it the benefit of the doubt by saying there was some intelligence behind the whole story and the Coen Brothers were going for ironic violence. But that never really came together and Tommy Lee Jones' speech at the end of the movie was freaking cringeworthy. I was embarrassed for him because it was so dramatic in a story that wasn't actually that big of a deal. He was making a whole big deal out of a whole lot of nothing and I felt bad for him because it was embarrassing. The whole movie ended up being a cat-and-mouse thriller with the plot being an afterthought. Actually the end of the movie shoves it in your face that the plot didn't matter and the whole point was this cat-and-mouse game between two characters you've never grown emotionally attached to because they are completely emotionless characters and you don't give a bleep about them.Burn After Reading is closer to Pulp Fiction than No Country is.See I don't feel that way. Coen Brother's movies are hit or miss for me and I don't see a lot of consistency. For example... I adore Burn After Reading and that movie got panned both critically and financially IIRC. And there was nothing about Burn After Reading that I thought was similar to No Country for Old Men. Maybe that is the "range" you are discussing. There is a bit of an indy style there, but it most certainly is not uber consistent between Coen brothers movies because they do move around a lot. My reaction to No Country For Old Men was that it was desperately trying to be a Tarantino movie and failed miserably. It had that very raw violence, but for me personally it wasn't successful unless it had some sort of wit or cleverness that accompanied it, which it had none, but I felt it ignorantly thought it had.It's a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. Coen Brother's dialogue is consistent as Tarantino's, but with much broader range. I just don't see many parallels.So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
I felt like No Country for Old Men was desperately trying to be something it wasn't and it just resulted in an unappealing mess. Sorry.
I'm not knocking your opinion, however I tend to be snobby about movies and a movie such as No Country for Old Men is going to get all my spidey BS senses up as something that is a hot mess because it was a hot mess.
Your conversation leads more to how they use violence, and they both use it a lot. The Coen Brothers even more - check out the cartoon-ish violence of Raising Arizona.
I think the Coen Brothers effect violence better than Martin Scorcese at this point. Because it's a lot more varied, has a lot more value to the story, still very violent like in Fargo, and Fargo didn't need a lot of violence to show how violent characters can be. There is more violence in script than to actually have to show it. You lead to violence, not play off of it. How do you set danger and the consequence of it? You do it by the danger itself. You don't have to bathe blood or guts.
We didn't see Josh Brolin die at the hands of Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men. What we more shocked at was the collateral damage of lives within that chase. Bardem's motives were cut and dry. You gather a group of sociopaths like in Pulp Fiction, and the results are more predictable due to having to involve a lot of dynamics. You give a sole killer a purpose, and you can write a whole story of one particular sociopath.
The violence of Travis Bickle is greater than the violence of Jules and Vincent. The violence of Travis Bickle comes from his orders in his head. It's singular violence of a character, not the collective violence of Tarantino. The violence of Javier Bardem comes from a singular violence. Why? Because that's how it is written in the script.
I guess what I'm saying is that if all you look at is the violence, then maybe take this conversation into something greater than just a few contemporary film makers who use it. But thanks for making me think about it. I could be totally wrong, but you did make me think about it. Thanks again.
He couldnt decide if he wanted to play Lance or Jimmy, thank god he picked Jimmy. Lance would have been a disaster.QT should stick to directing.
I took it as only the very end was in his head. The part where he picks up Betsy in his cab. That was him fantasizing that she would realize her mistake in shunning him previously. eta and the letter from Iris's parents was just in his head too.Wasn't the whole Taxi Driver thing merely occurring in Travis Bickle's head and no actual violence took place? Tha is what I got from Taxi Driver. It was all in his head.
Makes more room for more ads?how come IFC and Sundance can show stuff unedited and AMC edits the crap out of stuff?
I seem to recall seeing at some point that it all comes down to advertising money. All cable channels have the right and could show as much nudity and cursing as they'd like. If they want to, they can show films completely uncut (like IFC). However, due to the fear of advertisers pulling funds, most cable channels don't do this.how come IFC and Sundance can show stuff unedited and AMC edits the crap out of stuff?
love that scene, but my fast-forward in through the scene at jimmy's house. he bothers me, and the wolf does nothing for me.That's really the only scene in the entire movie I usually fast-forward through."I gotta stab her three times?"![]()
you realize the coen brothers were putting out movies about a decade before Quentin, right?So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
correctamundoYolanda was in the new Hunger Games. I felt very odd about that.
It culminated into violence in the end when he saved Iris. But yeah, I felt the violence escalating more in his head.Wasn't the whole Taxi Driver thing merely occurring in Travis Bickle's head and no actual violence took place? Tha is what I got from Taxi Driver. It was all in his head.Clever and witty violence isn't a patented Tarantino sub-reality. We grew up with that in cartoons like Tom and Jerry. I get what you're saying, but you're comparing one movie to another with directors who made quite a few of them. What you expect out of a Tarantino movie is ultimately compared to the last Tarantino movie. The Coen Brothers have the same expectation of Tarantino of what's consistent. What makes them different is the scripts, and the influence behind them. Across the board, they both are very consistent at creating films that made small studio's huge, like Miramax.OK? I don't see even the slightest similarity between Pulp Fiction and Burn After Reading, but OK? Maybe I'm completely off-base but I saw No Country For Old Men in the theater when it came out and I felt like it was going for that whole raw violence yet witty and clever storyline (aka Tarantino aka not just Pulp Fiction) and just did a miserable job of it. The actual concept and underlying story was so shallow it didn't require two brain cells to get it after the whole thing was over. Which just left us with a story of raw violence. Some people are into that. I'm not. I guess I was giving it the benefit of the doubt by saying there was some intelligence behind the whole story and the Coen Brothers were going for ironic violence. But that never really came together and Tommy Lee Jones' speech at the end of the movie was freaking cringeworthy. I was embarrassed for him because it was so dramatic in a story that wasn't actually that big of a deal. He was making a whole big deal out of a whole lot of nothing and I felt bad for him because it was embarrassing. The whole movie ended up being a cat-and-mouse thriller with the plot being an afterthought. Actually the end of the movie shoves it in your face that the plot didn't matter and the whole point was this cat-and-mouse game between two characters you've never grown emotionally attached to because they are completely emotionless characters and you don't give a bleep about them.Burn After Reading is closer to Pulp Fiction than No Country is.See I don't feel that way. Coen Brother's movies are hit or miss for me and I don't see a lot of consistency. For example... I adore Burn After Reading and that movie got panned both critically and financially IIRC. And there was nothing about Burn After Reading that I thought was similar to No Country for Old Men. Maybe that is the "range" you are discussing. There is a bit of an indy style there, but it most certainly is not uber consistent between Coen brothers movies because they do move around a lot. My reaction to No Country For Old Men was that it was desperately trying to be a Tarantino movie and failed miserably. It had that very raw violence, but for me personally it wasn't successful unless it had some sort of wit or cleverness that accompanied it, which it had none, but I felt it ignorantly thought it had.It's a totally different movie than Pulp Fiction. Coen Brother's dialogue is consistent as Tarantino's, but with much broader range. I just don't see many parallels.So are you saying you don't feel the style of the movie and what they were going for wasn't very similar to things Tarantino had been doing for over a decade? I felt it was very similar, yet lacked the most important piece of intelligence/wit/humor that makes that style successful.Only Tarantino fans would see this movie that way.I actually hated No Country for Old Men too.
*ducks*
I felt like it was such a wannabe Tarantino movie and couldn't drum up the wit or cleverness or uniqueness to be one and it just fell way flat and was pretty freaking boring and just an overtly wannabe Tarantino movie it was sad.
*ducks*
I felt like No Country for Old Men was desperately trying to be something it wasn't and it just resulted in an unappealing mess. Sorry.
I'm not knocking your opinion, however I tend to be snobby about movies and a movie such as No Country for Old Men is going to get all my spidey BS senses up as something that is a hot mess because it was a hot mess.
Your conversation leads more to how they use violence, and they both use it a lot. The Coen Brothers even more - check out the cartoon-ish violence of Raising Arizona.
I think the Coen Brothers effect violence better than Martin Scorcese at this point. Because it's a lot more varied, has a lot more value to the story, still very violent like in Fargo, and Fargo didn't need a lot of violence to show how violent characters can be. There is more violence in script than to actually have to show it. You lead to violence, not play off of it. How do you set danger and the consequence of it? You do it by the danger itself. You don't have to bathe blood or guts.
We didn't see Josh Brolin die at the hands of Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men. What we more shocked at was the collateral damage of lives within that chase. Bardem's motives were cut and dry. You gather a group of sociopaths like in Pulp Fiction, and the results are more predictable due to having to involve a lot of dynamics. You give a sole killer a purpose, and you can write a whole story of one particular sociopath.
The violence of Travis Bickle is greater than the violence of Jules and Vincent. The violence of Travis Bickle comes from his orders in his head. It's singular violence of a character, not the collective violence of Tarantino. The violence of Javier Bardem comes from a singular violence. Why? Because that's how it is written in the script.
I guess what I'm saying is that if all you look at is the violence, then maybe take this conversation into something greater than just a few contemporary film makers who use it. But thanks for making me think about it. I could be totally wrong, but you did make me think about it. Thanks again.
Do you get the $5 shake?We go out to eat a lot. I think about this movie whenever I come back from the restroom and our food is on the table. Best feeling ever.