Movie Review: No Country for Old Men

No Country for Old Men
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones
Rated R

It's the American Dream in a goddamn gym bag! -- Lou Chambers from A Simple Plan

I don't know, he ought to. He's seen the same things I've seen, and it's certainly made an impression on me. -- Ed Tom Bell from No Country For Old Men

No Country for Old Men: Chronic Malevolence and Avarice

Anton Chigurh is Death. Chigurh is the vicious, unstoppable psychopath at the heart of the Coen Brothers new film, No Country For Old Men. Chigurh is played to wicked perfection by Javier Bardem. He stalks the Texas border looking for a satchel containing two million dollars. Nothing and no one can come between him and the money. Chigurh is a far cry from the character Bardem played in The Sea Inside. Sadly, for his victims, Chigurh is very much mobile. Bardem’s intensity is in high gear right from the start of the film. He manages to escape the clutches of a police arrest. Once he escapes jail, no one is safe. A looming sense of dread has entered the barren and desolate landscapes of Texas in 1980. He uses a lethal nail gun to do away with his victims. Bardem is a one man reign of terror -- a specter of pure violence with a Prince Valiant haircut; coin tosses save some of his potential victims. Chigurh could put the fear of God into such cinematic monsters as Dennis Hopper’s Frank Booth, Anthony Hopkins’ Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Michael Rooker’s Henry, or even Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Movie Review: In the Valley of Elah

Every so often, a movie earns the title of "Film." In the Valley of Elah is that film. Powerful and touching writing, exceptional acting, particular visuals, and marvelous direction make In the Valley of Elah a film of timeless quality.

Retired Sergeant Hank Deerfield (Tommy Lee Jones) gets a phone call saying his son is absent without leave. Unable to accept that his son would abandon his duties as a soldier, he leaves his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon), and he drives to his son’s base to investigate his son’s disappearance. When he doesn’t get the response he wants from the military police, he sets off to contact the civilians. The civilians aren’t any more helpful. They tell him that he must contact the army police because they are in charge of their people, they wouldn’t investigate his disappearance. A jurisdictional nightmare, the only people who seem actively investigating the case is Hank Deerfield and Detective Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) follows behind in tow. The investigation is a fight with the army, a troubling examination of willful incompetence and tragic truths...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!