no country for old men

  • I wrote a pan of Atonement in early January, and had this to say about the Oscars:
    [Atonement] felt like it was pushing all the right Oscar-buttons, from its sweeping typewriter soundtrack to its lush cinematography, but having seen it I wonder about its chances for the big prize. But then what will take the traditionally poorly doled-out prize? Juno? No Country for Old Men? Those are guaranteed noms, but don't seem like traditional winners.
    Well, the only Oscar Atonement won was for its soundtrack, so at least the Academy was with me on that one. As for No Country, I'm glad a non-traditional film was able to take Best Picture. For me, it was the first film to deserve the big prize since American Beauty in 1999. (I'm sure we could bicker about Return of the King.) (57) #
    2/25/2008
  • The nominations for the 80th Academy Awards were announced this morning, and I'm surprisingly happy with the results. Atonement, Juno, Michael Clayton, No Country for Old Men, and There Will Be Blood are the Best Picture noms, with only Atonement not getting a Best Directing nod as well. I had a lot of problems with Atonement, and I thought Michael Clayton was a straightforward movie with good acting, but I wouldn't complain if any of the other three won. My only major disappointment: that Johnny Greenwood's fantastic score for There Will Be Blood was disqualified for Best Score. (20) #
    1/22/2008
  • If you're still on the fence about the ending of No Country for Old Men, read this interesting take, which I think captures what the ending is trying to do very well. Of course, it doesn't settle the issue of whether the ending works within the context of the rest of the film, but I think some films work better on subsequent viewings, and I'm looking forward to seeing NCFOM again. (via scanners) (1) #
    1/5/2008
Home