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 Release Date: 11/9/2007 Rated: R Running Time: 122 min.
Under the direction of the Coen Brothers, No Country For Old Men snatched this year's Oscar for Best Picture and has impressed critics and movie-goers alike. The intense thriller, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name, follows Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) as he runs from killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) after an unlucky drug deal...
(Images courtesy of Mirmax and Paramount Pictures)
 Film-goers everywhere have recently been bombarded with a slew of self-proclaimed "scary" movies: The Eye, Jumper, Cloverfield, and a unimpressive batch of films intended to scare the bejesus out of us. But as a frequent movie-goer, I'm confident that nothing will scare you more than Javier Bardem's psychotic, cattle-gun toting, Willy Wonka coifed, denim pant suit wearing, coin-tossing, seemingly invincible Mexican maniac Anton Chigurh in No Country For Old Men.
The movie opens with a desolate Texas field, tumbleweeds at their weediest, as lone hunter Llewelyn Moss, played brilliantly by Josh Brolin, roams the plain intensely until he comes upon a gruesome scene. Several Mexican men (and a pit bull), guns-in-hands, lie dead as their truck bed stacked with heroin and a suitcase full of money remain the only things left unscathed. Curiosity has gotten the best of Moss and he finds it in his nature to investigate, discovering one sole survivor in desperate need of "agua." Moss leaves the site, suitcase in hand, only to come back at nightfall to satisfy the dying thirst of the man with a jug of water. A couple problems: The man is dead and good ol' Chigurh has already been assigned to "take care" of the money. When he finds out Moss has beat him to it, he isn't too happy and he ain't in a sharing mood.
 
Pictured: Academy Award winner Javier Pictured: Llewelyn Moss, played by
Bardem stars as Anton Chigurh, seen Josh Brolin (American Gangster,
here wielding his weapon of choice: a Grind House) puts on a brave face
cattle stun gun. as he does everything in his power
to escape the wrath of Anton
Chigurh, Mexico's #1 hitman.
The remainder of the movie follows a dedicated sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones as the sensitive and persevering Ed Tom Bell) and the unrelenting Moss as he sends the indestructible Chigurh on a wild goose chase throughout Mexico and Texas in hopes of attaining the money and ultimately getting out alive. Chigurh manages to ruthlessly kill anyone and anything that gets in his way. Innocent passerby? POW! Defenseless Pit Bull? Sayonara!
Never in a movie theater have I lost so many pieces of popcorn due to unexpected jumps during moments of pure cinematic terror. (I gauge a movie's thrill factor by the number of pieces of popcorn on or down my shirt after the movie. No Country For Old Men: 11, a new record.) NCFOM produces the kinds of twists, thrills, and dark humor that could only be expected from the Coen Brothers. (There is a very intense scene involving a befuddled cashier, a coin, and a certain Mexican monster you will surely hold your breath for.)
No Country For Old Men won the Oscar for Best Picture, Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actor this year. If you're anxious to check out what everyone's been raving about (and what Oscar host Jon Stewart referred to as a "Dorothy Hamill haircut" on Bardem), see No Country for Old Men. Just a bit of advice: Hang on tight to your popcorn.
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