No Country For Old Men (2007)

"What Would You Do If You
Became The Target Of
The World's Most Ruthless Hitman?"

Anton Chigurh has set a new High Standard for Movie Psycho Killers. He is Almost Mythical in his Ruthlessness.

• Tommy Lee Jones is also Great as the Good Sheriff who knows he can't beat the Evil that he is Facing.


• A lot of people did NOT like the ending to No Country For Old Men.

• This movie is Non-Stop Tension and Suspense from Beginning to End. The Coen Brothers did a Fantastic job Adapting Cormac McCarthy's Classic Novel.

• This movie has a lot of Strong Graphic Violence — I'm talkin' about "Rivers of Blood" here!

Running Time: 122 Minutes

"Danny's Personal Feelings About
No Country For Old Men"

Featured Movie Review:
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

"There are No Clean Getaways"

It actually premiered to a limited number of theaters back in early November 2007....but it didn't reach a theater near where I live until a few days into January 2008.

These limited theaters are always in Big Market areas like New York and Los Angeles.

I lived in the NY/NJ Metro Area for 30 years before moving out to a Rural Part of California.

The NY/NJ Metro Area is considered a Big Market Area.

Now, I'm having to wait longer periods of time to see Non-Blockbuster Movies. I think that living in the NY/NJ Metro Area for so long spoiled me when it comes to movies.

I also wanted to see There Will Be Blood with Daniel Day Lewis, but that movie isn't playing in a single theater in the entire County that I Live In!

If I hadn't noticed the title over and over again on those lists, I wouldn't have taken the time to see it at the theater. I probably wouldn't have watched it on DVD either.

Most likely, I would've see it a year or two from now by accident while channel surfing on
Direct TV.

What clinched it for me was when I found out it was a Coen Brother's movie.

I've been a fan of the Coen Brothers ever since I saw Blood Simple years ago.

They've also directed Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Fargo.

Fargo was on many Top 10 Lists back in 1996.

Another motivator was when I found out that Tommy Lee Jones was also in it. A great actor whose movies I love to watch.

Woody Harrelson shows up in a cameo role and Josh Brolin has a huge role.

In 2007, Josh Brolin also starred in Planet Terror and American Gangster!

In No Country For Old Men, Josh Brolin learns a Lesson the Very Hard Way.....

"Do Not Take What
Does Not Belong To You"

No Country For Old Men takes place in the Summer of 1980.

Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) is a poor working stiff from West Texas.

While on a hunting trip, he accidentally stumbles on the aftermath of a huge gun battle.

We find out that some disagreement between drug dealers and drug buyers results in everyone wiping each other out with Uzi's and Shotguns.

Moss finds everyone dead....even the drug dealer's pit bulls get pumped full of bullets.

Moss finds a briefcase full of money and decides to take it for himself.

1st Lesson Boys and Girls — Don't Take Money that Don't Belong to You!

Especially when it belongs to Ruthless Killers who will do anything and kill anyone to get it back.

Now is the time to talk about.....

"One Of The Most Ruthless Movie Villains
Danny Has Ever Seen"

This guy is as Cold and Brutal as anybody I've ever seen on screen.....and he's hot on the trial of the stolen drug money.

The Hitman's name is Anton Chigurh whose played by Javier Bardem in a star-making performance!

And what a Hitman he is! This guy does NOT FUCK AROUND!

Anton Chigurh is Death in the form of a Man.

Killing means nothing to him.

In Danny's opinion, Anton Chigurh sees himself as the Angel of Death.

He believes that Fate brought him together with his intended victims....for the sole purpose of taking their lives.

His mission is to retrieve the stolen money....and Every Living Thing in his path is a potential target if they happen to get in his way.

Whether they're rival Mexicans looking to collect the same stolen money....or a Good Samaritan who stops to give him a lift when his car breaks down.

On more than one occasion, Anton Chigurh gives his intended victim a chance to live....by flipping a coin.

He lets his victim choose Heads or Tails....if the victim loses, they die.

Anton Chigurh believes that his victims were destined to die by his hands because of the poor decisions they may of made in their lives.

He is like the villain from the Batman comics: Two-Face!

Morality doesn't play into his decision to kill or not to kill. His purpose and duty is to kill....and he doesn't question it.

And if for some reason he can't decide whether or not to kill, he flips a coin and lets fate decide.

"The Good Guys Don't Stand A Chance"

But Jones represents the average man with a good conscience.

Tommy Lee Jones' character is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell.

Bell is a good man who just doesn't know how to stop the escalating violence he deals with on a daily basis and the violence he reads about in the newspaper.

Bell is an aging sheriff in a the remote desert of West Texas where the Drug Shootout took place.

He often reflects on how dangerous the world has become compared to the olden days when his "daddy" and "granddaddy" were sheriffs.

Tommy Lee Jones reminded me of Morgan Freeman's role in Se7en.

No Country For Old Men is a lot like Se7en.

It's a dark, bleak movie.... borrowing many of the same themes from classic Film Noir Movies.

Tommy Lee Jones represents the "Light" in the darkness. But he's old and worn out and his "Batteries" are dying and can't be recharged again.

Sheriff Bell is trying his best to stop the violence that's occurring because of the stolen money.... but he doesn't have what it takes.

The Sheriff is not a young man and the level of violence is beyond his ability to control.

The thing you would expect in a movie like this is for the sheriff to be hot on the trial of the stolen money and somehow save the day.

Well, not in No Country For Old Men.

In No Country For Old Men, the good guys feel that they are on the Losing End of the battle between Good and Evil.

Sheriff Bell feels the same way too. He's still a good sheriff and he does his job, but he's tired and he wants to retire and leave the "Good Guy" stuff to somebody else.

There is one instance in the movie where you definitely fear for Sheriff Bell's life because he's gotten too to close to Anton Chigurh.

If you've seen what Anton Chigurh is capable of, you know that Sheriff Bell can't beat him. I know I felt that way.

Tommy Lee Jones is a like a granddad in this movie....and no one wants their granddad to have their face turned to pulp from a killer's shotgun.

"Death Rides A Pale Horse"

Watch No Country For Old Men to see what I'm talking about.

This movie definitely deserves all the praise that it's received.

Whether you are a fan of The Coen Brothers or not...one thing is always certain with their movies: There's nothing Formulaic about them.

You're guaranteed to see something new and original.

I've seen his name many times on the Fiction shelf at the Barnes and Noble. But I never read any of his work before.

Well, that's gonna change.

If I had any idea that Cormac McCarthy wrote Intense Stories like No Country For Old Men, I would have read his books years ago.

Check it out on EW.com! (new window)

"CAST

OF

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN"

Ed Tom Bell: I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five years old. Hard to believe.

My grandfather was a lawman; father too. Me and him was sheriff's at the same time; him up in Plano and me out here. I think he's pretty proud of that. I know I was.

Some of the old time sheriffs never even wore a gun. A lotta folks find that hard to believe. Jim Scarborough'd never carry one; that's the younger Jim. Gaston Borkins wouldn't wear one up in Camanche County.

I always liked to hear about the oldtimers. Never missed a chance to do so. You can't help but compare yourself gainst the oldtimers. Can't help but wonder how theyd've operated these times.

There was this boy I sent to the 'lectric chair at Huntsville here a while back. My arrest and my testimony. He killt a fourteen-year-old girl.

Papers said it was a crime of passion but he told me there wasn't any passion to it. Told me that he'd been planning to kill somebody for about as long as he could remember. Said that if they turned him out he'd do it again. Said he knew he was going to hell....."Be there in about fifteen minutes."

I don't know what to make of that. I surely don't.

The crime you see now, it's hard to even take its measure. It's not that I'm afraid of it. I always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job.

But, I don't want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don't understand. A man would have to put his soul at hazard.

He'd have to say, "O.K., I'll be part of this world."

Gas Station Proprietor: Sir?

Anton Chigurh: The most. You ever lost. On a coin toss.

Gas Station Proprietor: I don't know. I couldn't say.

[Chigurh flips a quarter from the change on the counter and covers it with his hand]

Anton Chigurh: Call it.

Gas Station Proprietor: Call it?

Anton Chigurh: Yes.

Gas Station Proprietor: For what?

Anton Chigurh: Just call it.

Gas Station Proprietor: Well, we need to know what we're calling it for here.

Anton Chigurh: You need to call it. I can't call it for you. It wouldn't be fair.

Gas Station Proprietor: I didn't put nothin' up.

Anton Chigurh: Yes, you did. You've been putting it up your whole life you just didn't know it. You know what date is on this coin?

Gas Station Proprietor: No.

Anton Chigurh: 1958. It's been traveling twenty-two years to get here. And now it's here. And it's either heads or tails. And you have to say. Call it.

Gas Station Proprietor: Look, I need to know what I stand to win.

Anton Chigurh: Everything.

Gas Station Proprietor: How's that?

Anton Chigurh: You stand to win everything. Call it.

Gas Station Proprietor: Alright. Heads then.[Chigurh removes his hand, revealing the coin is indeed heads]

Anton Chigurh: Well done.

[the gas station proprietor nervously takes the quarter with the small pile of change he's apparently won while Chigurh starts out]

Anton Chigurh: Don't put it in your pocket, sir. Don't put it in your pocket. It's your lucky quarter.

Gas Station Proprietor: Where do you want me to put it?

Anton Chigurh: Anywhere not in your pocket. Where it'll get mixed in with the others and become just a coin. Which it is.

[Chigurh leaves and the gas station proprietor stares at him as he walks out]

Anton Chigurh: Yes?

Llewelyn Moss: Is uh, Carson Wells there?

Anton Chigurh: Not in the sense that you mean. You need to come see me.

Llewelyn Moss: Who is this?

Anton Chigurh: You know who it is. You need to talk to me.

Llewelyn Moss: I don't need to talk to you.

Anton Chigurh: I think you do. Do you know where I'm going?

Llewelyn Moss: Why would I care where you're going?

Anton Chigurh: I know where you are.

Llewelyn Moss: Yeah? Where am I?

Anton Chigurh: You're in the hospital across the river, but that's not where I'm going. Do you know where I'm going?

[blood flows on the floor, and so Chigurh lifts his feet and rests them on the bed]

Llewelyn Moss: Yeah, I know where you're going.

Anton Chigurh: Alright.

Llewelyn Moss: You know she won't be there.

Anton Chigurh: It doesn't make any difference where she is.

Llewelyn Moss: So what are you going up there for?

Anton Chigurh: You know how this is going to turn out, don't you?

Llewelyn Moss: Nope.

Anton Chigurh: I think you do. So this is what I'll offer - you bring me the money and I'll let her go. Otherwise she's accountable, same as you. That's the best deal you're gonna get. I won't tell you you can save yourself, because you can't.

Llewelyn Moss: Yeah, I'm going to bring you something, alright. I decided to make you a special project of mine. You ain't going have to come looking for me at all.

[Moss hangs up the phone]

Anton Chigurh: [smiles] People always say the same thing.

Carla Jean Moss: What do they say?

Anton Chigurh: They say, "You don't have to do this."

Carla Jean Moss: You don't.

Anton Chigurh: Okay.

[Chigurh flips a coin and covers it with his hand]

Anton Chigurh: This is the best I can do. Call it.

Carla Jean Moss: I knowed you was crazy when I saw you sitting there. I knowed exactly what was in store for me.

Anton Chigurh: Call it.

Carla Jean Moss: No. I ain't gonna call it.

Anton Chigurh: Call it.

Carla Jean Moss: The coin don't have no say. It's just you.

Anton Chigurh: Well, I got here the same way the coin did.

Loretta Bell: How'd you sleep?

Ed Tom Bell: I don't know. Had dreams.

Loretta Bell: Well you got time for 'em now. Anythin' interesting?

Ed Tom Bell: They always is to the party concerned.

Loretta Bell: Ed Tom, I'll be polite.

Ed Tom Bell: Alright then. Two of 'em. Both had my father in 'em.

It's peculiar. I'm older now then he ever was by twenty years. So in a sense he's the younger man.

Anyway, first one I don't remember to well but it was about meeting him in town somewhere, he's gonna give me some money. I think I lost it.

The second one, it was like we was both back in older times and I was on horseback goin' through the mountains of a night. Goin' through this pass in the mountains.

It was cold and there was snow on the ground and he rode past me and kept on goin'. Never said nothin' goin' by.

He just rode on past... and he had his blanket wrapped around him and his head down and when he rode past I seen he was carryin' fire in a horn the way people used to do and I could see the horn from the light inside of it.

'Bout the color of the moon.

And in the dream I knew that he was goin' on ahead and he was fixin' to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and all that cold, and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there.

And then I woke up.

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