tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post8694933246781420175..comments2024-01-26T00:54:19.338+08:00Comments on Lessons From the School of Inattention: No Country For Old Men (2007)Oggs Cruzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-32246408071535504032008-01-03T14:36:00.000+08:002008-01-03T14:36:00.000+08:00Thanks for the recommendations Noel. I'll have to ...Thanks for the recommendations Noel. I'll have to search them out, starting with his latest, then probably Dog Day, and then the rest.Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-23791661098063286372008-01-03T14:35:00.000+08:002008-01-03T14:35:00.000+08:00Y'know, the best portrait of evil I ever saw was a...Y'know, the best portrait of evil I ever saw was a production of Goethe's Faust by PETA at Fort Santiago; Mephisto was played by Mario O'Hara. Twenty years younger and he could have played Chigurh. As is, he was tremendous--he was the Devil, and he wore one white sneaker, one red sneaker, and in one of the quitest most intimate moments, he was devastating. I don't remember the exact line, but it was the way he said it--he betrayed sympathy, no he betrayed affection for these humans he tempted. I swear, the hairs on the back of my neck all the way up to my arms stood up. <BR/><BR/>I doubt if that article is online. I do think it's in my book somewhere.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-36096905111029093882008-01-03T14:31:00.000+08:002008-01-03T14:31:00.000+08:00Dog Day, in my opine, is above all his masterpiece...Dog Day, in my opine, is above all his masterpiece. The quintessential Lumet New York film.<BR/><BR/>Then there's his massive Prince of the City, which is pretty good, I thought, despite what Paulettes say. Again another New York film.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-29053998314300686522008-01-03T13:43:00.000+08:002008-01-03T13:43:00.000+08:00Crawled out of the mess, but had to beg help from ...Crawled out of the mess, but had to beg help from neighborhood kids. That's pretty embarrassing for the powerful personification of evil. It shows that he's human after all.<BR/><BR/>I gotta see Dog Day Afternoon then. I thought 12 Angry Men was terrific, but that's probably law school brainwashing. I'll have to see it again.Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-77335788412661143962008-01-03T08:29:00.000+08:002008-01-03T08:29:00.000+08:00Not all that fallible. When fate does give him a s...Not all that fallible. When fate does give him a slap in the face (2000 pounds worth), he manages to crawl out of it. It's an underwritten role, conceived to look cool, I think. And Brolin coming back to the scene of the crime is dumb beyond compare. <BR/><BR/>But never mind. I've not always been a big fan of Lumet--dislike Network, 12 Angry Men, The Verdict; always found him talky and too stagy, and if Long Day's Journey to Night is great, that's mainly thanks to his cast and O'Neill. But with Dog Day Afternoon and this picture, I do think he's terrific, or at least he has a narrow range where he's as good as most of them.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-28978806934902619852008-01-02T09:16:00.000+08:002008-01-02T09:16:00.000+08:00Thanks Noel and Estan,Never saw Chigurh as death, ...Thanks Noel and Estan,<BR/><BR/>Never saw Chigurh as death, or heck, even evil, as what Bell thinks he is. He's very human with a complex of invulnerability, which makes him think of himself as an agent of evil, or something. And he's funny too. I liked how the Coens played around with the metaphysics of good and evil but still kept his characters grounded with human fallibility.<BR/><BR/>I'll be in the look out for the new Lumet. Haven't seen much of his works, but I enjoyed 12 Angry Men and Find Me Guilty (now those are decades apart).Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-69504814519286368052008-01-02T06:54:00.000+08:002008-01-02T06:54:00.000+08:00I should say annonymous shold grow the balls to pu...I should say annonymous shold grow the balls to put in his real name, or at least a psuedonym.<BR/><BR/>I can see the metaphysics, but even they're so shallow. Big scary man with altar girl haircut, going around with a cattle killer? That's not death, that's a walking joke. I enjoy the joke, but that's about it.<BR/><BR/>You should see Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. Right now Lumet (who I don't always like) is a better filmmaker than the Coens ever were, or could ever hope to be.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-76028374202633173382008-01-02T03:42:00.000+08:002008-01-02T03:42:00.000+08:00How the heck did you manage to see this?!How the heck did you manage to see this?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-42284733363324047752008-01-02T02:10:00.000+08:002008-01-02T02:10:00.000+08:00I would say that anonymous' stupid filipino movies...I would say that anonymous' stupid filipino movies is only limited to mainstream works which is still in a quagmire. there are really better movies in the Indie circuit that are worth watching and enjoying.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-7129151949891436022008-01-01T22:25:00.000+08:002008-01-01T22:25:00.000+08:00Glad you reviewed "No Country for Old Men," stop w...Glad you reviewed "No Country for Old Men," stop wasting time on stupid Filipino movies.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-78051172485997883372008-01-01T18:21:00.000+08:002008-01-01T18:21:00.000+08:00Thanks Noel and anonymous,I'm currently working on...Thanks Noel and anonymous,<BR/><BR/>I'm currently working on my 2007 recap. So that's next, if ever it gets completed.<BR/><BR/>I actually thought that No Country's metaphysics overpowered its entertainment prowess; never felt it as mere gimmickry. It's probably one of the few Coens (along with Hudsucker Proxy and Fargo, perhaps) that got me focusing more on what it meant rather than on how it looks or how it works as a film. At least we agree that it's very entertaining, hehe.Oggs Cruzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03041599863258946384noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-56964854090036938162008-01-01T17:19:00.000+08:002008-01-01T17:19:00.000+08:00Been reading a lot of pros and cons for it, and ba...Been reading a lot of pros and cons for it, and basically I have no real complaints--except for a truly great film and not merely an amusing one, I'd like my metaphysical givens to seem more persuasive, not just gimmicky. <BR/><BR/>It's on my ten best--well, thirteen, I think--but mostly as an entertainment.Noel Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05904212081036547668noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31058461.post-56013843825608100572008-01-01T15:34:00.000+08:002008-01-01T15:34:00.000+08:00oooh. where'd you get to see it? btw, no top ten l...oooh. where'd you get to see it? btw, no top ten list?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com