No Country For Old Men

This is one hell of a film. Premise: Man goes out hunting one day, and finds a
drug deal gone wrong. Two million dollars is just lying there, and the guy
takes it. He flees. The world's scariest man pursues. A sheriff close to
retirement follows the trail mopping up the bits.

So far, so "every film you've ever seen". It is, yes, a classic, some would say
done to death plot. The difference is the quality of the thing. Javier Bardem
has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Anton
Chighur, the world's scariest man, and if he doesn't win it, I am going to go
round and slap the life out of everyone in the Academy who didn't vote for him.

The directing, at times, just makes you pause and think "my god, this is a well
made film." Coen brothers at their very best. Suspense of the like that only
people like Hitchcock can produce. It is So Very Good.

The plot, other than the synopsis above, I will not go into, except to say that
it is all about how terribly cruel and unfair life and the world are. The end
will leave you sort of scratching your head and saying "huh?", and if you're
like me, you'll spend the next while thinking long and hard about what it
meant.

I didn't go to the cinema at all last year, and just recently made a late New
Year's Resolution to go to the cinema more, weekly if possible. This was the
first I went to see this year, and I'm partly very glad that I did, and partly
slightly frustrated knowing I'm not going to see a better one this year no
matter how many times I go.