No Movie for Weenies

'No Country' not entertainment

How is it that movie critics can divorce themselves from the story of a movie and judge a film best picture? No Country for Old Men was so horrible that after I saw it, I wanted my money back, my time back and my brain cleaned of the horrible, gory, violent images! And now it is in contention for best picture? Ugh. This is not entertainment.

RABELLE KINGPearland

-This letter made me laugh, wondering how this poor soul ended up seeing this particular film. Maybe they’re one of many people who select films by noting which actor plays in the lead roles. Perhaps Rabelle here is a fan of Tommy Lee Jones’ work in “Love Story,” or the cheerleader movie “Man of the House.”

My advice to filmgoers is to follow the books. When one of your favorite books is brought to the screen, go see how they’ve done with it. This gets one involved with the film, ready to love or hate it. I remember my excitement upon hearing that Nicholson was going to play Randle McMurphy. Now I’m anxious to see Tom Hanks play Charley Wilson.

“No Country” is from a Cormac McCarthy novel. McCarthy is one of America’s greatest living writers, his stories set in the west over a span of three centuries. His writing is realistic, that is to say, brutal, but he is showing us where we came from, and perhaps where we’re going.

And likewise, I follow directors. The Coen brothers started out with a murder story, and even their lighter fare is dark and twisted. Moviegoers that judge a film by it’s cast or title are bound to be disappointed, sometimes comically so.