No Country for Old Men

Bringing together the work of one of the greatest living American novelists (Cormac McCarthy) and two of the greatest living American filmmakers (the Coen brothers), No Country was almost guaranteed to be good. Shockingly, it lives up to its hype. One of the best features of this film is that it takes the most tired plot hook of all time—a man finding a bag of money—and, without adding unnecessary twists, updates or revisions, executes it to perfection. Josh Brolin plays the resourceful Llewelyn Moss, who stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and walks away with $2 million. Javier Bardem, whose haircut alone deserves an Academy Award, plays the psychotic killer who must retrieve the money. And even Tommy Lee Jones, in spite of his best efforts over the last 20 years, fails to suck in the role of the aging sheriff who’d like to crack one more case before he retires. As tired as the story sounds, the dialogue, editing, unbelievably intelligent cinematography and sharp acting make this by far the year’s best fiction film. You can miss it, but then all the cool kids will make fun of you forever, and you’ll die sad and alone. Your choice.