NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 20 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

The Coen Brothers usual sense of humor is missing from this  bleak adaptation of Cormac Mccarthy's novel which is one of the reasons that the Academy Awards finally took them seriously. Also, features a interesting trio of main characters who only encounter each other in passing: Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who is still trying to do the right thing, Llweylyn Moss (Josh Brolin) a welder who finds a stash of cash and quickly finds himself in over his head, and Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), an assassin who is guaranteed to give you nightmares. 

IDA (2013, POLAND)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 19 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

The story of a nun who turns out to have Jewish roots, is a simple but well done and beautifully photographed story of a young woman attempting to find out her identity. The film's sense of time and place is probably the chief virtue of the piece. An Oscar winner for Best Foreign film.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 18 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

Wes Anderson likes a lot of quirky characters and wild improbable plots and...I'm just not sure why I don't like his films quite as much as others do. I appreciate his style in a wacky comedic chase like The Grand Budapest Hotel, and he certainly has brought together an all-star cast headed by the surprisingly funny Ralph Fiennes, but I find this particular film more clever than laugh-out-loud funny.

I've got a few more Wes Anderson films to go through, so I haven't given up joining the club yet.

KILL BILL (2003-2004)

FILMS FROM THE 21st CENTURY

(Post 17 of 50)

Some quick takes on the most relatively recent listings from the
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list

I'll say this for the Kill Bill films, director Quentin Tarantino puts everything he has into them. Tarantino is a renowned Asian action movie film buff and he gives us all the action we can handle in almost every conceivable way. An epic tale of revenge that spans the globe and takes two complete films to complete looks even better now than when it first came out.