UKC

Num Num is reading Cormac Mc Carthy 'No country for old men'
Brutal, spare and compelling. A must read if you've not yet.
I've not seen the film either. How's that for being behind time?

In reply to birdie num num:

Blood Meridian and the Border Trilogy are even better. Particularly the Border Trilogy

In reply to birdie num num:

McCarthy is excellent. Read "Blood Meridian" if you want brutal though.

I liked the film of NCFOM.

In reply to Removed User:


That bit with the eyes...that's all I'm going to say.

The character of Glanton is based on a real person and also makes an appearance in 'Flashman and the Redskins' by George Macdonald Fraser.

In reply to birdie num num:

Not read the book. Enjoyed the film second time round - didn't understand it first time. (That's not unusual for me - Da Vinci Code took book plus seeing film twice to fathom it out, never have understood what on earth is going on in Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy)

In reply to DaveHK:

Seconded.

In reply to birdie num num:

Book excellent, film excellent.

Tommy Lee Jones - Grizzled and bewildered.

Javier Bardem - chilling.

And it's got Kelly McDonald from Trainspotting.

Top movie.

In reply to birdie num num: Book...I have to admit I haven't read it. Film, shit! Masssively hyped. The main characters, totally uinsympathetic. the events incredible, as is; beyond all credibility. Bollocks, waste of money. This particular Emperor is not wearing any clothes. It's rival at the Oscars, 'There will be blood', rubbish also. Both films fed off their rivalry rather than any quality, the attention diverted away from a very poor film year by the battle at the box office manufactured by the studios.

In reply to redsulike:


This made me laugh. Not quite sure what a sympathetic Chigurh would have looked like?

In reply to redsulike:


Well I for one was totally invested in Llewelyn Moss' survival. He deserved it. But that's not how it works in a McCarthy novel.

In reply to Removed User:

Probably even more terrifying

In reply to DaveHK:

You might want to delete that!

In reply to Removed User:

Whoops.

In reply to redsulike:

1.) Read the book.

2.) Watch the film again. then tell me a more tension-loaded scene than the one in the shop.

3.)OK you've got me: which single event do you find incredible?

In reply to birdie num num:

Both the book and the film left me stunned; thinking WTF.... in a good way!

In reply to Tom Valentine:

Well, there are spoilers on the thread already, so a couple more won't hurt it guess...















The chirurrgh character was entirely unbelievable, more like an unkillable supervillain than a real person

Which would be fair enough, but when the film appears to be about the banality and iniquity of evil and the impotence of tommy lee Jones in the face of that, having an antagonist who would be more at home in the dark knight kind of undermined the films message to me,

Not a bad film, but less than the sum

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

... Of its parts, in my opinion

(Damn Android phones...!)

Cheers
Gregor

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Ps should say ubiquity not iniquity...

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

Like most Cormac McCarthy stuff you can understand it or read it in different ways. Everyone was impotent in the face of Chiririrughg. Some think he represents death. Modern, mechanised, mass death - he uses a bolt gun rather than a scythe - but death nonetheless. You can't escape him and despite what all the characters think you can't outsmart him or kill him. But, intersetingly, right there at the end, we see he can be wounded. Go figure.

Of course, you can just see him as a human bean in which case it's a kind of dark joke. He's the ultimate anti-hero. Think about all the characters he chews through: the lone cowboy, the grizzled old sheriff, the innocent young girl, as well as all the others. He lines up the archetypes (and peoples expectations) then casually swats them aside. If you root for Chighgigighgur the book's quite enjoyable.

In reply to anonymouse:

interesting, chirurururughhh as any allegory for death was something i hadnt considered,

makes more sense in a way than him being a literal supervillain,

cheers

gregor

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

But this is the way McCarthy writes. Read "The Road",it is not about two people pushing a shopping trolly through a desert.

In reply to Removed User:

I've read it. It is.

In reply to birdie num num: Found the film great but really disappointed with the last 20 mins, it lost its way. Bardem was fantastic though.

Heard the book is great, so I'll have to try and get a copy.

In reply to birdie num num:

It's all plagiarised from the 1973 film "Charley Varrick" with just a couple of minor changes

In reply to Blue Straggler:
Thought it wouldn't be long........

I read loads of Cormac Mcarthy a few years back, on the recommendation of my then 70-year-old mum. WTF she made of all the blood etc I have no idea. But she was pretty sharp and said: "You will enjoy this, but I'm not sure whether this guy is clever or just a fraud."

In reply to Richard Baynes:

What did she mean by "fraud"?

In reply to birdie num num:

Frankly every post I've seen you make has increased my respect for your wisdom and I shall be ordering my copy from Amazon directly!

In reply to AlisonSmiles:
Sensible girl. It's a pity more UCKers are not like you, Num Num constantly beavers away at educating folk nonetheless.

In reply to birdie num num: besides which, it was available for £2.75 including postage and packing!

In reply to AlisonSmiles:
Num Num is very confident that you will enjoy it. If you don't, I will raid Mrs. Num Num's purse and refund your £2.75.

In reply to birdie num num:

What if one doesn't like brutal, spare and compelling psychopath stories?

In reply to Removed User:

A potboiler writer who was getting taken seriously, I think. I could see what she meant sometimes in all that terse drama.

In reply to Bulls Crack:
In that case, I can recommend 'The Darling Buds of May' H.E. Bates

In reply to Richard Baynes:

I could see how some might think like that but I don't see it. The border trilogy is an exceptional piece of work, both collectively and in the individual books.

In reply to birdie num num:

Enjoyed the film and the book. I'd have to put Chigurh down as one of the great movie bad-guys. The scene in the gas station is amazing.

In reply to birdie num num:

Now you're talking - just about my favourite novelist!

In reply to Removed User: Yep I think overall he's pretty interesting and produces good tales, Border Trilogy (don't think I read the third though) especially. But there is a slight danger of toppling over into the overdone. Bit like Hemingway, I suppose.

I loved the Border Trilogy as a teenager, especially number 2 which haunted me for years. I enjoyed the film of NCFOM, but fwiw I thought There Will Be Blood, released at the same time, was a much better and more interesting film.

In reply to Removed User:

Agreed

In reply to birdie num num: It's arrived. Is it acceptable to let my mates down as an indoor climbing partner tonight so I can start reading ...?

In reply to AlisonSmiles:
You may start yes. But don't get into trouble with your mates. And remember to let Num Num know if you do/don't enjoy it.