Home entertainment for couch potatoes

No country for old men
Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Broslin and Woody Harrelson

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, No Country For Old Men is about a bad guy (Bardem), a good guy (Jones) and a guy in between (Broslin).

One of the best movies of 2007, this Coen brothers venture won four Oscars, including Best Supporting Actor for Bardem.

Hunting deer in the Texan desert, Llewellyn Moss (Broslin) comes across a drug deal gone wrong. Several bodies are strewn beside abandoned vehicles, one of which is stacked with bags of drugs. He also finds $2 million, which Moss takes with him, not knowing the disastrous consequences this will trigger. Moss realises that people will try to trace him and plans evasive tactics, but the man giving chase is the enigmatic Anton Chigurh, one of the most heartless characters you will see on screen whose weapon of choice is a cattle stun-gun. A man of principle, he is true to his word. If he says he will kill someone, he will do so. He also believes in fate, tossing coins to check if a person deserves to live or die.

As Moss goes on the run, Chigurh is just a step behind. Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones) stumbles on the scene when the two main characters have made their exit. Indeed, for most of the movie, the three don't cross paths though they are pursuing each other.

The settings, the visuals and the dialogues (most of them verbatim from the novel) are great.

Rating: R

Cloverfield
Cast: Michael Stahl-David and Jessica Lucas
Five friends in Manhattan are throwing a farewell party for their friend Rob (David). Hud (T.J. Miller) wants to document the event, so we see a lot of shaky home-video shots.

The festivities are cut short by a bang. Lights flicker, the building quivers and everyone heads for the roof to see what's going on. Then as we see the head of the Statue of Liberty rolling down the street we realise that something mysterious is afoot. Heavy clouds of smoke and dust and skyscrapers collapsing in the distance are evocative of 9/11. But what's happening here is much more serious. Manhattan is under attack by a Godzilla-type monster, aka Clover.

Our friends along with the hordes try to make a run for the nearest exit from the island when Rob gets a message from Beth (Yustman) who is stuck under rubble at her house.
The group decides to go back, despite being told by security that if the monster is not downed shortly, the island will be bombed and completely destroyed. They manage to save Beth but have to outwit Clover and other monsters.

They manage to reach the base but can they escape before the city is destroyed?

This is a scary movie with interesting special effects.

Rating: PG 13