No Country For Old Men

Watching No Country For Old Men, I was reminded of an old Spitting Image sketch in an auction where the famous photo of "tennis playing woman scratching her arse" is up for sale. There's a whole load of mumbling, and little interest until the auctioneer announces "it was painted by Van Gogh" at which point everyone goes mad, offering millions of pounds.

I like a lot of the Coen Brothers films, but I tend to run hot and cold, and frequently against the direction of critics. I didn't get the appeal of Barton Fink or The Big Lebowski, but I think Fargo is a masterpiece and that Intolerable Cruelty is that rare thing - an intelligent romantic comedy.

But if this didn't have the Coen Brothers name on it, no-one would be interested. It would be sat in the bargain basement basket at Blockbusters along with various Chuck Norris and Steven Seagal movies as yet another crime/revenge flick. How this beat There Will Be Blood to win Best Film, I don't know.