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Sun, 05/18/2008 10:48 AM | Entertainment

No Country for Old Men (Drama, 122 minutes. Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Javier Bardem, Kelly Macdonald. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Cohen, from the novel by Cormac McCarthy. In English with Indonesian subtitles. Playing at 21 Cineplex and Blitz Megaplex)

Ostensibly a sort of serial killer western, this film explores a favorite Cohen brothers theme: the intersection of violence and ordinary people. Likable loser Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) stumbles across the site of a drug deal gone bad. He takes a stash of US$2 million, figuring the money is untraceable. Alas, Llewelyn's naivete will cost him, with the criminal boss behind the deal sending ice-cold killer Anton Chigurh (Bardem) to find him. Outwitting Chigurh, who murders indiscriminately and with almost superhuman cunning, is something like trying to cheat death itself. Meanwhile, the aging Sheriff Bell (Jones) feels helpless in the face of the mayhem unleashed. Rather than using stylized visuals as you might expect, the filmmakers revel in idiosyncratic language and locations, evoking a rich atmosphere of Texas in 1980. This plays like an effective thriller, a cat and mouse game, but it's also a morality play of Shakespearean dimensions. **** (out of *****)

Speed Racer (Children/Action, 135 minutes. Emile Hirsch, Scott Porter, Matthew Fox, John Goodman, Kick Gurry, Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman. Written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski. In English with Indonesian subtitles. Playing at 21 Cineplex and Blitz Megaplex)

This is the story of the car-crazy Racer family, centering around middle brother Speed (Hirsch). After their eldest son is killed in a crash, Mom and Pops (Goodman and Sarandon) are reluctant for Speed to get involved in professional racing. But racing is in his blood and there's no holding this kid back. Speed's driving is "art", says his mother; a thing of beauty. Like The Matrix, the Warchowskis' breakthrough success, Speed Racer relies heavily on CGI and demonstrates genuine innovation in this field. But it's hard to say exactly what age group this is pitched at. The storyline is too corny for adults to enjoy but there's a lot of prattle about the politics of racing, surely a yawn for kids, and some violent moments are unsuitable for very young children. Occasional fight scenes, comical kung fu-style tussles, are fun but the races, of which there are plenty, are a tad monotonous. ** (out of *****)

-- Briony Kidd

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