Saw the film over the long weekend. I liked it a lot. It was good Coen brothers stuff. I don't really want to say a lot about it because I'd rather let anybody who has not seen it form their own opinions. I will tell you this sort of funny story. At the end of the film an angry mob formed in the corridor outside the theatre. People were grumbling as they walked out at the end of the film and they obviously heard all the grumbling going on around them. A large impromptu discussion group formed as these people began to question other people leaving the theatre. I was questioned as well but quickly dismissed when I said I enjoyed the film. Still, curious monkey that I am, I leaned against a wall to listen and watch what was happening. There was heated debate about how the whole thing had been a rip off, people whining they had just wasted 2 hours of their life, and the key cry that seemed to make this mob coalesce...they wanted their money back. It seemed it was a sold out show, at least the theatre had been crowded enough to make it seem so, and now it was looking as if somewhere between half to two thirds of the audience was gathering in the hallway to take action against what they seemed to agree was a major injustice...they had paid to see a movie they did not like! I quickly came to the conclusion that these people were probably not Coen brothers fans because if they were they might have expected a little of the unexpected. One woman said "We should go tell the manager to give us our money back." and then a guy piped up "I'm going to demand my money back!"

This nonsense spread quickly and soon most of this crew were claiming they deserved their money back. Now I have seen people walk out of films, complain about films, and all sorts of other odd stuff at movie theatres but this was the first time I had seen a mob of this size (more than 50 people) working itself up to "get the manager and their cash back."

Hey, I like an angry mob as much as the next guy but these clowns, to me anyway, seemed way over the top. So, I decided to confront them...well, not all of them, I had gone to the movie alone that night (so what if they seemed to be mostly soccer moms, middle aged suburban accountant types and retirees...they were angry and a mob and for all I knew they may have stomped some people at the local mega-mart during Black Friday to get a good deal on a new laptop) and they could have at the very least trampled me on the way to the cinema managers office. So, though I wanted to shout it loud enough for all of them to hear I instead said in a calm, cool, and collected voice to the dozen or so of them closest to me "You paid to see a film, watched the film, and now you are going to ask the cinema for your money back because you didn't like it? I don't think the terms of your ticket were that you only have to pay if you like the film. If that was the case they would just ask for donations on your way out."

Two of the soccer mom type women glared at me in a way that seemed to say "My husband is not Steven Seagal so he won't kick your ass but he is an IT professional and he can give your PC a nasty virus."

I glared back with my best "Hey, fuck you! What did you get lost on your way to the stupid bee movie?" look but I think they confused it for a "Hey, I really need a 10 dollar latte, stat!" look and so they ignored me and followed the rest of the mob to the lobby in search of the manager.

In the main lobby area the mob seemed to get sort of confused and they split into two groups. One headed for the ticket counters to demand their money back and the other headed for the concession stands...I don't know maybe they wanted to be paid in overpriced boxes of popcorn and chocolate raisins. I was not curious enough to stick around to see how this all turned out and I was thinking there may be more bloodshed in the lobby than there was in the movie because the "money back mob" was cutting in line obviously thinking their demands took priority over the poor schmucks who had yet to get a ticket for a night at the movies.

As I walked out of the theatre I could hear some of the "money back mob" yelling at the people in line trying to get tickets not to waste their money on No Country for Old Men and I wondered if this was the reaction the Coen brothers had been going for all along.