The Road

[danny_galaga]

"All i know is that the boy is my warrant. If he is not the word of God, then God never spoke"

What a grimly beautiful movie! I really dig the above quote, but don't worry, the movie isn't about some crazy dude looking for God. Instead, Vigo Mortensen stars as 'The Man' (not the Man, if you catch my drift). His son is 'The Boy'. Like Eastwoods character years ago, the names really aren't important. Set in a post-apocalyptic Northern America, it is the tale of father and son heading south. You don't really know what went wrong, but a side effect of it all is that there seems to be no life left and winters are getting colder and colder. Thus the quest to the south. There are marauding gangs of cannibals to contend with, and a continuing struggle to discern good people from bad.

It seems quite dire, but in all tis despair there is a glimmer of hope in this bleak and lifeless world. Vigo is great, and the kid too (Kodi smit-mcphee. had to google it!). They are the two main characters, everyone else is peripheral. Some big names, that i didn't even recognise on the screen, like Charlise Theron and Robert Duvall! I recognised Guy Pearce.

I had a look at the director, John Hillcoat on IMDB. Turns out he's from the same state i live in, in Australia. I've also seen an earlier movie of his 'The Proposition', another rather grim movie worth checking out.

I give The road 4.5/5. Not recommended if you like everything to be 'zippidy doo dah'   

my score for recent movies you may have seen:

  5/5 - Michael Clayton, In Bruges, Gran Torino, Mary and Max

4.5/5 - Taken, Iron Man, Reign Over Me

  4/5 - Traitor, Bedtime Stories, Sunshine, pineapple express

3.5/5 - 300, Max Payne, You dont mess with the Zohan, Yes Man

  3/5 - That new Indiana Jones flick, Disturbia, That new TMNT flick,

2.5/5 - Angels and Demons

  2/5 - The Love Guru. Note: My 2 is probably someone elses 1. Just leaving room for worse!

[Ginsu Victim]

I've really wanted to see it, but it didn't come around here. I'm looking forward to the DVD. Maybe I'll listen to this audiobook of it right here on my desk real quick first.

[protokatie]

I am about 10 minutes into it ATM, looks pretty good so far. if there is anything to say about it after the fact I may chime in...

I do find it odd some people lived but absolutely NO animals and NO plants did. I will prolly focus on this aspect when I am done watching it.

[Samstag]

Lack of sunlight kills most of the plants.  Lack of food and hungry humans kill off the animals and whatever's left of the plants.  The insects would go into a dormant state while the temperature was too low to function.  The few humans left in the world survived because they're the top of the dwindling food chain.

It's a pretty likely scenario in the case of a large enough nuclear war, meteor impact, or volcano eruption.

[protokatie]

Well I won't comment on this film too much to avoid spoilers (including anything about "all" plant and animal extinction.) What I will say is that it was a very good movie, and a treat to watch as a good dark story.

[DaOld Man]

I am about 10 minutes into it ATM, looks pretty good so far. if there is anything to say about it after the fact I may chime in...

I do find it odd some people lived but absolutely NO animals and NO plants did. I will prolly focus on this aspect when I am done watching it.

Does ATM mean At The Movie?
If so, please dont tell me you use your cell phone during the movie.

[Justin Z]

no.  at the moment

[protokatie]

I am about 10 minutes into it ATM, looks pretty good so far. if there is anything to say about it after the fact I may chime in...

I do find it odd some people lived but absolutely NO animals and NO plants did. I will prolly focus on this aspect when I am done watching it.

Does ATM mean At The Movie?
If so, please dont tell me you use your cell phone during the movie.

No, I hate movie theatres, they are crowded, noisy and smelly. Not to mention WAY to expensive. I am the type that leaves my cellphone home unless I am travelling. I hate the damn things. On that note, I would like to see a push to make cellphone blockers legal for certain places, such as where I work. The rudeness of someone chatting away while I am trying to ring them in has no bounds.

[danny_galaga]

I am about 10 minutes into it ATM, looks pretty good so far. if there is anything to say about it after the fact I may chime in...

I do find it odd some people lived but absolutely NO animals and NO plants did. I will prolly focus on this aspect when I am done watching it.

Does ATM mean At The Movie?
If so, please dont tell me you use your cell phone during the movie.

No, I hate movie theatres, they are crowded, noisy and smelly. Not to mention WAY to expensive. I am the type that leaves my cellphone home unless I am travelling. I hate the damn things. On that note, I would like to see a push to make cellphone blockers legal for certain places, such as where I work. The rudeness of someone chatting away while I am trying to ring them in has no bounds.

jammers in movie theatres FTW!

[RayB]

No, I hate movie theatres, they are crowded, noisy and smelly. Not to mention WAY to expensive.

*YIKES*
Where do you live, some old rural backwater?

[protokatie]

No, I hate movie theatres, they are crowded, noisy and smelly. Not to mention WAY to expensive.

*YIKES*
Where do you live, some old rural backwater?

No, even worse, A tourist town... on an island. Real pretty, and the two theatres here are actually cool (one is original art deco and the other is set up with couches and recliners) But those two are tourist priced. When I do go to the "big city" the theatres they have are these annoying "mega plexes" and I hate those. I prefer to watch movies at home.

[RayB]

And why would you hate modern mega plexes? I know in the mid 90's and earlier they sucked, since seating was usually tight, not angled enough to keep people's heads out of the way, etc, but these days, they are all built with steep angled seating, enough space to actually walk by someone without stepping on their shins, and... well in my experience, clean too.