The Road

I recently saw The Road. It came out this year (but did not have a very wide release). The screenplay was adapted by Joe Penhall,  and it was directed by John Hillcoat. It is based on a novel by Cormac McCarthy. The film follows a father and son as they travel after the world has been destroyed by great fires. Few have survived. Everyone's two main objectives are staying warm and finding food. The sky is gray. No plants of any kind have survived. Some have resorted to cannibalism.

I really enjoyed this film. Very little was said, and very little was explained. The world in the film is almost completely deserted. Few have survived the fire. Even fewer have survived the aftermath. The cast for the film was small, but each of the performances (no matter how small the cameos) were extremely powerful. The boy was played by Kodi Smit-McPhee. He gave an amazing performance, though I wasn't surprised, because he was also amazing in Romulus, My Father. The cast included Molly Parker, Garret Dillahunt, Guy Pearce, Robert Duvall, Charlize Theron, and Viggo Mortensen. I was probably most surprised by Mortensen's performance. I have seen him give brilliant performances before, but this was probably the most moving. I have never really seen him take on a role of this kind before. I was extremely surprised and very pleased.

I have never read the novel, so I am not sure how true the film is to the story, but I am definitely interested in reading it now. I would recommend this film to anyone. It is definitely a must-see!

Have any of you seen it? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Movie Reviews: Part One

I left school for winter break with a huge list of movie that I wanted to see. It was quite an undertaking, and I am actually kind of surprised by how well I did. Here is a copy of the list (The titles in bold are the ones that I actually ended up seeing):

Marley and Me
Australia
Milk
The Tale of Despereaux
Bolt
Bedtime Stories
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Valkyrie
Seven Pounds
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The Spirit

Okay, so now that I actually look at the list, perhaps I did not do as well as I had hoped, but I still have time. Bedtime Stories was okay. I actually probably would not have had any interest in it at all if not for Russell Brand. I was not disappointed, but my expectations were pretty low. I really enjoyed seeing Guy Pearce in a comedic role. I also really liked Lucy Lawless. She isn't in much these days. It was really nice seeing her as the funny villain.

I saw Bolt right before I left to go home. I LOVED it. It was slightly biased in its portrayal of cats, but anyone that knows me knows that I don't really like cats that much either, so it was all good.

The Tale of Despereaux really surprised me. I really wasn't expecting much. I had never read or heard anything about the book prior to seeing the film. I just thought that it looked cute. I came out of the theatre absolutely loving it. I felt the the story and characters were extremely rich and three-dimensional, especially for a film for children. I also felt that the casting was genius. I only really knew about a few of the actors prior to seeing it. I was really surprised by all of the famous cameos. I really feel that the perfect people were cast for each role.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was also really good. It is based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I think that it would be really interesting to know what was taken from the story and what was added. The story was unique but not all that compelling. There was not a whole lot to it that was not originally given away in the trailer, but it was still enjoyable. I feel really silly saying this, but there were parts where Brad Pitt was so attractive that it almost hurt. Such a large part of the film was spend with him in old age makeup. I almost forgot how young he looks. I also though that he did an amazing job towards the beginning of the film where he had to be a very young boy in an old man's body. I am constantly surprised by what a wonderful actor he it. I really don't think that he gets enough credit.

I also absolutely loved Milk. I did not know much about Harvey Milk prior to seeing the film. I only knew a few general things. The cast was wonderful. They all complemented each other really well. I was really surprised by how much chemistry Sean Penn and James Franco had. I think that they both did an amazing job. The film was also really well-written. It is based on a true story and is a very serious story, but there was also a lot of comedy thrown in. I really enjoyed seeing it.

I didn't get a chance to see any of the other films on my list, but as I said before, I still have time. I did end up renting a lot of movies that I had never seen before. I will talk more about those in part two.

Current Project:
Deadly Little Secret Soundtrack Contest

Currently Reading for Pleasure:
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

Currently Watching:
Skins Season Two

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The Cribs