The Road..

[Bodie_Broadus]

Isn't Michael Kenneth Williams in this film?

 

[zimbabwe]

Isn't Michael Kenneth Williams in this film?

Yes. Omar makes a memorable appearance.

 

[HejiraHenry]

A fair example of a book that projected such a strong image on the inside of my head, I have no desire to see the movie version.

Netflix'd, maybe. Some Sunday night on HBO in late 2010, more likely.

 

[Magic In The Night]

Thought the book was much better than the movie. Duvall was incredible; he'll definitely be nominated for supporting. Wasn't thrilled with Viggo's performance but the kid was amazing. What a career he has ahead of him. The scenery was impressive, too.

Will he be great in the remake of "The Client"?

Definitely. And just about the time he's ready for that role, we'll be needing that remake!

 

[BRoth]

Sirs, Madames,

Agree with previous poster. Good not great. Amazing that the scenery was not computer enhanced. Mt St Helens forest. Abandoned Pa highway. Neat film-making. I dunno. I read reviews of the Boy's performance, said that he was great. Only okay in my books. Duvall was great. Viggo ... okay, maybe slightly better. Not transcendent.

o-<

If I remember correctly, part of what took the film so long to be released was because they went back through to digitally enhance the background with more gray and dark tones.

I just re-read the book in anticipation of the movie, but I have no idea when it's coming to me. Was only in 111 theaters last weekend, but still averaged over $13,000 each.

 

[JRoyal]

I can't decide if I want to see this one or not. There's no way it lives up to the book, and I don't want to find myself thinking of all its shortcomings after I see it. Still, if they pull it off even to 70 percent of the book, it will be an awesome movie. I'll probably wait for it on DVD.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

I read a line about The Road (the book) being pulp fiction dressed up as literature. That might actually be fair and have some application to the movie. My daughter's line (she read the book and saw the movie) is that both are "just dystopian stories ... expected something more." It's fresh-squeezed in seeming plausibility (and The Omega Man is made from concentrate).

BTW I was a childhood fan of The Omega Man and I knew that it borrowed from an earlier movie. I finally saw the original film the other day on our local, late-late-nite show for camp buffs and cineophiles: The Last Man on Earth, starring an under-stated (if you can imagine) Vincent Price. Remarkably, the latter version used most of dialogue (such that is, largely a guy thinking out loud or narrating) word for word. Just with a bigger budget and vampire-lite. The original story was by Richard Matheson who must rank higher in the canon of television writing than CMcC does in the American belles lettres. Matheson typed out a load of the best Twilight Zone teleplays. (Three cracks at it, I Am Legend being the latest, and I'm sure Matheson would be happy with any of them ... he wrote the screenplay for Vinnie's original but, because of rewrites, took his name off the credits.)

o-<

 

[maberger]

If only the right director would make "Blood Meridian".

Cronenberg?
Fincher?
Eastwood?

PLEASE not eastwood!

 

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

Fincher would be my first choice. Paul Thomas Anderson, maybe.

o-<

 

[zimbabwe]

If only the right director would make "Blood Meridian".

Cronenberg?
Fincher?
Eastwood?

PLEASE not eastwood!

Meh, just spitballing. Added Eastwood because the right director would be steeped in a Western sensibility.

 

[Buck]

Sirs, Madames,

I read a line about The Road (the book) being pulp fiction dressed up as literature. That might actually be fair and have some application to the movie. My daughter's line (she read the book and saw the movie) is that both are "just dystopian stories ... expected something more." It's fresh-squeezed in seeming plausibility (and The Omega Man is made from concentrate).

It is in that post-apocalyptic tradition that is a staple of the sci-fi/pulp genre.
However, I would say it transcends the genre - the book and the movie.
The boy's moment when he tells the man that what he is dealing with is more grave than what the man is dealing with - that's heavy.

 

[bigpern23]

Haven't seen the movie, but just finished the book. It was awful.

McCarthy should try mixing in a verb or two. It would have been nice if something happened at some point in the story, too.

He picked up the book. Bone colored pages. The smell of wood pulp. Boredom. Boredom.

 

[BRoth]

Haven't seen the movie, but just finished the book. It was awful.

McCarthy should try mixing in a verb or two. It would have been nice if something happened at some point in the story, too.

He picked up the book. Bone colored pages. The smell of wood pulp. Boredom. Boredom.

Sounds like you should wait for the Michael Bay "reimagining" of the movie.

 

[Ace]

Haven't seen the movie, but just finished the book. It was awful.

McCarthy should try mixing in a verb or two. It would have been nice if something happened at some point in the story, too.

He picked up the book. Bone colored pages. The smell of wood pulp. Boredom. Boredom.

Sounds like you should wait for the Michael Bay "reimagining" of the movie.

That would be awesome. Lots of explosions!

 

[bigpern23]

Hey, if you enjoy passive writing, more power to you. The story was terrible. It was a collection of descriptions of a barren landscape with some poorly written dialogue interspersed. The characters were as shallowly written as anything you've seen in a Michael Bay movie, too.

Not using proper punctuation and writing 90 percent of your sentences without verbs doesn't make it great literature. It makes it ****ing stupid.

I'm really curious specifically what you all enjoyed about this story. What happened? What did we really learn about the characters? What was the point of this story?

 

[WaylonJennings]

I had trouble reading "The Road," too, and I was an English major who considers myself fairly well-cultured. I loved "No Country for Old Men." Reading this one was an absolute chore, and I felt like a ****ing idiot because of it.

 

[zeke12]

Even as someone who thought the book was worthwhile, bigpern's criticism is a valid one.

After reading McCarthy, I am often left thinking that he desperately wants NOT to be labeled Louis L'Amour with an English degree, and ends up vastly overcompensating.

 

[cyclingwriter]

Hey, if you enjoy passive writing, more power to you. The story was terrible. It was a collection of descriptions of a barren landscape with some poorly written dialogue interspersed. The characters were as shallowly written as anything you've seen in a Michael Bay movie, too.

Not using proper punctuation and writing 90 percent of your sentences without verbs doesn't make it great literature. It makes it ****ing stupid.

I'm really curious specifically what you all enjoyed about this story. What happened? What did we really learn about the characters? What was the point of this story?

I had trouble reading "The Road," too, and I was an English major who considers myself fairly well-cultured. I loved "No Country for Old Men." Reading this one was an absolute chore, and I felt like a ****ing idiot because of it.

I'm glad I am not the only one who had the same problem.