The Road by Carmac McCarthy - and yes it has been a while

Where in I talk about both the book and the movie...So here I am, it's around midnight, my youngest son is in the hospital 500 miles away gettng treated for dehydration (we will consider it luck if that is all it is) and I'm going to discuss one of the most depressing stories I've ever heard/seen.

THE ROAD

I listened to this book about a year ago, having been sucked into the post-apocalyptic genre thanks to Fallout 3, and it reminded me of all the dry boring books I was supposed to read in high school english. Funny how that works out. I listen to these books now and can appreciate the style of writing and the actual story. Now I don't know jack about literary style and all that, but I know what I like. And I like this book in all its depressing glory.

The story goes like this: After a apocalyptic disaster, mankind struggles to survive. Only this story doesn't focus on every single person involved, impossible escapes, breathtaking explosions, etc, etc. It focuses on The Man and The Boy and what happens as they make their way south to survive on the onset of winter. It's brutal.

This a movie I didn't really want to watch with my wife, so I waited until she went out of town. Oh, she would be all for it, but after watching Donnie Darko with her, my love for that movie and my desire to discuss it was dashed to pieces when she found it so depressing and never spoke of it again. This story would require medication and she'd still have nightmares for weeks.

Which is understandable. I know it may come off as self-import? but you will only get the full brunt of this movie if you have kids. Had I watched this childless, I know I would not be as moved as I was. Hearing and seeing the desperation and fear of the Man who's only mission, it seemed, was to get his son to safety and protect him from those who would do him harm.

You know what's messed up? While most people worry about paying the bills, worrying about there kids, etc, etc, I'm worrying/planning for the zombie apocalypse or a cataclysmic event. Seriously. I'm constantly running scenarions in my head regarding a home invasion in the middle of the night; do I hide out in the bathroom and jump them?, do I run to my kids bedroom and hold them off there?, do I finally get a shotgun and prone from the top of the stairs taking their knee caps out? That's what's running through my mind at night or driving to and from work.

That said, holding a gun to your sons head in the event that you will kill him rather than let him fall in the hand of cannibals? No father or mother should have to think of such things. The choices the Man makes for the sake of the Boy can be seen from both sides: as a father I can emphasize with distrusting everyone, especially in the position he finds himself. As someone who trys to be the good guy, I can side with the boy; looking and seeing when to help people in need.

There's a part in the book where a man has stolen everything from the Man and Boy. Once the Man finds out they get on the guys trail. When they finally catch up to him, the Man is so angry and scared, he makes the man relinquish all that he has stolen and strip naked. The thief at first puts up a front but soon crumbles and begs mercy, citing that the Man would do the same in his position (all starving/in need). He mentions that he just wanted the stuff, that he didn't hurt the Boy. The Boy is begging his dad to "Look at him! He's scared! Don't do this papa", but the Man is set on depriving this man of everything.

You see examples of the Boy, who knows nothing of life before the cataclysm (having been born just after), being the conscious of the Man, when his methods seem to strain the principles of right and wrong he's taught his son. In the end, the fear drives the Man to do whatever he thinks is right to protect his sone, the Boy brings him back when he's gone too far.

This is a depressing book and the movie is a faithful adaption; visually stark, bleak, and gray. Did I mention I find enjoyment in movies with depressing endings? I like to think that no matter what happens in my life, it can't possibly be worse than an airplane engine falling from a wormhole into my house and onto me. Or the hardships that befall the Man and Boy. I've seen the bad the world has to offer and am content with what I have to deal with.

Ok, now I'm rambling. I'm waiting for an update from my wife but I'm tired and going to bed. I was going to wait until Conan was back on the air to start up the blog again, but I caved.

In the end, The Road is ridiculously depressing. But it was enjoyable for me to read and think about. To put myself in those positions and make those choices added another dimension to the whole story. Whould I help some dude I just met? Whould I make sure that my children or wife did not fall into the hands of those who meant harm? Those kind of decisions I hope to never have to make. Yet this story asks those questions and demands an answer.

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REVIEW: The Incredible Hulk

Boy, my blog sure has gone downhill.  Just full of crappy movie reviews.  I promise more inciteful critique and insight later on, but for now a good ol' fashioned review.

I liked the first Hulk by Ang Lee.  I didn't love it but I thought it was well done.  I liked the actors and the story for the most part but the ending was a little bit of a let down.  All in all I was satisfied.  The Incredible Hulk is not really a sequel.  It's a reboot of the commercial disapointment that was Ang Lee's Hulk.  They don't explicitly contradict each other but there are subtle hints that the first Hulk "never happened".

I really liked this movie.  Everything was well done, they delivered a lot of characters straight from the comic book in awesome ways.  The actors are perfect.  Ed Norton is great as Bruce Banner, Liv Taylor, in addition to being easy to look at, can actually act (take that Jesicca Alba, stick to modeling or non-speaking roles.  You suck at acting).  There is a clear cut bad guy and the epic rumble at the end is pure fun.  It's a fast paced movie and although it doesn't require a whole lot of thinking, it maintains some fresh and smart ideas.  Plus, in addition to Iron Man, it begins to setup the Avengers Movie, slated for 2010, I think.  I really like how Marvel is loosely tying all their movies together.  It's a nice touch.

The final verdict: worth owning, to me anyway, but definately worth a buck at RedBox.  It's a fun movie and the effects are awseome.

4 outta 5 stars.

Late

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REVIEW: The Happening

I know a lot of you have seen this movie, and probably hated it for, well, a lot of reasons.  Some of you hate M. Night's work, some of you think his twists suck, others just don't like the acting while others hate the way he ends his movies.

This is where I stand:

I like M. Night's movies. The only one I haven't seen is The Lady in the Water, but every movie ,I viewed I enjoyed.  They aren't perfect, but I like M.'s style, his characterizations, that even though there's this big event (like in signs or the happening) the main story is about the people.  If you look at his past movies, the "ending" is really the hero overcoming his personal demons and finally accomplishing something.  Then comes the M. Night twist and done.  My favorite movie of his is Unbreakable.  This is where i stand.

This movie was pretty good.  I will say right now, no one will like the way it ends... unless it is setting up for a sequel but even then, it's like M., painted himself into a corner with this awesome story and just didn't know how to end it.  Also Mark Wahlberg's acting was a little wooden.  I don't know if that was his character or what.  It wasn't super-bad, but then again I don't mind Hayden Christensn or Keanu Reeves work either... so I may not be the best to trust on the subject.  The other issue people may have is the villain.  I almost have a problem with it, and i think this movie would have been more engrossing had it been released soon after the terrorist attacks.  But still, I'm sure, in fact I know personally two or three, people who will hate this movie based on the villian.  Other than those 3 issues (which to tell you the truth, didn't even bother me that much)  I really enjoyed this movie.  It clocks in a around 90 Minutes and there's no build up.  Crap goes down immediately.  That was beautiful.  Usually we have to wait forever for some sort of progression.  This movie throws you right into it.  This movie has a lot of creepy moments.  And while I understand why it's rated R it's so soft it's ridiculous.  There are no F-bombs, very little swearing (maybe like 4 or 5 bad words, seriously), no sex, no inuendo, not scantily clad girls, it's the cleanest R or even PG-13 I have ever seen.  Mainly it's because of the way some of the people meet their ends.  It's not even that graphic.  I would tell you exactly why I think this movie is rated R, but that would spoil something from the movie, that happens pretty unexpectantly.  The movie runs at a perfectly fast pass.  All in all, I can recomend this flick, unless you disagree with everything I prefaced, then you may want to aviod it.  It's definately worth a buck through RedBox.

3.5 outta 5 Stars, docked for the ending (seriously M, what happened?)

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Speed Racer - REVIEW

Let me preface this review with, I don't know squat abut speed racer.  Or at least, I didn't till i saw this movie.  I knew it was about car racing, I knew the main character was called Speed, in fact, I was surprised how familiar all the names were in this movie.  But i have never sat down and watched an episode of the cartoon.  That said, I had no strong opinions about this flick one way or the other, other than this movie was made by the same guys who did the Matrix Trilogy.  In my book that's a plus, but what was even more surprising is that this movie is rated PG.  That's right, I'm sure it took a lot of money to make this and it's a PG, family movie.  Incredible, huh?

As far as what went into the rating, it was pretty much swearing (tha A word about 10 times, the S word once or twice, and a middle finger thrown (which was hilarious) and cars blowing up and some kung-fu action.  All pretty mild stuff.

The story is pretty well done.  They definately put an emphasis on "Family First" but not in such a way that is makes you throw up.  It's plausable and likeable.  It's pretty easy to follow and enjoyable.  This movie is awesome for kids and adults alike.

But I'm really, really throwing out what really caught my attention; visually, this movie is stunning.  It's off the wall at times, but that adds immensly to the atmosphere. The way the cars jump and flip reminds me of the times I would play with my Hotwheels and do the exact same things.  No wonder Alex Jr. loves this movie.  It's fun just to watch the races and all the battle the cars wage.

I can definately recommend this movie.  It's a well made movie and deserves more  viewers than it got in the theatres... but with Iron Man, Incredible Hulk, and then the Dark Knight... I can understand.  

4 out of 5 Stars.  Awesome.

Late 

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REVIEW: The Dark Knight

I really enjoyed Batman Begins the first time I saw it. I thoroghly loved it the second time through. And I enjoyed it even more the third time. How is that even possible? It is though. I noticed subtle differences, setups, and nuances everytime through and was in awe at the story telling.

That said, I was both excited and worried for The Dark Knight. Excited because I was really looking forward to another trip to Gotham but at the same time worried that the hype, especially after the death of Heath Ledger, was just setting the bar way too high.

This is my opinion.

EPIC.

I'm going to steer clear of the "for a movie based on a comic" cliche. This is an outstanding movie all on it's own. It continues to expand Gotham City, it delivers an awesome story, unpredictable and plausable twists and turns, is true to the Batman mythos, introduces and fleshes out the Joker and what makes him tick, and probably the best part is the steallar, and I mean STELLAR acting coming from Heath Ledger. The man was the Joker. And I'm not just saying that cause he's dead and you have to respect his work. No, his performance was spot on.

This movie has left me wanting much more and it was 2 1/2 hours long! At the same time I don't know how they are going to top it but I am really looking forward to seeing their effort. It's PG-13 deservedly so, it's pretty grim.

5 stars. EPIC.

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