Escape to the Movies: The Road

[Herr Wozzeck]

What's with all the beeping lately?

This.

FOR
FUCK
SAKE!

You hit it home when you say it as is! Now you went and played FCC and the whole thing is bogus. Why not cut out the references and make a 2 seconds video... It was Good or Bad The End

I think it's happening all across the board in the Escapist. Have any of you seen the new There Will Be Brawl episode? There was an F-word that was bleeped in that too. So I think things are changing slightly around here...

And for other things, well, I kind of am drawn to the apocalypse genre, if only because I have a strange preoccupation with death and the end of days, so I might see this anyway if only to avoid Fantastic Mr. Fox and Ninja Assassin. Plus, I can't say no to anything overly gritty.

 

[Sylocat]

I haven't seen it, but I'm looking forward to it. Sorry Bob I'm a fan of your reviews. I just think this is a "I don't know what I want" review. I've seen the trailers and the making of. I know exactly what I'm getting going in. It seems to me you went in expecting 2012: Schindler's List. It has Robert fucking Duvall in it. Youve been reviewing movies for this long and you didn't see this coming? A slow plodding character study in a realistic post-apocalypse?

I don't think whether he "saw it coming" is really the issue here, the issue is whether or not it's GOOD, and saying "What did you expect?" is not really a valid defense if the movie isn't good.

And no, I wouldn't take Moviebob's "art card" away. I agree 100% with the message in that clip from Adaptation, and I can't be the only one who's tired of the "Great Art?" critics who hate everything that doesn't feature ten-minute static shots of a guy herding sheep (looking at you, Salon.com).

It's like the idiots praising Gears of War for having "the most realistic graphics of any game to date." In the first place, the graphics AREN'T realistic (turn off the fucking console, step outside, and you might see that there are other colors besides brown and gray in the world), and in the second place, even if they were, they don't look GOOD. Sure, they look DETAILED, with all the texture mapping and high-poly rates and shit, but they are simply not interesting to look at.

 

[MovieBob]

[so I might see this anyway if only to avoid Fantastic Mr. Fox and Ninja Assassin.

For what it's worth, NOBODY should skip "Fantastic Mr. Fox" if they can help it. Ignore the trailers - it's a magnificient, trippy little wonder - imagine Wallace & Gromit meets Ocean's 11 - the deliberately low-tech animation is hypnotic and in it's own way its every bit as excellent as "Where the Wild Things Are." I'm thinking it might be Wes Anderson's best movie other than "Rushmore."

 

[nathan-dts]

Fuck you censorship.

 

[Piecewise]

When are people going to get that books like this don't work as movies? At least full length ones? I mean alot of the really neat shit you can do in a book doesn't work worth a fucking damn in the visual world. It's like say, trying to make a movie out of house of leaves, you just can't fucking do it and still capture the feeling of the source material. I will give them credit that they did try damn hard, it's a beautiful and very atmospheric film, but they can only do so much.

 

[CanadianWolverine]

Damn, I love post-apocalypse cinema and thought this looked decent from the trailer. Vigo's casting should have tipped me off (seriously, has he done anything good since "Lord of the Rings?"). Didn't know it was based off a book, so I might go check that out at least.

Er, you didn't enjoy A History of Violence or Eastern Promises? I know I did enough to say they are DVDs to own. *shrug*

Edit: Hehe, I scroll down a few posts and find you were already suggested these.

 

[TWEWER]

I see that somebody is a big Read or Die fan.

 

[coldfrog]

Two Read or Die references in the same video? Lets not get careless with our obscurity, lest it become... unobscure? Maybe just scure?

My take on the film:

"Hey look, two extremely talented and well-known film-makers made an amazing film out of one of this guy's books! Lets dig through and find another! Then we will BECOME talented and well-known!"

I'm sure it was not quite so hackneyed and blatant as that, but it sure feels that way.

 

[joopboy]

one says it all word... muffins

 

[TheBluesader]

Sorry if this has been said. I don't have time to read back over 4 pages, but I really want to shoot my mouth off.

Why did the Mad Max series have evil Fetish Bikers and why did Fallout 3 have supermutants and the Enclave? Because, like Bob said, you get the "this is the Post-Apocalypse and everything, including the people, are trashed" point visually after about 30 seconds. You then have to do something with it, because the point has been made. 2 hours dedicated solely to that point? Why? WE GOT IT.

There seems to be this big thing in Hollywood now about being utterly faithful to source material. They spent YEARS adapting books into movies by throwing away all but the original premises and adding tons of sex and explosions. But now all of a sudden everything has to be perfectly accurate? Guys, there was a reason your forebears did what they did: books aren't movies.

I can't believe they need the wheel invented again. You'd think they could buy some quality art of film consultation with all that money we throw at them.

 

[Captain Kail]

I've been wondering about this movie. I did my best to read the book but it's a whole lot of nothing, despite my best efforts to appreciate it for what it was.

 

[felicia_angel]

You mean like the evil sin that is "All the Pretty Horses" movie? *shudder* I think because "No Country for Old Men" did so well is why a lot of people think "The Road" and others will do as well. In truth, it's mainly the casting...

...plus Cormac doesn't exactly do story other then a sudden instance of things, but I have yet to read that book of his so...yeah...

 

[Sylocat]

I have a problem with the fact that he literally states that it bored him and therefore was crap. Btw I also thought Adaption was boring and Nick cage is pure rubbish, but hey I'll state my bias I can't stand Nickolas Cage. I think if he's gonna review films he owes us the same.

I understand that he didn't enjoy it because it was too simplistic? Visual? but as a self-proclaimed intellectual critic I think he needs to have a rubberstamp on his reviews that says "I bore easily". Not every film needs something exploding and someone getting shot every 5min to be enjoyable. The trailer in no way indicates anything is going to happen other than a quick chase scene. I just don't think anyone should take his reviews as the end all be all answer to " Should I see this movie?"

Personally, I hate Nicolas Cage too, and I still loved Adaptation, but that's just me.

Anyway, Bob actually SAYS, explicitly, at one point in this review that not every film needs something exploding and someone getting shot every five minutes. The problem is, a film does need SOMETHING to happen in it. It doesn't have to be two-fisted action, but there has to be conflict, otherwise it IS boring. Your thoughts on whether being bored is FUN, of course, may vary.

 

[mageyolook]

why the fuck are you censored now?!? it sucks!

 

[I am Jack's profile]

Dear movie bob

I love all your reveiws. When ever You recomend a movie i check it out(like equilibrium and drag me to hell). And I owe you my eternal gratitude for putting my hatride for The Transformers movies into words.

I think its freaky how every movie you like i like and every movie you like I like and every movie you don't, i don't.

Then you Hinted in this video That your a tool fan and my head just exploded

... Anyways.

I have not even heard of this movie until now but it looks like the kind of thing that would start off great and just start to die slowly from sheer bordom and uneventfullness

 

[tkioz]

I agree with this video. If I wanted to do nothing for two hours except watch boring uninteresting people I'd go visit my family.

 

[MovieBob]

Then you Hinted in this video That your a tool fan and my head just exploded

Y'know, it's funny - I was always under the impression that "Tool" was one of those bands that really ONLY had fans; as in... "if you know who they are at all, you probably don't hate them." Now, granted, I know next to nothing about the music-fandom scene; I've just never met anyone who knew who Tool were who didn't like what they knew of.

 

[UtopiaV1]

Still hate the bleeping over swearwords, Bob. Fix it.

 

[Vinticore]

W00t Ingmar Bergman, go sweden