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I want the 111 minutes back I spent watching the Road.


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Oh!!!! Perfect timing!! It just came in the pile of my library holds after having had it on hold for weeks. I guess I'll just skip it now since it doesn't sound at all like something I'd like to watch. :ack2:

 

:iagree: I have this on my shelf... not sure if I want to read it now... is the book as bad? Worse?

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:iagree: I have this on my shelf... not sure if I want to read it now... is the book as bad? Worse?

 

I HAVEN'T read the book but I just read the wikipedia entry on the book. That had a description of something so horrifying that I am sure it was NOT in the movie. But I was peeking thru my fingers at points so I am not sure if it went by really quickly.

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Did you read the book first? The book is fantastic, but after reading it I knew I would NEVER see the movie. Same thing with Push by Sapphire (AKA the movie Precious). Some images you just don't want to have played out before you. They're bad enough in your imagination as you read.

 

That is usually my theory...read the book first. It is easier to skim horrifying stuff then it doesn't stick in my head.

 

:banghead: Why didn't I follow my own rule?

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Really? I adored the book. It was dark and depressing, but it like a symphony set in a minor chord, doesn't resonate with everyone.

 

The movie moved me to tears. I watched alone and maybe you need to be in a certain head space (maybe not a happy spot) to appreciate it. I saw it as the struggle for humanity in a depraved world. Viggo was stunning as usual, Robert Duvall was excellent.

 

One of the scenes that stuck with me was when he was in his old house and turned over the couch cushion. The old side was dirty and ragged, the new side looked new. He touched the new side and glimpsed what it would be like if it were that easy to turn back the time and restore humanity to the world.

 

Obviously not a movie for everyone and I've opted to wait a few years to let ds watch, even though we are pretty liberal with movies. Certainly not one to walk into not knowing what it's about, I'm sure that would be a shock.

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I saw the Road upon the recommendation of my BIL who said it was fantastic. My initial reaction to the movie was the same as yours, but I found that days, weeks later I was still thinking about it. My dh and I watched it together and later I found myself bringing the movie up quite a bit in our conversations because of all of the parallels that I was able to draw from having seen that movie.

 

The movie indeed is not for the faint of heart, and I would probably never watch it again because it's disturbing, but I don't regret having seen it now because it has caused me to think and ponder things that I wouldn't have if I hadn't seen it.

 

But two okay three things that bugged me about the movie itself (apart from the story it was telling) is why did we have to see Viggo's butt so many times :ack2:? Why in all those years he'd been walking south with his son hadn't he learned to enter a house more quietly? You'd think he'd have learned to be as quiet as an Indian by then considering any encounter could mean death at any moment? And WHY did he leave his son alone so many times when he didn't have to if his whole thing was trying to keep him alive. Other than those things, I thought the movie was supremely acted by all parties and how happy I was to see Robert Duvall in there too. I love him. :)

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Really? I adored the book. It was dark and depressing, but it like a symphony set in a minor chord, doesn't resonate with everyone.

 

The movie moved me to tears. I watched alone and maybe you need to be in a certain head space (maybe not a happy spot) to appreciate it. I saw it as the struggle for humanity in a depraved world. Viggo was stunning as usual, Robert Duvall was excellent.

 

One of the scenes that stuck with me was when he was in his old house and turned over the couch cushion. The old side was dirty and ragged, the new side looked new. He touched the new side and glimpsed what it would be like if it were that easy to turn back the time and restore humanity to the world.

 

Obviously not a movie for everyone and I've opted to wait a few years to let ds watch, even though we are pretty liberal with movies. Certainly not one to walk into not knowing what it's about, I'm sure that would be a shock.

 

 

Viggo!

 

I loved the bk, lukewarm on the movie. I really wanted to like it more, but I found the actor who played the boy frustrating... I now know why (not a Yank, so it was his accent that drove me nuts). He's the only reason I've yet to watch Let Me In. Again, loved the Swedish version (Let the Right One In), so I'm very hesitant to watch the US version.

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I absolutely hated the book. It is the first book in a long time that I haven't been able to finish. I think I made it half way through. I can't stand the style of writing. The best part about the book was that it lead me to read the reviews on Amazon. There are some pretty funny ones there that mock the conversational tone between the father and son. Oh, I didn't care for the movie either.

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I have this book on my "to read" list, but I've been waiting until I am in a really happy place before I even attempt it... Cormac McCarthy is definitely not going to be nicknamed "Mr. Sunshine" any time soon.

 

And when I'm in that happy place, I'll watch House of Sand and Fog again, too. It is very rare for me not to re-watch a movie I loved within a month or so to get a deeper look at it, but it was just so thoroughly tragic that I haven't been able to bring myself to re-watch it even though I thought it was a spectacular movie the first time I watched it.

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Did you read the book first? The book is fantastic, but after reading it I knew I would NEVER see the movie. Same thing with Push by Sapphire (AKA the movie Precious). Some images you just don't want to have played out before you. They're bad enough in your imagination as you read.

 

:iagree: I may watch the movie at some point, but the images in the book were haunting enough. I highly recommend the book, by the way.

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:grouphug: I hate when I feel my life being sucked away by watching a movie that is a waste of time. That is how I felt after watching Revolutionary Road. It received such great aclaim. I was baffled, confused, and wanted my 2 hours back!

 

Ugh, I hated that movie too. DH and I were so angry after watching that. I think we watched Persuasion after that to try to redeem the time. :)

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Ugh, I hated that movie too. DH and I were so angry after watching that. I think we watched Persuasion after that to try to redeem the time. :)

My dh surprised me with a "chick flick". We watched it with his mom. :001_huh: Lets just say, dh hasn't watched many chick flicks since. :)

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My dh surprised me with a "chick flick". We watched it with his mom. :001_huh: Lets just say, dh hasn't watched many chick flicks since. :)

 

hahahahahahaha I'll bet. Just a head's up, if he ever brings home the one about Sylvia Plath with Gwyneth Paltrow, run! :auto:

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The Road

Revolutionary Road

Reservation Road

 

All movies that I wished I hadn't seen. I think I'll not watch any more movies with the word "Road" in the title.

 

Another one to stay away from is "Buried". It is pretty fascinating that someone made a 1.5hr+ movie about a man in a box and kept it interesting enough to not turn it off after 15min. but the ending is so awful, I wish I had turned it off after 15min.

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The Road

Revolutionary Road

Reservation Road

 

All movies that I wished I hadn't seen. I think I'll not watch any more movies with the word "Road" in the title.

:lol::lol::lol:

Another one to stay away from is "Buried". It is pretty fascinating that someone made a 1.5hr+ movie about a man in a box and kept it interesting enough to not turn it off after 15min. but the ending is so awful, I wish I had turned it off after 15min.

 

Yikes. Never saw that one and won't be either. Thanks for the warning.

 

Don't ever watch Holy Smokes with Kate Winslet either. :eek: I actually did turn that one off and never finished it. DH actually took it out of the DVD and returned it to the library then and there. lol

 

Fur with Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey Jr. was way freaky too. I wish I had turned that one off. :eek:

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But two okay three things that bugged me about the movie itself (apart from the story it was telling) is why did we have to see Viggo's butt so many times :ack2:? Why in all those years he'd been walking south with his son hadn't he learned to enter a house more quietly? You'd think he'd have learned to be as quiet as an Indian by then considering any encounter could mean death at any moment? And WHY did he leave his son alone so many times when he didn't have to if his whole thing was trying to keep him alive. Other than those things, I thought the movie was supremely acted by all parties and how happy I was to see Robert Duvall in there too. I love him. :)

 

The leaving the boy bothered me too. The butt thing, well it's Viggo, who's to complain? :tongue_smilie:

 

It's been a while since I've seen the whole movie but the house was part of the humanity I think he was trying to maintain. I think he was in a sense blinded to see that the house was not always the safety zone.

 

Leaving the boy, I wonder if that was his get away and view reality for a moment time. I can't remember the exact incidences but I think it was part of the letting go.

 

I take notes during movies like that and try to fit them into something relevant to life. I can't remember if this is a line from the movie or something I just wrote "Can we still be the good guys in a world in which we have to put a gun into the hand of a ten year old to make him feel safe." There are kids in our world that live lives where they need something like a gun (even metaphorically), something stronger than themselves to feel safe each night. Maybe they are victims of abuse or bullying or a bad neighborhood or absolute poverty. Those are the fringes where humanity get stripped away and it becomes survival of the fittest. I think the movie shows that in such extreme that we think *we* could never be that way. Mankind could never get to that point, right? Or could we?

 

Deep thoughts on a Tuesday night, but the movie (and the book moreso) helped me examine my level of humanity and understanding of those who are already traveling on their own "road".

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I don't have time to read this whole thread, but I loved the movie. My dh and I watched it together. He read the book and the book made him cry several times. We watched the movie one afternoon, and came out of our room crying so hard that we couldn't even tell the kids why we were crying.

 

I know parts of it are hard to watch, but it had such depth and meaning to it. My dh said the book was even more so, but I don't know if I can make it through the book or not. A movie doesn't have to have a great ending for me to love it. If it makes me question and think, and leaves me full of emotion, then it was a good movie.

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The leaving the boy bothered me too. The butt thing, well it's Viggo, who's to complain? :tongue_smilie:

:lol::lol: But it's so white, boney and wrinkly. lol I much prefer his face. ;)

It's been a while since I've seen the whole movie but the house was part of the humanity I think he was trying to maintain. I think he was in a sense blinded to see that the house was not always the safety zone.

I wasn't referring to when he found the house he recognized, but rather when they would just enter random houses and buildings foraging for food. He would just go in without staking out the place or walking around it first peeking in to be sure no one was inside and then when he did open a window or door he was so noisy. :confused: I would think he would have learned stealth by then out of necessity... like how the Native Americans were famous for being able to walk in the woods without making a sound or just appear suddenly without ever being heard.

Leaving the boy, I wonder if that was his get away and view reality for a moment time. I can't remember the exact incidences but I think it was part of the letting go.

Dunno. Maybe.

I take notes during movies like that and try to fit them into something relevant to life. I can't remember if this is a line from the movie or something I just wrote "Can we still be the good guys in a world in which we have to put a gun into the hand of a ten year old to make him feel safe."

I think you wrote that. ;) At least I don't remember it from the movie. I haven't read the book.

Those are the fringes where humanity get stripped away and it becomes survival of the fittest. I think the movie shows that in such extreme that we think *we* could never be that way. Mankind could never get to that point, right? Or could we?

 

Deep thoughts on a Tuesday night, but the movie (and the book moreso) helped me examine my level of humanity and understanding of those who are already traveling on their own "road".

 

Yes this. Thank you for expressing so perfectly what I wanted to say, but didn't have the words to express. You truly are an elegant lion. ;) :D

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I loved the book but not until I was close to the end. It took me a long while to take in the style.

 

Reviews like this one on Amazon make me giggle nonetheless.

 

Is this a good book, papa?

I dont know.

Okay.

Do you think it is a good book?

I didnt really understand a lot of it.

Thats okay son. You werent meant to understand most of it. And anyway, youre only an archetypal little boy.

Is Cormac McCarthy one of the bad guys, papa?

No, son. But in a morally ambiguous universe, he sometimes writes like one.

Okay. Where did the apostrophes go?

I dont know.

Im scared.

When I read stuff like the sentences quoted below, so am I.

 

"He rose and stood tottering in that cold autistic dark with his arms outheld for balance while the vestibular calculations in his skull cranked out their reckonings. An old chronicle. To seek out the upright. No fall but preceded by a declination."

 

Papa, what is vestibular?

I dont know.

How about declination?

Beats me, son.

Now Im scared, too.

Thats okay son. Its not your fault. I should have known that you cant combine short dialogue like this with pretentious metaphysical imagery and get away with it.

Papa, the critics love this book. Are they they good guys?

No, son, they are not the good guys.

Okay.

Okay.

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Did you read the book first? The book is fantastic, but after reading it I knew I would NEVER see the movie.

 

:iagree: Same here. I thought the book was great, but knew I the movie wouldn't be as good-there are just some things you can't translate into movie format.

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I loved the book but not until I was close to the end. It took me a long while to take in the style.

 

Reviews like this one on Amazon make me giggle nonetheless.

 

Yes! These are the reviews that I loved! That is exactly how the book is written and it drove me insane!!! Who converses like that? No kid I've ever met would be satisfied with these one word answers.....post-apocalyptic world or not! This review in particular was my favorite.....especially about the author being a bad guy:lol:

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