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I read the book. I didn't find it particularly good, and I've read a lot of post apocalypse SF. These fall into two categories: "realistic" attempts to examine behaviour in the aftermath of some catastrophe. The most recent one I would recommend is Octavia S Butler's Parable of the Sower. The second category is nihilistic despairing romance. Anna Kavan's Ice - where the world is smothered in ice - and some early Ballard are in this category. So is The Road (book and film. The Road is basically ridiculous. Neutron Bombing? Nuclear Winter? Giant Asteroid hit? Plague? Humanity eaten by Giant Mutant Pink Ants? The author doesn't tell us because he simply hasn't thought it through. Unlike most regular hard sf apocalypse writers who usually work our their premises carefully You can pick out the sheer silliness of it all yourself but I just put out a few pointers: 99%+ of the population has died in 10 years but they don't have clothes to wear or a decent tent. Only two rounds of ammo? Just so the author can set up a fake dilemma. Farming Humans for Cannibalism? If you have food to feed humans, you would eat it yourself, rather than loose calories. Leaving the bunker - the height of stupidity. Wait out and try to rebuild. And one presumes that the people who set it up would have a) stocked it with weapons and ammo b) medical supplies. So when the Dolt (we can't really call him a Man) gets shot with an arrow he should have had antibiotics etc so he wouldn't die. Medical supplies: ditto the Ship. Question - why does he swim back - are there no life rafts or lifeboats left on the Ship? You could carry a lot more supplies safely. Maddened brigands and bandits: this comes to the heart of the matter, even bandits are likely to negotiate first. They can't afford wounds, loss of members, and may even want to recruit more people into their gang. Safety in numbers. It's just ridiculous that there is no government at all surviving, or people banding together for skill sharing and mutual defence. Why would the nuclear family with the dog accept a lone boy into their group? Unless he had skills that were useful he's just a worthless mouth to feed? If you have read anything about people surviving in adversity, without having a rose-tinted view of humanity, The Road is hokum.

I expect when Oscar nominations are announced next year, you will see at least 2 nominations; Best Picture and Best Actor. What I am not certain of is who will be named as the nominee for Best Actor. Will it be Viggo, who is wonderful in the film, or will it be Kodi Smit-McPhee for doing an amazing performance as boy. I am hopeful that it will be Kodi because, as good as Mortensen is in The Road, I have come to expect that from him.. Kodi has come out of nowhere and has become "The Boy". I saw this film at TIFF and was pleasantly surprised. I was expecting a depressing film that was going to be emotionally draining. What I got was a chance to view a well done film with very minor supporting roles from some very strong actors, and two performances that were wonderful to behold. I would recommend this film to anyone who wants to be entertained and have a quality evening out at the local movie theatre. You will not be disappointed.

"It's not as good as the book." seems to be one of the most common sentences in discussions about movies. I have certainly uttered it many times. I try to judge a film on it's own merits as a separate art form, but cannot help the comparison, especially when elements that I love in a book are sacrificed in the translation to the screen (especially if I felt the changes were made in service of some 2 hour "time limit"). I can only remember one time that I thought a movie improved on a book (The Godfather and the Godfather Part 2.) There are certainly many times I felt that a mediocre book served as the basis for a mediocre movie (The DaVinci Code). Cormac McCarthy's works have generally translated well to the screen, especially No Country for Old Men. The Road was one of the most wonderful books that I can remember - to create a sense of hope against an overwhelmingly dismal post-apocalyptic backdrop is no small feat. As I read it I found myself sympathizing with the fears and frustrations for the man and, at the same time, completely drawn into the innocence and wisdom of the boy. I could not put the book down - I had to know the ending of this story. As I sat watching the movie, I was right back in the book. John Hillcoat and Joe Penhall's collaboration made for a marvelous adaptation of this compelling story. Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee were outstanding. The film editing and art direction in this picture really contribute to the overall post-apocalyptic feel. The use of color in the otherwise gray backdrop was pure film-making genius. I was dragged to the height and depths of emotions and felt every anguish and small triumph experienced by the on-screen duo. In the end, I experienced both the triumph and the uncertainty of the human condition. And felt that I had seen a movie that was as good as the book.

The Road (1:50, R) — Science Fiction, 3rd string, original Among the first words spoken in The Road (adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel) are "It's just another earthquake.". That's supposed to be reassuring. It's a bleak, devastated, post-apocalyptic world leached of everything: color, sounds, names, sunshine, warmth, joy, hope. Thru it trudge The Man (Viggo Mortenson) and The Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee), slowly and painfully making their way to "the coast", where maybe things will be marginally better. Who can say? But what else is there? Along the way they encounter The Gang Member (Garret Dillahunt, still as creepy and frightening as he was in The Sarah Connor Chronicles and The Last House on the Left), The Road Gang Leader (Brenna Roth), The Old Man (Robert Duvall), The Thief (Michael K. Williams), and The Veteran (Guy Pearce) and his woman (Molly Parker). In flashbacks to an achingly lost former life, we see The Wife (Charlize Theron). And really, once you've named the names, you've pretty well covered the movie. The name of the game is Survival, tho none can say what the point of it is. The food is gone, and clearly no more will be growing. Humans are apparently the only animals to survive the unnamed global disaster, so they represent the sole remaining, rapidly dwindling source of protein. The voices you hear approaching are not the Red Cross. Some choose not to play. The Wife, after some low-energy soul-searching, goes the ancient-Eskimo route. "She was gone," The Man remembers, "and the coldness of it was her final gift." Others persevere for no cogent reason. "DId you ever wish you would die?", The Man asks. "No," The Old Man replies, "it's foolish to ask for luxuries in times like these." The Man and The Boy have 1 gun with 2 bullets left; they are not being reserved for potential assailants. In some of the movie's most agonizing scenes, we see The Man explain not only what must be done but why. I walked into this movie 10 hours after leaving the theater where Avatar splashed the screen with color, motion, activity, purpose, a 3rd dimension, and a superb sound track. It is difficult to imagine 2 more disparate films in terms of tone and atmosphere. But both are extremely effective at making their respective worlds seem completely real. The movie is unremittingly grim and completely believable. It doesn't pull its punches or sell out. It will haunt you. It's unlikely that anyone else will ever make another movie that treats the end of the world so realistically, so if you want to see the standard against which all others will be compared, this is your chance. Stay away if you're depressed or prone to it, and avoid razor blades for 12 hours afterward.

By Zach Copeland "The Road" Takes Fresh Approach to Post-Apocalyptic Genre Ever since God flooded out the entire human race in the early pages of Genesis, literature has abounded with stories of the apocalypse. For generation after generation, from The Book of Revelations to The Stand, we have obsessed over the end of the world, how it will come to pass, and what, if anything, we can do to stop it. Now that humankind has reached a point where the End could conceivably happen in an afternoon, our glimpses into this theoretical future are all the more intriguing. And they've never been more important. The Road, directed by John Hillcoat (The Proposition) and based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men), is a dark, poignant story of a father and son journeying through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, withstanding harsh weather, malnutrition, and under the constant threat of marauders, thieves and cannibals. Their goal is simple: to carry on. Those looking to sink their teeth into mindless disaster-* (not that there's anything wrong with that) can get their fix elsewhere. The Road is a smaller, more penetrating film that draws strength from its intimacy and its ability to do so much with so little. Viggo Mortensen gives an emotional tour de force as the embattled father; look for him on the red carpet come March. Watching children act is oftentimes painful for me, but I thought Kodi Smit-McPhee was impressive and genuine as the son, and takes on the task of being in literally every scene with rare fearlessness. Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, and Guy Pearce give small but highly memorable performances, Duvall in particular, whose portrayal of a withered old man journeying all alone will haunt you. The desolate environment in which the story takes place is itself a character, foreign yet eerily familiar, and so perfectly conceptualized that it matches – heck, surpasses the standard of realism set by films such as 28 Days Later and Children of Men. Shot throughout four states, including at the site of the Mount St. Helens eruption, Hillcoat and cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (The Others, The Sea Inside) paint a backdrop that is altogether beautiful and devastating. They say that every generation since the dawn of man has feared the End, and while this may be true, not every generation has seen what our modern technology is capable of. The Road is a dark looking glass into our future, and what it is likely to become if our primal nature is left unchecked. Early in the film, the son looks at his father and asks him, "We're the good guys, right?" The father's response is in the affirmative, but as their situation become increasingly desperate, that sense of morality we think to be ingrained is put to the test. Hillcoat does a masterful job of portraying human beings as what we are and always have been. He holds up a mirror to the world and hypnotizes you with it. As far as post-apocalyptic movies go, The Road is hands-down one of the best ever made. Despite its raw, gritty facade, which will understandably be a turn-off for many theatergoers, the story underneath has a sense of serenity that everyone can relate to. The Road opens everywhere on November 25. Need I say more? *The Film Crusade* www.filmcrusade.com/survive-and-advance/

I read Cormac McCarthy's novel a few years ago & figured it would be made into a movie (this was when "No Country for Old Men" was playing) but I wondered how they could make this extremely grim tale into something that people would want to see. This film was every bit as grim as the novel and it seemed to be a faithful adaptation of it. The characters seemed more believable in the film than in the novel. This is probably due to the medium but Viggio Mortenson did a fabulous job as the Protagonist (the unnamed father) and his son was also great. They both were tremendous and brought a lot of character development and engagement to an otherwise totally bleak story. I loved Robert Duvall's turn as the grizzled survivor. It was a supporting role sure to win an Oscar nomination. I think this will win more than its share of Oscar nominations, for Viggio at the very least. Great film, go check it out.

Cannibals feeding on people being fed on... Right, on what? On pineapple cans left here and there? Yeah. No other predators left except for men? Of course, we ate all of them or they died of starvation. But we didn't. We are special. And well-preserved dry plants everywhere several years after they had died? This one I found especially amusing. It normally takes about a year for dry grass or fallen leaves to decompose, still throughout the movie we can see tons of them everywhere several years after they had all dried out. Say nothing about the complete lack of fungi, insects (well, there was ONE beetle) and other detritivores. The post-apocalypse world should be a paradise for them, shouldn't it? So what type of apocalypse was it? It looks that even the screenplay author lacked the idea of how to reasonably explain it. A meteorite collision? Some enormous fire? Thisis the kind of information we get at the beginning. But can we see any aftermath like burned-out forests for example? Nope. Just the grey, barren world. And why for god sake all cars and trucks are always left in mess in the middle of the road? What stopped people who nevertheless survived the disaster from parking them properly? Just to mention a few things from many. Add to this annoyingly illogical behaviour of the main characters. Leaving a safe shelter full of food for certain misery and slow agony because they heard some noise outside? Sure. 10 years old kid constantly behaving as if he was born the day before? Because he apparently doesn't understand the world around him. His traumatic father who does all to protect him (isn't it what this movie is about?) but who still takes him to every house, cellar and other potential trap he scavenges. And my personal best - the coke still drinkable after several years in a broken fridge. If this is what the product placement people wanted me to believe, I will quit drinking it straight away. So what shall I hold to? No real story, lack of elementary logic, no psychological layer that I can believe in. I know there's always some kind of agreement between the makers of any sci-fi movie and the audience: "We create the world and you have to take it the way it is". But how much crap can we swallow at the time? In short: another teary movie about nothing. A complete waste of time considering how entertaining or thought-provoking it is. Even if you have two hours of your life to spare for nothing, like being on a plane with no other movie around to watch, you better take a nap.

With a surplus of post-apocalyptic/disaster flicks present in today's film circle, the Road does what very few films in any genre seem capable of doing. Here is a picture that in it's own discreteness captures the realism of a holocaust horror, combining the absolute worst possible future with the most profoundly beautiful human characteristics that keep the main characters persevering. Not only does the story accurately exhibit the polar opposite aspects of a post apocalyptic existence, but the cinematography used during the flashbacks of a life full of color and hope many take for granted, is excellently positioned with the dark, dismal, and often terrifying reality that is the Road. The score was also fantastic and perfectly appropriate for the film. The only two, minor issues I had were the sound editing, (MINOR!) and the ending which was NOT at all a disappointment, but I felt it was quite open, without giving anything away. This is, again, a minor issue, for the story in itself was a journey, and we see only a small portion of the great, tragic, and ultimately fulfilling struggle. And, though I'm sure no more attention is necessary, the acting as a whole was phenomenal. Each film since LOTR Viggo has greatly improved and I'd like to think of this as the beginning of his finest hour. Very few performances touch me emotionally, and his was certainly one of them, in three scenes in particular which were, being discrete, (the parting flashback, the dinner, and the climax.) Well done, the Road, thank you Mr. Mortenson.