Tuesday Movie Reviews

The Road
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Robert Duvall, Guy Pearce
Directed by John Hillcoat

We enter the story after some horrible apocalyptic occurrence. The Earth is dark and drab with a terrible grey cloud covering everything. No vegetation, no animals, very few humans. A man and his son are roaming around trying to find any food (insects) and shelter (make-shift tent). That's the movie, people. It sounds dull, and at times it is, but this is not a happy time. The dreariness of the situation is felt full-force. Survivors have taken to cannibalism to survive, so there are true threats out in the wilderness. The sets are amazing. (I don't know where this movie was filmed, but I don't want to vacation there!). Viggo plays his role as the ever-caring, do-right-by-his-son father perfectly. You feel for this guy that's lost his wife and has to survive, for whatever comes next, strictly for his son's safety and well being. And he's sooooo thin!! Duvall, in a very small role, is almost unrecognizable. I really enjoyed the storytelling of the road, and the horrid picture it drew of a post-nuclear-bombed world, but not everybody will like it. Take caution before you watch it.

GRADE: B

The Collector
Starring: Josh Stewart, Michael Reilly Burke, Andrea Roth, Madeline Zima
Directed by Marcus Dunston

From the people who brought you Saw IV, V and VI (not even the good ones) comes this horror film about a crazed killer that likes to collect bodies. I think that's what he does. The movie only suggested that part very slightly. He goes to people's homes and sets crazy booby traps so nobody will escape. (How he sets these things so perfectly and in such little time I'll never know). I'm not sure why I even bothered watching this movie. This is a genre that hasn't impressed me since the original Saw. But, after saying that, I was pleasantly surprised by the quite strength of the main character, played by Josh Stewart. I could kind of relate to him as an everyday guy trying to do right by his family, as misguided as that "right" would be. He succeeded in bringing empathy to his character, which most of these sorts of movies always forget about. (If you don't care for the main character, why would you care if he/she gets murdered??). Sure there's lots of blood and inventive killing methods, but that kind of thing doesn't impress me anymore. Better than I thought, but I started with a very low bar!

GRADE: C-