...though one of the films out this week is certainly one with its fans. For my PICK OF THE WEEK, I had to go with a film that didn't do much for me upon release, but is a film that I didn't overtly hate. It's:The Road
Full disclosure on my part...I didn't care much for the book either. This movie just never connected with me as it should have, muting the performances and potential power of the film. To me, it's just an interesting failure, but to plenty of people it was one of the best of 2009. If you're one of those, pick it up and enjoy. This post-apocalyptic character study isn't a bad film by any stretch, and it's the best of the week for me, but that's only because of the dearth of releases this week, so take that as you will.
-Also out we have 3 films that I haven't seen. There's the comedy Mystery Team, which I've heard good things about. There's the tearjerker Dear John, which I've heard bad things about, and the suspense flick Tell-Tale, which I've heard almost nothing about. If any of these have some appeal to you, grab them and enjoy.
-My Vintage pick this week is, in honor of the release of Survival of the Dead, the other George A. Romero zombie flicks. There's Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, and Diary of the Dead. You can even throw in the remake of Dawn of the Dead if you want, since it's a pretty good horror flick, if inferior to the original. All are good films in my book, so check them out if you haven't.
-What will you be watching on DVD this week?
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I got a lot of flack for not being on the bandwagon with The Road...
ReplyDeleteI never would have expected to ever recommend it in my life, but hey, such is life.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't a huge fan of The Road either. Mortensen is terrific, but the rest of the film was bland and meandering.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, and I didn't even find Viggo as one of the top 15 male lead performances of the year. That being said, I thought it was a stacked year for Lead Actor...
ReplyDeleteThe Road is just one of those weird situations where a classic book (at least to me) gets adapted, and while nothing is really wrong with it, the film never soars, either.
ReplyDeleteBut such is the unpredictability of literary film adaptations. Look at Annie Proulx. Her Pulitzer Prize-winning breakout hit The Shipping News was turned into a dreadful film, while an obscure short story she wrote in Close Range was adapted into one of the best films of the last ten years.
P.S. -- I was so glad that the Oscar talk for Viggo Mortensen never materialized. He deserves one someday, for sure, but if he wins, it better damn well be for a Cronenberg film!
I gotta agree with you on almost everything there.
ReplyDeleteAs far as adaptability is concerned, when one looks at "The Shipping News" the film, there is one humongous difference between it and the source material -- Kevin Spacey is not fat.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, if I were to adapt a book like "The Shipping News", I would try to get as close to the tone and character descriptions the book has to offer. I wouldn't cast somebody who could never completely fit the part (even though Spacey is a fantastic actor)...
I'll buy that...
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