5 FOR / 5 AGAINST: THE ROAD

First a bit of a disclaimer. I am one of those people who would rather sit in a comfortable chair, drinking margaritas, and watch the world end then to struggle to survive. What's the point? I know there are/will be hidden government complexes to save the human race. Films like this can be very frustrating for me.

It's 10-12 years since there was a nuclear war (we think) and nuclear winter has killed off all the plants, animals, insects and the planet is dying. A father and son struggle to find food and avoid humans who would want to rape the boy and eat them both. Their most prized position is a pistol which still has two bullets so they can commit suicide. Two big themes in this movie - Suicide and Cannibalism. Yes, the movie is as exhilarating as it sounds, perfect for the holidays. Actually, the movie was pretty much what I thought it would be after seeing the trailer. I decided to see is after reading several really positive reviews.

5 FOR:

1. Viggo Mortensen - naked. Twice. Not him at his best but I'm reaching for 5 For.
2. Beautifully shot and framed.
3. Fun details - guy's head under the car next to his cooked body, human cattle. 
4. Gave me the biggest scare of any movie this year. I almost fell out of my seat and I think I screamed a little.
5. What is good and what is evil when your life is at stake and the world is dying? As good as Papa wants and claims to be, we see the reality in and ending that ties everything together  nicely but not completely satisfying.  

5 AGAINST:

1. Does Viggo ever do a movie where he's not covered in dirt and in need of a shave?
2. Attention to detail - that guy's brain would have been eaten so his head would not have been tossed aside. Also, and this was very annoying - Papa kept giving him the gun so he could protect himself but the kid never took off his super oversized gloves.
3. For a child born and raised after the end of the world - he was incredibly naive, innocent, pure, not to mention whiney, needy, scared and given these traits, should not have survived as long as he did. I kept wishing that Papa would just give him a good bitch slap.
4. Papa. Every time the kid called for his Papa, and he did allot, all I could do was sing, "Can you hear me?"
5. They get attacked in all these middle-of-nowhere places and yet continue to walk into abandoned streets and towns.
6. Bonus: I got the feeling that this film was trying to be accurate in depicting life and morals in this future, there were several scenes that were way off the mark and manipulative. There is NO WAY Papa could swim out to that ship; where did that woman and child come from and how did they survive so long; cannibals would never waste so much blood; if you're worried about other humans finding you, then close the hatch to the bomb shelter.