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Lee KM Pallatina (951 KP) rated Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007) in Movies
Jun 25, 2019
I used to be a plumber
Jack brooks: monster slayer pays homage to movies like Evil dead, from dusk till dawn & gremlins.
After witnessing his family's brutal murder as a child, he grows up with an unquenching fury he is constantly fighting.
After accidentally unleashing an ancient evil during a plumbing job, his client/professor (Robert Englund) becomes possessed and mutates into a gruesome monster with an undying hunger.
This results in Jack facing his fears he can no longer run from and discover the purpose of his inner rage.
This is a great movie that honestly pays off, a low budget project that deserves a franchise.
Starring Trevor Mathews & Robert Englund
Story by: John Ainslie; Jon Knautz; Trevor Matthews; Patrick White
Directed by: Jon Knautz
Release date: October 9, 2007 (Sitges Film Festival); July 25, 2008 (Canada); August
After witnessing his family's brutal murder as a child, he grows up with an unquenching fury he is constantly fighting.
After accidentally unleashing an ancient evil during a plumbing job, his client/professor (Robert Englund) becomes possessed and mutates into a gruesome monster with an undying hunger.
This results in Jack facing his fears he can no longer run from and discover the purpose of his inner rage.
This is a great movie that honestly pays off, a low budget project that deserves a franchise.
Starring Trevor Mathews & Robert Englund
Story by: John Ainslie; Jon Knautz; Trevor Matthews; Patrick White
Directed by: Jon Knautz
Release date: October 9, 2007 (Sitges Film Festival); July 25, 2008 (Canada); August
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Frankenweenie (2012) in Movies
Oct 31, 2020
Black & White (3 more)
Dark
Tim Burton
Stop Motion
A Boys Best Friend
Frankenweenie- is a halloween classic. Ive wanted to watch this film for couple of years now and it was not disappointed.
The plot: Young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) is a science nerd and outsider at school, but he does have one good friend: his dog, Sparky. But then, tragedy strikes, and Sparky shuffles off this mortal coil. Victor is heartbroken, but his science teacher (Martin Landau) gives him an idea of how to jolt old Sparky back to life. The experiment is successful, and all goes well, until Victor's fellow students steal his secret and use it to resurrect other dead animals -- with monstrous consequences.
It is a feature-length remake of Burton's 1984 short film of the same name and is also both a parody of and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's book of the same name.
This is the final horror film released under the Disney banner until Ready Or Not on August 21, 2019 from Fox Searchlight Pictures, which was bought by Disney in 2019.
The voice cast includes four actors who worked with Burton on previous films: Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands); Martin Short (Mars Attacks!); Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas); and Martin Landau (Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow), along with some new voice actors, such as Charlie Tahan and Atticus Shaffer.
Its a dark humor twisted film.
The plot: Young Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) is a science nerd and outsider at school, but he does have one good friend: his dog, Sparky. But then, tragedy strikes, and Sparky shuffles off this mortal coil. Victor is heartbroken, but his science teacher (Martin Landau) gives him an idea of how to jolt old Sparky back to life. The experiment is successful, and all goes well, until Victor's fellow students steal his secret and use it to resurrect other dead animals -- with monstrous consequences.
It is a feature-length remake of Burton's 1984 short film of the same name and is also both a parody of and homage to the 1931 film Frankenstein, based on Mary Shelley's book of the same name.
This is the final horror film released under the Disney banner until Ready Or Not on August 21, 2019 from Fox Searchlight Pictures, which was bought by Disney in 2019.
The voice cast includes four actors who worked with Burton on previous films: Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands); Martin Short (Mars Attacks!); Catherine O'Hara (Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas); and Martin Landau (Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow), along with some new voice actors, such as Charlie Tahan and Atticus Shaffer.
Its a dark humor twisted film.
BackToTheMovies (56 KP) rated The Haunting of Sharon Tate (2019) in Movies
Jun 21, 2019
With it being 50 years since the tragic Manson murders in California we have a year of Manson movies. We have the independent film Charlie Says which explores Manson and his cult in sensitive detail before the tragic night. We have Tarantino’s Once Up A Time In Hollywood which has been given the go-ahead from Sharon Tate’s sister to be made. Then we have this. The Haunting of Sharon Tate. An overly exploitative piece that twists truths to create a narrative and completely trashes the legacy of the late actress.
August 8, 1969, the night that Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger and Steven Parent were brutally murdered. The film focuses on the days before the tragic event. The movie dramatizes the slayings and plays on the notion that Sharon Tate predicted her own death in the days leading up to the slaughter.
Surrounded by bad acting and awful scripting it was a very poor choice to make this film in the first place. Writer-director Daniel Farrands has created an offensive and frankly insulting ‘thriller’. Hilary Duff stars as Sharon Tate and whilst she somewhat looks the part, she doesn’t have that raw magic and flair that Sharon had. This tragic event has been turned into some stock-horror slash um up movie with a psychic paranormal twist.
At one point Manson’s song ‘Cease to Exist’ plays to Sharon over a tape player and the Manson Family stalks Tate and her friends around her home. It really is that bad. The introduction of the movie shows real-life footage as a black and white Hilary Duff talks about her own death. The opening scene of the movie is enough to want me to turn off the film instantly.
The Haunting of Sharon Tate still
With no care or respect being paid to the real-life counterparts, the movie has very little to say other than ‘you’re going to die soon’. There’s no feeling of empathy. The Haunting of Sharon Tate is just a 90-minute exploitation of a horrific night in Hollywood’s history.
https://backtothemovies.com/exploitative-trash-the-haunting-of-sharon-tate-review/
August 8, 1969, the night that Sharon Tate, Jay Sebring, Wojciech Frykowski, Abigail Folger and Steven Parent were brutally murdered. The film focuses on the days before the tragic event. The movie dramatizes the slayings and plays on the notion that Sharon Tate predicted her own death in the days leading up to the slaughter.
Surrounded by bad acting and awful scripting it was a very poor choice to make this film in the first place. Writer-director Daniel Farrands has created an offensive and frankly insulting ‘thriller’. Hilary Duff stars as Sharon Tate and whilst she somewhat looks the part, she doesn’t have that raw magic and flair that Sharon had. This tragic event has been turned into some stock-horror slash um up movie with a psychic paranormal twist.
At one point Manson’s song ‘Cease to Exist’ plays to Sharon over a tape player and the Manson Family stalks Tate and her friends around her home. It really is that bad. The introduction of the movie shows real-life footage as a black and white Hilary Duff talks about her own death. The opening scene of the movie is enough to want me to turn off the film instantly.
The Haunting of Sharon Tate still
With no care or respect being paid to the real-life counterparts, the movie has very little to say other than ‘you’re going to die soon’. There’s no feeling of empathy. The Haunting of Sharon Tate is just a 90-minute exploitation of a horrific night in Hollywood’s history.
https://backtothemovies.com/exploitative-trash-the-haunting-of-sharon-tate-review/
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back and on a mission to stop a terrorist group, known as The Apostles, from acquiring three uranium cores that they will use to create nuclear devices. Hunt and his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team (Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) set up a black market deal to purchase the cores. But during the buy Luther (Rhames) is taken hostage. In a rescue attempt Hunt and Benji (Pegg) let the cores slip into the hands of The Apostles. Due to Hunt’s choice to save his team over protecting the cores has put the world in danger of nuclear attack. Luckily, the head of the IMF, Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin, has received intelligence that an arms dealer known as the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) is looking to broker a deal for the cores. The only problem is the price is not money but the breaking out of the former IMF nemesis and anarchist Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Hunt, eager for redemption, agrees to once again track down the cores. But the CIA want to make sure that this time the job is done right, so Director Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) demands her top cleaner August Walker (Henry Cavill) accompany. With the help of the CIA they will try and break Lane out of prison and save the world from a catastrophic nuclear attack.
This film, the sixth installment of the Mission: Impossible film franchise, is a true action packed summer blockbuster. Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Jack Reacher) this film has the action and suspense that viewers have come to expect from these films. Cruise, who famously does all of his own stunts, puts in a stellar performance, as does the rest of the cast. Rebecca Ferguson, as assassin and Hunt love interest Ilsa Faust, has good on screen chemistry with Cruise. The overall vision of the film is big and everything is well shot. One example is seamlessly shot motorcycle/car chase through Paris streets, with narrow misses, extreme speeds and iconic scenery. Along with all of the action you get the sometimes corny dialog that you can expect. As long as you expect it, and maybe embrace it, you will definitely enjoy the film. At 2 hours and 27 minutes the runtime might seem long but the pace is really good so it does not feel that long.
This is the best action film of the summer I have seen so far. The attention to detail in the action scenes really shows through. The twists and turns of the story keep you as engaged as the jaw dropping stunts. Maybe not the film for everyone but a great action/spy movie. For me it is definitely a film that should be seen in theaters, maybe more than once.
This film, the sixth installment of the Mission: Impossible film franchise, is a true action packed summer blockbuster. Written and directed by Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Jack Reacher) this film has the action and suspense that viewers have come to expect from these films. Cruise, who famously does all of his own stunts, puts in a stellar performance, as does the rest of the cast. Rebecca Ferguson, as assassin and Hunt love interest Ilsa Faust, has good on screen chemistry with Cruise. The overall vision of the film is big and everything is well shot. One example is seamlessly shot motorcycle/car chase through Paris streets, with narrow misses, extreme speeds and iconic scenery. Along with all of the action you get the sometimes corny dialog that you can expect. As long as you expect it, and maybe embrace it, you will definitely enjoy the film. At 2 hours and 27 minutes the runtime might seem long but the pace is really good so it does not feel that long.
This is the best action film of the summer I have seen so far. The attention to detail in the action scenes really shows through. The twists and turns of the story keep you as engaged as the jaw dropping stunts. Maybe not the film for everyone but a great action/spy movie. For me it is definitely a film that should be seen in theaters, maybe more than once.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Silvern (Gilded #2) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
Despite the fact it was a really bad idea to request a book for review back in late August/early September, I still did... for some books. (I promise I wasn't being bad I only requested two!) Really, the worst thing that could have happened was for the book to be completely and utterly disappointing. Resulting in me marching up to Kahlan and demanding she not waste her time. Plus, I may save it with Twilight for throwing purposes later.
In this sequel to Gilded, Christina Farley brings us back to the mythological world of Korea, where Jae Hwa is on a mission to look for the White Tiger orb before the god of darkness does. After everything that happens in Gilded and the oncoming events of Silvern, Silvern also seems to reveal the ultimate question of the entire series: does Jae Hwa belong in the spirit world, or mortal world?
<i><b>Sometimes winning is everything.</b></i>
I personally think Jae Hwa as a character pressures herself too much. While having high expectations of oneself is a great thing, Jae Hwa seems to be all about wanting answers ASAP and being at the top. (Jae Hwa is strikingly similar to one of my classmates, personality wise. Should I ever meet Jae Hwa, we won't be friends for very long.) I also think Jae Hwa seems to be extremely self conscious of what Marc thinks of her. With the way Marc is jealous of Jae Hwa spending time with Kang-Dae, I see nothing too good in the future of their relationship should another hot guy comes around. (Ugh, is this the way boys are these days? If that's the case, I'm going to remain a single pringle, thank you very much.)
Silvern seems to have a similar plot at the beginning when compared to Gilded: an orb is stolen by a "bad" immortal and said immortal is building an empire with the orb. While no actual orb is retrieved from the immortal (there is one retrieved, but that's beside the point) and placed back in the Heavenly Chest this time, Farley seems to be giving a few hints at what may happen in the third book. (So not giving any hints away.)
Silvern certainly wasn't a disappointment and a waste of time. BUT... I still want to see those archery skills. Jae Hwa does use it more here than in Gilded, but practice rounds don't count (okay, she uses it once or twice that wasn't practice, but still.).
-------------------
Advanced review copy provided by Skyscape for review
Original Review posted at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/arc-review-silvern-by-christina-farley.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cG5gfBqJVzk/VA5BIojjZ9I/AAAAAAAAD1g/7srLUfpAGEU/s1600/banner.png"; /></a>
In this sequel to Gilded, Christina Farley brings us back to the mythological world of Korea, where Jae Hwa is on a mission to look for the White Tiger orb before the god of darkness does. After everything that happens in Gilded and the oncoming events of Silvern, Silvern also seems to reveal the ultimate question of the entire series: does Jae Hwa belong in the spirit world, or mortal world?
<i><b>Sometimes winning is everything.</b></i>
I personally think Jae Hwa as a character pressures herself too much. While having high expectations of oneself is a great thing, Jae Hwa seems to be all about wanting answers ASAP and being at the top. (Jae Hwa is strikingly similar to one of my classmates, personality wise. Should I ever meet Jae Hwa, we won't be friends for very long.) I also think Jae Hwa seems to be extremely self conscious of what Marc thinks of her. With the way Marc is jealous of Jae Hwa spending time with Kang-Dae, I see nothing too good in the future of their relationship should another hot guy comes around. (Ugh, is this the way boys are these days? If that's the case, I'm going to remain a single pringle, thank you very much.)
Silvern seems to have a similar plot at the beginning when compared to Gilded: an orb is stolen by a "bad" immortal and said immortal is building an empire with the orb. While no actual orb is retrieved from the immortal (there is one retrieved, but that's beside the point) and placed back in the Heavenly Chest this time, Farley seems to be giving a few hints at what may happen in the third book. (So not giving any hints away.)
Silvern certainly wasn't a disappointment and a waste of time. BUT... I still want to see those archery skills. Jae Hwa does use it more here than in Gilded, but practice rounds don't count (okay, she uses it once or twice that wasn't practice, but still.).
-------------------
Advanced review copy provided by Skyscape for review
Original Review posted at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/arc-review-silvern-by-christina-farley.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cG5gfBqJVzk/VA5BIojjZ9I/AAAAAAAAD1g/7srLUfpAGEU/s1600/banner.png"; /></a>
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Halloween (2007) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019 (Updated Jun 21, 2019)
You probably already know the story of Michael Myers and the horror that took place in Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night. How Michael Myers became one of the biggest slasher icons in horror movie history. Now we get to hear the story told by Rob Zombie, the man who brought us House of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects. He gives us some insight as to why Michael Myers is the way he is by showing us some of his childhood, the environment he grew up in, and how his family was. After he's institutionalized, we see how his progress continues to deteriorate as Dr. Samuel Loomis tries to do everything he can to save this young boy. Fifteen years go by when Loomis finally throws in the towel and Myers escapes Smith's Grove. Now on his way back to Haddonfield, Myers seeks his sister, Laurie, to finish what he started almost two decades ago.
There seems to be a huge debate amongst horror fans about whether this film was good or not. The results seemed to be pretty one-sided in favor of the original horror film from 1978, but now it seems the remake has almost just as many fans. I wouldn't say it was a 50/50 ratio, but 60/40 (60% of horror fans either hate the remake or prefer the original, 40% like the remake or prefer it over the original) seems about right these days. I managed to see the work print a few years ago and I wasn't impressed. With the release of Halloween 2 at the end of this month though, I promised myself I would give this film another shot. So that time has finally come and I can honestly say that the film isn't as bad as I remembered.
A few aspects of the film are actually quite good. Tyler Mane is a great Michael Myers. He's almost seven feet tall and is built like a giant. He's a total monster and the destruction and mayhem he causes is believable given his size. The adult version of Michael Myers is spot-on for a re-imagining of the film. Malcolm McDowell also does a good job as Dr. Loomis. He's no Donald Pleasance, but McDowell's take on the character isn't bad. Scout Taylor-Compton is also a worthy mention. She slips into the shoes of a modern day Laurie Strode rather flawlessly. Moving on from the acting though, the film is pretty solid from the time Michael gets his iconic mask through the finale. The way Michael made so many masks while he was in Smith's Grove was an interesting idea and the scene where you see his room fifteen years later with nothing but masks on every wall is one of the best in the film. The cinematography is also something that is often overlooked, which is a shame since it's actually pretty exceptional. It seemed to stand out most during the scenes where Michael was stalking Laurie, especially in the abandoned Myers house at the end. There's a scene right after Michael gets out of Smith's Grove where he goes to a truck stop and winds up getting the jumpsuit we're all familiar with. While there, he runs into Big Joe Grizzly in the bathroom stall and is banging Grizzly's hand, which is holding a knife, against the bathroom stall wall. As he's doing this though, the bathroom stall is just getting demolished but with every smashing blow, the camera violently shakes. The camera just always seemed to have a knack for giving a good perspective of what the character was going through, whether it was Michael or Laurie.
The disappointing part of this is pretty much everything leading up to Michael getting his mask back after his escape is pretty terrible. The dialogue, especially in the first ten to fifteen minutes of the film, is horrendous. Everything that's said between Deborah Myers and Ronnie White is just awful. The white trash upbringing just doesn't seem worthy for a horror icon like Michael Myers. It's just hard to believe that Michael Myers is the way he is because his mom was a stripper and his older sister was a whore. Logic seems to just be thrown by the way side as the film progresses. After Michael escapes from Smith's Grove, he returns to his old house where his mask and knife that he used to kill his family happen to just be lying under the floorboards. So did the police just pick up the bodies without searching the house or what? So he got his jumpsuit by stealing it from a guy taking a dump at a truck stop? Really? Hearing some of the original music return from John Carpenter's version of the film was a bit bittersweet. On one hand, it was great hearing it again. On the other, however, it just didn't seem to fit. Made me miss the original film more than anything. Giving Michael Myers a specific origin was probably Zombie's biggest mistake. The most terrifying thing about Michael Myers was that he was The Shape and had a bit of mystery to him. You knew he was going after Laurie, but other than that you had Loomis' word to fall back on. Michael was the human incarnation of pure evil. That's it. That's all you need. Humanizing the character and introducing us to his childhood only watered down the Michael Myers character.
There's a scene with Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis in Smith's Grove Sanitarium where Michael has made a mask that he's colored completely black. When Loomis asks him why it's black, Michael says that it's his favorite color. Loomis goes into an explanation about the color spectrum. Black is on one end and is the absence of color while white is at the opposite end and is every color. That's actually a great explanation of the differences between the original film and the remake. The original film would be the black segment of the spectrum. Carpenter's version leaves more to the viewer's imagination as the only explanation for Michael Myers is that he is "pure evil." While the remake would be the white segment of the spectrum as it goes into full detail why Michael Myers is the way he is and it shows every little violent and vulgar detail. Some people would say that having a little bit of mystery would be a good thing when it comes to a film like this while others like having everything laid out for them. It all depends on the viewer and which end of the spectrum they prefer. In my opinion though, that's the biggest mistake Rob Zombie made. There's no mystery left with the Michael Myers character. He's no longer The Shape, but is a psychopathic killer because he was raised by a white trash family, liked to torture animals, and whose sister didn't take him trick or treating.
The best thing Zombie can do is distance himself from the original film(s) as much as possible. To do something original with these characters. He looks like he'll do just that when Halloween 2 hits theaters on August 28th. One thing re-watching the remake accomplished was that it made me look forward to the sequel. The trailer looks really good (but to be fair, so did the trailer for the original film) and I was on the fence about it until I saw this again. The only problem I have is that Zombie seems to be telling the same story with the same initial cast with all of his films. House of 1,000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, and Halloween (first half of the film) are all way too similar. Zombie needs something new to add to his resume. Will Halloween 2 deliver that? Probably not, but a guy can hope.
There seems to be a huge debate amongst horror fans about whether this film was good or not. The results seemed to be pretty one-sided in favor of the original horror film from 1978, but now it seems the remake has almost just as many fans. I wouldn't say it was a 50/50 ratio, but 60/40 (60% of horror fans either hate the remake or prefer the original, 40% like the remake or prefer it over the original) seems about right these days. I managed to see the work print a few years ago and I wasn't impressed. With the release of Halloween 2 at the end of this month though, I promised myself I would give this film another shot. So that time has finally come and I can honestly say that the film isn't as bad as I remembered.
A few aspects of the film are actually quite good. Tyler Mane is a great Michael Myers. He's almost seven feet tall and is built like a giant. He's a total monster and the destruction and mayhem he causes is believable given his size. The adult version of Michael Myers is spot-on for a re-imagining of the film. Malcolm McDowell also does a good job as Dr. Loomis. He's no Donald Pleasance, but McDowell's take on the character isn't bad. Scout Taylor-Compton is also a worthy mention. She slips into the shoes of a modern day Laurie Strode rather flawlessly. Moving on from the acting though, the film is pretty solid from the time Michael gets his iconic mask through the finale. The way Michael made so many masks while he was in Smith's Grove was an interesting idea and the scene where you see his room fifteen years later with nothing but masks on every wall is one of the best in the film. The cinematography is also something that is often overlooked, which is a shame since it's actually pretty exceptional. It seemed to stand out most during the scenes where Michael was stalking Laurie, especially in the abandoned Myers house at the end. There's a scene right after Michael gets out of Smith's Grove where he goes to a truck stop and winds up getting the jumpsuit we're all familiar with. While there, he runs into Big Joe Grizzly in the bathroom stall and is banging Grizzly's hand, which is holding a knife, against the bathroom stall wall. As he's doing this though, the bathroom stall is just getting demolished but with every smashing blow, the camera violently shakes. The camera just always seemed to have a knack for giving a good perspective of what the character was going through, whether it was Michael or Laurie.
The disappointing part of this is pretty much everything leading up to Michael getting his mask back after his escape is pretty terrible. The dialogue, especially in the first ten to fifteen minutes of the film, is horrendous. Everything that's said between Deborah Myers and Ronnie White is just awful. The white trash upbringing just doesn't seem worthy for a horror icon like Michael Myers. It's just hard to believe that Michael Myers is the way he is because his mom was a stripper and his older sister was a whore. Logic seems to just be thrown by the way side as the film progresses. After Michael escapes from Smith's Grove, he returns to his old house where his mask and knife that he used to kill his family happen to just be lying under the floorboards. So did the police just pick up the bodies without searching the house or what? So he got his jumpsuit by stealing it from a guy taking a dump at a truck stop? Really? Hearing some of the original music return from John Carpenter's version of the film was a bit bittersweet. On one hand, it was great hearing it again. On the other, however, it just didn't seem to fit. Made me miss the original film more than anything. Giving Michael Myers a specific origin was probably Zombie's biggest mistake. The most terrifying thing about Michael Myers was that he was The Shape and had a bit of mystery to him. You knew he was going after Laurie, but other than that you had Loomis' word to fall back on. Michael was the human incarnation of pure evil. That's it. That's all you need. Humanizing the character and introducing us to his childhood only watered down the Michael Myers character.
There's a scene with Michael Myers and Dr. Loomis in Smith's Grove Sanitarium where Michael has made a mask that he's colored completely black. When Loomis asks him why it's black, Michael says that it's his favorite color. Loomis goes into an explanation about the color spectrum. Black is on one end and is the absence of color while white is at the opposite end and is every color. That's actually a great explanation of the differences between the original film and the remake. The original film would be the black segment of the spectrum. Carpenter's version leaves more to the viewer's imagination as the only explanation for Michael Myers is that he is "pure evil." While the remake would be the white segment of the spectrum as it goes into full detail why Michael Myers is the way he is and it shows every little violent and vulgar detail. Some people would say that having a little bit of mystery would be a good thing when it comes to a film like this while others like having everything laid out for them. It all depends on the viewer and which end of the spectrum they prefer. In my opinion though, that's the biggest mistake Rob Zombie made. There's no mystery left with the Michael Myers character. He's no longer The Shape, but is a psychopathic killer because he was raised by a white trash family, liked to torture animals, and whose sister didn't take him trick or treating.
The best thing Zombie can do is distance himself from the original film(s) as much as possible. To do something original with these characters. He looks like he'll do just that when Halloween 2 hits theaters on August 28th. One thing re-watching the remake accomplished was that it made me look forward to the sequel. The trailer looks really good (but to be fair, so did the trailer for the original film) and I was on the fence about it until I saw this again. The only problem I have is that Zombie seems to be telling the same story with the same initial cast with all of his films. House of 1,000 Corpses, The Devil's Rejects, and Halloween (first half of the film) are all way too similar. Zombie needs something new to add to his resume. Will Halloween 2 deliver that? Probably not, but a guy can hope.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Respect (2021) in Movies
Oct 14, 2021
Re, re, re, re, ‘spect… Just a little bit.
What with holidays and Bond, it’s taken me a few weeks to get to see this Aretha Franklin biopic. But I finally caught it this week.
Plot Summary:
‘Re’ is a 10-year old growing up in relative middle-class affluence in Birmingham, Alabama with her high-profile preacher father C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker). She is blessed with a wonderful singing voice. We follow her career, as Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson), through her struggles with controlling men and alcohol. This is against the backdrop of supporting the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King (Gilbert Glenn Brown).
“Respect” Review: Positives:
Jennifer Hudson gives a tremendous performance as Franklin, delivering both the vocals and the acting admirably. (Apparently, the lady herself, before she died in August 2018, named Hudson as the best person to play her.)
Coming out of this movie, you have to admire Aretha Franklin’s legacy. Although there are moments when her ‘demons’ got the better of her (and the movie is unafraid to paint her in a negative light for these) she led a tumultuous life and yet was still a strong force for both feminism and equality. I think the movie highlights that admirably. “Have you lost your mind?” her father (Forest Whitaker) asks. “Maybe…. maybe I’ve found it.” she replies.
I loved the clip during the end titles (at a Carole King concert and in front of the Obamas) of Franklin well into her 70’s belting out “Natural Woman”. Classy stuff.
Negatives:
It’s long. Very long. Approaching Bond long.
There’s a curious ‘cookie-cutter-ness’ to these biopics of classic female singers (controlling and abusive men; alcohol/drug abuse; prejudice through sex/race; etc). (Would they even have emanated the same level of soul without all the grief? Perhaps not.) The similarities lead you to naturally compare this movie with “The US vs Billie Holiday“. The Billie Holiday story felt like it had a lot more grit and angst in it, making it, for me at least, more memorable. The script for “Respect” – although still rather episodic – flows better. Whilst still great, Hudson’s performance (an Oscar nomination perhaps?) doesn’t come close to the Oscar-nominated stellar job done by Andra Day.
I didn’t like how the script introduced us to its characters. For example, Ted White (Marlon Wayans) is introduced at a church barbeque. He’s painted as a disreputable character, but why? And you have no idea if he is supposed to be a famous singer, a songwriter, a promoter, or a producer (as in fact he is). As another example, Kelvin Hair plays Sam Cooke in the movie, but – unless I missed it – this doesn’t seem to be highlighted in the script.
Summary Thoughts on “Respect”
“Respect” is the feature debut for female director Liesl Tommy. And it’s certainly an ambitious target for a first-timer to shoot at, so ‘Respect’ for that! And it comes across as a solid and enjoyable biopic, not least to remind yourself of some of the classic tunes that Aretha Franklin belted out. At 145 minutes though, it takes its time telling its story, and I think a tighter, shorter film would have worked better.
Did I enjoy it though? Yes, I did. But it’s worth pointing out that the illustrious Mrs Movie Man – who normally begrudges every minute over 90 minutes in a movie – really loved this one.
Plot Summary:
‘Re’ is a 10-year old growing up in relative middle-class affluence in Birmingham, Alabama with her high-profile preacher father C.L. Franklin (Forest Whitaker). She is blessed with a wonderful singing voice. We follow her career, as Aretha Franklin (Jennifer Hudson), through her struggles with controlling men and alcohol. This is against the backdrop of supporting the civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King (Gilbert Glenn Brown).
“Respect” Review: Positives:
Jennifer Hudson gives a tremendous performance as Franklin, delivering both the vocals and the acting admirably. (Apparently, the lady herself, before she died in August 2018, named Hudson as the best person to play her.)
Coming out of this movie, you have to admire Aretha Franklin’s legacy. Although there are moments when her ‘demons’ got the better of her (and the movie is unafraid to paint her in a negative light for these) she led a tumultuous life and yet was still a strong force for both feminism and equality. I think the movie highlights that admirably. “Have you lost your mind?” her father (Forest Whitaker) asks. “Maybe…. maybe I’ve found it.” she replies.
I loved the clip during the end titles (at a Carole King concert and in front of the Obamas) of Franklin well into her 70’s belting out “Natural Woman”. Classy stuff.
Negatives:
It’s long. Very long. Approaching Bond long.
There’s a curious ‘cookie-cutter-ness’ to these biopics of classic female singers (controlling and abusive men; alcohol/drug abuse; prejudice through sex/race; etc). (Would they even have emanated the same level of soul without all the grief? Perhaps not.) The similarities lead you to naturally compare this movie with “The US vs Billie Holiday“. The Billie Holiday story felt like it had a lot more grit and angst in it, making it, for me at least, more memorable. The script for “Respect” – although still rather episodic – flows better. Whilst still great, Hudson’s performance (an Oscar nomination perhaps?) doesn’t come close to the Oscar-nominated stellar job done by Andra Day.
I didn’t like how the script introduced us to its characters. For example, Ted White (Marlon Wayans) is introduced at a church barbeque. He’s painted as a disreputable character, but why? And you have no idea if he is supposed to be a famous singer, a songwriter, a promoter, or a producer (as in fact he is). As another example, Kelvin Hair plays Sam Cooke in the movie, but – unless I missed it – this doesn’t seem to be highlighted in the script.
Summary Thoughts on “Respect”
“Respect” is the feature debut for female director Liesl Tommy. And it’s certainly an ambitious target for a first-timer to shoot at, so ‘Respect’ for that! And it comes across as a solid and enjoyable biopic, not least to remind yourself of some of the classic tunes that Aretha Franklin belted out. At 145 minutes though, it takes its time telling its story, and I think a tighter, shorter film would have worked better.
Did I enjoy it though? Yes, I did. But it’s worth pointing out that the illustrious Mrs Movie Man – who normally begrudges every minute over 90 minutes in a movie – really loved this one.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Hunt on the edge… again.
2015’s “MI: Rogue Nation” was one of my favourite films of that year, so of all the summer blockbusters this was the one I was most looking forward to. Was I delighted? It’s a slightly qualified “YES!”.
The film neatly follows on from Rogue Nation with arch terrorist-in-need-of-a-razor Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) being extraordinarily renditioned (probably not a valid phrase!) between multiple countries who want to torture/punish him. But his followers – “The Apostles” – are still active and on the trail of plutonium that could devestate key sites, with religious centres being the top of the target list. Since Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) originally caught Lane, IMF Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin) despatches Hunt to intercept the plutonium.
But CIA director Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) has no faith in the IMF, or trust that the organisation has not been infiltrated, and she insists that her ‘heavy’ August Walker (Henry Cavill) goes along for the ride. But they are not the only parties in play, for Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) is also involved. But who is she working for?
What makes these films a cut above your average action adventure is the stunt work, with the knowledge that Cruise is at the centre of the action. In “Skyscraper” you KNOW Dwayne Johnson is standing on the ‘edge’ in front of a big green screen. Similarly here you KNOW Cruise is standing on the edge of the Tate Modern tower – probably without a safety line – as the camera goes 360 degrees around him. This makes all the difference to the adrenalin count.
There are some outstanding set pieces in the film, with extraordinarily spectacular shots from a ‘halo jump’ and a dramatic helicopter finale. But it is some of the smaller stuff that really impresses: a dramatic edge-of-the-seat car and motorbike chase through central Paris is one of the most impressive and terrifying things I’ve seen on film for many years; and Cruise’s literally bone-crunching run through London is also extremely exciting, with Simon Pegg adding good humour in his regular role of Benji. By the way, series regulars Ving Rhames, as Luther, and Michelle Monaghan, as Hunt’s ex-wife Julia, also make welcome returns but Jeremy Renner is missing this time.
Tom Cruise at 56 (he’s just 15 months younger than I am, damn it!) will eventually meet a Roger Moore-like Bond cliff when his Hunt role is no longer credible. But he’s not there yet! Rebecca Ferguson is again outstanding as Faust and as a newcomer in a similar role Vanessa Kirby (memorable as Princess Margaret in “The Crown”) impresses as the “White Widow” – someone with a familial link to a villain from the past!
Unusually, for a film series which has traditionally been kept fresh by changing directors and composers at each turn, Christopher McQuarrie (“Edge of Tomorrow“, “The Mummy“) returns following “Rogue Nation“, and he also writes the screenplay. The composing baton is handed over this time though to Lorne Balfe (“Churchill“, “Terminator: Genisys“) and for me this was a bit of a step down from the “Rogue Nation” soundtrack by Joe Kraemer which I really enjoyed.
Is it sufficiently fresh though? Let’s be clear here, I was enormously entertained throughout, and this should be near the top of your summer watch list. But it did ultimately feel at times a little like a light retread of “Rogue Nation“. Some of the stunts – notably the Paris and London scenes as above – were a step up for me, but there are some annoyances in McQuarrie’s script (see the spoiler section below the trailer), so for me the rating plateaus at the same as “Rogue Nation“.
The film neatly follows on from Rogue Nation with arch terrorist-in-need-of-a-razor Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) being extraordinarily renditioned (probably not a valid phrase!) between multiple countries who want to torture/punish him. But his followers – “The Apostles” – are still active and on the trail of plutonium that could devestate key sites, with religious centres being the top of the target list. Since Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) originally caught Lane, IMF Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin) despatches Hunt to intercept the plutonium.
But CIA director Erica Sloan (Angela Bassett) has no faith in the IMF, or trust that the organisation has not been infiltrated, and she insists that her ‘heavy’ August Walker (Henry Cavill) goes along for the ride. But they are not the only parties in play, for Isla Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) is also involved. But who is she working for?
What makes these films a cut above your average action adventure is the stunt work, with the knowledge that Cruise is at the centre of the action. In “Skyscraper” you KNOW Dwayne Johnson is standing on the ‘edge’ in front of a big green screen. Similarly here you KNOW Cruise is standing on the edge of the Tate Modern tower – probably without a safety line – as the camera goes 360 degrees around him. This makes all the difference to the adrenalin count.
There are some outstanding set pieces in the film, with extraordinarily spectacular shots from a ‘halo jump’ and a dramatic helicopter finale. But it is some of the smaller stuff that really impresses: a dramatic edge-of-the-seat car and motorbike chase through central Paris is one of the most impressive and terrifying things I’ve seen on film for many years; and Cruise’s literally bone-crunching run through London is also extremely exciting, with Simon Pegg adding good humour in his regular role of Benji. By the way, series regulars Ving Rhames, as Luther, and Michelle Monaghan, as Hunt’s ex-wife Julia, also make welcome returns but Jeremy Renner is missing this time.
Tom Cruise at 56 (he’s just 15 months younger than I am, damn it!) will eventually meet a Roger Moore-like Bond cliff when his Hunt role is no longer credible. But he’s not there yet! Rebecca Ferguson is again outstanding as Faust and as a newcomer in a similar role Vanessa Kirby (memorable as Princess Margaret in “The Crown”) impresses as the “White Widow” – someone with a familial link to a villain from the past!
Unusually, for a film series which has traditionally been kept fresh by changing directors and composers at each turn, Christopher McQuarrie (“Edge of Tomorrow“, “The Mummy“) returns following “Rogue Nation“, and he also writes the screenplay. The composing baton is handed over this time though to Lorne Balfe (“Churchill“, “Terminator: Genisys“) and for me this was a bit of a step down from the “Rogue Nation” soundtrack by Joe Kraemer which I really enjoyed.
Is it sufficiently fresh though? Let’s be clear here, I was enormously entertained throughout, and this should be near the top of your summer watch list. But it did ultimately feel at times a little like a light retread of “Rogue Nation“. Some of the stunts – notably the Paris and London scenes as above – were a step up for me, but there are some annoyances in McQuarrie’s script (see the spoiler section below the trailer), so for me the rating plateaus at the same as “Rogue Nation“.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Wicked & Wise in Tabletop Games
Jul 20, 2021
Who here has only thought of dragons as fearsome fire-breathing beasts of flight in fantastical worlds of magic and whimsy? I probably would be among you, if not for the cutey little Leafy Sea Dragons in our own world. That aside, not many would guess that dragons are actually smooth businesscreatures who employ simple, yet very professional, hordes of mice as their personal accountants. I guess you just don’t know what you don’t know. So thank you to designer Fertessa Allyse for cluing us all in on the inner workings of draconic wealth management.
Wicked & Wise is a trick-taking game where players belong to teams of dragon/mouse-kind bent on epic games of cards upon which they wager and win treasures and gold. Think you know Euchre? Well this is Euchre with purpose!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
Setup is different for each play count from two to six players. For this review, we have tackled the two-player version that uses an open-handed ghost-Mouse player. Separate all card types and place them in decks, per the rules. Each Dragon player will receive 10 basic cards for their hands, and the ghost-Mouse player will be dealt five cards face-up between both players. The starting player is determined and given the Lead Token, which in this prototype copy, is a 3d-printed white dragon (amazing). Each player (or team if playing with more players) also chooses their Goal card for the round and a Table Talk card in use for the entire game. There are more rules for setup, but this is the general idea.
Generally speaking, Wicked & Wise is played like a normal trick-taking game with several embellishments. One such is that the leading Dragon will play the first card to set the trump suit, then the other Dragon(s) will play their card to follow. Once all Dragons have played, the Mouse players will play their one card in the same team order the Dragons followed. The Dragons’ cards are all played for the suit and numeric value, as in Euchre, but the Mouse cards are played for their special abilities printed at the bottom of each card. These abilities could include drawing cards and passing them to their Dragon teammate, or choosing to take some Gold, or discarding and redrawing more basic cards. Oh, but here is the kicker – the Dragons now get another card they may play to help tip the odds and win the trick! I am no master of Euchre (or any trick-taking game for that matter), but I know I have never seen this in any game I have ever played. Two opportunities to play a card to win the trick? Excellent.
The round Goal cards are now consulted to see if the teams achieved their chosen Goal for the round. If successful, the team takes the reward printed. If not, they lose half the amount, rounded down. Afterward, the Cleanup actions will reset hand sizes and get the table ready to play the next round. The winning team is they who are able to amass the largest collection of Gold over the course of the three rounds of play. Games can last anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes per my plays, and they get faster with more experience and more focused players.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of this game. That said, I am absolutely impressed with how far along this game seems to be at this point. The art is mostly complete and it is simply amazing. Beth Sobel has always received high praise from us here, and never disappoints on anything she touches. I think the cards have a great look to them, and the suits are differentiated not only by color, but also by iconography – a boon for our colorblind gamer friends. I am very excited to see where the components end up at the end of the Kickstarter campaign for sure.
Euchre has always been one of my favorite games, and it is something I can play with any type of teammate or opponent. I learned how to play on a bus in France in college and will always accept an invitation to play it. So to have a themed version of Euchre to play that also adds so many interesting new decisions and teammate roles and physical score-keeping components just hits on every level. The theme and game are not necessarily securely tied together – I think those that are opposed to a fantasy setting can easily enjoy the game or simply re-theme it themselves to almost anything.
This one is a sneaky little game that pulls you in and keeps you interested throughout its entirety, and that is a mark of a great game for me. Once game nights can get back to normal soon (I hope) I can see this coming out to the table quite often. If you are in the market for a swole Euchre replacement (or extremely fun side session for the die-hards), then I recommend you take a look at Wicked & Wise. It adds so many great new ideas to keep an old standard fresh and tasty. Do consider backing it on Kickstarter when it launches in August, and let’s see if we can get Carla to drop an image of the Lead Player Token they are planning.
Wicked & Wise is a trick-taking game where players belong to teams of dragon/mouse-kind bent on epic games of cards upon which they wager and win treasures and gold. Think you know Euchre? Well this is Euchre with purpose!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
Setup is different for each play count from two to six players. For this review, we have tackled the two-player version that uses an open-handed ghost-Mouse player. Separate all card types and place them in decks, per the rules. Each Dragon player will receive 10 basic cards for their hands, and the ghost-Mouse player will be dealt five cards face-up between both players. The starting player is determined and given the Lead Token, which in this prototype copy, is a 3d-printed white dragon (amazing). Each player (or team if playing with more players) also chooses their Goal card for the round and a Table Talk card in use for the entire game. There are more rules for setup, but this is the general idea.
Generally speaking, Wicked & Wise is played like a normal trick-taking game with several embellishments. One such is that the leading Dragon will play the first card to set the trump suit, then the other Dragon(s) will play their card to follow. Once all Dragons have played, the Mouse players will play their one card in the same team order the Dragons followed. The Dragons’ cards are all played for the suit and numeric value, as in Euchre, but the Mouse cards are played for their special abilities printed at the bottom of each card. These abilities could include drawing cards and passing them to their Dragon teammate, or choosing to take some Gold, or discarding and redrawing more basic cards. Oh, but here is the kicker – the Dragons now get another card they may play to help tip the odds and win the trick! I am no master of Euchre (or any trick-taking game for that matter), but I know I have never seen this in any game I have ever played. Two opportunities to play a card to win the trick? Excellent.
The round Goal cards are now consulted to see if the teams achieved their chosen Goal for the round. If successful, the team takes the reward printed. If not, they lose half the amount, rounded down. Afterward, the Cleanup actions will reset hand sizes and get the table ready to play the next round. The winning team is they who are able to amass the largest collection of Gold over the course of the three rounds of play. Games can last anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes per my plays, and they get faster with more experience and more focused players.
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of this game. That said, I am absolutely impressed with how far along this game seems to be at this point. The art is mostly complete and it is simply amazing. Beth Sobel has always received high praise from us here, and never disappoints on anything she touches. I think the cards have a great look to them, and the suits are differentiated not only by color, but also by iconography – a boon for our colorblind gamer friends. I am very excited to see where the components end up at the end of the Kickstarter campaign for sure.
Euchre has always been one of my favorite games, and it is something I can play with any type of teammate or opponent. I learned how to play on a bus in France in college and will always accept an invitation to play it. So to have a themed version of Euchre to play that also adds so many interesting new decisions and teammate roles and physical score-keeping components just hits on every level. The theme and game are not necessarily securely tied together – I think those that are opposed to a fantasy setting can easily enjoy the game or simply re-theme it themselves to almost anything.
This one is a sneaky little game that pulls you in and keeps you interested throughout its entirety, and that is a mark of a great game for me. Once game nights can get back to normal soon (I hope) I can see this coming out to the table quite often. If you are in the market for a swole Euchre replacement (or extremely fun side session for the die-hards), then I recommend you take a look at Wicked & Wise. It adds so many great new ideas to keep an old standard fresh and tasty. Do consider backing it on Kickstarter when it launches in August, and let’s see if we can get Carla to drop an image of the Lead Player Token they are planning.
Hadley (567 KP) rated The Shining in Books
Apr 6, 2019
Different from the movie (1 more)
Well written
Contains spoilers, click to show
In his most well-known horror story, 'The Shining,' which is either a ghost story or the collapse of a man's mental state, Jack Torrance, a recovering alcoholic who just lost his job teaching at a school, gets hired to be the Winter caretaker of the infamous Overlook Hotel. In this book, the readers follow Jack into a nervous breakdown, as well as his possession by the ghosts of this hotel.
While the Torrance's seem like every other family - a small boy and moving to a new town - we find out that their son, Danny, has special abilities that help him to see things that may or may not happen in the future.
Soon after the family arrives to take over the hotel for the Winter, Danny meets a man named Hallorann - a chef at the hotel - who has the same abilities as him, which he calls 'Shine:' "What you got son, I call it shinin' on, the Bible calls it having visions, and there's scientists that call it precognition. I've read up on it, son. I've studied on it. They all mean seeing the future. Do you understand that?" Hallorann tells Danny.
Why does Danny, or anyone for that matter, have the Shine? King doesn't explain this in the book, it just seems to be something specific people are born with, even Danny's parents take him to a doctor before the snowfall hits to figure out what is going on,but even the doctor believes it's just a child's overactive imagination. Even so, Danny continues to have visions: one is of the room 217 in the Overlook, which even Hallorann told him to never go inside, and the other is of a creature-like man swinging a roque mallet, yelling about someone needing to take their medicine,"Come out! Come out, you little shit! Take your medicine!" We,also,meet his imaginary friend, Tony, who is the one whom continues to show Danny these visions over and over.
Unlike the movie, 'The Shining' book stands on it's own as an almost completely different story, even having Jack wielding a roque mallet and not an axe. Also the infamous scene of the Grady twins showing up in a hallway, asking Danny to play with them, never happened in the book; Hallorann also survives Jack's attack, Wendy is nearly beaten to-death by the roque mallet, and the hedge maze doesn't even exist! Instead, King wrote about topiary animals that came to life to kill you, "The rabbit was down on all fours, cropping grass. Its belly was against the ground. But not ten minutes ago it had been up on its hind legs, of course it had been, he had trimmed its ears...and its belly."
Jack begins to change when he finds a scrapbook in the basement that contains articles and such of things that happened at the Overlook. One such thing that sticks with Jack is about a Masked Ball that took place at the grand opening of the hotel. "Horace M. Derwent Requests The Pleasure of Your Company At a Masked Ball to Celebrate The Grand Opening of THE OVERLOOK HOTEL...Dinner Will Be Served At 8 P.M. Unmasking And Dancing At Midnight August 29,1945...RSVP"
Later on in the story, Jack, Wendy and Danny are awoken by the elevator going up and down by itself, but inside is a surprise,"Then she was up, her cheeks flushed, her forehead as pale and shining as a spirit lamp. 'What about this, Jack? Is this a short circuit?' She threw something and suddenly the hall was full of drifting confetti, red and white and blue and yellow. 'Is this?' A green party streamer, faded to a pale pastel color with age." Continuously, throughout the book,the past hotel guests make themselves known, either by showing up in rooms or leaving things for the family to find.
King shines (pun intended) with this book, he keeps things moving so that readers don't get bored. Known for his horror books, he doesn't disappoint in this one, which I personally think that this is his best work ever. He doesn't jump from scene to scene (like in many of his other books), he flawlessly keeps the timeline going even though he switches from character view points, between Jack, Danny, Wendy and Hallorann.
Although the film 'The Shining' is a classic in the horror movie genre, it is a huge step away from the book itself. "And the Red Death held sway over all." is a line that was never in the movie,but is quite frequent through the book. Even the most recognizable scene of "Here's Johnny!" is not in the book!
Also, Hallorann's character has a much bigger part in the story, the reader gets to see him living his Winter life in Florida, working as a chef in another hotel.. Hallorann even has a back story in the book that is wonderful to read about; we get to accompany him to a lawyer's office where he feels the need to get his Will made out for everything to be left to his sister when he is overcome with the feeling that his life may be about to end,"Hallorann had stepped in and told this McIver that he wanted to make a will,and could McIver help him out? Well, McIver asked,how soon do you want the document? Yesterday, said Hallorann, and threw his head back and laughed."
This 659- page book is well worth the read. You not only get a different take on 'The Shining' that is so well known,but you also get a different ending!'The Shining' will now always be a staple on my book shelf.
Even if you love the movie as much as I do (it is my favorite horror movie of all time), you will love the book just as much. King went above and beyond when he wrote 'The Shining.' Highly recommend!
While the Torrance's seem like every other family - a small boy and moving to a new town - we find out that their son, Danny, has special abilities that help him to see things that may or may not happen in the future.
Soon after the family arrives to take over the hotel for the Winter, Danny meets a man named Hallorann - a chef at the hotel - who has the same abilities as him, which he calls 'Shine:' "What you got son, I call it shinin' on, the Bible calls it having visions, and there's scientists that call it precognition. I've read up on it, son. I've studied on it. They all mean seeing the future. Do you understand that?" Hallorann tells Danny.
Why does Danny, or anyone for that matter, have the Shine? King doesn't explain this in the book, it just seems to be something specific people are born with, even Danny's parents take him to a doctor before the snowfall hits to figure out what is going on,but even the doctor believes it's just a child's overactive imagination. Even so, Danny continues to have visions: one is of the room 217 in the Overlook, which even Hallorann told him to never go inside, and the other is of a creature-like man swinging a roque mallet, yelling about someone needing to take their medicine,"Come out! Come out, you little shit! Take your medicine!" We,also,meet his imaginary friend, Tony, who is the one whom continues to show Danny these visions over and over.
Unlike the movie, 'The Shining' book stands on it's own as an almost completely different story, even having Jack wielding a roque mallet and not an axe. Also the infamous scene of the Grady twins showing up in a hallway, asking Danny to play with them, never happened in the book; Hallorann also survives Jack's attack, Wendy is nearly beaten to-death by the roque mallet, and the hedge maze doesn't even exist! Instead, King wrote about topiary animals that came to life to kill you, "The rabbit was down on all fours, cropping grass. Its belly was against the ground. But not ten minutes ago it had been up on its hind legs, of course it had been, he had trimmed its ears...and its belly."
Jack begins to change when he finds a scrapbook in the basement that contains articles and such of things that happened at the Overlook. One such thing that sticks with Jack is about a Masked Ball that took place at the grand opening of the hotel. "Horace M. Derwent Requests The Pleasure of Your Company At a Masked Ball to Celebrate The Grand Opening of THE OVERLOOK HOTEL...Dinner Will Be Served At 8 P.M. Unmasking And Dancing At Midnight August 29,1945...RSVP"
Later on in the story, Jack, Wendy and Danny are awoken by the elevator going up and down by itself, but inside is a surprise,"Then she was up, her cheeks flushed, her forehead as pale and shining as a spirit lamp. 'What about this, Jack? Is this a short circuit?' She threw something and suddenly the hall was full of drifting confetti, red and white and blue and yellow. 'Is this?' A green party streamer, faded to a pale pastel color with age." Continuously, throughout the book,the past hotel guests make themselves known, either by showing up in rooms or leaving things for the family to find.
King shines (pun intended) with this book, he keeps things moving so that readers don't get bored. Known for his horror books, he doesn't disappoint in this one, which I personally think that this is his best work ever. He doesn't jump from scene to scene (like in many of his other books), he flawlessly keeps the timeline going even though he switches from character view points, between Jack, Danny, Wendy and Hallorann.
Although the film 'The Shining' is a classic in the horror movie genre, it is a huge step away from the book itself. "And the Red Death held sway over all." is a line that was never in the movie,but is quite frequent through the book. Even the most recognizable scene of "Here's Johnny!" is not in the book!
Also, Hallorann's character has a much bigger part in the story, the reader gets to see him living his Winter life in Florida, working as a chef in another hotel.. Hallorann even has a back story in the book that is wonderful to read about; we get to accompany him to a lawyer's office where he feels the need to get his Will made out for everything to be left to his sister when he is overcome with the feeling that his life may be about to end,"Hallorann had stepped in and told this McIver that he wanted to make a will,and could McIver help him out? Well, McIver asked,how soon do you want the document? Yesterday, said Hallorann, and threw his head back and laughed."
This 659- page book is well worth the read. You not only get a different take on 'The Shining' that is so well known,but you also get a different ending!'The Shining' will now always be a staple on my book shelf.
Even if you love the movie as much as I do (it is my favorite horror movie of all time), you will love the book just as much. King went above and beyond when he wrote 'The Shining.' Highly recommend!