Without offering any spoilers, I can tell you that in my opinion:
Johnny Depp is an incredible actor. So is John Turturro. Most of the cast, really. I want the cabin where it takes place. Unless you're William Goldman, don't try and make Stephen King books into movies, no matter what actors you get. King's work, when it works, is psychological and based on dread and anticipation. Movies have to show you things. Even William Goldman knows better than to try and pad a short story out to movie length. Would have been an ideal episode for The Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories. A better score might have helped build some suspense where it was needed. Depp was great, though. He almost made us ignore the plot holes. Almost. If he had not been in the movie, it would have quickly slipped into "Movie of the Week" mediocrity. We left the theater with "Okay..." expressions. That's rarely good for box office. We also talked with extreme deep south accents for the rest of the day, but I suppose I can't blame that on the movie. Worth seeing, but don't pay more than matinee prices. Or just wait for the DVD.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Once again, then, Mr. Depp saves the day?
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
It sounds like Depp didn't quite manage to save the day, but he saved what he could.
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
That's more than we can ask.
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Thanks for the review, Chris. I think I'll wait for it to come out on dvd. Good info.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
Yeah, I figured out the "surprise twist" from the trailer and so did everyone else I've spoken to about it - including the kids in my program.
Posted by Strider (Member # 1807) on :
Shawshank Redemption was a Steven King short story turned into an AMAZING movie.
So was Stand By Me, and The Running man was a classic 80's action movie. Posted by hansenj (Member # 4034) on :
Let me just add a great big "Ditto" to Chris' review. I love Johnny Depp, so it was worth it to me. But it wasn't scary, and it was just overall pretty mediocre and predictable. Oh well.
[ March 15, 2004, 11:18 AM: Message edited by: hansenj ]
Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
Wow, I came off with a radically different impression, Chris.
I will say Depp is an excellent actor. Also concerning Stephen King's work.
But I don't agree that it didn't build suspense-I was on the edge of my seat for the whole thing! And plot holes? It's difficult to talk about them, but to me it seems the main part of the movie resolved those plot holes as I could see.
I never saw the trailer though, or didn't pay attention to it.
Y'all are crazy, and it must be put right. Posted by Rakeesh (Member # 2001) on :
And Running Man was a fun movie, but if you want to see a film that's so drastically changed the story from the book, look no further than Running Man.
Book was better, even without Ahnold.
Posted by beatnix19 (Member # 5836) on :
hee hee hee...
This makes me think of the time when I found a rather, shall we say, naughty tape in my dad's closet as a kid. It was called Woman in the Window, and it was my dad's little secret. It soon became my little secret and my Middle School pals and I learned much from it. Posted by Taalcon (Member # 839) on :
"Unless you're William Goldman?"
I'd have agreed until the atrocity that was DREAMCATCHER. I also have some major issues with the HEARTS IN ATLANTIS adaptation.
And it was Frank Darabont who adapted the screenplay AND directed SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and GREEN MILE. And he's also now adapting the King story THE MIST.
Darabont is, in my mind, the "King" of King adaptations.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
Good points, I forgot about Shawshank. And I haven't yet seen Dreamcatcher.
But Teres has pointed out that there isn't nearly enough Johnny love here, and she wishes to add some. She's even pointing her finger at me as I type, for emphasis.
She is now singing a "Johnny is great" song. No sign of this slowing down any time soon...
[ March 15, 2004, 08:58 PM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
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