Movie Review; The Mist (2007)

Frank Darabont directed The Mist. He also directed two other Stephen King movies: The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Shawshank is an alright film to me and Green Mile was actually quite good. The Mist came out in 2007 and starred Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, and Toby Jones. The film's about a group of people in Maine who are stranded inside a grocery store when a mysterious mist surrounds the shop. The people inside eventually learn that a monster is lurking inside the mist and that even a few seconds outside could put your entire existence to test. Out of all of Darabont's King adaptations, The Mist would surprisingly seal the deal as my favorite. This is a great movie with an excellent sense of human emotion and suspense. This film is constantly eerie and filled with white-knuckled scenes that will satisfy anyone who watches this movie. Unlike a lot of his other films, this is a Stephen King movie that virtually anyone can enjoy. It's not tied down to his lore and this really is a fantastically fun monster movie. Now I won't spoil too much about the movie in case you haven't seen it, but Thomas Jane is fantastic. I love The Punisher and while he's great in that, its a guilty pleasure movie for me and this was a far more intriguing role from him. The main antagonist of the movie (Marcia Gay Harden) is so good in this movie and she sells such a hateful character. Nathan Gamble is so great in this movie and delivers a heartfelt and emotional powerful child performance. What I think works so well about these actors is that they really understand the goal of the movie. The outcome of The Mist is almost documentary - style. The camera zooms in order to give us a sense of people's reactions and seems to be documenting these events as if they are happening in real time. The special effects aren't all excellent, but early on they show a severed tentacle that's breathtakingly realistic. This is a real underrated movie and I think that might be due to the fact that people don't realize how bad some of King's films are. Not saying The Mist would not be good without those, but you have to realize that this adaptation is far more vivid and lively then your typical Stephen King movie. The ending is quite tragic. It's all I really have to say about this movie. It doesn't end happily and I don't believe that was ever the intention. It's a monster movie and the ending does justice to fans of that genre who are looking for something more retro, but with a mature feel and tone. Overall, The Mist is grounded in realism, with not a bad performance in sight, which gives us a great film that hits on all the right places. Three stars= A-

Movie Review: Incarnate (2016)

Incarnate is a 2016 horror film directed by Brad Peyton. It stars Aaron Eckhart, Carice van Houten, Catalina Sandino Moreno, David Mazouz, and John Pirruccello as some of the leads. The film revolves around Eckhart's character (a man who can invade people's minds and remove paranormal forces) who comes to the aid of a young boy who he believes is possessed by someone who personally wronged him over long ago. Critics were surprisingly silent when this film first came out which made me interested to see why. As the film started, I got the sense of a perfectly bad, yet entertaining movie that I could watch for a short while. Then the credits roll and the movie reveals it's true colors. This is a poorly acted, mess of a plot, bland film that I spent most of its duration checking to see the time. The acting is not good at all. Not even Aaron Eckhart (a very respectable actor) was able to give a good performance. The rest of the characters are so bland I almost cannot even remember a single name. If I were to lock down one word that would describe how I feel about this movie, it would be boring. Not only is this a bland execution, but this film doesn't engage you at all. It's lifeless and I almost fell asleep. Now, there are two very small good things. The first is that I believe this concept would sound great on paper. It should probably have been a novel, as the characters and the number of times that we have to suspend our logical minds are far too many. And as I previously said, Incarnate does begin with an entertaining sequence..it's just not good. This movie was very disappointing and to be frank I wasn't expecting this response out of such a lesser-talked about film. Overall, Incarnate is dull, with lifeless acting, and a flat execution. 1.5 stars= C-

Movie Review: Carrie (1976)

Carrie is directed by Brian De Palma and is based off of Stephen King's first novel of the same name. The film stars Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, William Katt, Amy Irving, and Betty Buckley. The movie revolves around Carrie White (Spacek) a victim of constant bullying and harassment from her high school classmates. She also happens to be the daughter of a notoriously religious woman (Laurie) who is abusive towards Carrie. Eventually one thing leads to another and we end up in the iconic prom scene, during which the popular kids dump an entire can of pigs blood on Carrie's face. This movie is (as I just mentioned) extremely iconic. Reading Carrie when I was younger actually was one of the driving forces behind my starting to write. I just re-watched Carrie for the first time in a few years and I have to happily report that this is a great movie. Sissy Spacek was built for this role. Rarely have I ever pinpointed an actor or actress and said they're perfect as said character, but Spacek as Carrie White is dynamite. Her presence is timid and intense all at the same time. Piper Laurie as the mother of Carrie was excellently domineering and brought the right amount of insanity into this role. Perhaps my favorite performance is Betty Buckley as the school gym teacher. There's a lot of heart in this movie and not all of that gets discussed. Whenever Buckley and Spacek have time together on screen, this film is sparking with greatness and talent. As I said earlier, the finale to this movie is some of the most disturbing and satisfying conclusions in any horror film ever made. What this story does is put you into a moral dilemma. We sympathize greatly with Carrie yet her final "acts" (no spoilers, but really why have you not seen this?) are so violent and shocking. John Travolta also has the most repulsive character to play which he hits with a crazy and blatantly unlikeable nature. Not to mention Pino Donaggio's score which is scary in scenes, but then can become innocent and fill you up with happiness. It's a brilliant number from him. As I watched Carrie earlier today, I really couldn't place any flaws with the movie. The ending is haunting and that's really what this film does. It's Spacek who delivers a performance that (like a ghost) will follow you and echo in your mind. Carrie has always echoed in my mind ever since I first saw it. It's one of my favorite horror movies and one of the greatest of the genre of all time. Overall, Carrie is fast-paced, with perfect acting, and a satisfyingly grotesque third act and conclusion. Four stars= A+

Movie Review: The Dark Tower (2017)

The Dark Tower is directed by Nikolaj Arcel and is one of two major Stephen King works getting adapted to the big screen this year (the other being It). The film stars Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, and Tom Taylor in the leading roles. The movie revolves around Jake (Taylor) a young boy who after drawing pictures of a large tower being destroyed and threatening humanity, meets Roland Deschain (Elba). These two team up and try to stop the efforts of The Man in Black (McConaughey). I was fairly disappointed upon hearing the negative reviews and seeing the eighteen percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The trailer to me actually didn't seem good or bad, but too vague to give us a full sense of the movie. Walking out of this film, I was smiling. The Dark Tower isn't anywhere near as bad as the general consensus deems it. Yes there are large issues with this film which I will divulge into fully. Yet Dark Tower is a fun, entertaining movie, with two really interesting characters (Jake and Roland). Idris Elba and Tom Taylor are great in this movie. My favorite has to be Taylor though, because his performance is really what hooked me into this movie. Nobody believes this kid and it really sets up intimacy between the audience because we as fans know he's not fooling anyone. Idris Elba delivers a really stealthy and mysterious performance as The Gunslinger, yet we don't know too much about him. This movie is filled with entertaining action scenes and a really intriguing universe that just isn't explained enough. That said, I thought the Man in Black was rather bland and didn't add anything to the story. His entire conquest didn't contrast well with Jake and Roland's adventure. Now I've not read all of the Dark Tower series, but I think this is an idea that's easier to get down on page than it is on the big screen. Still, his story was easily the part where I felt less interested in the narrative. The ending is also pretty generic and doesn't really give us anything satisfying or make us feel exciting for what is to come. Did I enjoy this movie? Yes and I think on entertainment merit and some of the really great acting really saved what otherwise would have been the Suicide Squad of summer 2017. Overall, The Dark Tower is fun and interesting, but aspects of the film including the villain's story and bits and pieces of incoherent editing make it not quite the great film that I wanted to witness. This is pure fun, though. If you're a fan of Stephen King and just want to be entertained, this movie will do the trick!! Two stars= B