Doctor Sleep
(Rated R for disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity and drug use.)
The cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran and Cliff Curtis.
What it’s about: In this sequel to The Shining, Danny Torrance (McGregor) is still scarred by the trauma he experienced as a child at the Overlook Hotel 40 years ago. He has managed to put together a modest life for himself, working as a hospice orderly and focusing on sobriety. However, that new life is shattered when he encounters Abra Stone (Curran), a young girl with a gift Dan is all too familiar with. He soon learns that a dangerous group of psychic vampires, led by the alluring Rose the Hat (Ferguson), is after her, so he calls upon his own powers to help his new friend while battling his own past.
The good: Talk about a movie that exceeded all my expectations – I absolutely loved Doctor Sleep. That wasn’t the plan when I walked into the press screening earlier this week, mostly because the premise seems preposterous and shouldn’t work at all.
A sequel to a horror classic four decades after the fact? And it’s somehow a follow-up to both Stephen King’s novel and Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation, perhaps the gold standard of “this movie’s nothing like the book”? (It’s well-known that King hates Kubrick’s version because he feels like it betrays the characters.)
Miraculously, Doctor Sleep works so well I that I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot for most of the 152-minute running time. As a die-hard King fan, it was amazing to watch an adaptation that captures exactly what it feels like to read one of his novels. Not just the scary parts – although they’re highly effective – but also the enjoyment of just hanging out with a bunch of interesting characters.
That’s primarily thanks to writer-director Mike Flanagan, who understands why King’s stories work on a fundamental level. Yes, the horror elements are crucial, but the filmmaker realizes that doesn’t matter if the audience doesn’t care about the people on screen. Flanagan extends that to his casting choices, getting incredible performances out of McGregor (the best he’s been in quite a while), Ferguson (who manages to make her villain simultaneously terrifying and sensual) and Curran.
Furthermore, the production and sound design are outstanding, evoking the original without giving in to cheap, empty nostalgia. In fact (and I realize this is a bold statement), Doctor Sleep manages to make The Shining retroactively better, instilling it with emotional resonance that Kubrick was never really interested in.
Man, I still can’t get over how much I love this movie. There are still seven weeks left in the year, but right now Doctor Sleep is in my Top 10.
The not-so-good: The film’s pacing slows down in the middle third and the scares take a backseat to the bonds being established among the main characters. Some viewers might consider that boring, but I appreciated Flanagan taking that time to make the stakes count once Dan and Abra are in genuine danger. Doctor Sleep is also predictable in places, but that march toward inevitability plays right into the film’s interest in fate versus free will.
Grade: A-
Playing with Fire
(Rated PG for rude humor, some suggestive material and mild peril.)
The cast: John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, Judy Greer, Tyler Mane, Brianna Hildebrand, Christian Convery and Finley Rose Slater.
What it’s about: No-nonsense firefighter Jake Carson (Cena) and his elite teammates (Key, Leguizamo and Mane) rescue three siblings (Hildebrand, Convery and Slater) from a burning cabin, only to find they can’t contact the kids’ parents. The firefighters bring them back to their station while they wait, where chaos ensues.
The good: Anyone who watches the underwhelming trailer for this Nickelodeon production will know exactly what they’re in for. Nobody’s winning an Oscar for this thing and nobody’s expecting critical acclaim. That being said, there’s a genuinely sweet story beneath the hackneyed characters and layers of unnecessary gross-out gags. It helps that Cena, Key, Leguizamo and the poor, squandered Greer (I hope she at least got paid well) are charismatic enough to patch over their underwritten roles.
The not-so-good: At a relatively brief 96 minutes, Playing with Fire is still 10 or 15 minutes too long. I get that the filmmakers had to pad the story a bit to get it to feature length, but this could’ve literally been a half-hour pilot for a television sitcom.
There’s an attempt to throw in a narrative twist at the halfway point, but the only viewers who will be surprised by it are those who have never seen a movie before. Still, I’m nowhere near the target demo for this. If my nine-year-old daughter and the other kids in the screening I attended are any indication, young viewers will exit the theater happy.
Grade: C (My daughter gave it an A. Do with that information what you will.)
Blu-ray Review: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
(Rated PG-13 for terror/violence, disturbing images, thematic elements, language including racial epithets, and brief sexual references.)
The cast: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush and Austin Zajur.
What it’s about: It’s 1968 in the small town of Mill Valley, where the chilling Bellows family is still discussed in whispered tones generations after their daughter Sarah turned her tortured life into a book of scary stories. When a group of teenagers (Colletti, Garza, Rush and Zajur) stumble upon the family’s mansion on Halloween night and discover the book, the stories suddenly become way too real.
The good: New to Blu-ray and DVD this week, this film (based on the creepy, beloved children’s book series by Alvin Schwartz with horrific illustrations by Stephen Gammell) is destined to become a Halloween season classic now that the potential for repeat viewing is higher. It’s a shame the theatrical release ended up being overshadowed by the lackluster It: Chapter Two opening a month later.
The characters in Scary Stories are much more compelling (thanks in large part to a terrific cast anchored by Colletti and Garza) and the story is way more intense. Funny that a PG-13 flick designed to ease kids into horror works far better than a hard R-rated scarefest. While that disappointing sequel relied on star power and awful CGI to tell its story, Scary Stories (executive produced by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro) uses practical effects and subtle visual effects to convey its scares. Plus, there’s so much body horror that I’m a little surprised by the relatively mild rating.
The not-so-good: The anthology nature of Scary Stories gets a bit repetitive after a while, but the awesome monster designs make up for it. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the film’s frustrating ending, which sets up a sequel instead of wrapping up the story viewers are currently watching.
Special features: Five behind-the-scenes featurettes and mood reels.
Grade: B
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| Courtesy of Warner Bros. |
(Rated R for disturbing and violent content, some bloody images, language, nudity and drug use.)
The cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran and Cliff Curtis.
What it’s about: In this sequel to The Shining, Danny Torrance (McGregor) is still scarred by the trauma he experienced as a child at the Overlook Hotel 40 years ago. He has managed to put together a modest life for himself, working as a hospice orderly and focusing on sobriety. However, that new life is shattered when he encounters Abra Stone (Curran), a young girl with a gift Dan is all too familiar with. He soon learns that a dangerous group of psychic vampires, led by the alluring Rose the Hat (Ferguson), is after her, so he calls upon his own powers to help his new friend while battling his own past.
The good: Talk about a movie that exceeded all my expectations – I absolutely loved Doctor Sleep. That wasn’t the plan when I walked into the press screening earlier this week, mostly because the premise seems preposterous and shouldn’t work at all.
A sequel to a horror classic four decades after the fact? And it’s somehow a follow-up to both Stephen King’s novel and Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation, perhaps the gold standard of “this movie’s nothing like the book”? (It’s well-known that King hates Kubrick’s version because he feels like it betrays the characters.)
Miraculously, Doctor Sleep works so well I that I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot for most of the 152-minute running time. As a die-hard King fan, it was amazing to watch an adaptation that captures exactly what it feels like to read one of his novels. Not just the scary parts – although they’re highly effective – but also the enjoyment of just hanging out with a bunch of interesting characters.
That’s primarily thanks to writer-director Mike Flanagan, who understands why King’s stories work on a fundamental level. Yes, the horror elements are crucial, but the filmmaker realizes that doesn’t matter if the audience doesn’t care about the people on screen. Flanagan extends that to his casting choices, getting incredible performances out of McGregor (the best he’s been in quite a while), Ferguson (who manages to make her villain simultaneously terrifying and sensual) and Curran.
Furthermore, the production and sound design are outstanding, evoking the original without giving in to cheap, empty nostalgia. In fact (and I realize this is a bold statement), Doctor Sleep manages to make The Shining retroactively better, instilling it with emotional resonance that Kubrick was never really interested in.
Man, I still can’t get over how much I love this movie. There are still seven weeks left in the year, but right now Doctor Sleep is in my Top 10.
The not-so-good: The film’s pacing slows down in the middle third and the scares take a backseat to the bonds being established among the main characters. Some viewers might consider that boring, but I appreciated Flanagan taking that time to make the stakes count once Dan and Abra are in genuine danger. Doctor Sleep is also predictable in places, but that march toward inevitability plays right into the film’s interest in fate versus free will.
Grade: A-
Playing with Fire
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| Courtesy of Paramount |
(Rated PG for rude humor, some suggestive material and mild peril.)
The cast: John Cena, Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, Judy Greer, Tyler Mane, Brianna Hildebrand, Christian Convery and Finley Rose Slater.
What it’s about: No-nonsense firefighter Jake Carson (Cena) and his elite teammates (Key, Leguizamo and Mane) rescue three siblings (Hildebrand, Convery and Slater) from a burning cabin, only to find they can’t contact the kids’ parents. The firefighters bring them back to their station while they wait, where chaos ensues.
The good: Anyone who watches the underwhelming trailer for this Nickelodeon production will know exactly what they’re in for. Nobody’s winning an Oscar for this thing and nobody’s expecting critical acclaim. That being said, there’s a genuinely sweet story beneath the hackneyed characters and layers of unnecessary gross-out gags. It helps that Cena, Key, Leguizamo and the poor, squandered Greer (I hope she at least got paid well) are charismatic enough to patch over their underwritten roles.
The not-so-good: At a relatively brief 96 minutes, Playing with Fire is still 10 or 15 minutes too long. I get that the filmmakers had to pad the story a bit to get it to feature length, but this could’ve literally been a half-hour pilot for a television sitcom.
There’s an attempt to throw in a narrative twist at the halfway point, but the only viewers who will be surprised by it are those who have never seen a movie before. Still, I’m nowhere near the target demo for this. If my nine-year-old daughter and the other kids in the screening I attended are any indication, young viewers will exit the theater happy.
Grade: C (My daughter gave it an A. Do with that information what you will.)
 |
| Courtesy of Lionsgate |
(Rated PG-13 for terror/violence, disturbing images, thematic elements, language including racial epithets, and brief sexual references.)
The cast: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush and Austin Zajur.
What it’s about: It’s 1968 in the small town of Mill Valley, where the chilling Bellows family is still discussed in whispered tones generations after their daughter Sarah turned her tortured life into a book of scary stories. When a group of teenagers (Colletti, Garza, Rush and Zajur) stumble upon the family’s mansion on Halloween night and discover the book, the stories suddenly become way too real.
The good: New to Blu-ray and DVD this week, this film (based on the creepy, beloved children’s book series by Alvin Schwartz with horrific illustrations by Stephen Gammell) is destined to become a Halloween season classic now that the potential for repeat viewing is higher. It’s a shame the theatrical release ended up being overshadowed by the lackluster It: Chapter Two opening a month later.
The characters in Scary Stories are much more compelling (thanks in large part to a terrific cast anchored by Colletti and Garza) and the story is way more intense. Funny that a PG-13 flick designed to ease kids into horror works far better than a hard R-rated scarefest. While that disappointing sequel relied on star power and awful CGI to tell its story, Scary Stories (executive produced by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro) uses practical effects and subtle visual effects to convey its scares. Plus, there’s so much body horror that I’m a little surprised by the relatively mild rating.
The not-so-good: The anthology nature of Scary Stories gets a bit repetitive after a while, but the awesome monster designs make up for it. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the film’s frustrating ending, which sets up a sequel instead of wrapping up the story viewers are currently watching.
Special features: Five behind-the-scenes featurettes and mood reels.
Grade: B
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