STEPHEN KING'S ADAPTATIONS (part 1)

My reviews


Who doesn't know who Stephen King is? Who didn't watch at least one of the movies based on his books?

King's work is impresive and between long novels and shorter works such as short stories, novelettes, novellas, and even poems, his books are literally hundreds.

I could make a post just listing all the movies based on this huge collection, but I rather review just a few at a time. This is going to be the first post (actually I already review one of them: The Shawshank Redemption when I talked about cult movies) about these films and I'm sure a lot of your favorite King's movies are going to be left out. Don't worry, there are more to come.

Before getting to the actual reviews some final reminders:

1) This post DOES NOT contain download links, just a review to guide your decisions about movies to watch.

2) This post MAY CONTAIN some spoilers





INFO

Original Title: The Shining

Year: 1980

Duration: 142 minutes

MPAA's Rating: R

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Writers: Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson

Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd

Plot: A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter
          where an evil and spiritual presence influences
          the father into violence, while his psychic son
          sees horrific forebodings from the past and
          of the future.

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


Maybe (and especially for Stephen King's fans) not the best adaptation from a book, but certainly one of the best "horror" movies of all time. The film takes you into the psyche of Jack Torrance and his family, and it does it with magnificence thanks to the superb performance by Jack Nicholson.

Two things remain clear after watching The Shining.

First, the music score are about the 90% of the suspense and terror on the film. Great, great music choise.

Second, I would try to kill Wendy with my own hands if I had the chance.

One of the best movies ever... even when I'm not a huge horror movie fan myself.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: 61/100 (147 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 8.5/10 (235,365 users)

RT Tomatometer: 88% (Certified Fresh)
RT Audience: 91% liked it
RT Critic Rating: 8.1/10 (49 critics)
RT User Rating: 4/5 (423,027 users)

Roger Ebert: 3.5/4





INFO

Original Title: Christine

Year: 1983

Duration: 110 minutes

MPAA's Rating: R

Director: John Carpenter

Writers: Stephen King, Bill Phillips

Stars: Keith Gordon, John Stockwell and Alexandra Paul

Plot: A nerdish boy buys a strange car with an evil mind
          of its own and his nature starts to change
          to reflect it.

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


Maybe not the best movie ever, technically speaking, but I have some fond memories watching it with my brother and my father when I was a little boy.

The idea of an evil car for a young lad is, undoubtedly, what defines the difference between a good movie and an awesome one. In the name of my childhood, I recommend it... only if you want to have a good time with idiotic silly fun.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: -/100 (79 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 6.4/10 (22,206 users)

RT Tomatometer: 65%
RT Audience: 62% liked it
RT Critic Rating: 5.7/10 (23 critics)
RT User Rating: 3.2/5 (60,647 users)

Roger Ebert: 3/4





INFO

Original Title: Stand by Me

Year: 1986

Duration: 89 minutes

MPAA's Rating: R

Director: Rob Reiner

Writers: Stephen King, Raynold Gideon, Bruce A. Evans

Stars: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix and Corey Feldman

Plot: After the death of a friend, a writer recounts
          a boyhood journey to find the body of
          a missing boy.

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


This group of boys' epic adventure is another of the good memories that I have of my infancy.

With Goonies, one of the best movies about a group of young friends on a journey discovering life.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: -/100 (70 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 8.1/10 (115,390 users)

RT Tomatometer: 91% (Certified Fresh)
RT Audience: 93% liked it
RT Critic Rating: 7.8/10 (43 critics)
RT User Rating: 4/5 (240,663 users)

Roger Ebert: -/4





INFO

Original Title: The Green Mile

Year: 1999

Duration: 189 minutes

MPAA's Rating: R

Director: Frank Darabont

Writers: Stephen King, Frank Darabont

Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan and David Morse

Plot: The story about the lives of guards on Death Row
          leading up to the execution of a black man
          accused of child murder and rape, who has
          the power of faith-healing.

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


Darabont does it again. A little story that becomes a terrific movie because of the great performances of Hanks, Michael Clark Duncan, Doug Hutchison, David Morse and Michael Jeter.

A must-see uplifting film full of magic... the good kind of magic.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: 61/100 (167 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 8.4/10 (269,870 users)

RT Tomatometer: 80% (Certified Fresh)
RT Audience: 93% liked it
RT Critic Rating: 6.8/10 (132 critics)
RT User Rating: 4.1/5 (719,255 users)

Roger Ebert: 3.5/4





INFO

Original Title: Secret Window

Year: 2004

Duration: 96 minutes

MPAA's Rating: PG-13

Director: David Koepp

Writers: Stephen King, David Koepp

Stars: Johnny Depp, Maria Bello and John Turturro

Plot: A writer is accused for plagiarism by
          a strange man, who then starts haunting
          him for "justice."

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


A really good psychological thriller that keeps you watching avidly until the end. Who's that Southern fella that wants the ending of his story to be written the right way? Is he the bad guy or the good one?

Watch it and find it for yourself.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: 46/100 (177 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 6.5/10 (68,417 users)

RT Tomatometer: 46%
RT Audience: 69% liked it
RT Critic Rating: 5.5/10 (159 critics)
RT User Rating: 3.3/5 (401,114 users)

Roger Ebert: 3/4





INFO

Original Title: Desperation

Year: 2006

Duration: 131 minutes

MPAA's Rating: TV14

Director: Mick Garris

Writers: Stephen King

Stars: Tom Skerritt, Steven Weber and Annabeth Gish

Plot: When a sheriff arrests a writer, a family,
          a couple, and a hitchiker and throws them
          in a jail cell in the deserted town of
          Desperation, they must fight for their lives.

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


One night with my wife I wanted to watch a movie and, unluckily for us, the video store didn't have any movies that we hadn't seen yet... well, just one... this one. We thought: Stephen King... the guy from Hellboy as a cop... why not?

The movie was so bad that it was good for moments. You know what I mean. No wonder why it just came out as a TV movie and never was released for the big screen.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: -/100 (26 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 5.2/10 (5,624 users)

RT Tomatometer: -%
RT Audience: 44% liked it
RT Critic Rating: -/10 (- critics)
RT User Rating: 3/5 (10,374 users)

Roger Ebert: -/4





INFO

Original Title: 1408

Year: 2007

Duration: 104 minutes

MPAA's Rating: PG-13

Director: Mikael Håfström

Writers: Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander,
          Larry Karaszewski, Stephen King

Stars: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson and Mary McCormack

Plot: A man who specializes in debunking paranormal
          occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408
          in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in,
          he confronts genuine terror.

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


It was good. I was expecting more, but I don't know why. The horror was okay, but it never made me jump from my seat. I guess it's a good movie to watch at home before going to sleep... I don't think you are going to have nightmares with it.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: 64/100 (278 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 6.8/10 (94,724 users)

RT Tomatometer: 78% (Certified Fresh)
RT Audience: 61% liked it
RT Critic Rating: 6.6/10 (166 critics)
RT User Rating: 3.4/5 (711,748 users)

Roger Ebert: -/4





INFO

Original Title: The Mist

Year: 2007

Duration: 126 minutes

MPAA's Rating: R

Director: Frank Darabont

Writers: Frank Darabont, Stephen King

Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden and Laurie Holden

Plot: A freak storm unleashes a species of blood-thirsty
          creatures on a small town, where a small band
          of citizens hole-up in a supermarket and fight
          for their lives.

- IMDb

MY REVIEW


Okay... this is hard one. I love Frank Darabont and his previous King's movies (Shawshank and Green Mile), and the movie it's not bad in itself.

First, the good thing Darabont made in his previous movies was taking a good script and with the performances of his stars make it big, epic... in this one the actors played just okay performances. Not enough for my expectations.

Second, I hated the ending. So... watch it at your discretion.


MY RATING



TRAILER




OTHER REVIEWS (by 12.7.2011)

IMDb Critic Rating: 58/100 (286 critics)
IMDb User Rating: 7.3/10 (101,715 users)

RT Tomatometer: 74%
RT Audience: 64% liked it
RT Critic Rating: 6.6/10 (140 critics)
RT User Rating: 3.3/5 (172,176 users)

Roger Ebert: 2/4



OTHER REVIEWED MOVIES