It’s rare to get a show this epic so early in the year but it was bound to happen when we get Moreno, Ammon, and Law together for their annual Best Of lists. More importantly, the boys play a special version of The Garrett Collins Game in which they have to guess his Top Ten films of the year. It’s the greatest of all time.
The boys also have time for some Google Voice where the Search for Garrett’s bar continues, they get yelled at for saying “member berries” too much, the most impressive Movie Homework assignment ever done, and listening to Nate P. have a poor showing for his first call as a father.
TV Round-Up has Taboo, The Mick, The Affair, This Is Us, The Bachelor, Celebrity Apprentice, and Six Feet Under talk.
What Did you Watch Covers THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, PATRIOTS DAY, MONSTER TRUCKS, THE LOBSTER, NEON DEMON, THE GREASY STRANGLER, ARSENAL, THE ACCOUNTANT.
There’s also 73 pee break sounders, what happened when Law’s kids watched JAWS for the first time, and estimates on how dehydrated Jack Valley is after smashing himself to sleep. Buckle up, it’s a long one.
Things get nasty right off the hop between Garrett, Falvey, and Law as they jump into discussions of Batman and sad New England Patriot fans. Things get worse a little later when we bring up the new ROUGE ONE clip.
Between all the fighting the boys find time to keep things pleasant enough to answer some Google Voice, play some old sounders, review some TV (Stranger Things, The Night Manager, The Night Of, Mr. Robot, Ray Donovan, Tyrant), some movies (GHOSTBUSTERS, EVERYBODY WANTS SOME, WIENER DOG, GHOSTHEADS, BEVERLY HILLS COP, BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, SWISS ARMY MAN, SING STREET, CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE, THE NICE GUYS), and even talk about a few books (Kick: The Jenkins Cycle – Book 1, Batman: The Court of Owls).
Enjoy and prepare yourselves for next week when our worlds collide one more time for Lawlapalooza ’16.
0:01:50-Episode 4 and Garrett Collins fill in for Ammon and Moreno. What the fuck has Garret been up to? Batman talk, courtesy of Law and Jack (of course) Law finally gets asked what he’s been doing lately, but he’s been making dildos, you know this already. Falvey gets bulled about his love for a certain sports team.
0:18:40-GOOGLE VOICE.
0:47:36-Rogue One discussion/debate/argument/yelling. You may get mad at Four Outta 10 during this segment. Just to fucking warn you.
1:05:33-A BET IS MADE ABOUT SOMETHING SPECIFIC HAPPENING IN THE HAN SOLO ORIGIN MOVIE (WHICH IS 2-3 YEARS AWAY). 20 BUCKS IS ON THE LINE! I GOT IT, JACK, IT’S TIME STAMPED! Sorry for shouting.
1:10:25 Matt Wilson sent in an email with a review of Green Street Hooligans.
1:12:28-TV ROUND UP. Collins fifes over Winona Ryder so much but is meh on Stranger Thing. Valley caught up with The Night Manager and watched The Night Of. Law gives his two cents on Ray Donovan and Mr. Robot. Collins gets advice on Tyrant from Law. Roadies discussion. Collins needs to watch GoT Season 6 and Jack is going to begin Star Trek: The Next Generation very soon.
1:50:05-Law cranks out some old sounders.
1:59:10-WHAT DID YOU WATCH? Garrett rewatched Midnight Special, and gave Everybody Wants Some a second chance. He moves onto Wiener-Dog, followed by Ghostheads, a documentary showcasing hardcore fans of Ghostbusters (currently on Netflix). Episode IV revisited Beverly Hills Cop, tried Batman v. Superman again. Oof. He then talks about Where to Invade Next, the new doc by Michael Moore. He continues on with Swiss Army Man, Sing Street, and The Nice Guys (the latter in which Law gives his thoughts as well). The boys all meet in the middle to dissect Ghostbusters ’16, detailing the negative buzz leading in and the possible aftermath in the sequels, including another possible bet (GODDAMNIT JACK) that doesn’t hold any real weight so calm the fuck down. Who you gonna call? Cocksuckers!! I don’t know. Shut up.
I guess I can officially be classified as ‘the list man’ around the Binge offices. If you listened to that five hour barrage of drunken stupidity known as the Binge Cast from about a month ago -yyeeeppp, THAT one- then you are well aware of my love for The Witch. While giving my verbal review of the film, I proclaimed it to contain one of the most satisfying endings I have ever seen on film.
This proclamation got me thinking. Not only about why I hadn’t paced myself in the beer department, as my final beer was on its final legs at that point-but also this: If The Witch is going to one day make my list of ten most satisfying endings -and after another viewing or two, I wouldn’t be surprised if it did- it will have to go up against these ten bad boys of cinema. The below list contains a little bit of everything genre wise. But after so many times of walking out of a movie theater cursing out writers due to a thrown together ending -hello The Call– I thought I would put the best parts of those final reels to the test.
Warning: All of the titles I mention below have either pictures of their finales or detailed descriptions of them. Proceed with caution.
10) Heat (1995)
Michael Mann has certainly been getting a ton of references in both my podcast appearances and articles of late. But how can he not? The, uhhh, man, has put together some great films, and an argument could be made that 70% of his filmography could have been sitting comfortably in this spot. But in the end, I decided on Heat for two reasons. One, it is one of his most accomplished works in terms of action and dialogue he has ever done. Also, the synergy that came with having both Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in the same film, at this exact point in their careers, was satisfying in of itself. The way they came together for a cup of coffee right after Vincent Hanna (Pacino) pulls Neil McCauley (DeNiro) over is far from by the numbers. Why didn’t he take him in? Because Vincent wanted to see where he was coming from, and realized in many instances, they were one of the same. That’s what makes the film’s final moments satisfying. Vincent has won. But he knows in a lot of ways, he lost, because he destroyed a part of himself.
9) Seven (1995)
Along with The Blair Witch Project, this film will forever live atop my list of favorite film going experiences (another list?). One, it has one of the most startling -yet brilliantly set-up- jump scares I have ever seen involving a shackled to his bed drug dealer. But David Fincher’s up front, nihilistic film moves along at a leisurely pace for a good while, as Mills (Brad Pitt) and Summerset (Morgan Freeman) investigate a series of vicious murders, with ‘John Doe’ always having the upper hand. That pace changes as soon as Doe turns himself in. We are then on the end journey with the two detectives, as they take Doe to where his final piece of the puzzle will inevitably be put in place. Wrecked with suspense when a van pulls up -perhaps my favorite single moment of the entire movie- the audience is on the edge of their seat as the driver gets out — and leaves a box. I will not say anymore, other than the fact that going to the movies and seeing the ‘bad guy’ win was a very rare thing in the 90s. Yet Fincher’s insistence -at the expense of a defiantly against it studio- of his film’s final few frames put a permanent stamp on our minds. It made us think about not only how fucked up Doe was, but also just what we would do if put in the exact same situation as Mills. And if he had a choice about whether or not to do what he did.
8) Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1988)
Yeah, I went a little against the grain with this pick. But I feel I do have a pretty good reason why. As was outlined on a recent Bingecast Movie Homework, Steve Martin’s Neil Page spends almost the entire film trying his damndest to get away from John Candy’s shower curtain ring selling Del Griffith. It gets so demanding on Neil, that writer/director John Hughes plays a bit of short hand, as he at one point shows Page standing in his cozy motel room, gazing at Griffith, who was unable to afford a room. Griffith is trying to make the best of the situation, talking to himself, while also trying to stay warm in his car as snow falls around him. Finally, we hear Martin’s voice. ‘What did I do to get hooked up with this guy?’ We ask along with him, but are also thankful they did indeed find each other, as it had resulted in some of the funniest comedy bits from the entire 80s.
By the end of the film, Page finally is able to separate himself from Griffith, saying in closing, ‘tell (his wife) I said hi. I feel like I know her.’ ‘Will do,’ Griffith replies, so softly that it is almost cryptic. After a train ride which sees Page waving goodbye and sighing a deep sigh of relief, Griffith meets him at the next station (whoa, he travels FAST!) and proceeds to tell an inquiring Page that his wife has been dead for eight years, and he in fact doesn’t have a home. The moment in of itself is a heart tugger, and the above image is the perfect metaphor for where and how, after all their travelling, they eventually ended up going to Thanksgiving dinner in tandem. Because they worked together in order to do so.
7) Carrie (1976)
I was fortunate enough to grow up with a mother who was not a psychotic, God fearing zealot. Yay me. Sissy Spacek’s Carrie White, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. In the first film adaptation of Stephen King’s very first published novel, White literally has nowhere to turn. If she doesn’t have kids at school tormenting her about her first period, she was coming home to a mom who was angry about her daughter growing breasts. It is very rare seeing a movie that cultivates in a mother getting killed and then have me deem it ‘satisfying.’ But that is indeed what Carrie amounts to. Living a young life of torment, Carrie finally unleashes her powers and crucifies her mom on the wall with a series of flying kitchen knives.
Margaret White portrayer (and Oscar nominee) Piper Laurie famously declared that she spent the entire filming of Carrie thinking director Brian DePalma was making a comedy. While I have always taken this admission with the tiniest gran of salt, everyone knows the death by knives conclusion wasn’t the REAL ending of the film. But it’s the one that will always live in my memories as its finest moment.
6) The Descendants (2011)
The Descendants, like the majority of Alexander Payne movies, is a film that brings with it a barrel of emotions. One moment, you laugh at George Clooney running -with flip flops on- through a Hawaiian street. The next, you cringe as he meets his wife’s infidelity partner (Matthew Lillard). And finally, you are crying as the two daughters of the film are told -through a heart wrenching montage- that their mother will not make it out of intensive care alive. All the while, older daughter Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) fights with her father, and younger daughter Scottie (Amara Miller) just wants to see her mom.
So, after ALL this, how does Payne leave this family as an audience’s final image? Is it in torment? In constant self-doubt? No to both. We see them curled up on the couch, enjoying bowls of ice cream and watching movies. Together. It’s one of those moments that gets more beautiful the more you think about it, as opposed to seeing as it happens. Yet, I feel it is Payne’s best bit of storytelling of his entire career. Even after everything these three have experienced, they are still a family. And most importantly, they still have each other.
5) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Perhaps the movie that has come up on the most of these lists of mine, I would be remiss if I didn’t include it here. The entire length of The Shawshank Redemption was spent with Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) in a living hell, being sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Yet, he finds refuge in fellow inmate Ellis Redding (Morgan Freeman), until eventually letting him know of his dream to end up on a Hawaiian beach, free from it all.
With dank smelling and stone solid walls, along with some real asshole prison guards, the possibility of this happening looks bleak for Dufresne. But thanks to the Rita Hayworth poster in his cell, he is able to concoct a plan that gets him out, and the shot of him looking into the rain and spellings of freedom upon him could have passed for an ending which was indeed satisfying. But that wasn’t all Darabont had up his sleeve. As Dufresne sets up shop on his little island, Darabont swings his camera around to a barefoot Redding, who himself has also finally tasted the sweet taste of freedom. The film may be wrapped a little too tight for its own good. But after being in such a dark and dirty place for so long, I think everyone -from the two characters all the way to their audience- deserved this moment.
4) Jaws (1975)
Speaking of well deserved moments. But this was one that almost wasn’t. Readers of Jaws the book know the ending from the page consisted of the shark getting rammed, thereby sinking to its death. But a 27 year old, ambitious in his on the fly decision-making director named Steven Spielberg would have none of it. After Spielberg concocting the film’s literally explosive climax, author Peter Benchley vehemently opposed, saying there was no way the audience would believe such a ridiculous ending. ‘Peter,’ Spielberg said, ‘if I have them this long, then the unbelievability factor won’t be a problem.’ Benchley still furiously fought for it to be omitted, objecting so much that Spielberg eventually had enough and threw him off the set.
When watching the film now, there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that Spielberg’s inclinations were indeed correct. Jaws had moved at a sort of horror film pace for its first two acts, and after turning on the adrenaline for its final one, a simple ramming of the shark (think Jaws The Revenge‘s ending. Then again, don’t) would simply not do for an audience’s pay off. By having Brody shoot the oxygen tank in the shark’s mouth, Spielberg accomplished two things. One, a final thrill for an audience which was already on the edge of their seats. Two, a sort of arc for Brody in that he has one less reason to be afraid of the water. Whether Benchley liked it or not, Spielberg did in fact have the audience in the palm of his hand. And that audience has rarely left it since.
3) Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Kathryn Bigelow’s follow-up to her Oscar winning war film The Hurt Locker is, in my mind, the far superior of the two. The film focuses on the true life set of circumstances which led black ops to the location of Osama bin Laden. All of this is built on the intelligence gathering of mostly fictional intelligence officer Maya (Jessica Chastain) as after many false pretenses, she finally nails the location down pat. I say Maya is ‘mostly fictional’ because screenwriter Mark Boal has said while she is indeed based on a real person, she is actually the algorithm of ‘many other hard working women.’
Indeed, the film is an at times frustrating watch, as two hours goes by with nary a hint of success on her part. However, it is Zero Dark Thirty‘s final half hour, complete with a brilliantly mapped out onscreen raid -told mostly from their POV- that keeps you white knuckled. And while the ending is obvious from the start, it is still a terrifically gratifying moment seeing that -after so much doubt being brought upon Maya from both outside and inside sources for almost the entire film- she can finally crack a smile in the film’s final moments.
2) Aliens (1986)
Speaking of strong, hard working women (okay, I’ll stop with this column’s natural/unnatural transitions), James Cameron has been known to write a few of his own. Take the two pictured here. In Aliens, Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley goes through hell to protect herself and the little girl we know only as Newt (after saying she didn’t like her name, which was Rebecca). Now in the director’s cut, Ripley is given an even bigger incentive, as she learns her daughter had died from the time she floated off into space until she was discovered by a random space sweep. Supposedly, this plot point was the only reason (well, along with 13 million other ones) why Weaver decided to come back in the first place, and she was none too happy when she discovered the scene of her finding out about her daughter’s fate was cut from the final theatrical cut.
To me, the scene’s exclusion doesn’t take away from the film’s final shot, shown above. After again narrowly defeating and escaping the Queen xenomorph’s clutches, Ripley has a few moments of zen. Curled up with her inherited daughter in front, and wounded but safe father Hicks in back, Ripley is finally free again. Until that damn nihilist David Fincher came along. But that’s another story for another day.
1) Rocky (1976)
Anyone who heard me dissect this puppy with Binge’s very own Luke Norris on our previous series of Aftertaste podcasts knows the exact reason why the ending of Rocky sits comfortably at the top of this list. Nevermind the fact that up until this point, Rocky was already a perfect movie. That a series of moments in the film’s final frames all but sealed itself up as the quintessential Hollywood ending only makes itself that much more powerful. Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa spent almost the entire film self doubting himself in this moment of a lifetime, while also courting what he sees as the woman of his dreams. After proving his worth to the world, and most importantly himself, going the entire 15 rounds while still standing, Rocky had other things on his mind other than the final decision. He wanted what he fought for. Not the belt. But the heart of the woman he loves.
It is a scene that I still get chills typing about to this day. Rocky‘s final moments dictated that the 70s weren’t all about falling for the wrong crowd’s bad intentions. What makes it even more powerful is the film contains an ending that could be looked at as unsatisfying if it had revolved around the fight itself. Yet, the film’s climax manages to propagate that more than anything, winning the heart of your true love is worth much more than winning a fight. Wait, wasn’t this a boxing movie?
So where does The Witch‘s ending fall? It is far too early to tell. But I do have an in depth column of what it could all mean coming up, which I will release as soon as other people have a chance to see it for themselves. Until then, let us marvel at ten times Hollywood actually got their endings RIGHT. Or, did they?
Here we are again. If you missed the first part of this list, thereby missing the entire reason why I am doing this list to begin with, then clickhere and read it. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Now that we are all caught up, it’s time for the conclusion of my list of ten best Stephen King adaptations. Without further ado, Constant Reader, let me lead you into the unknown. Or as I like to call it, sobriety.
5) The Dead Zone (1983)
Before I talk about the film, I just want to put this out there. I keep hearing the TV show adaptation of the same name starring Anthony Michael Hall, is just as good, if not better than this David Cronenberg take of King’s story about a man who goes into a coma and wakes up five years later with supernatural powers of intuition. But I hesitate to watch it just because it was cancelled short of finishing its main story thread. Let me know if it is worth delving into if you can.
Anyway, 1983’s version, the film in question here, has leisurely pacing that moves almost like a movie of the week, and Martin Sheen’s borderline cartoonish portrayal of Greg Stillson, the future elected official who will allegedly use his ‘red button’ to its full capacity, is at times laughable. Still, it’s Christopher Walken’s ability to play up to the film’s highest dramatic keys that makes it work (‘THE ICE, IS GUNNA BREAK!’). His realization of Sarah Brackneli’s (Brooke Adams) moving on since his accident five years earlier is tragic, as they made a great onscreen couple. The film’s final frames are chilling, and would probably be prevented from getting made today. Is Johnny Smith a misunderstood hero, or a villain who justifiably got what he deserved? It’s a question King was more than willing to ask at the end of the 70s, but would probably be crucified for asking today.
4) The Mist (2007)
Yes, I am able to get out of the 80s and realize that there were in fact good adaptations of King’s work this century. In fact, this won’t be the last time Frank Darabont’s name comes up on this list. On the surface, The Mist could probably be seen as a failure. It has the most escalated and cartoonish version of a Christian evangelist I have ever seen onscreen (played by Marcia Gay Harden) and some at times pretty bad CGI. Still, Darabont’s filming style is not accidental. In fact, the film comes off much better if seen in the black and white format which is on the special edition DVD.
Much like Pet Semetary, the small things don’t really matter in The Mist, as it is its dark and dire mood which makes it work. There are some chair grabbing, white knuckled moments here, and Darabont is very good at playing them all up to their fullest strengths. A little side story: The Mist was the first short story in a set of them called The Skeleton Crew. One summer day twenty or so years ago, it happened to be ‘Take Your Son To Work’ day. So my dad took me to his insurance office, and I needed something to keep me company while there. Complete with a cymbal playing monkey on the cover, I read this story in its entirety within my father’s office, almost gripped with fear. How Darabont was able to translate this to the screen is a talent very few have. Oh, and did I mention its ending?
3) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
A criminally underlooked film at the time of its release -just check the year to find out the reason why- The Shawshank Redemption has grown some mighty fine legs in the last decade or so. Once again helmed by Darabont, Shawshank is another of King’s tales that is nary a supernatural quality. Instead, it is about the essence of man, as well as the ability of the strongest to survive and persevere. Shawshank is a story contained in what is widely believed to be King’s best set of short stories (or in this case novellas) called Different Seasons.
Indeed, the book has what are narratively his most successful stories. Character studies are not easy to do. But King’s ability to surprise with a gem like this is what makes him the successful author he is, and not so much the populist so many like to call him. Of course, Darabont’s ability to put these great words onscreen, along with what I would call the best performance of Morgan Freeman’s career, as well as Tim Robbins’ ability to make us suffer with him through every man’s nightmare, is essential in making The Shawshank Redemption work. Sorry The Green Mile. This takes the Darabont cake for me.
2) Carrie (1976)
Brian DePalma was once my third favorite film director. I don’t care what anyone says. This 70s era of DePalma has not been topped by anyone. Yes, within his work there are more than a few ‘callbacks’ to Alfred Hitchcock (though some would call them flat out thievery), but the man knew how to build a mood and make every scene work within it. Carrie is famously the casting session that ran at the same time as another one called Star Wars. DePalma, a friend of George Lucas’s, made his house the casting couch, and everyone read for the available parts of both films. Folks, you have no idea how close we were to having a William Katt portrayal of Luke Skywalker. Also, the roles of Princess Leia and Carrie White were almost swapped by the two actresses portraying them. That’s right. Carrie Fisher was almost, well, Carrie, and Sissy Spacek was almost Alderaan’s lost Princess.
Nonetheless, that’s ‘what could have been’ talk. What about what we got? There is something about Spacek’s portrayal of the film’s title character that makes me cringe, and not in a negative way. I want to rescue her. She looks sick, and she looks haggard. It is these qualities, on top of DePalma’s great direction, that make the movie work. We all know about the famous image of Carrie standing there covered in red pig’s blood. But it is the series of events that lead to this image, as well as its result, which makes it iconic. Pushed around by bullies, lied to by authorative figures, Carrie finally reaches her breaking point.
In my original review of the 2013 remake starring Chloe Grace Moretz, I said I did not have to wonder why they remade King’s original book. Reason being everything he outlined in that 1975 manuscript was just as, if not more, resonate today. Sure, you can knock the original movie’s goofy 70s music, the silly montages, and John Travolta’s ridiculous accent. But DePalma’s film speaks to everybody. Each and every time I watch it, I want to personally thank King’s wife Tabitha for rescuing it from the trash where King threw it. He, like his title character, had no confidence in himself to make the story work. All it takes is one person to tell you otherwise to make you a King.
1) Stand By Me (1985)
I will always remember my very first appearance on the BingeCast. On top of being nervous as hell, I had, hours before, gotten done watching Stand By Me for the first time in at least a decade. Immediately after the film ended, we were on our way to dinner when my girlfriend at the time asked me why I was crying at the movie. I said I had no idea. I had seen the movie many times in my younger years, but I did not believe that it could impact me as much as it did. This was a story that catapulted my appearance on the show that night, and from then on, it seemed I was almost destined to start writing and podcasting for Law and Moreno’s little venture here.
What is it about Stand By Me that works so well today? Sure, I enjoyed it when I first watched it thirty years ago. But I don’t think I understood it. I watched Lard Ass cause the world’s biggest ‘barfa-rama,’ Verne (Jerry O’Connell) get consistently ridiculed by Teddy (Corey Feldman) and just glimpse each passing moment of the film go by like that train on the tracks the kids barely avoid. You seriously watch this movie and yes, there is one narrative and destination for the story. But you are also getting little tidbits and hints at what each character’s main purpose really is.
THIS is what flew over my head as a youngster. Seeing these characters develop, and watching where they ended up, made such a bigger impact on me as an adult than it ever could on my ten year old self. The shot of River Phoenix fading from the screen as Gordy (Wil Wheaton) tells us through voice over (by an adult version played by Richard Dreyfuss) of his eventual fate was probably the film’s most impactful moment. Not just because that is exactly how Phoenix himself would end up eight years later. But also because I myself have had friends end up exactly like that.
Stand By Me is worth revisiting after driving many more miles in life than when you watched it last. It may have been filmed in the 80s and take place in the 50s. But its core story of growing up is timeless.
Did your favorite make the list? How many did I miss? Let me know either here in the comments section or on our good ol’ Facebook page.
With the trailer to the JJ Abrams’ produced adaptation of Stephen King’s 2011 novel 11/22/63 dropping upon us last week, I thought now would be as good a time as any to put together a list of my ten favorite King adaptations. King is a seminal author to me. I have told the story a hundred times of when I was 11 years old and found the novel Cujo on my father’s night stand. A week or so of reading later, I was hooked line & sinker into his world. I have never passed up the opportunity to read his new release or see the adaptations of his work as they premiered. Much like that Bigfoot looking guy who works for this site named Ammon Gilbert, I have been a die hard reader of the man’s work for over a quarter century.
It also so happens that I find 11/22/63, along with Mr Mercedes, to be the best stuff he’s put out this century. So as King so loves to say in his forewords, come with me, Constant Reader, and see if these choices match yours. If they don’t, let me know either here or on the Facebook page.
Honorable Mentions: Dolores Claiborne (1992), The Dark Half (1989), The Good Marriage (2014), It, Apt Pupil (1998). Silver Bullet (1985), and Salem’s Lot (1994)
10) The Shining (1980)
Ok. I sense a trolling right off the bat, so let me explain my position here. Anyone who knows me knows I am not an overt fan of director Stanley Kubrick’s work. I find the man’s films, for the most part, to be laborious wastes of two plus hours each. And honestly, if it wasn’t for the VERY ill advised attempt by King to adapt his precious novel for TV in 1997, Kubrick’s adaptation would have more than likely been left off this list. However let me tell you why I included it so low here. It is simply because if 1997’s miniseries starring Stephen Weber proved anything, it was that Kubrick’s instincts to ground the author’s original story, about a caretaker who goes crazy and attempts to kill his family, as much as possible was much to its narrative’s gain. For example, could you imagine how silly this movie would have looked had Jack Nicholson been helped by hotel hedge animals as in the novel? If you’re that curious, check out that miniseries. The results are nothing short of hilarious.
Kubrick focused almost all of his film on Torrance and his psyche coming apart at the seams. I know King likes to say that his main gripe with the picture is that we know from the get go that Jack was crazy. That may be so. But it isn’t until we see him at the bar falling off the wagon that we believe he has the capability to let the hotel influence his entire family’s demise. Like him or not, I thought Kubrick did this book right.
9) Cujo (1983)
Ahhh, the one that started it all for a young Garrett Collins. Perhaps non coincidentally, this is another film that tones down the supernatural aspect of the source material. King devotees know that originally, the huge saint bernard title character was possessed by the spirit of renowned killer Frank Dodd. The filmmakers instead start the film off with a title sequence showing this seemingly adorable dog chasing a rabbit and getting bitten by a rabid bat. The film is an odd commodity in that it wants to have its cake and eat it too. As Cujo ramsacks a broken down car containing Donna Trenton (Dee Wallace) and her son Tad (Danny Pintauro of Who’s The Boss?), he gets more and more deteriorated. This would suggest a more supernatural progression of his being than what we are told. Still, there are plenty of tense moments in Cujo, and King has always maintained that Wallace deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance. Speaking of Oscars…..
8) Misery (1990)
I can only imagine what was going through King’s mind when Kathy Bates was announced as the Oscar winner of a role he created. Director Rob Reiner -who we will speak more of later- directed this chilling tale of an author who gets stranded and rescued by a psychotic nurse who wants one thing and one thing only – her beloved character of Misery to make her grand return. The nightmares King must have had -and I can imagine the near experiences too- had to play into the novel’s writing. I remember reading it the Thanksgiving before the movie opened. I was sick as a dog, and the pages were almost turning themselves with how much I was sucked in.
Renowned screenwriter William Goldman (The Princess Bride) adapted the book to page and it was up to Reiner to pull it off onscreen. He got both an at the time unknown Bates and true Hollywood tough guy James Caan to agree to star, and all of a sudden a King adaptation had risen from the depths of Dino de Laurentiis productions and straight into the Hollywood mainstream. One famous omission from the overall mean spirited source material was instead of having antagonist Annie Wilkes cut off Paul Seldon’s foot and burn it with a torch, she would break his ankle with one swing of a sledge hammer. The change was welcomed, and the image of Bates swinging that sledge hammer is embedded in anyone who has seen it’s mind forever.
7) Pet Semetary (1989)
Has there ever been a more fitting Stephen King bit of casting than that of Fred Gwynne as lowly neighbor Jud Crandall? Just thinking of his delivery of the line ‘sometimes, dead is better’ gives me chills. Pet Semetary was a book that King admitted while in the writing process gave him nightmares. The resulting movie, if I can be honest for a second, wasn’t great in terms of filmaking. The acting is at times stiff -that’s putting it nicely- and some of the editing and unraveling family situations would fit better in any soap opera from the time.
What makes Pet Semetary work is its mood. Director Mary Lambert percolates her film with just an overall sense of dread and despair. This mood rescues the film even when it is at its worst. For example, given how it is lazily set up, of course we know that the cat is going to get run over by a truck. The maid, a character I remember playing a bigger role in the novel, is barely here, put in mostly just to say they did. Her one bit of telling little girl -and child of power- Ellie Creed that their cat Church is about to get his ‘nuts cut’ is the one smile I cracked the entire movie. And if it wasn’t for the terrifying images onscreen, Denise Crosby’s account of what happened with her dead sister Zelda would have been Pheobe Cates from Gremlins bad. Still, the movie’s final third is well done, and thanks to Jud’s death, I still check under a bed right before walking next to it barefoot.
6) Christine (1983)
What can I say? I have a soft spot for this oft forgotten gem. One, it is John Carpenter right in his prime. Two, it is Keith Gordon in a truly menacing performance as a teenager who would do anything to protect his ‘girl’ Christine. Oh, did I mention Christine wasn’t a girl, but in fact a car?
The movie made such an impact on me because I was in fact younger than Gordon’s character of Arnie Cunningham when I read the book. And that teen angst, the urge to stick it back to everyone who did me wrong, was persistent in my head. It must be said that once again, a what some King fans call very important aspect of the story that also happened to be supernatural, was left out of the film. That being the car didn’t come off the assembly line evil. It was in fact possessed by the spirit of its previous owner Roland D LeBay.
Myself, I can point to more wrong with the movie version of Christine than that. Like, why does the head bully of this film look older than anyone who works for this site NOW? Why are Alexandra Paul’s line deliveries about as wooden as the burning house from the end of Lethal Weapon 3? But there is also so much to like about Christine. Its at times brilliant use of oldies (‘you can keep on knocking but you can’t come in’), its portrayal of that teenage friendship coming apart at the seams. Yet another infectious 80s Carpenter score. All of this makes Christine well worth a ride.
Well, that does it for now. Come back in a couple days when I finish up this list of my top ten favorite Stephen King adaptations. Until then, I bid you, Constant Reader, goodbye. I’ve always wanted to say that.
Everybody is in good cheer as the year comes to an end. Ammon and Law get drunk and argue about The Leftovers for a while, answer a shit-ton of voicemails, and look back on the newest Christmas classic, ELF for Movie Homework.
Kupka, Moreno, and Luke call in from the annual Kupka Christmas spectacular (thanks for the invite, again) and talk some massive shit while hiding from their wives in a closet.
Ammon catches up on some Summer films such as PIXELS, TOMORROWLAND, and THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., and start the new season of Serial.
There’s a new (incredible) Pee Break Sounder, Law and Ammon discuss some books, and everybody’s STAR WARS plan is put into effect.
Moreno kicks things off with a secret drunk Chipmunk Segement and everybody is better for it.
Game of Thrones gets the TV Round Up treatment as does Wayward Pines, which leads to….
Literary Literally makes a triumphant return with Ammon’s and Law’s thoughts on Wayward Pines and Stephen King’s latest, Finders Keepers.
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Our top 10 Actors of All Time get the juices flowing as each of us delivers who we think is the best to ever get in front of a camera.
What Did You Watch has reviews of ENTOURAGE, JURASSIC PARK III, 20 FEET FROM STARDOM, IDIOCRACY, PERCY JACKSON: SEA OF MONSTERS, SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS, THUNDER SOUL, CHEF, TOTAL RECALL, and more KUNG FURY.
Note: Once again, technical problems reared their ugly heads throughout this podcast. Around the 30 minute mark, there are some mic and connection issues, which did not deter anything from the interesting things Ms Shea said. So bear with them, and you will have a good time listening to it.
Katt Shea is someone whose films and style I have admired for quite some time. So it felt like a jolt of electricity through my body when she agreed to come on and talk about her experience in making her films with me on this week’s episode of Binge Movie Aftertaste. First thing’s first though. Before getting Shea on the line, I had to get a co-host.
With the lovely Jason Morris out on location and Johnny Moreno out of town, I was left co-hostless. Luckily, my friend and former Adventure Amigos cohort Matthew Goudreau answered the call and turned out to be more than up to the task. After introducing Matt and covering how things are going at the Amigos, we get into a discussion about the Wachowskis and where they can go now that Jupiter Ascending has flopped.
We then get Shea on the line, and she launches into stories about her early acting and modeling career, along with what it was like on the sets of Psycho III and Scarface. After covering what it was like working for the legendary Roger Corman, Shea mentions that her experiences directing plays at a young age set her up for what the next stage of her career would bring.
We briefly cover Shea’s directorial debut Stripped To Kill, and then get into a discussion about her 1989 film Dance of the Damned, and how Shea had to film the entire film in 15 days. Stories about a young Wally Pfister and meeting Christopher Nolan follow, and then Shea answers the question of whether her long in development remake of the vampire film will ever come to fruition. She concludes this segment of the conversation by giving her two cents on whether she prefers film or digital filmmaking.
We then talk at length about Shea’s 1992 Drew Barrymore starring thriller Poison Ivy. Stories about Shea’s struggles to convince the studio to hire Barrymore, along with what a 15 year old Leonardo DiCaprio was like to work with follow, and then Shea discusses how she feels about the three (!) subsequent sequels. Hint: she doesn’t like them.
The Rage: Carrie 2, a film which Matthew says ‘screwed up his childhood,’ is brought up. Revealing the film to be yet another stressful shoot, Shea still has great things to say about it, including a particular scene she is incredibly proud of. Taking the reigns of Brian DePalma is never easy, but Shea also reveals that she had to get the approval of both him and Stephen King (as well as Amy Irving) in order to direct the film, which shows up in blu ray format April 14th.
All of this plus how she enjoys her current gig of teaching actors and directors, if she ever saw the recent Carrie remake, if she will ever direct another film, and so much more get covered here in this interesting hour plus interview.
Special thanks goes out to Goudreau for coming through on such short notice. Check the Adventure Amigos for his reviews and podcasts.
And an extra special thanks goes out to Shea for not only proving to be a great interview subject, but also for being patient through some bad technical issues.
Tomorrow is Halloween and I hope you’re as excited for it as I am. Of course, being an adult, I can buy all the candy I want and don’t have to beg for it, I don’t really give two shits about dressing up, and I can watch a scary movie any day of the year if I want to. But, you know, that’s besides the point: Halloween is my favorite holiday and it’s almost upon us. Instead of recommending my favorite horror movies to watch, I threw together a list of scare flicks to check out that happen on or around Halloween–and thus are perfect to check out Halloween night after the trick or treating is over and the kiddos are in bed suffering from candy overload.
HALLOWEEN & HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH
Technically, you can watch any of the HALLOWEEN movies and you’d be in good shape (get it? Shape??), but the original is still the best of the bunch and should be apart of your annual Halloween viewing ritual. John Carpenter is a filmmaking genius and pulled off making a small California town in the summer pass off as a small Illinois town in the fall. And because it’s the best of the series that focuses on the holiday of Halloween, you should also check out HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. Go into it knowing this isn’t a movie about Michael Myers and I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Plus, Tom Atkins is a pimp and the Halloween jingle will be stuck in your head for weeks.
TRICK ‘R TREAT
An anthology flick featuring stories in and around a single town on Halloween night (the most Halloween happy town since Haddonfield) is pure genius and made by those who obviously love the holiday. Cool little stories, a new killer to root for, and even a brief history is given on Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, and why we celebrate October 31st each and every year. You’ll have such a good time watching this gem that it’ll be part of your annual Halloween tradition in no time.
NIGHT OF THE DEMONS & HELL NIGHT
A couple of cheesy 80s “haunted” house flicks about teens who think it’s a good idea to party on Halloween night in a haunted house. Both are ridiculous, both are fun, both feature gratuitous boobies, and both rock serious 80s hair and style. Did I mention one set of boobies belong to Linda Blair? Yep. HELL NIGHT takes itself a little more serious than NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (which doesn’t take itself serious at all), but you really can’t take either seriously. View these after a few Pumpkin Ales, or throw them on in the background of your Halloween party. You don’t need to pay much attention to each to have a good time.
SILVER BULLET
An underrated werewolf flick staring Garey “Substance a” Busey, Corey Haim and John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) is such a joy to watch that it’s a bonus the grand finale just happens to take place during a full moon on Halloween night. Written by Stephen King (novel and screenplay), SILVER BULLET features one of the creepiest scenes ever to involve a church full of werewolves rockin’ out to hymns and shit. And, of course, Busey plays a raging alcoholic–and if that doesn’t sound like a good time, I don’t know what does.
ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD CRANE & SLEEPY HOLLOW
I love Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” as it seems to encompass the atmosphere of fall and Halloween more than any other story out there. Plus, there’s a f*ckin’ Headless Horseman running around scaring the bejesus out of people. Disney’s Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (the Ichabod Crane segment) is the best adaptation of Irving’s original story. Classic Disney animation and narrated completely by Bing Crosby, this has always been a staple of Halloween since I was a kid… and it remains to be a spooky good time for everyone. Tim Burton’s big screen effort SLEEPY HOLLOW is nothing like the original story, but it still screams Halloween and New England Fall, there’s plenty of Jack-O-Lanterns to set the mood, Danny Elfman provides the music, and it’s Tim Burton doing what he does best. Plus, Christopher Walken as the Headless Horsemen? And no shortage of decapitations makes this one perfect for Halloween night.
PARANORMAN & MONSTER HOUSE & IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN
The aforementioned ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD CRANE also falls into this category: perfect Halloween flicks for the whole family. PARANORMAN is absolutely fantastic… and while it may not take place on Halloween, it might as well, as it features ghosts, zombies, and witches, animated in a way that is absolutely gorgeous to behold. Plus, it’s just a great movie–from the story to the music to the animated effects, this is one of my favorite animated movies of all time… and it’s perfect for Halloween. MONSTER HOUSE is set on Halloween and is also a riot–about a haunted house where the house is actually a monster. Love it. And, of course, what Halloween would be complete without a viewing of IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN? I got a rock.