 |
Misery (DVD)
by cha97mw
'Misery' is quite an old film now, made in 1990, and based upon the Stephen King novel of the same name. I watched it many years back, and we recently took out a netflix online film trial. We decided as my husband had not seen this film before to watch it a couple of weekends ago. The film is also available on amazon from £2.50. This is ... a film only review of the story.
I used to be a massive fan of the novels written by Stephen King when I was a teenager. I had a problem with some of the conversions to film, but Misery is as fabulous on screen as it is in written format.
The story is a fairly simple one, executed perfectly on screen. This is not a big budget movie. Most of it is set within the location of one house. However, it is one film that manages to bring horror to life through quality acting and the build up of suspense through the dialogue and action shown on screen.
Watching it anew in 2012, I felt it did seem a little dated, but this didn't detract from the drama being portrayed on screen.
The plot shows a prominent author, Paul Sheldon (James Caan) finishing off his latest novel in a lodge in Colorado. Not being a local, he sets out in his car into a blizzard, and when his car goes off the road he is rescued by a passer by, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates). The area is snowed in, so she takes him back to her house where she sets about treating his injuries. As luck would have it, she is a nurse, and she manages to set his leg injury and starts to look after him.
Sheldon is at first relieved that he is alive and under such good care, but he quickly begins to work out that things are not quite right. Wilkes claims to be Sheldon's biggest fan and reveals she was following him when he set out into the blizzard. Things start to take a more sinister turn when Wilkes discovers that Sheldon has killed off her favourite character, Misery, and she sets out to make him resurrect this character. Sheldon initially co-operates, but he is becoming more and more concerned by Wilkes' strange behaviour, and wonders if he will indeed ever escape from her care.
We see a real battle of wills as Sheldon tries to escape from the house without provoking Wilkes, and discovers some horrendous truths about her background. At times, I could not even look at the screen as I knew the things that were coming next, and just thinking about it made me shudder. Some of the horror was more implied than actually shown, but the visuals were successfully put into my head.
Watching this with modern eyes, it did feel rather old fashioned. The clothes worn and the scenery were very 80s in feel to me. The glass ornaments in Annie's farmhouse and the decor of the farmhouse was very dated. The run time of 107 minutes also felt a little long. I knew it was building up the suspense, but nowadays we tend to see the point being got to a bit quicker. The first half hour or so felt quite long, but once you saw the dialogue between Bates and Caan the film moved from being a bit average to exceptional for me. Bates won Academy and Golden Globe awards for best actress for her role in the film, and Caan was nominated for a Saturn best actor award.
Bates really does steal the film for me. Her acting is truly terrifying, and you would not want her to be your biggest fan.
I have seen a few adaptations of King novels. The TV adapatations have impressed me more than the films, if I am honest, but I really enjoyed this. My husband was also glad that I suggested we watch it, though he had never read the original novel. I sometimes get majorly wound up with how poorly films are developed from successful novels, but King specialises in making your imagination provide most of the horror. The setting and the ordinary appearance of the characters means that as a viewer you approach the film in the same way as you would the book so the experience is just as good.
If this is something you have never watched, I feel it should be on the list of must see films.
Read the complete review |
 |
The Godfather: Part III (DVD)
by pmcds
The third and final installment of Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy sees a much aged Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, who has now held the mantle of the head of the Corleone Mafia family for a number of years. His son and daughter have grown up, although the world is changing and a life of crime no longer holds the same clout as it ... once did.
Andy Garcia enters the fray, joining a long list of recognisable names who have starred in the Godfather films, as a nephew to Michael who wants to show his worth as Michael's eventual successor. Throughout the film we see the trust developing between the two men, as the distrust between Michael and every other characters increases as well. The same usual double crossing and deviousness is in abundance from start to finish, but what this film does a little bit differently is the tension building.
The film deals a lot with the potential of Michael's era as head of the family coming to an end, and with the various different offshoots, authorities, enemies and so called friends, Coppola manages to build the tension, especially with the closing scenes where they attend the opera to see Michael's son finally make it onto the big stage. During this scene, the music that has been a central part of the films all the way through comes to the fore, adding to the tension just as much as before.
However, what this highlights is the rest of the film's lack of power when it comes to the music and even the other elements that made the first two films so good. I loved the way the first two were so different, the second flicking between two different timelines while the first is one of the most solid bases a trilogy could ever hope to have. This third film isn't a bad film by any means, in fact it's actually pretty good and at times I found myself mesmerised and feeling the tension. The problem it has is closing off a story that has has such strong foundation in the first two films, and it doesn't manage to live up to the standard of the first two.
Pacino does a very good job, although he himself is not as good as in the first two, while Andy Garcia almost steals the show with a very convincing performance as the determined nephew who you never quite trust. Sophia Coppola gets a nod for her role as Michael's daughter, while Diane Keaton is noticeable as Michael's estranged wife Kay who seems to be the only person to stand up to Michael to his face. O thought the supporting cast was solid, as was the lead acting and the work behind the camera. It just didn't live up to the previous two films, which is the only downfall the film has really. Worth watching, and you should definitely watch it after the first two films. Just don't expect it to be better than them.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Total Recall (DVD)
by SpiderJamb
"Get your ass to Mars" is probably one of the most quoted lines from this classic 1990 science-fiction movie. The plot involves Quaid (Schwarzenegger) who is strangely drawn to Rekall, a false-memory implantation holiday company, that implants memories of your designer holiday. However, this backfires with other implanted ... memories in Quaid's head, and he finds himself remembering his real past, as a secret agent who tried to overthrow a corporation on Mars. Armed with vague memories and pursued by deadly assassins, Quaid 'gets his ass to Mars' and finds out that not everything is what it first seems.
The Director, Paul Verhoeven, is known for his graphic violent content in his movies, such as Robocop and Starship Troopers, and Total Recall is no exception, with lots of violent scenes and early 90s cinematic tropes, such as big grey lumpy electronics and fleshy prosthetics (including that infamous third boob)
There are so many great action setpieces, that you kind of forgive the camp nature and confusing plot. The most iconic moment is where Quaid is disguised as an ugly, fat lady and his mask begins to malfunction causing him to pull out a tube from his head, opening the face, which until moments ago was a real actress and then proceeds to slide open to reveal Schwarzenegger inside.
Then, there's THAT nose scene, which still makes my nostrils twitch when I think about it, and the final eye-bulging moments where Arnie is subjected to the vacuum of Mars and his eyes begin to pop out of his head. Then there's the eternal question - is it all real, or were we just watching Quaid's Rekall experience?
Read the complete review |
