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The Shining (Miniseries), a review by addicted2dvd

TITLE: The Shining (Miniseries) YEAR: 1998 DIRECTOR: Mick Garris LENGTH: 272min. PLOT: Jack Torrance (Steven Weber) and his family (Rebecca De Mornay and Courtland Mead) move into the sprawling, vacant Overlook Hotel to get away from it all. Away from the alcoholism that derails Jack's writing career. Away from the violent outbursts that mar Jack's past. But Jack's young son Danny knows better. He possesses a psychic gift called the shining-a gift the hotel's vile spirits desperately want. In the hands of Stephen King the "dead" Overlook comes horrifyingly alive. Phantoms lurk, the message "redrum" appears with scary frequency and even garden topiary lurches into macabre existence in this atmospheric shocker scripted by King from his own novel and directed by ace King screen adaptor Mick Garris ('Sleepwalkers', 'The Stand')

My Thoughts:
I can remember back... the very first horror movie I ever watch was Stanley Kubrick's version of The Shining. And because of that... that film has always... as it does now... hold a special place in my heart. To the point that I was concerned when I heard they were doing a miniseries version of this movie. My concerns subsided a little when I heard that Stephen King himself was going to have more to do with the miniseries version then he did with the earlier movie version. When I actually watched it... I was SHOCKED... I actually prefer the miniseries version over the movie version! How can this be?!?! Well first of all, I think Steven Weber and Rebecca DeMornay both did a really good job. In the movie version I really liked Jack Nicholson... but I couldn't get myself to care about the character of Wendy with it being played by Shelley Duvall. I don't know why... just didn't care for her much in the original movie. In the movie version they had a maze of bushes. This was replaced in the miniseries with bushes sculpted into animals... and in my opinion this was much creepier then the maze. Lets face it... when you have a miniseries that is a good 4 and a half hours long... they ken get in much more then the can with an approximate 2 and a half hour movie. Which is a good length in it's own. Over-all I just feel they did a great job with this miniseries... to the point that they didn't only do the original movie justice... but they actually surpassed it.

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Stephen King on July 25th, 2008)

Hairspray (1988), a review by addicted2dvd

Hairspray (1988/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | New Line Home Entertainment (United States) Director: John Waters (1946) Writing: John Waters (1946) (Writer) Length: 92 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: English

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Stars:
Sonny Bono as Franklin Von Tussle
Ruth Brown as Motormouth Maybelle
Divine as Arvin Hodgepile / Edna Turnblad
Colleen Fitzpatrick as Amber Von Tussle
Deborah Harry [Debbie Harry] as Velma Von Tussle

Plot:
With huge hair, a big grin, and all the right moves, Tracy Turnblad (Ricki Lake) becomes the queen of Baltimore's number one TV dance party. Also starring Divine (Pink Flamingos) and rock legends Sonny Bono and Debbie Harry.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• DVD-ROM Content
• Closed Captioned

Wow! I just don't know how I made it through this entire movie! I didn't care for any of the cast. The acting was terrible. I didn't even like Jerry Stiller...who I normally enjoy. I recommend skipping this one. I am surprised this got an above average rating on IMDB!



(From July Movie Marathon: Musicals (Yes... You read right!) on July 30th, 2016)

The Flash Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Guest Stars:
Paula Marshall as Iris
Michael Nader as Pike
Tim Thomerson as Jay Allen
Priscilla Pointer as Nora Allen
Lycia Naff as Lila
Richard Belzer as Joe Kline
Robert Hooks as Chief Arthur Cooper
M. Emmet Walsh as Henry Allen

My Thoughts:
This is a series I enjoyed since it originally aired in 1990, Wow... it just hit me that this series is already 20 years old! I used to watch this with my wife (girlfriend at the time) every week. And we were both bummed when it was canceled after the first season. This movie length pilot episode is a great origin story for our hero. I think John Wesley Shipp was a great choice for the Scarlet Speedster. And I also liked the lovely Amanda Pays as Tina McGee... the scientist that helps Barry Allen. She is the only person that knows Barry's secret. Well except for Barry's dog of course. I still laugh every time that dog freaks out because of Barry's speed. I actually laughed out loud when Barry asked his dog if he wanted to take a walk... and scared the dog goes hide in the closet... pulling the door shut with his leash. The episode ends on a good note... with Barry sitting with his nephew talking about his father and telling him that if he ever needs him he would be there in a Flash. This is a very strong and fun start to a great series.

My Rating:

(From The Flash Marathon on April 7th, 2010)