DVD Collectors Online
DVD Reviews => The "Marathon" reviews => Topic started by: addicted2dvd on July 10, 2007, 09:54:18 PM
-
Today I started a Stephen King Marathon. I plan on watching at least 1 Stephen King movie/miniseries per day between today and Sunday.
Today I watched...
(http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/01/017153105179f.jpg)
The Stand
Enter a near future of a horrifically plague-ravaged Earth where a fraction of its population survives, compelling them to choose sides between the overwhelming forces of good and evil, in this critically acclaimed film version of Stephen King's phenomenal, number-one best-selling novel THE STAND.
Millions perish, and as small, isolated frightened bands unite, the answers to their perpetual questions to justify this end of civilization are bared in their dreams - revelations that urge some to embrace a path of virtue and others to gravitate towards a sinister course of darkness. As the opposing forces separate into two camps - one led by the saintly Mother Abigail and the other by demonic Randall Flagg - the noble elements try to shield themselves from their corrupt enemy, whose ruthless potency is increased by their domination of an excavated nuclear warhead. Their extreme clash of wills makes it inevitable that these remnants of humanity will soon engage in a final confrontation - THE STAND - an immense and atrocious battle which could result in annihilating the power of good and hurdle the fate of the planet into the reins of evil.
This four-episode motion picture, adapted for the screen by Stephen King himself, brings to life King's terrifying epic featuring an all-star-powered cast including Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Laura San Giacomo, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Miguel Ferrer, Corin Nemec, Matt Frewer, Adam Storke, Ray Walston, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Rob Lowe as "Nick Andros."
My Thoughts:
I figured if I am going to do this... I will do it right... and start off with the biggie! This miniseries clocks in at a whopping 6 hours! (5hrs. 59min to be exact). For the plane fact that it is so long I have not watched this one in a very long time... so going into it I really don't remember all that much about it.
Even though it is very long... it is a really good story I enjoyed every minute of it. I had no problems with the quality or the sound. I have had this DVD since it was first released in October of 1999... and this is only the second time I watched it. Only because of the length of course. I would say if you are a fan of Stephen king... as I am... this one is a must have!
-
A Stephen King marathon sounds like a sweet idea.
I like The Stand as well, I think it's very telling that one never feels the weight of those 6 hours. It moves very fast. All in all, a very entertaining show. The only thing that I absolutely despise about it (which is also a symptom of the vast majority of his books) is that absolutely horrendous ending. I'm not sure why is that, it has wonderful setpieces and ideas, but he usually goes for the cop-out endings.
However, I'm looking forward for Frank Darabont's upcoming adaptation of King's The Mist. I loved the short story and Darabont is usually very good at helming King projects, so this will be one to see.
Keep us posted on the next one!
-
Stephen King Marathon.
What a fun idea. Two titles come to mind. Misery and Dreamcatcher.
-
Don't Worry SailorRipley... I will keep it up to date. :)
And I do have both Misery and Dreamcatcher Touti!... though I have sooooo many Stephen King movies... not sure which ones I will get to this week. :P I have a lot of favorite King movies though! :)
-
I checked my collection, I have more than I thought, a few I didn't even know they were based on King's writings.
Carrie (That I knew but didn't remember)
Dolores Clairbone
The Green Mile
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
-
LOL... nice start! ;) I have...
- Carrie (original)
- Carrie (miniseries Remake)
- Cat's Eye
- Children of the Corn
- Children of the Corn 666 Isaac's Return (characters based on)
- Children of the corn: Revelation (characters based on)
- Christine
- Creepshow
- Cujo
- The Dead Zone
- Desperation
- Dreamcatcher
- Firestarter
- Firestarter 2: Rekindled (characters based on)
- Golden Years
- Graveyard Shift
- Green Mile
- Stephen King's It
- Kingdom Hospital (Limited Series)
- The Langoliers
- The Lawnmower Man
- Maximum Overdrive
- Misery
- The Night Flier
- Pet Semetary
- Quicksilver Highway
- Riding the Bullet
- Rose Red
- Salem's Lot (Original)
- Salem's Lot (Remake)
- Secret Window
- The Shining (Original)
- The Shining (Miniseries)
- Silver Bullet
- Sleepwalkers
- Sometimes They Come Back
- The Stand
- Storm of the Century
- Tommyknockers
So as you can see... there is no way I will get to them all! LOL :P
-
Now Watching... one of my favorites...
(http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/09/097360182743f.jpg)
Silver Bullet
Something is killing off townsfolk in Tarker's Mills. Something mysterious. Something ingenious. Something remotely human. But the only person in town with the courage to stop this lurking menace is a 13-year-old boy, confined to a wheelchair since birth. Adapted to the screen by suspense master Stephen King from his "Cycle of the Werewolf" novelette, this exhilarating thriller features astounding special effects by three-time Oscar® winner Carlo Rambaldi ("E.T.," "Alien," "King Kong").
My Thoughts:
I don't know what it is about this movie... but I have loved it since I first saw it when I was just a teen. I mean come on... you gotta love the Silver Bullet... that supped up wheel chair! In my opinion... Stephen King's take on the werewolf legend is just right on the spot. There was nothing about this movie that was not just plain enjoyable. Unfortunately this is just a bare bones DVD... no extras what so ever. I would love to see it re-released as a special edition!
-
WOW! I was missing quite a few - I've added them to my wish list. I don't know if I should thank or curse you!!! :hmmmm: :laugh: Enjoy your movie marathon!
-
Let's see.. What Stephen King movies do I have:
- Riding the Bullet
- Secret Window
- Carrie (the original)
- The Green Mile
- Shawshank Redemption
- The Stand
- Misery
- It
- Christine
- The Shining
That's about it.
-
I have more, I only listed those I didn't until now that they were based on King.
Carrie
Carrie (The Remake)
The Rage: Carrie 2
Dolores Clairbone (One of Kathy Bates best performances IMO)
Dreamcatcher (Don't lik it much, too gross for me)
The Green Mile
Misery (Definately Bates best performance IMO)
The Shawshank redemption
The Shining (Wishlist)
-
I read there's also an episode of X-Files that was written by Stephen King, is that true?
-
I read there's also an episode of X-Files that was written by Stephen King, is that true?
According to IMDB :tomato:, he did write one in 1998
-
Ack! I only own 4 Stephen King films...
- Misery
- The Stand
- The Green Mile
- Dreamcatcher
Carrie, The Shining, Shawshank Redemption, The Dead Zone and Pet Semetary are still on the wish list.
-
WOW! I was missing quite a few - I've added them to my wish list. I don't know if I should thank or curse you!!! :hmmmm: :laugh: Enjoy your movie marathon!
Why Thank me of course! what better then more ideas to add to your collection? ;D
I read there's also an episode of X-Files that was written by Stephen King, is that true?
Well I don't know... nothing came up in DVD Profiler for X-Files... so either IMDB is wrong or I am missing some crew in the profiles... or maybe he was an uncredited writer? :P
-
LOL... nice start! ;) I have...
- Carrie (original)
- Carrie (miniseries Remake)
- Cat's Eye
- Children of the Corn
- Children of the Corn 666 Isaac's Return (characters based on)
- Children of the corn: Revelation (characters based on)
- Christine
- Creepshow
- Cujo
- The Dead Zone
- Desperation
- Dreamcatcher
- Firestarter
- Firestarter 2: Rekindled (characters based on)
- Golden Years
- Graveyard Shift
- Green Mile
- Stephen King's It
- Kingdom Hospital (Limited Series)
- The Langoliers
- The Lawnmower Man
- Maximum Overdrive
- Misery
- The Night Flier
- Pet Semetary
- Quicksilver Highway
- Riding the Bullet
- Rose Red
- Salem's Lot (Original)
- Salem's Lot (Remake)
- Secret Window
- The Shining (Original)
- The Shining (Miniseries)
- Silver Bullet
- Sleepwalkers
- Sometimes They Come Back
- The Stand
- Storm of the Century
- Tommyknockers
So as you can see... there is no way I will get to them all! LOL :P
Just realized I missed putting one in my list... I also have Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the stories of Stephen King...I just got that one recently for my B'day. :)
-
NOW WATCHING....
(http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/05/053939684728f.jpg)
Salem's Lot (2004)
Welcome to Jerusalem's Lot - Salem's Lot, as locals call it. Population: 1319. And growing eerier by the moment. Because an ominous outsider has moved into the sleepy New England town's foreboding Marsten House and brought with him an unspeakable horror.
This powerful new adaptation of Stephen King's terrifying bestseller stars Rob Lowe as a writer who returns to his hometown to confront his haunted past... and who soon leads the fight against a heart-stopping force of evil. Andre Braugher, Donald Sutherland, Samantha Mathis, Rutger Hauer and James Cromwell co-star, and help supply proof that when it comes to thrills, chills and unearthly dread you can't keep the undead down. Walk the streets of Salem's Lot... if you dare.
My Thoughts:
I just can't have a Stephen King marathon and not watch Salem's Lot. I normally would jump at watching the original... but I have just recently watched that one. So figured I would watch the remake this time. Not that the remake isn't good... I really did enjoy both versions a lot! Of course it helps that I love vampire movies in general.
As I said... I did enjoy this version of the miniseries... but do think I prefer the original. This version does have some good scenes that isn't in the original though. Most notably must be the scene with the vampire children on the school bus. Anyway... if you haven't seen this remake I would suggest checking it out.
-
Let's not forget, The Running Man, Based on a Bachman (King) story. :whistle:
-
NOW WATCHING....
(http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/02/027616851390f.jpg)
Misery
A "heart-stopping psychological thriller" (Joel Siegel), this Academy Award-winning film is "one of the best horror movies" ('Time') ever. Adapted from a Stephen King novel by Oscar®-winning screenwriter William Goldman ('All The President's Men') and directed by Rob Reiner ('A Few Good Men'), this chiller starring Kathy Bates ('Titanic') and James Cann ('The Godfather') is "a Hitchcockian kind of cat-and-mouse" ('The New York Times') game played between two cunning minds - one as sharp as a tack and the other as blunt as a sledgehammer.
Novelist Paul Sheldon (Cann) doesn't remember the blinding blizzard that sent his car spinning off the road. Nor does he remember being nursed back from unconsciousness. All he remembers is waking up in the home of Annie Wilkes (Bates) - a maniacal fan who is bent on keeping her favorite writer as her personal prisoner…for the rest of his 'cock-a-doodie' life!
My Thoughts:
This is one I only seen a few times before. It is a really good story... and I think Kathy Bates did a wonderful job in it. Unfortunately there isn't much for extras on this release... basically just the Theatrical Trailer and Teaser. I hear that there is a collector's Edition coming soon... so I am seriously considering an upgrade when it is released,
-
IMO this is one of Bates best performances ever. I love that movie.
-
I'll second that. IMO it is one of the best King-to-film adaptations. I also have this particular release, though I've seen the Region 4 special ed. with commentary by Reiner and William Goldman. One for the ever growing wish list.
-
I'll second that. IMO it is one of the best King-to-film adaptations. I also have this particular release, though I've seen the Region 4 special ed. with commentary by Reiner and William Goldman. One for the ever growing wish list.
Carrie (the original with Sissy Spacek) was also a very good adaptation but it's much more visual than Misery which makes you feel just like when you read the book.
-
NOW WATCHING....
(http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/09/097363251248f.jpg)
Graveyard Shift
From horror master Stephen King comes his most terror- filled tale yet... Gates Falls, Maine. When an abandoned textile mill is reopened, several employees meet mysterious deaths. The link between the killings: all occurred between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. - the Graveyard Shift. The sadistic mill foreman (Stephen Macht) has chosen a group to clean up the mill's rat-infested basement. But what the workers find is a subterranean maze of tunnels leading to the cemetery - and an unimaginable horror that comes alive in the dead of night...
My Thoughts:
I wouldn't say this is one of the best Stephen King movies I ever seen... but I did enjoy it. It is just not one I will watch as often as the other ones. Unfortunately this is a bare bones release... not even a trailer on this DVD! And I do love my extra features... even if I don't watch them very often.
-
NOW WATCHING....
(http://www.invelos.com/mpimages/03/031398801528f.jpg)
Rose Red
The chilling tale of Dr. Joyce Reardon (Nancy Travis), an obsessed psychology professor who commissions a team of psychics and a gifted 15-year-old autistic girl, Annie Wheaton, to literally wake up a supposedly dormant haunted mansion -- Rose Red. Their efforts unleash myriad spirits and uncover horrifying secrets of the generations who have lived and died there.
My Thoughts:
Not only is this one of my favorite Stephen King miniseries... it is also one of my favorite ghost/haunting movies. I missed this one when it originally aired on TV... but a friend of mine gave the DVD release to me for Christmas when it was released. Since then I have watched it every year during my annual Month Long Halloween/Horror Marathon. If you have never seen this marathon I would highly recommend checking it out!
Well... I think this is where I will call my Stephen King Marathon to an end. I really enjoyed watching all these this past week. Of course I didn't watch anywhere near my entire Stephen King collection... but that is ok... leaves something for the next time I want to do this marathon! :)
-
Not only is this one of my favorite Stephen King miniseries... it is also one of my favorite ghost/haunting movies.
What would be your favorites?
-
Stephen King Miniseries...
- Salems Lot (Original miniseries)
- Salems Lot (Remake Miniseries)
- Rose Red
- Stephen King's The Shining (Miniseries Remake)
Ghosts/Haunting Movies...
- Rose Red
- The Amityville Horror
- Christine
- Thir13en Ghosts