4k-UHD/Movie Review: IT: Chapter Two

 

IT: Chapter Two is the 2019 sequel to 2017's IT. It is the second part of the adaptation of Stephen King's novel IT. In this movie, the adult versions of the children who vanquished IT/Pennywise in the first movie are introduced into the story. The film stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, and Bill Skarsgard, reprising his role as Pennywise from the first movie. 

This movie is a double-edged sword because it allows for using well-known actors (Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, etc.) and more violent and gory imagery than in the first movie. Still, it is (in my opinion) the weaker part of the story. This is partly because they have to reintroduce and develop the characters as adults and essentially have them go through the same horrors with Pennywise until they do (mostly) the same thing in the final confrontation with him as they did as kids. That said, the movie does add new elements, so it is not just a total carbon copy of the first movie. It is also great to see the young actors alongside their older counterparts in different scenes. Bill Skarsgaard delivers another wonderful performance as Pennywise, this time with part of it being done via motion capture, as used in movies like Lord of the Rings, Avatar, the new Star Wars movies, etc. Steven King also has a cameo as the mean shopowner Bill repurchases his bike from.

The 4K set is a three-disc set with a UHD disc and two regular Blu-Ray discs. The movie looks and sounds excellent in UHD. The UHD disc just has the film and the commentary track if you want to listen to it. Then, there are two regular blu-ray discs, one with just the movie and one with all the extras (over an hour's worth). Those include chapters 1 and 2 of making-of and behind-the-scenes material, the first either taking a lot from or reusing the same feature that was an extra on the release for the first movie and the second new for the second movie. They are the longest of the bonus material. Then, there are a few shorter features. A very good amount for those who still like getting the physical disc releases.

While I cannot say everyone will love the movie, it did a good job of wrapping up the story. Of course, it is much different than the TV miniseries done in the 1990s, and even with a nearly three-hour running time, it still could not incorporate everything from the book. It is worth checking out if you can accept those things about it.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Aliens

 

Aliens is a 1986 Sci-Fi action/adventure/horror film written and directed by James Cameron as a sequel to the 1979 Ridley Scott film Alien. It stars Sigourney Weaver (reprising her role as Ripley from Alien), Carrie Henn, Bill Paxton, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Paul Reiser, Al Matthews, Mark Rolston, and William Hope. The movie is set 57 years after the events of Alien. At the beginning of the film, Ripley's spacecraft is discovered with her and Jones the cat still in stasis. We learn that the exomoon LV-426 has been colonized by a terraforming colony with no reports of hostile aliens. When Earth loses contact with the colony, Ripley is asked by a representative of the Weyland Corporation named Carter Burke (played by Reiser) to act as a consultant for a group of Marines sent to investigate the loss of communication. Once they arrive on the moon, they find the colony destroyed and evidence of an attack.

The 4k set is a three-disc set containing a UHD disc and two regular Blu-Rays. The UHD disc and one of the regular Blu-Rays just include the two versions of the movie (the theatrical edition and the 1990 remastered expanded edition). There are commentary tracks on each version of the movie by Cameron and members of the cast and crew. Some of the people providing commentary were recorded together, and some were recorded on their own, so the commentary jumps between conversations. The second regular Blu-Ray disc contains bonus features. The bonus disc has over four hours of extras. The most extensive is a three-hour-long making-of documentary (that can be watched in individual segments or in a play-all mode) that includes interviews with the cast and crew from the time the movie was being made, along with interviews made later on. There is also a discussion with Jim Cameron that was made very recently. Finally, there are some stills galleries, trailers, and TV spots.

Ultimately, the movie is very good, with a lot of action and suspense. The longer version of the film adds about 20 minutes of additional footage, mostly at the beginning of the movie before the team arrives on LV-426, which adds a bit more context for Ripley's motivations. The bonus content and commentary tracks provide a lot of interesting information, including the contentious filming process (Cameron, who has a reputation for being hard to work with anyway, butted heads with much of the initial crew that was forced upon him by Pinewood studio), how Weaver ended up getting a massive payday because she was not signed until after the script (which was centered around the Ripley character) was written, and how Cameron was only allowed to direct the movie after The Terminator was a hit. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is good. This movie looks grainier than many of Cameron's other 4k restorations because of how the movie was shot. Cameron notoriously hates film grain and uses a lot of digital noise reduction to make his older movies look like they were shot digitally with today's cameras, which some people hate. But because of the equipment they used to film Aliens, some of the grain is left in (although it is much less grainy than the VHS or original DVD release). Since CGI was not a thing back in 1986, in the UHD format, you can definitely tell when models or matte paintings were being used to create effects, and some of the effects do look a bit cheesy. Even so, the movie is still very enjoyable and well worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hatchet

 

Hatchet is a horror/comedy movie from 2006 written and directed by Adam Green and starring Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Don Richmond, and Mercedes McNab. It also features horror icons Kane Holder, Robert Englund, and Tony Todd. It is a low-budget, independent horror movie with a lot of comedy mixed in. It is, in part, an homage to the 1980s horror films like Friday The 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Candyman, etc., and in part a comedic parody of those movies. In fact, the film touts Kane Hodder (who played Jason in at least one of the Friday the 13th movies) as the killer and Robert Englund and Tony Todd in smaller roles. Despite being a low-budget movie, it includes several recognizable character actors, including Richard Riehle, Joel David Moore (from Bones and Avatar), and Mercedes McNab (from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel).

The story is that a deformed killer named Victor Crawley, who lives in the swamps of Louisiana, kills anyone who comes into the woods where his cabin, which was burned with him in it when he was a kid, is. There is definitely a big original Friday the 13th feel to the movie, but it is not a total rip-off of that story. It is very gory, but not in a realistic way, like the saw movies where it looks like something that can actually happen. This is more people getting their arms ripped off, being ripped in half, and the like. There is also some nudity, which is a total spoof on the Girls Gone Wild flashing situations, but not really any sex scenes.

For those who get the blu-ray, the transfer is okay, but certainly not as high-end and high-quality as the big-budget movies get. The extras include about an hour and fourteen minutes (almost as long as the movie) worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and the theatrical trailer. A lot, especially since movies like this, when they do get physical releases, tend to not have any bonus material at all.

This is definitely not a movie that will appeal to everyone. But, if you are a fan of low-budget, independent horror movies that do not take themselves too seriously, this is worth a look.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Embrace of the Vampire (2013)

 

Embrace of the Vampire is a 2013 horror film starring Sharon Hinnendael, Tiio Horn, C.C. Sheffield, Chelsea Reist, and Victor Webster. It is a remake of the mid-90s movie of the same name starring Alyssa Milano. The original movie was a decent B-level movie, and this, I would say, is a decent C-level movie. While it shares the name of the original, it is not a shot-for-shot remake and does tell its own story. In this version, Sharon Hinnendael plays Charlotte, a university freshman on a fencing scholarship. She starts having weird dreams and visions and blacking out randomly. She learns she is being stalked by a Vampire who wants to use her to become human. The movie also keeps the Vampire's identity hidden for a while and tries to get you to wonder who it is, as opposed to being upfront about it like the original movie was. And Charlotte never really does a "bad girl" transformation like Milano's character did in the original movie. There is more sex and violence in this version than in the original, and the special effects are much better. Also, the movie is made up exclusively of unknown and lesser-known actors and actresses, which does not really hurt the movie but does not help it either.

The Blu-Ray release is very bare-bones. It does include some previews before the menu loads and then just the movie itself. There are no bonus materials or extras specific to the film. Overall, if you do not expect the movie to be anything more than it is, basically an independent horror movie with no star power in the cast, then it is okay. If you are expecting anything more than that, you will be sorely disappointed. It is definitely not what I would call a must-see either way.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Alien

 

Alien is the 1979 horror/action film directed by Ridley Scott that started the Alien franchise. It stars Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skeritt, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Harry Dean Stanton, and Yaphet Kotto. The story involves the crew of a space tug called the Nostromo being awakened from suspended animation while returning to Earth by the ship's computer when a transmission from a nearby moon is detected. The crew is tasked with investigating the source of the transmission, which turns out to be a large spaceship with a dead alien with a hole in its chest. While investigating the ship, one of the crew members is attacked by a creature that ends up being brought aboard the ship. From there, it becomes a fairly standard monster/chase movie.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc.  The 4k set was released in conjunction with the 40th Anniversary of the film. The A/V quality of the UHD disc is outstanding. While the film does retain some grain and noise from the transfer, the movie looks better than it has on any prior physical media release. The extras (which are included on the UHD disc), however, are limited. There are two different versions of the movie, the Director's Cut and the theatrical version. There are commentary tracks on each version of the movie. On the Director's Cut, there is a commentary track that included Scott and all of the crew members that was recorded in 2003. The commentary track on the theatrical version was recorded by Scott in 1999. Then, you can watch the theatrical version of the movie with two different scores. One is the theatrical isolated score, and the other is Jerry Goldsmith's original score, which was heavily changed for the movie's release. Then, there are a handful of deleted and extended scenes. If you own the Alien Quadrilogy on DVD or Blu-Ray, that set has a lot of extras that were not transferred over to this release. So, if you are a person who is a fan of bonus content, you will want to keep that set. Ultimately, the movie is good but dated (as the newer movies in the franchise have proven). The physical release is very good (aside from the fact that not all the prior bonus content was included) and is definitely worth the pickup.  

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Doctor Sleep

 

Doctor Sleep is a 2019 sequel to The Shining, starring Rebecca Ferguson, Ewan McGregor, Kyliegh Curran, Jacob Tremblay, Emily Alyn Lind,  Zahn McClarnon, Bruce Greenwood, Carl Lumbly, and Alex Essoe. It tells the story of the now-adult Danny Torrance, played by Ewan McGregor, who is still dealing with the aftermath of what happened at The Overlook Hotel. Rebecca Ferguson plays Rose Hat, the leader of a group called the True Knot, who are comprised of people with The Shine, who "eat" the shine of those they kill (primarily kids). Kyliegh Curran plays Abra, a young girl with a powerful "shine" whom the True Knot crew wants to find and Danny is trying to protect.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The 4k disc has the theatrical version of the movie and all of the extras. The regular Blu-Ray includes the director's cut of the movie. It looks and sounds great in the UHD format. The movie stays faithful to Kubrick's version of The Shining, which Stephen King really disliked, but also incorporates the ending of the book version of The Shining (having Danny take over Jack's role at the end of the book) while fighting Rose Hat. There is about 45 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes and making-of material included as extras. It's not a ton of bonus content, but what was included was good. Overall, the movie is excellent. It is very violent, and there is some nudity, so it earns the R-rating. Ferguson dominates nearly every scene she is in, and McGregor does a great job playing the adult version of Danny. Kyliegh Curran does a wonderful job as the child lead in this movie, and if there are more stories to be told of her character, she would do a great job. It is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Shining

 

The Shining is a 1980 thriller/horror film starring Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duval, and Danny Lloyd. Scatman Crothers, Joe Turkel, and Phillip Stone play the major supporting characters. It is, of course, the iconic Stanley Kubrick movie, which heavily adapted Stephen King's novel (which apparently King either disliked immensely or outright hated) of the same name. It stars Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, a writer who agrees to become the winter caretaker of The Overlook Hotel on the side of a mountain in Colorado. He moves there with his wife Wendy, played by Shelly Duvall, and son Danny, played by Danny Lloyd. Both Jack and his son have "The Shining" which allows them to see ghosts and other, disturbing, imagery. Over time, Jack is driven crazy by evil living in the hotel.

The movie definitely does not follow the novel to a tee, which may upset fans of the novel as it did King. I do tend to agree with King that his interpretation of Jack as a good guy who slowly devolves over the course of time is not really borne out in the movie. Nicholson never really gives off a vibe that he is a "good" person, and about 45 minutes into a two and a half hour movie, he is already going nuts. Duvall's character was not exactly written as a strong character as she was in the book, and Kubrick totally changed the ending. That said, I do think Kubrick did a perfect job with his interpretation of the story and got great performances from all the characters, including Danny Lloyd, who did a great job for being so young. Nicholson nailed the "nuts" Jack Torrance and you totally could buy that he was off the rails, even if he did not have the kind of progression the character in the book did.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The A/V quality in UHD is outstanding, especially the visuals at the beginning of the movie on the drive to the hotel and the exterior shots of the hotel. Most of the extras are on the regular Blu-Ray disc. The audio commentary track on the movie by one of the camera operators and Kubrick's biographer is included on both the UHD disc and the regular Blu-Ray disc. The remaining extras include a making-of documentary, which was filmed on the set by Kubrick's daughter, and a featurette on the composer who discusses the music used to score the film. There is a lot of good bonus content, but it does not include the theatrical trailer, which was included in the original DVD release.

Overall, I cannot say that the movie is for everyone. It is very violent, has a lot of swearing and some nudity in it. So, if that turns you off to a movie, then don't even think about this. Also, those who are huge fans of the book may not like Kubrick's adaptation. But, if you can look beyond those things, and are a fan of horror movies, especially those that do not involve an unstoppable killer, this is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Halloween (2018)

 

This version of Halloween, released in 2018, starred Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, James Jude Courtney, and Nick Castle. It was written by David Gordon Green, Jeff Fradley, and Danny McBride, mostly known for the comedy genre, directed by David Gordon Green. It also brought John Carpenter back into the fold as executive producer and co-composer. This sequel is a complete reboot of the series, acknowledging that only the original movie existed, and is almost a "what if" scenario, presenting the scenario of what if Michael had been caught at the end of the first movie and held in Smith's Grove for 40 years. Curtis reprises her role as Laurie Strode and is also an executive producer. Of course, her character was killed off in Halloween 8, hence the need for a total reboot. In this version, Laurie is a basket-case who is estranged from her daughter ( played by Judy Greer) and granddaughter (played by Andi Matichak). She has been readying herself for 40 years for Michael to return. She lives alone in the woods in what can only be described as a compound with lots of surveillance and guns. Curtis does a great job with this version of the character and does a believable portrayal of what she would be like if she never moved on from the events of that night. 

Any fan of the Halloween franchise knows that the various sequels have ranged from good to decent to absolute garbage. And, of course, there was the sequel that wasn't Halloween 3. I think everyone has slightly different ideas about which sequels fall into what categories, but for me, Halloween 6 and 8 fall into the absolute garbage category (although I think 6 had some potential as a story, it was just executed horribly and suffered massive rewrites and the death of Donald Pleasance), and Halloween 4 and H20 fall within the excellent category. Die-hard Halloween nerds will know that while Carpenter's name was included on many of the other sequels, he never had anything to do with them and was just getting royalty rights. He famously never wanted the movie to go any farther than the first one, and if there was going to be a franchise, he wanted it to be like Season of the Witch, without the Michael Myers character.
  
The 4k set is a two-disc set that includes a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The UHD has both the movie and the extras, so the regular Blu-Ray disc is extraneous. The extras include about 12 minutes of deleted scenes and several short behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes. The bonus content amounts to around a half hour to 45 minutes worth of material. One thing that was not included as an extra, which would have been nice, is a commentary track on the movie. I would have liked to hear the writers, director, Curtis, and Carpenter provide commentary on the movie. But what was included was very good.  While the movie does pretend that the other sequels and remakes never existed, it does have many easter eggs that pay homage to the original film and some things that were clearly inspired by the other sequels, including the movie's last shot. It could have worked as an end to the franchise, but as most are likely aware, it ended up spawning two additional movies. While I cannot say that everyone, including fans of the franchise, will like or love this version, it is better than most of the other sequels and is worth the time to watch.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: A Quiet Place

 

A Quiet Place is a 2018 film with a twist on movies with themes of unseen monsters, alien invasions, etc. The twist is that the monsters in this movie are blind but have super hearing and kill anything that makes noise. The movie stars John Krasinski (who wrote the screenplay and directed the film), his real-life wife Emily Blunt, Noah Jupe, and Millicent Simmonds, playing members of a family in what is essentially a post-apocalyptic world in which many humans and animals have been killed. Those who have survived have to be perfectly quiet, communicate via sign language, and can only talk if they are near something that is making more noise than them.

It is a very different movie, especially as a horror movie, because there is minimal sound. Of course, sound is critical to the thrills in most horror movies, and in this one, it is the absence of sound, including background sounds. Even the soundtrack is very understated. The movie pulls off what most TV shows cannot, namely, having little to no dialog between the actors yet still managing to tell a compelling story.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD  disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie looks great in the UHD format. What the film lacks in sound, it makes up for in visuals and special effects. The UHD disc has just the movie, and then there are about 35 minutes (give or take) of behind-the-scenes and making-of featurettes on the regular Blu-Ray. Overall, the film is well written, very well acted, and tells a unique story on an old theme of a creature-based horror movie. It is definitely worth checking out.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: The Invisible Man

 

The Invisible Man is a 2020 horror/thriller. It is an updated version of the Invisible Man story, which has undergone several different on-screen iterations. It stars Elisabeth Moss (from Mad Men and The Handmaid's Tale), Aldis Hodge, Storm Reid, Harriet Dyer, Michael Dorman, and Oliver Jackson Cohen. It was directed by Leigh Whannell, a writer on some of the movies in the Saw franchise. The story involves a woman leaving her abusive boyfriend while he stalks and terrorizes her. The invisibility part comes in with him being an optics expert who builds a suit that allows him to appear invisible. From there, it is a decent thriller. While it does have some twists and turns, the ending is predictable if you pay attention all the way through. It is violent and bloody in a couple of parts, but it is not anywhere near as gory as the Saw movies, which often went overboard on the gore.

The 4k set is a two-disc set with a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie looks and sounds great in the UHD format. There are some beautiful views of Australia (where the film was shot), which doubled for San Francisco (where it was set). The extras are all included on the UHD disc, including deleted scenes, a few behind-the-scenes features, and a director's commentary. Outside the commentary track, the bonus features amount to about a half hour's worth of material. What was included was good, but it was not extensive. Overall, the movie is good but not great. It is well-acted, and the writing is good, even if a bit predictable. It is not an award-winner by any means (not that it tries to be), but it is worth checking out if you are looking for a suspense movie to watch to kill a couple of hours.

DVD/TV Mini-Series Review: Stephen King's The Shining (1997)

 

This is the version of The Shining that Stephen King really wanted to be made, so much so that he wrote the screenplay and was an executive producer on the miniseries. Depending on what you read, he either was highly disappointed by or outright hated the Kubrick movie, mostly because he felt that it did not interpret the story correctly, and he thought Jack Nicholson was too crazy to play Jack Torrance the way he envisioned the character. And, he felt that Kubrick wrote the character of Wendy (and had Shelly Duvall play her) as too much of a pushover.

This version, which aired on ABC in 1997 stars Steven Weber (who is best known for the series Wings), Rebecca De Mornay, Courtland Mead (who did a great job as Danny), and Melvin Van Peebles. It is a more faithful adaptation of the book than the movie was, in large part because it was 4.5 hours long versus the two hours, so it could show Jack going crazy over a longer period of time than the movie could. I think that alone helps tell the story better because about 40 minutes into the movie Nicholson was already morphing into the "nuts" version of Jack. And, the series can flesh out the family relationship more than the movie ever did. The tradeoff, of course, is that the series had to tone down the blood and gore that the movie was famous for, so it is much more of a thriller than it is a horror movie.

The DVD set comes on two discs, with parts 1 and 2 on the first disc, and part three on the second. There are commentary tracks (including the director, Stephen King, Steven Webber, and a couple of other cast and crew members) on each part. The commentary tracks are selectable from the disc menu, although, for the commentary track for the second part,  I could not get it to play from the DVD menu. I had to start part two, then switch the audio track to Track 2 to hear it. The commentary tracks for parts 1 and 3 played just fine from the menu. It is a bit of an odd commentary track in that not all the participants were in the same room discussing it. The tracks were recorded separately, and then they cycle through who is talking. King was pretty diplomatic regarding the Kubrick movie and mainly focused on this version. The commentary tracks are the main bonus features but, on the second disc, there are some deleted scenes.

The A/V quality of the DVD is bad. In some spots, it looks the same as a VHS-quality video. The special effects were not the greatest, given that it was made in 1997, but there was no big effort to enhance them for the DVD release. Overall, I would not call this a must-see, unless you are a huge fan of the book and want to see it adapted the way King wanted it to be. It is different from the movie, and it was meant to be so. Thankfully, none of the actors try to recreate the performances of the actors in the movie. They made it their own, and that made it work.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Embrace of the Vampire (1995)

 

Embrace of the Vampire was a mid-1990s schlocky B-level movie starring Alyssa Milano, Martin Kemp, Charlotte Lewis, and Jennifer Tilly. Its main claim to fame was Alyssa Milano taking on one of the roles that broke her out of the good-girl child star mold she had been in since her days on Whose The Boss and in the movie Commando. This is one of the first, if not the first, roles where Milano, who was in her early twenties at the time, went topless. She was also drinking, smoking, and making out with Charlotte Lewis. The actual storyline is nothing to write home about, Milano's character Charlotte, who is a freshman in college, is being stalked by a vampire (played by Martin Kemp) who is trying to seduce her so he can avoid eternal sleep (the vampire version of dying apparently). It is a pretty stupid plot, and the writing (and, as a result, the acting) was not all that great. But, it is one of those movies that you get knowing what it is, and you watch it to see Milano (especially if you are old enough to have had a crush on her during the 1980s) playing a bad girl role, which she does an awesome job at. She is really the best part of the movie.

For those who get the blu-ray, it is not the best transfer. I do not own the DVD version of the movies, but other reviewers have said that the blu-ray is not any big step up in quality. And there are no extras, just the movie itself. So, if you have the DVD, there is really no reason to upgrade. If you are looking for a B-level thriller and/or want to see Milano in what was probably her sexiest role, then this is worth it. Otherwise, you are not missing much if you skip this one.

Book Review: It: A Novel

 

It is a novel written by Stephen King that has been around for 30+ years (the book was first published in 1986) and has had two live-action adaptations made. First, a mini-series back in the 1990s, and more recently, a pair of movies in 2017 and 2019. The book tells the story of a small town in Maine called Derry, which suffers from a series of child murders every 27 years. The adults are aware but mostly oblivious to what is going on, and it is left to a group of kids (who call themselves the Losers Club) to try and stop the monster, which at times takes the form of a clown named Pennywise (but also takes other forms), first as kids and then again as adults.

I will not go into too much of the story because chances are anyone looking to get the book by now is at least aware of the basic idea. But, I will say that the novel is very different from the live-action adaptations, which makes it challenging to even hard read at times, even for people who have good reading comprehension skills and are fast readers. There are a ton of characters in the book that get major ink devoted to them, that are minor characters in the movies or left out altogether. And, instead of telling the stories of the group of protagonists as children and then as adults separately, the book jumps back and forth between 1958 and 1985 (which was the present day when the novel was written), many times even in the same chapter, so it made following the story difficult, especially when reading at night getting tired (i.e., if you are one who reads before bed to help yourself wind down and fall asleep). And the story shifts, being told from different points of view, again sometimes within the same chapter. Those things, along with the book's length (1153 pages) and the fact that the lengths of the chapter breaks are inconsistent, make it harder to read than some of King's other novels. There were definitely things from the book that could never have been done in live-action and/or were just unnecessary to add to the movies. One of the biggest was the very controversial act of having all the boys have sex with Beverly when they were kids. That got turned into their blood pact at the end of the first movie because it would have been illegal to film and at least skeevy to even infer in a movie version.

It is hard to say how anyone will feel about the novel as compared to either the mini-series or the movies. That, of course, is totally subjective. I am generally a person who enjoys novels more than I do the live-action adaptations of novels because invariably, things have to get cut out, especially for movie adaptations, and especially when the novels are done first. However, I liked both the mini-series and the movie versions of It more than the book (possibly because I saw both long before ever reading the book) and totally understand why the things that were cut out in live-action were removed. That said, if you are a fan of King and/or a fan of the story because of either the mini-series or the movies, this is definitely worth at least trying to read to see how it compares.

4k-UHD/Movie Review: Alien Covenant

 

Alien Covenant is a 2017 horror movie directed by Ridley Scott. It stars Michael Fassbender, Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston, and Danny McBride. Noomi Rapace, James Franco, and Guy Pearce all have minor roles. The movie is a sequel to Prometheus, set a decade after the events of that movie. We discover that Shaw (Rapace) and David (Fassbender) found a planet full of Engineers and crashed there. I will not give anything more away because to do so would spoil it, but essentially, the crew of the USS Covenant finds the planet, and what you would expect to occur does.

The 4k set is a two-disc set containing a UHD disc and a regular Blu-Ray disc. The movie looks and sounds great in 4k, as you would expect. On the 4k disc, you just have the movie with the option to play it with or without the commentary track by Ridley Scott. The extras are all on the regular blu-ray and include deleted scenes, some of which set up the movie, and some are extended scenes from the movie. There are also some shorter behind-the-scenes featurettes and an almost hour-long making-of feature titled "Master Class with Ridley Scott." Finally, there are some trailers and photography stills. So, this release includes a lot of good material for those who like a lot of extras.

This movie is definitely tied to the storyline from Prometheus, but it is not guaranteed that your feelings about Prometheus will carry over to this movie. For example, if you hated Prometheus because it was not a direct prequel to Alien, which many were expecting, this movie may be closer to what you would have liked that one to be. Just be aware that this is still not a direct sequel to the original movie, either. On the other hand, if you liked the direction that the story in Prometheus went, especially giving more backstory to the Engineers, this movie diverged from that quite a bit, so it may disappoint you. Since Ridley Scott has taken over the franchise again, so the movie has a very similar feel and tone to the others he has been involved with. He is reportedly working his way through a series of movies that will eventually lead to the direct prequel to Alien. So, looking at this as a piece of a much larger overall story, I think, gives it the context it would not have as a stand-alone movie. While the movie is not perfect, it is definitely worth watching.

Book Review: You Like it Darker: Stories

 

You Like It Darker is a collection of short stories written by Stephen King and published in 2024. The book includes 12 stories, which vary in length. A couple of the longer stories, including one that is a sequel to the movie Cujo, could definitely be adapted into a feature-length movie. The best story in the book (which is another one that could be adapted into a movie) is the final story entitled The Answer Man, which is one of the more metaphysical stories in the book. As is the case in much of King's work, he blends real-world elements (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) with his fictional world. Some of the stories are set in Maine (as many of King's stories are), but not all are. Rattlesnakes, for example, is set mostly in Florida. 

The hardcover version of the book is just over 500 pages long.  The stories are easy to get through and if you are a fast reader, you will likely be able to finish it in a few days (or less). Overall, the book is good. Some of the stories are better than others, but generally, if you are a fan of King's work, especially his more recent work, you will probably like the book. While I would not classify this as one of King's must-read books, it is worth reading.

DVD/Movie Review: Scary Movie

 

Scary Movie is a parody movie from 2000 that was written by Shawn and Marlon Wayans and directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. It starred Anna Farris, John Abrahams, Marlon Wayans, Regina Hall, Shawn Wayans, Shannon Elizabeth, Dave Sheridan, Cheri Oteri, and Carmen Electra.  The movie spoofed the horror franchise movies of the late 1990s, specifically Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, and late 90s and early 2000s pop culture in general. In a twist of irony, it would itself become a franchise after the Wayans were no longer involved with it, and would eventually become watered down and repetitive. The original movie however was very fresh and innovative. It spoofed more than just the horror movies of the time, it injected pop culture references of the era and made fun of movies like The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project, and even The Usual Suspects. It was mainly making fun of the silliness of the horror franchise movies and would start as almost shot-for-shot takes of Scream, and I Know What You Did last summer and then add a ton of absurdity to them.

Anna Farris was the main character, Cindy Campbell, basically the character Sidney Prescott played by Neve Campbell in Scream. Shannon Elizabeth played Buffy, who was basically the character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar in I Know What You Did Last Summer. The other roles were filled mainly with character actors, and Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Kurt Smith, as the town sheriff, stole pretty much every scene he was in, and Cheri Oteri, as Gail Hailstorm, was hilarious as well. It was definitely a low-brow comedy with crude humor, but it worked because it did not take itself, or the genre it was spoofing too seriously. And because it was really the original spoof (at least of the 1990s/2000s) film that was copied over, and over again with not only multiple sequels under the same name but a ton of other movies spoofing some genre or another.

The DVD extras include a handful of deleted scenes and a short behind-the-scenes feature. Realistically the movie has been out long enough now that anyone reading this will know whether they like it or not. They basically combine the horror/slasher genre with the raunchy comedy genre. It is cleverly written and well-acted. It does not take anything too seriously, and no subject is off-limits to make fun of. It is not a movie that will appeal to everyone, but if you like horror movies and don't mind raunchy comedy, it is worth the time to watch.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Resident Evil Afterlife

 

Resident Evil Afterlife is the fourth installment in the Resident Evil franchise of action/horror movies starring Milla Jovovich. This one, released in 2010, is directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and stars Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller, Boris Kodjoe, and Shawn Roberts. The events of the movie take place sometime after the events of Afterlife, in which Alice finds her other clones. It marks the return of Paul W.S. Anderson to the director role, having written all the movies but directed just the first. It starts out with Alice attacking the Tokyo umbrella facility, trying to take down Albert Wesker, who was shown basically as a hologram in the third movie. She ends up losing her powers and then ends up trying to evade another zombie horde while holed up in a prison and trying to find Arcadia and the refugees she sent off during the events of Afterlife.

I will not say more about the plot because to do so would spoil too much. The film brings back the character of Claire Redfield, played by Ali Larter, and also introduces the character of her brother Chris, played by Wentworth Miller. They are holed up with a new group of refugees, most notably the character Luther West, played by Boris Kodjoe. The climax of the film basically involves trying to take down Wesker and a rescue.

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is wonderful. I have the regular version, so I cannot tell you how the 3d version is, but it is much like the other films have been in 2d. The extras include deleted scenes, outtakes, multiple commentary tracks on the movie, and several behind-the-scenes and making of features. By now, almost everyone knows what the movies are and are not. Most likely, if you have liked the other movies, you will still like this one, although you have to be okay with it moving farther from the kind of basic zombie movies that parts 1 and 2 were and having ever-evolving threats. It will not win any acting or writing awards, but it is a good action, sci-fi, and horror blend and makes for an entertaining movie if you enjoy the genre.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: The Omen (2006)

 

The Omen is a 2006 horror movie starring Julia Stiles, Liev Schrieber, Seamus Davy-Fitzpatrick, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Pete Postlehwaite, and Michael Gambon. As most people probably know, this is a remake of the 1976 movie of the same name. I have never seen the original movie, so I really have nothing to compare it to. Against that backdrop, I think this one is okay but not great. It is not extremely scary aside from a couple moments that make you jump and a couple gory scenes. The kid that plays Damien (Davy-Fitzpatrick) does not really have a creepy vibe to him aside from a couple times. Most of the creepiness comes from Mia Farrow and the dogs that are guarding Damien. Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles are okay in their roles as the parents of Damien, but neither was what I would call spectacular. 

The A/V quality of the Blu-Ray is good. It has some very nice location shots that look great in HD. For extras, there is a commentary track on the film by the director, John Moore, and a couple of the producers, a short documentary about the meaning of 666, a short feature on the score, and some extended scenes. The bonus content is not bad, but nothing to write home about, either. The movie is enjoyable enough as a B-level horror/suspense movie (or B+ level, given the star quality of the main actors). It is not, however, something that you will be necessarily glued to the TV every second watching nor is it a movie that I would say is a must-see. It is fine to have it on in the background and you will not miss anything spectacular.

DVD/Movie Review: The Ring 2

 

The Ring Two is the 2005 sequel to 2002's horror/thriller, The Ring. The movie is directed by Hideo Nakata and brings back Naomi Watts and David Dorfman from the original movie. Kelly Stables takes over the role of Samara, but they do use archived footage of Daveigh Chase, who played Samara in the first movie. The movie also includes Simon Baker, Sissy Spacek, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Elizabeth Perkins, Gary Cole, and Emily Van Camp. The movie is set about six months after the events of the first movie, in which Rachel (played by Naomi Watts) made a copy of the tape in order to keep her son Aiden alive. Rachel then relocates to Oregon with Aiden to start a new life. However, the tape is still out there, and through a murder at the beginning of the movie, Samara discovers their whereabouts and takes over Aiden's body. The rest of the movie revolves around Rachel trying to free Aiden from Samara's influence.

The DVD extras include a few behind-the-scenes featurettes, and the short film called Rings, which was meant to bridge the gap between the two movies. It shows the consequences of the tape's continued existence and how teenagers were forming rings to see how many of the 7 days they could hold out before making a copy for another person to watch. All in all, there is enough there that if you like to go through the extra materials you will be satisfied. The movie, as most horror/thriller movie sequels are, is not great. It does, however, bring the story to a stronger conclusion, given how the first movie was left somewhat open (although another movie has been made without Watt's involvement). The acting was about on par with the first movie, and Naomi Watts, as the movie's lead, was good at playing Rachel. The overall story was just weaker, there was far less of a puzzle to put together, and the 7-day time frame element (and thus, much of the suspense) from the first movie was missing from this one. While it is not as good as the first movie, it is still worth the time to watch if you enjoyed the first movie (or just generally like non-slasher horror movies or psychological thrillers). 

DVD/Movie Review: The Ring

 

The Ring is a 2002 American adaptation of a Japanese horror film starring Naomi Watts, Aidan Keller, Davegh Chase, and Brian Cox.  It starts out with an almost urban legend kind of feel. We learn in the very beginning that there is a VHS tape out there that, if you watch it, you receive a phone call with a cryptic message "7 days", and exactly 7 days later, the viewer dies. The main character's (Rachel, played by Naomi Watts) niece dies at the beginning of the movie, and Rachel begins investigating her death. In the process, Rachel watches the tape, and the movie then becomes a race against time to save herself, her ex-husband, and her son.

The movie is much more a psychological thriller than a slasher. There is very little in the way of gore in the movie, it is all surprise and suspense. Most of the movie is trying to figure out the back story of the images that play out on the tape and piece together what happened. It is not really a movie that you can have on in the background and get what is going on. You do have to pay pretty close attention to what is going on after it gets going. So if you are not into those kinds of movies, you will probably not like this one. Of course, some purists think that the original Japanese movie is far better and that this one should not have even been made. If you have never seen the Japanese version of the movie and have no prior frame of reference, then that fact is probably not going to bother you.

I am not sure that the version of the DVD I have even exists anymore, so I am not sure that the extras on my version (which do not amount to much, just a short featurette that functions as almost a compilation of deleted scenes that fill in some of the gaps of the story) and trailers for other movies apply to what is out there now. Since you can stream it online, I am not sure if it is a must-own on DVD or Blu-ray, but if you like extras, you may want to do some investigating about what is out there on the various versions. As is the case with any movie, whether you like it or not is totally subjective. It is definitely a smarter horror movie, in the sense that you can even call it a horror movie. It is much better than the teen-based horror films that were coming out in the late 90s and early 2000s that were not Scream. If you like smart, suspenseful, and kind of creepy movies, this is definitely worth giving a shot.