Reviews
The Woman in the Room (1984)
A very good film for fans of King and film buffs
Stephen King calls this the best film based on his works. It is easy to see what he likes about it.
Frank Darabont directed this short film at the age of 24. At about 30 minutes in length, it tells the story of a man who is watching his mother slowly die in great pain. He must make the decision of whether to allow her suffering to continue or to help release her from her pain forever.
The story was a tough one for King to write, and was loosly based on his own mother's death. The acting by Michael Cornelison is fairly good and the performance by Dee Croxton, who relies on simple facial movement, is also done well.
Don't watch the film if you are looking for King horror, for there is none (except one nightmare sequence). Darabont, in his directing debut, shows why he became such a force in the film world. His style here is very good, and forshadows his extraordinary King adaptions, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.
An interesting side note, is that Croxton later appears in The Green Mile. Brian Libby, who plays a prisoner in Woman, also reappears in both Shawshank Redemption and Green Mile.
If you are a fan of King's short stories or a film scholar who wants to see how a short film can be done right, check this out.
WCW Monday Nitro (1995)
This is a good show that should be rated on its own basis
WCW Monday Nitro is a good WRESTLING show. Old School Wrestling fans would like the wrestling action by such performers as Sting, Booker T, Lance Storm, Jeff Jarrett and others.
It is not as risk taking as it's rival WWF, but the story lines are much better than they used to be. The federation is struggeling to keep it's intensity with troubles within the company costing them many performers to the WWF. WCW Nitro is necessary to keep the intensity level high in both this show as well as it's rival RAW is War.
Don't compare WCW with WWF. Take WCW Nitro for what it is - it's own show with it's own brand of story telling that may not be as controversial as WWF, but is exciting in it's own right.
If WWF Raw is a 10 out of 10 then WCW Nitro is a 8 out of 10. Don't listen to everyone else's opinion of it, judge for yourself.
Dracula 2000 (2000)
This was a better movie than people are giving it credit for
First of all, I go to a movie to be entertained. By that measure, Dracula 2000 was a success.
I think Gerard Butler was a good fit in the role of Dracula. Who said Dracula was not supposed to be good looking. He is a classic vampire who not only can strike fear in victims but also seduce the women as well. Dracula had his "harem" and they were also played well in the movie, as jealous and cruel vixens.
Justine Waddell was a good fit for the protagonist, as she fit the typical "woman in distress." My only qualms about the film was the typical horror plot devise that the people went to the one place they never should think of going. Justine went straight to the bedroom when she knew there was something wrong up there. One of the early victims went into the casket after the leach attacked his eye. How can you sympothize with a victim that stupid.
Jonny Lee Miller (aka. Sickboy) was a pretty good fit as the co-protagonist. I was disapointed that Christopher Plummer did not have more of a role.
And the ending. No one liked it. I loved it. The plot twist was genious. I predicted a similar twist half way through but it was still carried out well and was good symbolically. If you want a exciting movie with a good story, check this out.
Duel (1971)
A great classic from Spielberg
This was a very good movie of the classic battle between good and evil.
When David Mann tried to pass a truck he was stuck in the battle of his life. It was a classic retelling of the original biblical story of David (Mann) vs Goliath (truck). And the rock used to kill Goliath in this film was a little red car - a Valient (ala. Prince Valient)
Spielberg had full freedom to direct this movie any way he chose and was masterful, showcasing a talent that would later become a masterpiece in the film world.
Almost a "silent film" with VERY LITTLE dialogue added in a later update of the film, it is still a movie that will keep you glued to the edge of your seat in anticipation and make you think twice about passing a truck on a highway again.
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989)
People need to understand this is a spoof
This is not a great movie. It is not even a very good movie. But people seem to want to be scared when they watch it or want it to be an extraordinary movie.
It is not either. B.U.D. is a spoof of horror movies, not meant to be scary but meant to poke harmless fun at the genre. The humor is not meant to be drop-dead funny either. It is meant to be a type of roll-your-eyes and laugh to yourself humor.
If you go to watch the movie with the intent of a light hearted spoof then you can appreciate it for what it is. A way to just kick back and watch a fun, dumb movie.