Stand By Me (9/10): The father of all coming of age films

“It happens sometimes. Friends come in and out of our lives, like busboys in a restaurant.”

Stand By Me is Rob Reiner’s love letter to friendship and nostalgic memories. It’s ironic that Reiner’s film looks at the past with such high regards because we can do the same with his filmography. His best films were all  made in the 80’s (and we can squeeze Misery and A Few Good Men into that list as well although they came out in 1990 and 1992 respectively), and despite not having directed many great films over the past few decades we can still look back at his early films and appreciate his classics. Stand By Me reminds us all of our early childhood and the friendships we made. It doesn’t matter what decade we grew up in, we all cherish special memories of adventures we shared with our friends and how they helped shape us. That is what is so universal and appealing about Reiner’s film; even though we may never have grown up in a small town or had similar outdoor adventures it still recalls us back to a time where we were discovering new things about the world and standing up for our friends when they were in trouble or running with them when we got caught playing in our neighbor’s yards. Stand By Me focuses on these memories and it’s not just about the adventure in itself but the bond these friends shared together. It’s probably the go to movie when we are comparing or referencing other coming of age films, and in my opinion one of the best ever made considering how much I appreciate the genre. I’m sure the film itself was a life changing experience for many who grew up watching it and dreaming of having similar adventures with their friends.

Based on Stephen King’s short story, “The Body,” the screenplay for the film was adapted by Raynold Gideon and Bruce Evans. It takes place in 1959 and centers on four 12 year old friends from Castelrock, Oregon who overhear a conversation about the location of the body of a dead boy who had been missing for several days. The news about the disappearance of this boy had spread all over town, so these kids decide to embark on an adventure through the woods and bring back the missing body so they can be received as heroes. Since the journey would take more than a full day, they plan to tell their parents that they are staying at each other’s home. Gordie (Will Wheaton) had recently lost his older brother (played by John Cusack in the flashback scenes) a few months prior to this in a car accident so he knew his mourning parents wouldn’t even mind him being gone for a few days. His best friend, Chris (River Phoenix), came from a troublesome family and despite knowing he’d get into trouble if they’d discover his lie he didn’t think it would be any different if he stayed with his drunk father. Teddy (Corey Feldman) still has the scars from the abuse he suffered from his mentally unstable father, and currently lives with his mother. Vern (Jerry O’Connell), the clown of the group who isn’t taken very seriously is the one who came up with the idea of looking for the body, but he also is the first to back down when it comes to it. The four finally decide to go ahead with their plan and begin their adventure, which will eventually shape who they are. The story is narrated by the grown up version of Gordie (played by Richard Dreyfuss) somewhere around 1985.

The strong performances in this film are one of the reasons why it continues to work today. River Phoenix was such a natural and is so charismatic that he steals every scene he’s in. The chemistry he shares with Wheaton’s character is strong and it reminds us all of that best friend we had in our childhood. Corey Feldman must have had the best agent because he starred in some of the best films that were released in the 80’s (Gremlins, The Goonies, The Burbs, and The Lost Boys). Jerry O’Connell is probably the one that has undergone the greatest physical transformation, but he was perfect for the role of Vern and he reminded us of that friend who always seemed to be the butt of every joke. These four young actors carry the film and despite not having the most exciting of adventures, the way the story is told is what makes it such a fascinating one. There are small moments like the one where they gather around the camp fire to listen to Gordie’s story, or when they are crossing the pond and discover its full of leeches, that stand out. The film is told through Gordie’s recollection of these events and each scene feels like an authentic memory someone would have of such a life changing experience. The 50’s soundtrack also plays a key role in the film since it adds to the overall sense of nostalgia. Reiner’s film reminds me how much I actually have enjoyed Stephen King’s non-horror stories (this along with Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile are my favorite film adaptations of his work). Since its 1986 release, all the coming of age films that have followed it seem to heavily borrow from it. Stand By Me is the measuring stick for films in this genre.

The Mist (7/10): Frank Darabont and Stephen King reunited once again!

“You don't have much faith in humanity, do you?”

Frank Darabont’s third adaptation of a Stephen King novel proves without a doubt that he is the best director at bringing the writer’s words to film. The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile were both fantastic films, although not the typical horror novels you’d expect from King. The Mist however is much closer to the horror genre we’d expect from him, and Darabont manages to successfully adapt his work for the third time. Not that there haven’t been other successful King adaptations from other director’s such as Kubrick’s direction in The Shining, Reiner in Misery and Stand By Me, and De Palma in Carrie, but most of the time the adaptations don’t seem to work as well. But when it comes to Frank Darabont he has always managed to impress us with the way he brings those novels to the big screen. I honestly have no idea why I never got around to watching this film considering how much I loved Darabont’s previous work, but I think much of it had to do with my confusion over the 2005 film The Fog. The name of that film was translated in Spanish as “The Niebla” which was the same name they gave The Mist so I thought I had seen this film before and hated it. When I finally realized these were two separate films I decided to watch it and what a pleasant experience it was. The Mist is a fantastic homage to 50 and 60’s monster horror films, but at the same time Darabont seems to be reminding us that no matter how dangerous and ugly these things might be, the true enemy is our own humanity. No matter how much fun the ride was, the ending is what will really stick with you. You will love it and hate it at the same time. 

David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is an artist who is working on his latest Hollywood poster painting from his comfortable home in Maine. He is unexpectedly interrupted by a storm and quickly seeks refugee in the basement with his wife and five year-old son, Billy (Nathan Gamble). The next morning they see the damage the fallen trees have left on their home and along with his son and their neighbor Brent (Andre Braugher) they head to the market to buy supplies. There is a heavy mist that seems to be approaching and while they are on their way to the market several firetrucks and army vehicles seem to be heading towards the opposite direction. Once they arrive at the supermarket the mist has already caught up to them and a few minutes later an old man named Dan (Jeffrey DeMunn) runs in half scared to death claiming that there is something in the mist taking people. There are more than 50 people in the market who begin to panic and they decide to close the doors and wait inside for help. David decides to check the generator along with some of the men there including a store employee named Ollie (Toby Jones) and a client named Jim (William Sadler) but what they experience leaves them completely horrified. Some sort of gigantic creature’s tentacles begin to slide under the loading dock door and the men immediately have to shut it. There is no doubt in their minds now that there is definitely something out of this world in the mist. According to Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden), the town’s religious fanatic, they are all experiencing God’s wrath for their sinful nature. At first no one pays attention to her, but as the strange creatures begin to creep into the store, she begins to have more followers. David will not only have to look out for what is terrorizing them from the outside, but worry about the growing hate that Mrs. Carmody is sowing in everyone’s hearts. 

In a way, The Mist is sort of The Walking Dead reunion since there are three actors from that series (Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Melissa McBride) in this film. It comes as no surprise since Darabont is one of the producers and directors of that series as well and DeMunn has always worked with him in his other King adaptations. If you are a fan of that series, you will definitely want to check this film out because there could be a clue as to how that series might end. Darabont always has a surprise in store and he is deeply influenced by his good friend Stephen King so you know you can’t expect a cliched finale. As much as I enjoyed this film I did feel that the two hour length was a bit tiresome at some points. The film could’ve been cut a good 20 minutes and the experience could’ve been much better. The Marcia Gay Harden character also got on my nerves and I think they gave her too much screen time. The religious fanatic element was an important plot point but Darabont emphasized it a bit too much. The Mist is still a lot of fun and it delivers several suspenseful moments. 

My Review: Carrie (5/10)

"There are other people out there like me who can do what I can do."

And there are other people out there that have adapted the same novel that this film is based on. Brian de Palma did in the 70's and the film has reached some sort of cult status since then. I was never a huge fan of that film and really didn't care too much for this remake. I never found Carrie's character terrifying so I didn't expect this to be a horror movie either. The reason I did decide to go see this was because I really like Chloe Grace Moretz and have seen almost everything she's done. Despite how much I like her, I don't think she brought anything new to the role of Carrie and wasn't able to carry this film. The entire film felt more of a remake of De Palma's film than a reimagining of Stephen King's classic novel. This version didn't bring anything new and thus felt completely unnecessary. The bullies in this film are so stereotypical and over the top that the film felt like a comedy at times. The greatest thing about Carrie was Julianne Moore's performance as the overzealous religious fanatic. I thought she was great, but the rest of the cast didn't really convince me beside one or two supporting performances. I still didn't hate this film, but I thought it was just another average and uninspired remake. At least director, Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) hired actual teens to play the part of High School seniors instead of older actors like De Palma did. So at least she gets some credit for that. I wanted to like Carrie because of Chloe Grace Moretz, but this just wasn't the role for her. I just never connected with this film.

Carrie White (Chloe Grace Moretz) is a quiet and shy girl who lives with her overprotective religious fanatic mother Margaret (Julianne Moore). Carrie is different due to the fact that she's been sheltered by her mother for so long and for that reason she gets bullied on a lot at school. She has the misfortune of experiencing her first period in the locker room at school after her gym class. Her mother has never talked to her about this so when she sees the blood she panics and begins to scream. All the girls realize what is going on and so they begin to make fun of her and pretty soon the entire school finds out about it thanks to Chris (Portia Doubleday) who uploads the video on the internet. Her beautiful classmate, Sue (Gabriella Wilde), feels bad about the way she treated her and to try to make things right she asks her boyfriend, Tommy (Ansel Elgort), to ask Carrie to prom. Carrie begins to discover that she has telekinetic powers and decides to research in school during her free time, while Chris who was banned for prom plans the perfect prank on her. Little do they know that Carrie could be a dangerous if they continue to push her.

If you've seen the Brian de Palma version then you pretty much know how the film is going to turn out. There is nothing fresh or unique about this film, but it isn't terrible either. The film has nothing to offer really and we as an audience are left waiting for the build up to the infamous prom scene. If you enjoy mindless films than you will probably enjoy Carrie, but if you were expecting a reimagining than you will leave disappointed. In a time where teenage bullying is hotter than ever, Carrie could have brought some new insight, but it failed to do so. It never says anything new about being a social outcast and in the end you have to wander what the point of the entire film was.

My Review: The Shining (7/10)

"Some places are like people: some shine and some don't."

I'm ashamed to admit that despite being a film buff I never got around watching The Shining. As a matter of fact the only Kubrick film I've seen is 2001 A Space Odyssey, which I thought was brilliant. I tried to watch A Clockwork Orange, but never managed to finish it. I'm not a huge Kubrick fan but I do need to watch his films. The Shining is one of those movies that I wish I would have seen years ago because it really hasn't aged too well and after seeing so many horror films I've realized how much they took from this film. That is why perhaps I felt the film to be very predictable, but there is no denying that this film influenced the horror genre during the last three decades and continues to do so. The film was adapted from Stephen King's novel, a writer which I'm not a huge fan of either (although I loved Misery). I guess that having watched The Amityville Horror before this, kind of ruined the suspense for me, but there is no denying that Jack Nicholson's performance was magnificent here during his psychotic transformation. That "Here's Johnny" scene is such a classic and it is proof that Kubrick knows his craft. He is a perfectionist and it comes through in his direction. The problem I had with this film is that the ghost story really didn't work for me and some of the scenes felt really cheesy. The imagery in this film however is technically brilliant and there is no denying why this film has become a classic.

Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) is a failed writer who is trying to find inspiration for his next novel. He is offered a job as the winter caretaker at an isolated hotel in Colorado and he realizes it would be the perfect place for his writing project. He decides to settle in the hotel along with his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall) and his son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who has some sort of a psychic ability known as the shining. Before the employees of the hotel leave for the winter season they warn Jack to stay away from Room 237 where a terrible murder took place several decades ago. The first person to have terrible visions of the place is Danny, but soon the rest of the family realizes that they aren't the only ones in the hotel. The place begins to take its toll on Jack who slowly begins to go through some sort of transformation that puts the life of his wife and child at risk.

The Shining sets a perfect background for a horror story and Kubrick takes advantage of the screenplay and gives us some spectacular visuals. The symmetry of the images, the inclusion of the color red in most of the scenes, the impressive and claustrophobic maze and hotel corridors set the tone and mood of the film. My main issue had to do with the ghost story and the entire "shining" thing with Danny. Narratively speaking the film has many flaws, but technically it is very well crafted. The only performance I enjoyed here was Jack Nicholson's, but the rest of the cast wasn't really up to par with the movie. I do have to admit that the soundtrack was thrilling. If you leave out the entire ghost thing and realize this really has to do with how isolation can often turn into madness you will appreciate Kubrick's work even more. However, as a horror film this really never managed to scare me or make me feel uneasy so it doesn't really succeed in that level. 

My Review: The Shawshank Redemption (10/10)

¨Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies. ¨

An uplifting and inspiring movie that reminds us that hope is what keeps us going during difficult situations. The movie ranks at number one in the top IMDB list and it comes as no surprise because many people rank this movie among their all-time favorite. Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins give an excellent performance in this film directed by Frank Darabont and which is based on Stephen King´s short story ¨Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.¨ It received 7 Oscar nominations in 1995 including Best Picture, but lost to Forrest Gump. Freeman is probably the best actor when it comes to narrating a story and this is one of his greatest roles as he introduces us to Robbins`s character, Andy Dufresne. Andy is a banker who has been accused of murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to prison for life. In Shawshank prison Andy befriends Red (Morgan Freeman) who serves as the provider in jail because he can get just about anything you ask, yes even Rita Hayworth. The prison is run by Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) with a stern hand, and the prison guards treat the prisoners very violently. Despite how unjust life has been towards Andy he never losses hope because as he puts it ¨You either get busy living or you get busy dying.¨ There is a very positive message we can learn from this movie and if you are among the few that haven`t seen it yet then I absolutely recommend this as a must see film! You won`t regret it.

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