“Doctor Sleep” Movie Review

    Can a movie serve both as a sequel to a classic film while at the same time distancing itself from that movie enough to be a faithful adaptation of a novel?  “Doctor Sleep” is the latest film to be adapted from a Stephen King novel.  The novel is a sequel to his classic novel “The Shining” which Stanley Kubrick adapted into a classic horror film.  The problem “Doctor Sleep” faced was that Stephen King hated the film version of “The Shining” because of the liberties it took with his source material.  Can the sequel manage to bridge the book and the film successfully together?

    The film tells the story of Danny Torrance as he grows up dealing with the trauma he experienced as a child with “the shining” at the Overlook hotel.  He is still haunted by the ghosts of the hotel and learns to deal with them by boxing them up.  As an adult, Danny has turned to alcoholism in order to mute his gifts.  He decides to stop drinking for eight years and begins to form a psychic pen pal relationship with a young girl named Abra.  Abra lives a peaceful life until a cult of “shiners” become aware of her and seek her out to feed on her energy.  Danny decides to protect her from the cult and takes her to the one place they might be able to have a fair fight, the Overlook hotel.

    Let me start by saying that this film probably shouldn’t work but it somehow does.  The film manages to honor both the work of Stephen King and the late Stanley Kubrick in a very satisfying way while still being it’s own movie.  It also goes a long way to explain certain aspects of “The Shining” that were left deliberately vague.  These answers help expand the world of “The Shining” and “Doctor Sleep”.

    The film has an excellent cast led by Ewan McGregor as the adult version of Danny Torrance.  McGregor is able to convey a feeling of post traumatic stress disorder masterfully.  McGregor’s Danny Torrance is a lost soul just trying to find his place in the world.  Rebecca Ferguson is wonderful as Rose the Hat, the leader of the evil cult.  She brings a menacing sense of superiority to her performance that I really enjoyed.  Newcomer Kyliegh Curran was a real breakthrough as Abra Stone.  I expect big things for her soon.  Lastly, (SPOILER WARNING) Henry Thomas takes over the role of Jack Torrance from Jack Nicholson and I have mixed feeling about the portrayal.  He looked enough like Nicholson to pull it off, he just didn’t sound much like him which is my one complaint.

    Mike Flanagan wrote, edited, and directed this film and he did a stellar job with his work behind the camera.  There were shots that felt very much like Stanley Kubrick’s style but a bulk of the film felt very much like an episode of “The Haunting of Hill House” as well.  If I had one complaint about the movie, it’s that it’s pacing slowed down a bit midway through the film and it felt almost like two different films (the last act taking place at the Overlook hotel felt very different to the rest of the movie to me).

    “Doctor Sleep” is an entertaining followup to “The Shining” and I would be curious to see if it’s legacy lasts as long as it’s predecessor’s legacy has.  This is definitely one of the better and more faithful follow ups to be released based on a classic film recently.  I would definitely recommend seeing this if you are a fan of Stephen King or “The Shining”.

Grade: B+

”It: Chapter Two” Movie Review

    I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed “It” when it premiered a few years ago.  I am not a huge horror fan nor am I a big Stephen King admirer but the film adaptation of “It” was delightfully well executed.  The book the film was based on is massive, and “It” only comes around half of the source material, notably the portion which covered the main characters as children.  I was eagerly awaiting how “It: Chapter Two” would turn out ever since the project was announced.  Luckily for me, “It: Chapter Two” was finally released last week.

    The film takes place 27 years after the first film and follows Mike contacting childhood friends Bill, Beverly, Richie, Ben, Eddie, and Stanley to come back to Derry, Maine after it is discovered that Pennywise has returned.  The friends reunite once again to honor the pact they made as kids to stop Pennywise once and for all.  To do so, they must all gather personal tokens in order to do an ancient ritual they hope will be the key to killing Pennywise once and for all.

    Luckily for me, the film largely lived up to my expectations and I thought it was among the best films of the year.  The film isn’t perfect but the pros definitely outweigh the few cons the film has.  I have to admit that I was concerned considering in the original “It” miniseries, the part featuring the adults was the weakest act despite decent actors.

    Perhaps the biggest strength of the movie is it’s cast.  I loved the young cast of the first film and I was a little on the fence about some of the adult casting in this film, mainly Isaiah Mustafa since I was afraid he would take me out of the movie because of his Old Spice commercial fame.  Fortunately, Mustafa was actually fairly good in the film (although not the highlight either).  James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain headline the ensemble cast (and reunite after appearing in “Dark Phoenix” together this year) and give incredible performances.  The real standout performance came from “Saturday Night Live” alumni Bill Hader.  Hader is at times hilarious and at other times appropriately terrified.  Bill Hader really surprised me with how good he was considering Hader’s casting was the one I was most concerned with.

    In addition to the new cast, the young actors from the first film also return to play the young versions of the main characters.  Their performances are among the highlights of the film once again.  Their scenes play like a scarier version of the film “Stand By Me” which is also based on a work by Stephen King.  As good as the adult actors were, they still did not mesh as well as the young cast did.  Perhaps that is because the group seems to be close in real life, even appearing at public events like the Motor City Comic Con together.  The only problem with the young cast some people have in this film is because they were de-aged via computer animation (though I didn’t really notice it when I watched it).  Lastly, Bill Skarsgård also returns as Pennywise the Dancing Clown and once again kills it (pun intended).

    Director Andy Muschietti once again creates a creepy atmosphere and gets incredible performances from his cast.  Muschietti will no doubt have an incredible career ahead of him and I look forward to what he brings to the upcoming DC film “The Flash”.  The cinematography of the film is also incredible and several shots are stunning throughout.

    One complaint some movie goers might have about the film comes from how similar the film feels to the first part.  This is typically a problem most sequels face and this film is no exception.  Despite the fact that this film largely serves as a scavenger hunt, much of the scares remain the same.  The film is also not as scary as the first film and focuses more on being a character study (though the scares that do come up are very well executed).

    One potential problem audiences might have as well is the runtime.  At around three hours, the film is a real workout on the bladder.  There are definitely scenes that could have been edited out without hurting the final cut.  That being said, even at three hours, the film is fairly well paced and does not feel as long as it is.

    One incredible aspect of the film that wasn’t ‘needed’ but added a lot to the film were all the little nods to the Tim Curry miniseries and the Stephen King Book.  I also loved the little Stephen King cameo in the film which also proved King has a sense of humor about his work.

    “It: Chapter Two” isn’t quite as good as “It” but it was still a very good film.  If you enjoyed “It”, the sequel is definitely a treat you would be sure to enjoy.  I am hoping that “Doctor Sleep”, the next Stephen King adaptation, lives up to these films.  Fingers crossed.

Grade: A-