Stephen King is a prolific American author of supernatural fiction, suspense, Science Fiction, horror and fantasy who has 240 Writing credits to his name, twelve television series and made for TV film Producer credits and 21 as Actor, and whose 1986 best selling horror novel
'It' is released in cinemas this week, and Previewed below. King has a substantial portfolio of film, television series, stage productions, comic books and even music adapted and inspired from his works and those penned under his pseudonym of Richard Bachman. In researching just how many, there are way too many to list here that go all the way back to 1976, consisting over sixty big screen adaptations, thirty for the small screen and fifteen or so for the stage. Here is a list of those more noteworthy Stephen King movie adaptations :-
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'Carrie' released 1976, supernatural horror, Directed by Brian de Palma, starring Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Nancy Allen, and John Travolta.
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'The Shining' released 1980, horror, Directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd. The book was also adapted in 1997 into a three part television mini-series.
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'Creepshow' released 1982, black comedy horror, Directed by George A. Romero, starring Leslie Nielsen, Ted Danson, Hal Holbrook, Ed Harris and Stephen King in this anthology of five short stories within the film.
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'Cujo' released in 1983, psychological horror, Directed by Lewis Teague, starring Dee Wallace, Danny Pintauro, and Daniel Hugh-Kelly.
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'The Dead Zone' released in 1983, horror thriller, Directed by David Cronenberg, starring Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Tom Skerritt and Herbert Lom. A television series of the same name ran for eighty episodes over six seasons from 2002 through to 2007.
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'Christine' released in 1983, horror, Directed by John Carpenter, starring Keith Gordon, Harry Dean Stanton and Kelly Preston.
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'Children of the Corn' released 1984, horror, Directed by Fritz Kiersch, starring Peter Horton and Linda Hamilton.
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'Firestarter' released 1984, Science Fiction horror, Directed by Mark L. Lester, starring David Keith, Drew Barrymore, Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, George C. Scott and Freddie Jones.
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'Stand By Me' released 1986, coming of age drama, Directed by Rob Reiner, starring Keifer Sutherland, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, John Cusack, Jerry O'Connell and Will Wheaton.
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'Maximum Overdrive' released in 1986, Science Fiction action horror comedy, Directed by Stephen King, starring Emilio Estevez.
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'The Running Man' released 1987, Science Fiction action, Directed by Paul Michael Glaser, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yaphet Kotto, Jesse Ventura, Maria Conchita Alonso and Richard Dawson.
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'Pet Sematary' released 1989, horror, Directed by Mary Lambert, starring Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynn, and Denise Crosby.
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'Misery' released 1990, psychological thriller, Directed by Rob Reiner, starring James Caan, Kathy Bates, Lauren Bacall, and Richard Farnsworth.
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'The Dark Half' released 1993, horror, Directed by George A. Romero, starring Timothy Hutton, Michael Rooker and Amy Madigan.
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'Needful Things' released 1993, horror, Directed by Fraser C. Heston, starring Max von Sydow, Ed Harris, Amanda Plummer, and J.T. Walsh.
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'The Shawshank Redemption' released 1994, drama, Directed by Frank Darabont, starring Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, Clancy Brown, William Sadler, Bob Gunton and James Whitmore.
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'Dolores Claiborne' released 1995, psychological thriller, Directed by Taylor Hackford, starring Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, David Strathairn, John C. Reilly and Bob Gunton.
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'The Mangler' released 1995, horror, Directed by Tobe Hooper, starring Robert Englund and Ted Levine.
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'Thinner' released 1996, horror, Directed by Tom Holland, starring Robert John Burke, Joe Mantegna, Lucinda Jenney, and Michael Constantine.
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'Apt Pupil' released 1998, thriller, Directed by Bryan Singer, starring Brad Renfro, Ian McKellen, David Schwimmer, and Bruce Davison.
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'The Green Mile' released 1999, fantasy crime drama, Directed by Frank Darabont, starring Tom Hanks, David Morse, James Cromwell, Sam Rockwell, William Sadler, Barry Pepper, Gary Sinise, Harry Dean Stanton, Michael Clarke Duncan and Patricia Clarkson.
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'Dreamcatcher' released 2003, Science Fiction horror, Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring Morgan Freeman, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Donnie Wahlberg, Tom Sizemore, and Thomas Jane.
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'Secret Window' released 2004, psychological horror thriller, Directed by David Koepp, starring Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello and Timothy Hutton.
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'1408' released 2007, psychological horror, Directed by Mikael Hafstrom, starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mark McCormack and Tony Shalhoub.
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'The Mist' released 2007, Science Fiction horror, Directed by Frank Darabont, starring Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, William Sadler and Toby Jones. Also made into a 2017 television series of the same name, having aired for the first season of ten episodes at the time of writing.
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'Carrie' released 2013, supernatural horror, Directed by Kimberley Pierce, starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Ansel Elgort and Julianne Moore, and a remake of the 1976 film.
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'Cell' released 2016, Science Fiction horror, Directed by Tod Williams, starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Stacy Keach and Isabelle Fuhrman.
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'The Dark Tower' released 2017, science fantasy western, Directed by Nikolaj Arcel, starring Matthew McConaughey, Idris Elba, Tom Taylor and Jackie Earle Haley. A television series is also in production for release in 2018.
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'It' released in 2017, horror, Directed by Andy Muschietti, starring Bill Skarsgard and Jaeden Lieberher. The book was first adapted into a two part television mini-series in 1990.
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'Gerald's Game' due for release in late 2017, Directed by Mike Flanagan, starring Bruce Greenwood and Carla Gugino.
And aside from these, worthy of an honourable mention too are the television series and mini-series including
'Salem's Lot', 'The Tommyknockers', 'The Stand', 'The Langoliers', 'Bag of Bones', 'Under the Dome', '11:22:63', 'Mr. Mercedes', and the upcoming
'Castle Rock'.
Turning attention then to this weeks latest release movies, first up we have a horror offering involving a small country town, seven young kids and an evil Clown; then a family predicament discussed over dinner; and next a true story of a dysfunctional family raised on the poverty line by their nomadic parents. We then go on to a comedy romance story of an estranged couple living separate lives but under one roof who unexpectedly fall in love with each other again; and then a comedy of identical twin sisters - one a successful Actor and the other a struggling Actor, and how the latter secretly leverages the former for her own gain; before wrapping up with a historical biographical retelling of the making of the game of golf and how a Scottish father and son shaped the modern game.
Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the six new release movies as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release and as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are here cordially invited to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and meanwhile, enjoy your big screen cinematic experience during the coming week.
'IT' (Rated MA15+) - and here we have the Stephen King penned remake of the 1990 two part television mini-series, based on his acclaimed and best selling 1986 horror story
'It'. Since 2009 this film has been in development, with Cary Fukunaga first announced to Direct and Co-Write the film, but subsequently dropping out in 2015 due to disagreements with Production Company, New Line, over the direction that he wanted to take the film in. Subsequently Argentinian Director, Andres Muschietti was announced to Direct, whose previous credit was his debut feature with 2013's supernatural horror offering
'Mama' with Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
'It' is released in the US this week too, and cost a budgeted US$40M. This film is said to be the first instalment in a two part series.
The story here is set during the Summer of 1989 in small-town Derry, Maine where a small group of seven pre-teenagers known as 'The Losers Club' come across an immortal shape shifting entity that manifests itself to them in the form of an evil clown like figure known as 'It' or Pennywise the Dancing Clown or Bob Gray (Bill Skarsgard). It, wreaks horror on the town once every three decades and whose history of disappearances, murder and violence most foul dates back centuries, mostly against children, but adults too, and at a rate of six times the national average. When seven year old George Denbrough (Jackson Robert Scott) goes missing, his brother and leader of The Losers Club Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher) together with his friends vow revenge on the monster. Meanwhile, the seven young Club members all have their own personal demons to overcome as they fight against their own inner fears and insecurities to overcome Pennywise. Also starring fellow Losers Club members Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, and Jack Dylan Grazer.
'THE DINNER' (Rated M) - this dramatic thriller is Written for the screen and Directed by Oren Moverman and based on the 2009 Dutch novel of the same name by Herman Koch. The film Premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February this year, was released in the US in early May, has so far taken just US$1.1M at the Box Office and has received mixed Reviews. The film takes place over the course of a dinner involving two couples in a swanky upmarket restaurant. Here we have Paul Lohman (Steve Coogan) a former high school history professor and his wife Claire (Laura Linney) meeting up with his long time estranged older brother, Stan Lohman (Richard Gere) a popular congressman running for Governor and his wife Katelyn (Rebecca Hall). Over dinner the two couples plan to discuss how to handle a crime committed by their respective teenage sons that was caught on CCTV cameras and shown on the television news, but, so far, no one has come forward and identified the two lads in question. The crime was of a violent nature, and the footage captured shocked the nation. The parents have to decide on what to do, and over the course of their dinner meeting relationships are tested, the individual beliefs of each family member is thrown into question, and each reveals just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.
'THE GLASS CASTLE' (Rated M) - this drama film is Co-written for the screen and Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and is based on the real life memoirs published in 2005 of the same name by Jeannette Walls. Released in the US in early August, the film has so far taken US$14M at the Box Office and has received mixed Reviews praising the cast, but coming down on the transformation from page to screen. Here four siblings - oldest daughter Lori Walls (Sarah Snook), second daughter Jeannette Walls (Brie Larson), youngest daughter Maureen Walls (Brigette Lundy-Paine) and only son Brian Walls (Josh Caras) must learn to take care of themselves as they live a nomadic life moving from squat home to squat home and on the poverty line, as their responsibility-averse, free-spirited parents both inspire them and hold them back in life. When sober, their brilliant and charming father Rex Walls (Woody Harrelson) sparks their imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to live life to the full with talk of unrealistic hopes and dreams for a better life. He was optimistic and positive if nothing else! But when he drank, he turned dishonest and destructive. Meanwhile, their mother Rose Mary Walls (Naomi Watts), an eccentric artist, detested the idea of a domestic life and shied away from raising a family. This is a coming of age story of a dysfunctional family, as seen from Jeannette's POV.
'THE LOVERS' (Rated MA15+) - this comedy romantic film is Written and Directed by Azazel Jacobs and was released Stateside in early May and has so far taken just US$2M but has received critical praise. Telling the story of husband and wife Michael (Tracy Letts) and Mary (Debra Winger) who live together but are effectively estranged from each other. They are both in long standing extra-marital affairs - Mary with Robert (Aiden Gillen) and Michael with Lucy (Melora Walters). However, their respective relationships and their feelings for one another take on a sudden twist when they fall for each other as a result of single kiss that leads to sex, and the two of them falling for each other all over again. As the same time, their respective lovers start to become more needy of their attention and their affections and therefore more demanding, making them less and less appealing to both Mary and Michael, only helping to cement their new found love for each other still further.
'THAT'S NOT ME' (Rated MA15+) - Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Gregory Erdstein in his full length feature film Directorial debut, this Australian independent comedy film shot on a shoestring budget saw its Aussie Premier at the Sydney Film Festival in June this year, and now goes on general, albeit limited, release. Here Alice Foulcher (who also Co-Produced and Co-Wrote) plays identical twin sisters Polly and Amy Cuthbert. Polly is an aspiring Actress who is mistaken for her successful celebrity Actress twin sister Amy at just about every turn. When Amy is cast in an upcoming HBO television series and then to add insult to injury starts dating Jared Leto which is posted all over social media, Polly decides to turn the tables in her favour and use Amy's celebrity to her own advantage - after all, who can tell them apart? Living it large as the life of a celebrity, Polly takes full advantage of free clothes, being wined and dined at all the best places, casual relationships, and the media attention, but ultimately with hilarious and disastrous consequences for them both.
'TOMMY'S HONOUR' (Rated M) - this historical biographical drama film is Directed by Jason Connery (the son of Sean Connery), and tells the story of the lives, careers and relationship between father and son - Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris as depicted by Peter Mullan and Jack Lowden respectively. The film is based on the 2007 book
'Tommy's Honour : The Story of Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris, Golf's Founding Father and Son' by Kevin Cook. History tells us that Thomas Mitchell Morris (Old Tom) was a Scottish golfer born in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland the spiritual and ancestral 'home of golf' and location of the famed St Andrews Links, where Old Tom was the greenskeeper and professional golfer. Old Tom lived from 1821 until 1908 and died at the age of 86 in the town of his birth. Young Thomas Morris (Young Tom) was a Scottish professional golfer. He is considered one of the pioneers of professional golf, and was the first young prodigy in golf history. He won four consecutive titles in the Open Championship (which his father founded), an unmatched feat, and did this by the age of 21. Young Tom's first Open Championship win – in 1868 at age 17 – made him the youngest major champion in golf history, a record which still stands to this day. Young Tom died at the age of just 24 in 1875. This is their story. Also starring Sam Neill as Alexander Boothby, the Captain of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and Ophelia Lovibond as Meg Drinnen as Young Tom's future wife. The book upon which the film is based was highly acclaimed, picking up various awards, and the film won Best Feature Film at The British Academy Scotland Awards.
With six new release films this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, taking in horror, historical biographical drama, romantic comedy, a coming of age memoir, an independent Aussie comedy and a dinner date, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephiles afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere in the week ahead at your local Odeon.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
