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Taeke posted:It's been a while since I read It, but maybe that was just the kid's impression the pharmacist? It's very common for kids to find perfectly normal people creepy or sinister for absolutely no reason, especially ones the in a sort of gatekeeper profession of (perceived) power. The creepy librarian for example is pretty common. The librarian is my most hated villain of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.
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Jun 21, 2021 03:25
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Baron von Eevl posted:I mean book Jack was always terrible, he almost killed a kid right before going to the Overlook. Kubrick understood that Jack was King writing about himself and said "you know what, I think you're kind of a piece of poo poo and so is Jack." I get why that would put King off, it was nearly a direct attack against him as a person. Yeah, but from all accounts, King did get over his stuff and earned redemption over the years, so it makes Kubricks read a little more cynical in retrospect. Book Jack was RIGHT THERE to turn around, and the Overlook cheated and animated ghost bees to attack his son which turned his family on him and alienated him from them at exactly the wrong time. King seemed to be saying the line between an addict falling back in or not is often just chance based on outside forces there, which Kubrick ignored and made Jack just decide he wanted to drink because he was annoyed. One thing I like about the Dr. Sleep movie is that Danny becomes book Jack at the end - it keeps Kubrick shithead Jack and juxtaposed the novel character onto his son.
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Jun 25, 2021 17:37
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BIG GALOOTY SNEAKERS
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Jun 25, 2021 17:49
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Darko posted:
wasps  I read Dr. Sleep but haven't seen the movie. I watched some synopsis reviews and it looks like it's better than it has any right to be (much like the book) but wtf is interesting or scary about the True Knot? An idea like that seems to fly in the face of the spirit of the originals and would work better in something like Salem's Lot than The SHining. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 15:10 on Jun 26, 2021 |
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Jun 26, 2021 15:07
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BiggerBoat posted:wasps Director's Cut movie Dr. Sleep is a sequel to movie Shining and goes off in a completely insane direction very different than the book and *major spoilers*: has adult Danny go back to the non-boiler-exploded totally intact Overlook Hotel, and then has him do everything Jack goes through in the book. Imagine someone who fully understands that people are more familiar with Movie Shining than Book Shining, who loves actual Book Shining, got put in charge of adapting Doctor Sleep. And they got the job by telling executives that they were going to make a sequel to the popular movie, and that the movie they were making could be marketed as a sequel to that movie. And then they created a film that has some elements of a sequel to the movie, and some elements of the book they're supposedly adapting, but actually is an adaptation of Book Shining. Secretly! The only way The Shining could be actually made into a movie in the 2010's!
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Jun 27, 2021 04:36
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:Director's Cut movie Dr. Sleep is a sequel to movie Shining and goes off in a completely insane direction very different than the book and *major spoilers*: has adult Danny go back to the non-boiler-exploded totally intact Overlook Hotel, and then has him do everything Jack goes through in the book. This surprised the hell out of me and was very, very good. Additionally, the movie uses a lot of Kubrick-style cinematography and re-captures the creepy feel of the original movie (which, as much as I might bitch about Kubrick's changes to the characters and story, was pretty goddamn perfect). Mike Flanagan (the Dr. Sleep director) respected the hell out of three different source materials (movie Shining, book Shining, and book Dr. Sleep) and did an incredible job merging all three. That said, yeah, the Knot is still the weakest and goofiest part of the story, though they have a couple of truly horrifying moments. Eason the Fifth fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Jun 27, 2021 |
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Jun 27, 2021 06:28
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Yes it's all the emotional stuff from the book that the movie left out added to the visual stuff the movie was good at with also some of the novel Doctor Sleep thrown in there as a way to move things along.
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Jun 27, 2021 06:54
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Eason the Fifth posted:That said, yeah, the Knot is still the weakest and goofiest part of the story, though they have a couple of truly horrifying moments. The thing is they don't have to be kind of crappy. The trailer vamps from Near Dark are right there as a template for how to do characters like that well.
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Jun 27, 2021 10:42
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Eason the Fifth posted:This surprised the hell out of me and was very, very good. Additionally, the movie uses a lot of Kubrick-style cinematography and re-captures the creepy feel of the original movie (which, as much as I might bitch about Kubrick's changes to the characters and story, was pretty goddamn perfect). Mike Flanagan (the Dr. Sleep director) respected the hell out of three different source materials (movie Shining, book Shining, and book Dr. Sleep) and did an incredible job merging all three. The scene at the end where blood is coming out of the elevators is a shot from the original movie and not a recreation. Which surprised me as it is pretty seamless with 2018 cinemaphotography, even if that cinemaphotography is trying to emulate a 1970's Kubrick film. The lack of the Overlook was a huge hole in the book Dr. Sleep. Obviously there's a real good reason why it wasn't in there, but nothing else Stephen King could have added would've made up for its absence.
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Jun 28, 2021 12:56
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The ruins were there so Danny could somewhat redeem himself and have a moment with his son which was kind of cool, at least. Just like movie version making it clear that he just is and was always a terrible person. BiggerBoat posted:wasps True Knot isn't scary, really, even with the idea that they're eating children. They're just another layer of addiction in that they're so addicted to life and power that they go as far as torturing kids for more of it. The movie kind of makes it even more clear, and makes it more obvious that they suck due to how relatively easy it is for Danny and a little girl to take out the while crew. Otherwise, yeah, they're just yet another King villain that feeds on emotions like IT or The Library Policeman woman, or Dandelo, etc. Just now they take psychic energy that is flavored with emotions.
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Jun 29, 2021 17:27
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It's been a while since I read the book, but don't a couple of the Knot run away in their little RV and starve to death? I think they're written as weak and pathetic intentionally. Maybe that's to show them as more of a family, because all families have absolutely worthless people we still tolerate out of obligation or affection. With steam is such short supply it would make a lot of sense to cut half the caravan loose. There are a few important team members (tracker, pusher, seer) but everyone else is kind of meh.
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Jun 29, 2021 17:45
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Darko posted:
Yeah, I saw them as addiction taken to its logical end where all you are is a shell or empty husk consumed with getting more of your drug of choice, steam, that you are willing to do anything to get it. You don't have any other real thoughts, personality, dreams, ambitions, or hobbies. Just when and how you will get your next fix. And when you can't get it you breakdown and whither away. They may be a bit too much of a caricature in that sense, but I saw them as more horrifying in that sense than actually directly scary. The thought of what one could become.
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Jun 29, 2021 17:58
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The aspect of the True Knot that appealed to me, and struck home, was the nature of their ubiquity and invisibility throughout history. The idea that everyone knows that these "RV People" really do exist as a real physical group in America that we've all encountered; something we see on a regular basis but never think about, people so inherently banal and seemingly harmless that they just blend into the scenery. Taking something like that and making it so perniciously evil and corrupt.
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Jun 29, 2021 23:28
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Darko posted:
Yeah...but I was pretty whatever with True Knot but liked all of those other ones you listed. Not only weren't The True Knot scary but, worse, they just didn't fit and I didn't find them interesting at all. It felt like I was reading two different books a lot of times and nothing about them worked as protagonists for Danny Torrance. I'm not of the opinion that The Shining even needed a sequel at all but adding a bunch of vampires into it certainly didn't strike me as the way to go so long as one had to be written. I could see a King story about a roving clan of child drinking vampires working in a different context but I can't connect them to The Overlook or with anything I learned about Jack, Wendy, Grady or Danny. A prequel would have been far more interesting so long as we're doing The Shining 2. Having said all that, what I've seen of Doctor Sleep looks pretty cool and the book was...ok/not bad.
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Jun 30, 2021 00:33
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Krispy Wafer posted:It's been a while since I read the book, but don't a couple of the Knot run away in their little RV and starve to death? I think they're written as weak and pathetic intentionally. Maybe that's to show them as more of a family, because all families have absolutely worthless people we still tolerate out of obligation or affection. I think its just to show them as addicts more than anything. Like junkies, they ARE weak. That was my read anyway. poo poo: double post Douche4Sale posted:Yeah, I saw them as addiction taken to its logical end where all you are is a shell or empty husk consumed with getting more of your drug of choice, steam, that you are willing to do anything to get it. You don't have any other real thoughts, personality, dreams, ambitions, or hobbies. Just when and how you will get your next fix. And when you can't get it you breakdown and whither away. They may be a bit too much of a caricature in that sense, but I saw them as more horrifying in that sense than actually directly scary. The thought of what one could become. Also beaten.
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Jun 30, 2021 00:35
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Don't forget all the stuff about how your addiction seems cool and interesting and you the addict seem like a neat person but in the end it's just addiction and response it's intensely boring in its sadness.
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Jul 1, 2021 06:59
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My big issues with DOCTOR SLEEP the book is that not only are the True Knot never actually threatening, but King makes Abra so overpowered from the off that the end is just a foregone conclusion. That second point taps into a hated trope of mine: it isn't enough that Abra is a kid, or that she's special, it's that she has to be the biggest and most powerful Shiner that has ever existed.
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Jul 1, 2021 17:31
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DrVenkman posted:My big issues with DOCTOR SLEEP the book is that not only are the True Knot never actually threatening, but King makes Abra so overpowered from the off that the end is just a foregone conclusion. That second point taps into a hated trope of mine: it isn't enough that Abra is a kid, or that she's special, it's that she has to be the biggest and most powerful Shiner that has ever existed. The movie kind of changes this. She's ridiculously powerful, yeah, but the implication is that Danny was too, and was just held back due to a mix of his parents and his own addiction. In the book, she's clearly way above anyone around and didn't even really need Danny outside of her being ambushed.
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Jul 1, 2021 21:08
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If Jack Torrance got a job at the Overlook in the high season, June or July, whatever job it was, and he and Wendy and Danny lived there, would the hotel have tried to go after Danny in the same way?
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Jul 2, 2021 05:47
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Teriyaki Hairpiece posted:If Jack Torrance got a job at the Overlook in the high season, June or July, whatever job it was, and he and Wendy and Danny lived there, would the hotel have tried to go after Danny in the same way? Cool idea. I would think of it almost like how a criminal operates based on motive and opportunity. It would still have the motive (Danny's shine), but probably less opportunity since there would be more people around. The isolation is a really important part of Jack's downward spiral, as King likely knew from his own addiction struggles, and it would likely be harder to accomplish. Danny would also be unlikely to be as alone, like in random rooms and hallways, so again less opportunity. Maybe a few things could happen in the hedge maze? I would almost envision it being a more slow, methodical build-up to sort of set the stage for a more effective or rapid impact once the low season happened. I think it would be impossible for it to do nothing, since Danny was basically like a big juicy steak in front of a hungry person. But like that person (let's assume they are supposed to wait to eat the steak), there would be sly and calculating maneuvers to try and get it sooner rather than later.
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Jul 2, 2021 18:25
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The Overlook hosed with people year round, but it did it's best work when its victims were isolated from everyone else. The movie kind of bothered me in that nothing was changed from when the Torrances left. Like the typewriter is still there, no one fixed the bathroom door, and REDRUM was still scribbled on the wall. Even if the hotel failed because of it's bad reputation, it wouldn't be so immediate that no one would clean up or reopen it in the Spring. It's not like it was a massacre. Only two people actually died in the whole movie. But maybe it was all fixed up and that was the hotel manifesting itself how Dan left it. Perhaps it continued running for decades afterwards and just recently went out of business.
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Jul 3, 2021 12:52
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Is the Lisey's Story miniseries any good? A quick google shows that it's getting very low ratings...
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Jul 3, 2021 12:58
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Canuckistan posted:Is the Lisey's Story miniseries any good? A quick google shows that it's getting very low ratings... So did the book, and the book was fantastic.
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Jul 3, 2021 13:23
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^^^I've never read it because it gets bashed to hell and back on this board^^^Krispy Wafer posted:The Overlook hosed with people year round, but it did it's best work when its victims were isolated from everyone else. Given the nature of the Overlook it wouldn't surprise me if it was in immaculate condition for whoever wound up getting there first and that there were no signs that any caretaker was ever there at all. EDIT: I picked up N0S4A2 from the library because I'd heard good things and it seems like the consensus choice for Hill's best book. I've never read any Joe Hill so looking forward to it. BiggerBoat fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Jul 3, 2021 |
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Jul 3, 2021 15:34
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BiggerBoat posted:Given the nature of the Overlook it wouldn't surprise me if it was in immaculate condition for whoever wound up getting there first and that there were no signs that any caretaker was ever there at all. That's a good point, I could see it where the Overlook basically fixed itself up and continued to operate for a few more years before changing markets and the reputation caused a gradual decline, blah blah blah, but the place where Danny was still exists in its own little pocket dimension just waiting for him to come back.
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Jul 3, 2021 15:47
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BiggerBoat posted:I picked up N0S4A2 from the library because I'd heard good things and it seems like the consensus choice for Hill's best book. I've never read any Joe Hill so looking forward to it. It was great.
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Jul 4, 2021 00:33
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Just reread The first 4 Dark Tower books for the first time in ages and holy poo poo I forgot how good III is and how much IV is a great book but sucks at moving the story forward.
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Jul 6, 2021 16:39
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Finished If It Bleeds and loved it! Having taken a break from King for a few years (Mr. Mercedes, I think), I came back and was pleasantly surprised by this collection. Some people said that the second story was the weakest, but in a way, I liked it the most. Having not read the second Bill Hodges book, I was a little lost at times in the eponymous story, but enjoyed the tension nonetheless. A great group of stories.
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Jul 6, 2021 17:58
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So I'm still going through the Kill Count playlist and got o Dr. Sleep. I didn't know this was a Shining sequel. Is it worth reading? What are its connections to The Shining?
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Jul 10, 2021 23:19
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There's a lot of discussion in the thread about it, but short, premise-spoiler version: It's about an adult Danny coming to terms with himself, the bad behaviors he inherited from Jack, and the alcoholism he developed while using booze to mute his shining and the PTSD he got from his experiences in the Overlook. That part of the story is very good. It's also about Danny slipping into the Hallorann role to protect a super-shiny girl from a pack of RV-living vampire retirees who store 'steam' (shining juice) in Thermoses because it's hard to find good victims anymore. They want the super-shiny girl for a buffet. That part of the story is not so good. edit: The movie is good because it takes what made Kubrick's version of The Shining so memorable (cinematography and dread) and mixes it successfully with King's strengths as a writer (characterization and experience of addiction). Eason the Fifth fucked around with this message at 23:37 on Jul 10, 2021 |
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Jul 10, 2021 23:29
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NikkolasKing posted:So I'm still going through the Kill Count playlist and got o Dr. Sleep. I didn't know this was a Shining sequel. It's not great. It's about adult Danny's struggles with substance abuse. And vampires.
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Jul 10, 2021 23:30
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BiggerBoat posted:I picked up N0S4A2 from the library because I'd heard good things and it seems like the consensus choice for Hill's best book. I've never read any Joe Hill so looking forward to it. It's good, you can’t really go wrong with Joe Hill.
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Jul 12, 2021 06:37
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RandolphCarter posted:It's good, you can’t really go wrong with Joe Hill. I didn't like "The Fireman". Everything else is great though.
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Jul 17, 2021 14:19
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NikkolasKing posted:So I'm still going through the Kill Count playlist and got o Dr. Sleep. I didn't know this was a Shining sequel. Movie is better than the book.
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Jul 18, 2021 02:17
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Son of a Vondruke! posted:I didn't like "The Fireman". Everything else is great though. I’ll agree it’s his weakest, but I enjoyed it.
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Jul 18, 2021 02:23
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New one coming out August 3:https://stephenking.com/upcoming/ posted:Billy Summers Excerpt here: https://ew.com/books/stephen-king-billy-summers-excerpt/ Drimble Wedge fucked around with this message at 19:51 on Jul 19, 2021 |
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Jul 19, 2021 19:48
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finally, stephen king guest-writing a jack reacher novel
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Jul 20, 2021 19:19
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How many books has King written in present tense?
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Jul 20, 2021 22:20
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Stephen King doesn't always create masterpieces but god drat does make me feel lazy and wonder if I've wasted my life. Guy is a loving machine.
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Jul 20, 2021 23:05
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High Warlord Zog posted:How many books has King written in present tense? I think one of the book passages that Thad Beaumont wrote that show up in The Dark Half was written present tense.
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Jul 21, 2021 00:01
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