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The Langoliers 1995 ★★★½
This made for TV adaptation of The Langoliers was actually pretty good.
Of course, the makers had to work with tv budgets, so the special effects were more funny than scary and the “scaring the little girl”-bit has been parodied more than once. And certainly in the first hour, Bronson Pinchot makes for a hilarious douchebag. Scaring the little girl!
That said, the premise gets worked out pretty good. Letting the premise sink in, the realisation of what's going on. David Morse makes for a believable lead and most of the cast do not too badly with what they are given. Also good to see the master himself being given a cameo, although the meeting itself and the hallucinations Pinchot has... that's the main challenge/problem: making the visualisation as scary as King makes it in his stories. With the budget for the effects here, it looks more like the first Children of the Corn movie. That said, I have to give credit where credit is due. The chase scene was intense and the final climax kept me on the edge of my seat.
A nice addition for your King-collection.
Land of the Blind 2006 ★★½
A political thriller that becomes interesting in that it strays from the classic narrative. Yes, the dictator in power at the start (a bouillabaisse with bits of Kim Jong Un, Goebbels and others) is a terrible dictator, but the swerve (and a dose of realism is that the supposed rebel turns out to be even worse.
Fiennes and Sutherland senior are okay, but like with most of this flick, nothing is really that compelling to keep you that invested or on the edge of your seat. The lack of a real conclusion might have been more realistic, but as a viewer, you're left empty. Also, bringing in the daughter at the end just to say “hi” seems a bit forced and out of nowhere as well.
Bringing in Nelly the elephant for the revolution scene was a nice touch, though. Shout out to The Toy Dolls.
The Virgin Suicides 1999 ★★★★½
A touching mix of tragedy and coming of age, of mistery and surprisingly lighthearted moments.
James Woods is actually pretty good playing this nerdy stuff shirt and Kathleen Turner is probably underrated here. Miles away from the action comedies that spelled her breakthrough in the eighties. Needless to say, she was great as the religious cook who probably had a big role in the tragedy that went down.
But they all take a back seat to the main stars: the Lisbon sisters. Enchanting beauties draped in misery. Ready to discover the world, yet suffocated by their mother and social conventions. Or at least that's what we as the audience think or are lead to believe. What were they really thinking? What did they really want? And what was the final straw that lead to their final decision?
A bittersweet tragedy that still stands twenty-five years after its release.
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