Charlotte

Charlotte

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

11.22.63 - who the hell shot JFK? And why does James Franco suck so much?


11/22/63 plays on the age old question of if you could go back in time and change one event, what would it be? Most common answers are usually "Kill Hitler" or "Kill Trump" or "save the dinosaurs". In 2011 Stephen King answered that question himself in a haunting and exciting novel. I remember getting it the day it came out and devouring it in about two days. I couldn't put it down. And then last February the 8 episode miniseries hit Hulu but I wasn't interested at all. I've always been a doubter in King adaptations - of course there's a few exceptions to the rule - but mostly I'm let down. I still watch them all but when they started making King novels into TV shows, I couldn't take it. Under the Dome? Are you joking?

But since King is having a beautiful and well deserved comeback this year, including the new TV series The Mist which hits our screens this month, I thought I'd give 11.22.63 a try.


While it wasn't perfect, I had a great time watching it and ended up in a puddle of tears by the end.

Starring James Franco in the lead of Jake Epping, a freshly divorced English teacher, he is shown by his friend Al (Chris Cooper), who owns the local diner, that the diner has a secret within it. In the back closet is a portal that takes you to 1960. Al has been going for years but is now dying of cancer and needs Jake to take over his quest - to stop John F. Kennedy from being assassinated. The only problem? We don't actually know who killed him. There's countless theories from Lee Harvey Oswald to the mafia to Russia to the CIA to all of them working together. So Jake has to go back in time, find out who killed JFK and stop him/her before it happens.

In the past Jake joins forces with Bill who is played by the enchanting George MacKay and the lovely and intelligent Sadie, played by Sarah Gadon.

What did I love?

The cast was absolutely amazing - except for James Franco. Sarah Gadon is stunningly beautiful and plays Sadie with the utmost respect that makes you fall in love with her immediately. MacKay as Bill (a character not in the book) is a great addition that fills in the gaps that the book would've left by being turned into a TV show. Lucy Fry plays Marina Oswald and is incredibly powerful in her performance. Daniel Webber as Lee Harvey Oswald is like a young Ralph Fiennes, pulling off Lee's strange speech patterns and odd behavior incredibly well. Leon Rippy as Harry completely stole my heart and broke it with his emotional performance.

And how can I forget T.R. Knight as Johnny Clayton?!? Psychotic done right. 


Yes, the cast is strong. The characters are stronger - there's so many great people in this story. And they way they weave together is incredibly well done.

I loved the scenery - it felt very 60's. The outfits were beautiful, the cars were awesome. And that soundtrack!!!!!!!!!!! Oh it was phenomenal. So many great music choices. And the opening score itself is so catchy. Reminds me very much of Catch me if you Can.

While a lot was changed from the book, the biggest I think being the addition of Bill and that in the book Jake ends up in 1958 not 1960, I was okay with the changes. They were smart changes that made it a mini-series that flowed and made sense. King has a lovely tendency of going on tangents and introducing a lot of background characters and creating very complex story lines. But this adaptation was handled well.


What didn't I love?

Honestly, the only thing I didn't love was James Franco. I've never been a big fan of his in the first place but I didn't want to judge his performance prematurely. But by the end of the first episode I was incredibly disappointed. And that continued on throughout the series. What makes it worse is him being surrounded by strong actors. He drowns in the dialogue and when it comes for an emotional scene it's dead. And I'm pretty sure those tears he had to cry all the time were CGI. It's such an absolute shame because there's so many phenomenal actors out there who could've done SO much better and in turn made this mini-series near perfect. He may look like a dapper 60's star when he's all dressed up, but then he opens his mouth and it all falls apart.



Overall?

I will absolutely watch this mini-series again. I feel really happy that it was done so well and does this massive King novel justice. I would also recommend it.

I also highly recommend picking up the book and reading it, don't be intimidated by it's size. This was an interesting departure for King with it being a historical fictional tale. But the horror is still there - when Jake comes back to 2011, the state he finds the world in is terrifying. 11/22/63 plays with the question of time travel and the butterfly effect and how even the smallest change can affect the entire world. It also speaks deeply to our darkest moments - those personal experiences we have that we lay awake thinking "what if that hadn't happened"..."what if had just...". I came out of the novel with a new found respect for my terrible experiences, knowing that I can't change what happened, and that perhaps that doesn't matter - they shape me.

“We never know which lives we influence, or when, or why. Not until the future eats the present, anyway. We know when it's too late.” 

Ugh...you guys...Stephen King is so great.

Also who the fuck shot JFK?! I feel like I've spent my whole life trying to figure that out. I would love to know how many hours in my lifetime I've spent researching that day. I can't even give you a "odds are" situation. I was sure it was the CIA for a few years until about three weeks ago when I listened to a three hour podcast that changed my mind AND NOW I DON'T KNOW!!!!!

8/10


Sunday, May 7, 2017

Horror News - IT, Zodiac, and Scream


We've got a new IT trailer, Alien Covenant comes out next week, and a new Zodiac movie that has me so excited so let's delve right in to my horror movie news wrap-up aka these are completely hand picked to my tastes and I'm the worst.


First up we just got a new IT trailer dropped on us today and it's a goodie. I really have incredibly high hopes for this movie. I actually jumped in this trailer and then watched it three more times. In the trailer we get a better look at Pennywise, we get more time with the kids, a better view of the abandoned house, and we get a full scene of banter between Richie and Eddie. I can't believe how amazing this movie looks - my little king filled heart won't be able to handle it.

We also got The Dark Tower trailer dropped on us last week, but I don't want to talk about that as I seem to be the only one on the internet who hated that trailer...

Watch IT in theaters September 8th. I'll be there first showing on the Thursday screaming my goddamn head off. 

Anyway, watch the new trailer for IT here if you darrreeee....come on bucko, don't you want a balloon?

Next up...Alien Covenant hits theaters NEXT THURSDAY! I just bought my ticket for Friday at 7:45, because I'm an old lady and don't want to stay up late on Thursday night and get up early for work the next day.

I stopped watching the trailers after the second one because they were releasing too much, but I did watch the prequel trailer which was really cool. Check that one out and all the other million trailers they've released.

But this week they released the final posters and boy are they are creepy as hell. The posters for this movie have been fucking fantastic.

Check the three new ones out below and check in with me soon when I post my review:


Lights Out was one of my favorite films from last year and I've really come to love the director David Sandberg because he's such an incredibly open guy. He did a podcast with Shock Waves and was so honest and open about the whole process and his current process on Annabelle 2, which the trailer recently dropped for. While that trailer didn't blow my mind or anything, I am looking forward to it simply because of Sandberg. Sandberg spends a lot of time talking about his craft, his ideas and even spends time on social media reaching out to aspiring filmmakers sharing what he knows.

He just uploaded a video to his youtube that's a mini making-of documentary for Lights Out and it's absolutely fascinating. It goes through his process of setting up the scares and the many different ways he planned them. He even shows some of the storyboarding which is always cool to see.

It runs about 20 minutes and check it out below:



When MTV first announced ages ago that they were making a Scream TV show I was angered, disgusted and then ignored everything about it. Then last year I saw the first season was on Netflix and quietly and privately watched it. And to my suprise I fucking loved the show, it was actually really well done and super fun. I then couldn't wait for season two. But then that came out and I'd already forgotten about it. But a few months ago I finally sat down and watched season two and it was just as good! So now I have to consider myself a Scream TV show fan.


But season three couldn't happen, I thought. They've wrapped everything up and anything they do will be dumb. But then MTV was like...oh, Charlotte, when will you ever learn? And have released that season three will be a complete reset with brand new characters and story.

It also comes with a new showrunner, Brett Matthews and new group of executive producers including Queen Latifah. TVline released the casting breakdown and here's the very basic frame of characters we should look to expect:

Dion - football player with dark secrets
Liv - Dion's cheerleader girlfriend with good intentions and a big heart.
Kym - rebellious one
Beth - GOTH!!!!!!!!!!! YESSSSS!!!!!!! SO MUCH ANGST.
Jamal - Dion's step-brother hanging out with a rough crowd.

So new story, new location, new cast, new killer. Right now I am judgmental and hesitant but secretly SUPER excited.


This is the Zodiac speaking....

There's a new movie coming in June that has me SO FUCKING EXCITED!!!!!!!! Just listen to this premise:

A down-on-their-luck couple buy an old storage unit only to find the Zodiac killer's film reels inside. There's a $100K reward for any tips and the couple decide to take the law into their own hands and find the killer themselves.

The Zodiac killer is my favorite serial killer....so much so that I know how to write in the part of his code that was figured out, and at work the Zodiac killer is a valid member of our staff who signs everyone's birthday cards and steals people's stuff for ransom. Zodiac is one of my favorite films ever. So I'm really really REALLY stoked to see this movie. And the trailer has me believing this could be amazing. And even if it isn't, honestly, I'll still be there opening night.

It stars Shane West, Leslie Bibb and Matt Craven and is released June 9th

Check out the trailer below:


Alright I'll leave you to digest all that....

It's all getting so exciting this year for horror. I didn't even mention the confirmation of the Unbreakable sequel and all of Shamalamadingdong's tweets about it, all the new movies coming out, and all the new collectables. BUT...I don't have that much time on my hands...I need to go re-watch the IT trailer a few more times.

Stay spooky!