I don't really know what kind of detail counts as a spoiler so be warned this might have one - but just a vague one.
I adore Stephen King. I adore his writing, his sense of humor, his politics, his wit, I even like his dog, the thing of evil. But I didn't like Gerald's Game or the Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon -- terribly boring books. Hey, you can't be perfect, Stephen. You're scary enough already and that is a compliment.
So, I watched this anyway and a very strange thing happened. I liked it. I liked it much better than I did the book, which is something that almost never happens. In fact, I can only think of one other time that has happened: The Handmaid's Tale - which is a depressing drivel of a tale that I despise - and yet, I love, love, love the TV show. Usually it's the other way round and I'm sure it is for most people. However this movie brings what I think the book was trying to do into focus and what I missed in the book makes sense now. I'm going to go back and read it again when I have a minute and I'm guessing I'll find more to like this time around.
Still not sure about the Tom Gordon book though. Weird stuff that. Baseball and bears, nah.
Anyway, give the movie a go, but don't expect your typical Stephen King horror and gunk fest. This one is more internal horror and very much about the terrors of the soul and mind. It's good, but for adrenaline junkies it will move too slowly and it has literally no gore, unless you count a pool of blood and a very hungry dog doing what hungry dogs do.
In closing I wanted to give a nod to the great performances by Carla Gugino (amazing) and Bruce Greenwood (he's not only great, but still drool worthy at his age).
I adore Stephen King. I adore his writing, his sense of humor, his politics, his wit, I even like his dog, the thing of evil. But I didn't like Gerald's Game or the Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon -- terribly boring books. Hey, you can't be perfect, Stephen. You're scary enough already and that is a compliment.
So, I watched this anyway and a very strange thing happened. I liked it. I liked it much better than I did the book, which is something that almost never happens. In fact, I can only think of one other time that has happened: The Handmaid's Tale - which is a depressing drivel of a tale that I despise - and yet, I love, love, love the TV show. Usually it's the other way round and I'm sure it is for most people. However this movie brings what I think the book was trying to do into focus and what I missed in the book makes sense now. I'm going to go back and read it again when I have a minute and I'm guessing I'll find more to like this time around.
Still not sure about the Tom Gordon book though. Weird stuff that. Baseball and bears, nah.
Anyway, give the movie a go, but don't expect your typical Stephen King horror and gunk fest. This one is more internal horror and very much about the terrors of the soul and mind. It's good, but for adrenaline junkies it will move too slowly and it has literally no gore, unless you count a pool of blood and a very hungry dog doing what hungry dogs do.
In closing I wanted to give a nod to the great performances by Carla Gugino (amazing) and Bruce Greenwood (he's not only great, but still drool worthy at his age).