Post by Angry Scientist on Aug 15, 2003 1:49:13 GMT -5
People usually always kiss this movie's ass. But, I'm not going to.
We all know the plot: Jack, his marmy wife, and their weird son Danny are the new winter caretakers at the Overlook Hotel. Everyone clears out, and the happy family is all alone. Or are they? Jack's trying to write something; he's looking for solitude. Wendy is doing the cooking and keeping up with the chores. And Danny is playing. But, nobody's having any fun. Why, you ask? Because Jack's going crazy.
Danny sees ghosts everywhere, and Wendy has to put up with Jack's constant abuse. Jack starts seeing ghosts himself, only he thinks them to be real. They tell him maybe he should murder his family and next thing you know, Jack's got an axe in hand and blood is eventually shed.
At first glance, The Shining really looks like a classic. The music is cold, the atmosphere is grim, and who doesn't really like Jack Nicholson? But The Shining is really a mess. First of all, there's logic.
Why in the hell didn't these morons sense that Jack was nuts? He already had a semi-violent streak in him. There was a hint of abuse in both the scene where Wendy explains that Danny's injury was just a drunk accident and in the car where Jack and Wendy tried to skirt around directly talking about cannibalism. Well, now everyone knows that the Overlook is a negative influence. Put a ticking time bomb like that in a haunted hotel and look what happens. No surprise.
Then the film relies on the shock that's generated purely by our disbelief at what we're seeing presented before us. What appears to be a suited bear and some playboy getting it on in a random room, the elevator full of blood (which I'll admit is classic), a rather disgusting scene featuring an emaciated and sorry, ugly European model who transforms before Jack's very eyes into the rotting naked corpse of an old woman with green stuff pouring out of the wounds. CHECK PLEASE!
It's not good enough. The Shining has the feel of a classic, but really it's very fragile inside. Some scenes are classic, again I'll admit. When Jack is chopping down the bathroom door, that's terrific. When Wendy discovers what Jack's been writing, you'll be on the edge of your seat. And my personal favorite, when Wendy is compelled to see what Jack's done to the snowmobile (I know it's not really a snowmobile but I don't know what else to call it). Nicholson's crazy performance has payoff moments, it's true.
But these few effective moments are all the film has. Other than that, it's a series of powerful camerawork showcasing an awful adaptation (which I understand Stephen King himself wasn't pleased with) of the original novel.
** out of ****
We all know the plot: Jack, his marmy wife, and their weird son Danny are the new winter caretakers at the Overlook Hotel. Everyone clears out, and the happy family is all alone. Or are they? Jack's trying to write something; he's looking for solitude. Wendy is doing the cooking and keeping up with the chores. And Danny is playing. But, nobody's having any fun. Why, you ask? Because Jack's going crazy.
Danny sees ghosts everywhere, and Wendy has to put up with Jack's constant abuse. Jack starts seeing ghosts himself, only he thinks them to be real. They tell him maybe he should murder his family and next thing you know, Jack's got an axe in hand and blood is eventually shed.
At first glance, The Shining really looks like a classic. The music is cold, the atmosphere is grim, and who doesn't really like Jack Nicholson? But The Shining is really a mess. First of all, there's logic.
Why in the hell didn't these morons sense that Jack was nuts? He already had a semi-violent streak in him. There was a hint of abuse in both the scene where Wendy explains that Danny's injury was just a drunk accident and in the car where Jack and Wendy tried to skirt around directly talking about cannibalism. Well, now everyone knows that the Overlook is a negative influence. Put a ticking time bomb like that in a haunted hotel and look what happens. No surprise.
Then the film relies on the shock that's generated purely by our disbelief at what we're seeing presented before us. What appears to be a suited bear and some playboy getting it on in a random room, the elevator full of blood (which I'll admit is classic), a rather disgusting scene featuring an emaciated and sorry, ugly European model who transforms before Jack's very eyes into the rotting naked corpse of an old woman with green stuff pouring out of the wounds. CHECK PLEASE!
It's not good enough. The Shining has the feel of a classic, but really it's very fragile inside. Some scenes are classic, again I'll admit. When Jack is chopping down the bathroom door, that's terrific. When Wendy discovers what Jack's been writing, you'll be on the edge of your seat. And my personal favorite, when Wendy is compelled to see what Jack's done to the snowmobile (I know it's not really a snowmobile but I don't know what else to call it). Nicholson's crazy performance has payoff moments, it's true.
But these few effective moments are all the film has. Other than that, it's a series of powerful camerawork showcasing an awful adaptation (which I understand Stephen King himself wasn't pleased with) of the original novel.
** out of ****