I'm a Stephen King fan. Not a die-hard fan, I read his late works more out of respect than enjoyment, but I must admit he can weave a storyline when he wants to.
That's why I always cringe when I hear there is another King adaptation. It's always a very ugly experience for me. Not only am I barely standing watching it, I am also embarrassed that I actually liked the very story the usually atrocious movie is based on.
So here comes "Riding the bullet", the movie based on a story I rather enjoyed. I wasn't even expecting it, a friend brought it from a video store for the bunch of us to watch.
Need I continue? Again, since my friends know I have S.K. book collection and had read and liked the story, the experience was as close to embarrassment as walking in naked on grandma's 90th birthday. I found myself constantly explaining that "this was not in the book" and almost apologizing for how bad it was.
Why was it so bad? Where should I start? The main character in the book was a normal kid, a guy you can identify with. In the movie he is a death-obsessed freak who regularly talks with himself. But not the usual way, mind you, his other self makes a habit of walking up to him and disappearing in puff of smoke. Basically the whole introduction - which is, of course, "not in the book" - serves only to make him more dislikable. He likes to draw monsters and has hallucinations of shoddy Death creature with heavy-metal background music (oh, the movie is set in 1969 by the way, so good choice with the score, guys!). He whines and self-pities himself and is basically a jerk. But we're stuck with him for 2 hours, oh joy and happiness.
So, anyway, this moaning creep's mother gets sick and he goes on a trip to see her. On this trip a bunch of animals get roadkilled, he talks to himself and some other non-existing folks a lot and at some time David Arquette turns up and pretends he is scary. By the end, I was just waiting for the torture to be over. And it was a long wait.
I tried reading the story again yesterday. I couldn't. The whining freak permanently replaced the original guy. And boy, do I want to forget that face.
Thanks a lot guys. And please make more King adaptations, I can't wait.
That's why I always cringe when I hear there is another King adaptation. It's always a very ugly experience for me. Not only am I barely standing watching it, I am also embarrassed that I actually liked the very story the usually atrocious movie is based on.
So here comes "Riding the bullet", the movie based on a story I rather enjoyed. I wasn't even expecting it, a friend brought it from a video store for the bunch of us to watch.
Need I continue? Again, since my friends know I have S.K. book collection and had read and liked the story, the experience was as close to embarrassment as walking in naked on grandma's 90th birthday. I found myself constantly explaining that "this was not in the book" and almost apologizing for how bad it was.
Why was it so bad? Where should I start? The main character in the book was a normal kid, a guy you can identify with. In the movie he is a death-obsessed freak who regularly talks with himself. But not the usual way, mind you, his other self makes a habit of walking up to him and disappearing in puff of smoke. Basically the whole introduction - which is, of course, "not in the book" - serves only to make him more dislikable. He likes to draw monsters and has hallucinations of shoddy Death creature with heavy-metal background music (oh, the movie is set in 1969 by the way, so good choice with the score, guys!). He whines and self-pities himself and is basically a jerk. But we're stuck with him for 2 hours, oh joy and happiness.
So, anyway, this moaning creep's mother gets sick and he goes on a trip to see her. On this trip a bunch of animals get roadkilled, he talks to himself and some other non-existing folks a lot and at some time David Arquette turns up and pretends he is scary. By the end, I was just waiting for the torture to be over. And it was a long wait.
I tried reading the story again yesterday. I couldn't. The whining freak permanently replaced the original guy. And boy, do I want to forget that face.
Thanks a lot guys. And please make more King adaptations, I can't wait.