The Stand by Stephen King

Real rating: 6.7/10
So long, so very very long. So many things I never needed to know, so much little detail that needed to be edited.
That said a great story, though certainly over the top. One only needs to look at the description of the trash can man as he is driving through the desert to see this. The prose is nothing spectacular and half of the novel seems to be more about King riffing on all the culture he remembers through out his time on earth. Sadly this is a book you want to recommend, but ultimately know while the inherent story is decent that there is simply so much wrong with it that you will feel the need to explain why you recommended it in the first place.

Wizard and Glass by Stephen King

Real rating: 7.5/10
The pinnacle of King’s dark tower annoys those who wish for the story to keep moving along so that they can reach an ending that only highlights the circular theme that lies at the center of the work which is what the Wizard and Glass is the precurrsor for.
It is long winded as are many of King’s works, a thing he addresses himself, but the story at the heart of all this is an endearing fantasy tale that most would enjoy outside of the Tower series and fantasy novels in their own right tend to be long winded, so not an overall hindrance. The prose is above average and dialogue is unique and characters have personalities beyond a stereotypical mapping. In terms of story the only real hindrance are the parts that occur on the train.

It by Stephen King

Real rating: 7/10
The prose is far from King’s best and leaves the reader wishing for a more concise tale. A novel in need of an editor or a few darlings to be killed, to paraphrase a quote King holds true. The work’s unnecessary length aside, it is a tale that I feel has a Fahrenheit 451 feel in terms of readers adding their own personal themes on to the tale rather than King’s own personal concept, but this does imply that the work creeps into the mind of the reader and stirs something deep within.
The tale is no more fearsome than some of King’s other works, but it is the antagonist that causes the reader’s mind to run wild and their deepest fears to bleed into the vacant vessel of terror “IT” thus allowing the novel to manipulate the reader’s inner turmoil to the extent of digging up fears left dormant in those forgotten moments of scattered youth and this imaginary terror allows King’s work to gain a life all its own.

Blade Runner 2049 Directed by Denis Villeneuve

The P.H. Metric 78.75/100

The P.H. Metric +Marketing: 68/100

In short if you want an art movie go, if you want an action movie and entertainment stay away.

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Marketed as an action film this artistic thriller did not serve the general public. During my showing 7 people walked out, and there was only probably 15 of us, and they made it no more 50 minutes in. Several people I went to the theater with fell asleep, yet critically applauded and here comes the divide. Movies critics love, film does not make money even when they have huge investment and movies critics don’t love film makes enough money to fund 5-15 more movies. So in short this film is a disservice, because ultimately fewer studios are willing to take the risk on artsy films and all this film needed was to tighten up its pacing and it would have probably broken even and in terms of cinematic vision that is hardly selling your soul.

Directing:  8.75/10

The directing is superb and I am shocked with the level of investment that Villeneuve was given as much control as he was. Though it must be said that this film draws out shots for too long and this is from a man who loved the film Stalker. Where as something like Stalker is completely about the philosophical nature this film still tries to make it self an action/thriller/mystery film and these long takes end up killing the mystery and feels more like there is not enough story to go around, which ultimately is true. The shots themselves are lovely.

Acting: 7/10

Ford is Ford the man is not that great of an actor and he really is just cashing in on old franchises at this point. Gosling’s muted touch was decent enough and while Leto’s weird character was weird in a good way the character itself was unneeded. The main villain of the piece was over the top and worthy of being in a film that is trying so hard to be nuanced. She ends up coming off as a jarring screeching noise.

Cinematography: 10/10

Deakins’s cinematography shines, absolutely shines and this has to be his year. 13 noms and with Lubezki currently attached to a special award Oscar his major comp for the year is not there.

Editing 8.5/10

I feel bad for Joe Walker he kept the ship as tight as he could throughout, but ultimately due to the nature of these long drawn out takes that it feels like he was ultimately overruled when it came to where to cut the film.

Score/sound effects: 5.5/10

I would have scored this higher if I had not seen Arrival, where as the industrial style sound design should have been more engaging I could not help feeling they were reusing it from Arrival. Of course the sounds were meant to be jarring given all the silence we were fed, but ultimately it feels like that opening sequence in the remake of Funny Games, it is not shocking or jarring in the sense the creator wants, but more in the sense please turn down the TV those noises are starting to give me a headache.

Visual Effects: 9/10

I get a sense of Silent Hill (the first game) it feels like the fog and dust in certain scenes is there to hide rather than enhance and when one goes back to the original Blade Runner these modern effects (specifically shots of the city) do not look like the technology has really pushed the boundaries, in fact it looks more like the status quo, which mind you the status quo is excellent, but not genre defining.

Writing: 3/10

I am sad to find out there was a writer for this film. Now I previously mentioned Stalker which is similar in many regards, however the dialogue in that is profound, where is the dialogue in Blade Runner 2049 thinks it is. With such cliche android film lines as basically sacrificing yourself is the way to prove you are human. This concept never sits well with me, as apparently for an android the most human thing is to sacrifice yourself so that the human may continue to live a better life than you. That sounds like the kind of thing an android would be programmed to do. Asimov anybody? Everything just keeps pushing the fact that these androids want to be human, but ultimately it keeps slapping them down and saying they are not. It adds nothing to the greater debate over AI and ultimately when compared to the sheer quality of everything else in the film it looks out of place and useless, as if someone was brought in last minute to patch it up. Secondly the whole it could be him story was let out of the back to early on, so it made the double twist so predictable that it steals any power it had.

Production Design: 9.5/10

Those in production design you all need more respect and deserve to be pushed further into the foreground, because when you do an excellent job no one says anything, only look how well this and that is, but you owned this film.

Costume Design 9/10

Well done, especially Leto’s character, though I will say the only real negative was Wright’s outfit. What is this 2049 and she is channeling the 50’s or was she literally a copy of the police chief from Futurama. Also Ford’s was a little meh.

Make-up/Hairstyle 8.5/10

Again Leto is the high point, but not much else as everything is high quality, but nothing feels astounding.

Kiss the Girls by James Patterson

Real rating: 5.7/10
Kiss the girls is a paint by numbers thriller, but it is written by the paint by numbers master so it is not entirely cringe worthy, the prose is quite weak, the killers are Hollywood killers, the plot twists are expected though not always predictable. If not for the content I would put this work at the same level as most YA fiction.

 

Schindler’s List Directed by Steven Spielberg

The P.H. Metric 91/100

Directing:  9/10

A masterclass in direction. Spielberg’s connection to the source material pushed him to make something that defies any sort of dilettante criticisms. Every decision from the black and white to the stones hits hard and hits well. Leaving the viewer with a piece that is entertaining, yet horrifically beautiful as well as being the sort of thing any student of cinema should be studying.

Acting: 9/10

Liam Neeson’s best role, before he revealed to the world that method acting is not something he subscribes to, which in turn means Liam Neeson plays Liam Neeson every time. The rest of the cast offers more nuanced performances that really provide the viewer with a subdued approach to such horrors, allowing the audience to feel disconnected from the tragedy, yet thrust into its dark world.

Cinematography: 10/10

Red, red, red. Visually perfect.

Editing 10/10

Editing makes a film, it cannot be said enough. Actors and the like get the credit, but editors along with the writers and directors are the heart, spine and brain of a film and this film only furthers to reinforce the fact that actors are far from needed to meld a film into something sublime.

Score: 10/10

Williams provides another stellar score, which raises the question would Spielberg’s films be as successful with out them? That said, Williams builds tension that spills morosely over tragedy and celebratory fatigue.

Visual Effects: 8/10

The shower scene aside, the visual effects are done well and kept in the century they are meant to be in and keeps the viewer planted firmly in the time period.

Writing: 8/10

The writing is superb, however it does have one to many touches of the Hollywood penmanship to it, which does cause the film to drift into a territory that feels a little unnatural for the artistic intentions of the piece.

Production Design 9/10

Superb production design, save for a few touches in the concentration camps.

Costume Design 9/10

Authentic and eye catching, though does fall victim to the standard nerd mistakes.

Make-up/Hairstyle 9/10

Several hairstyles feel off for the period and the make-up department does benefit greatly from the black and white.

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

Real rating: 6/10
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As King himself says you are either going to hate or love this work and this does stand given the works low ranking. To save yourself the time this work falls under mystery but it is more of a study of mystery rather than a run of the mill mystery. There is no end in sight no answers to be had, the only thing that is meant for your senses is a tale to leave you with the questioning nature of existence and reality.
The story itself is average not one of King’s best tales, but far from his worst.

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

Real rating: 5.7/10
A novel idea does not translate to a novel. The concept of a calendar that treated you to an unfolding tale with each passing month is a pleasant enough idea and the tale that it tells was decent enough for its purpose, however that concept converted into a novella leaves the novella to feel flat and underdeveloped ultimately leaving the reader to forget the tale soon after completion.

In Search of The Far Side by Gary Larson

Real rating: 3.7/10

The farside is the anti-humour of the comic world, most of the jokes are not jokes but statements with humorous pictures. It also sports a striking similarity to the New Yorker cartoons in the sense that people laugh at it even when they do not understand it, because in the end a cow looking cross is funny on such a base level that a flat joke gets treated with a higher regard.

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

Real rating: 8.2/10
The Lottery is a superb lesson in how to craft a story, particularly horror. It is designed to slowly lull the reader one way and unravel the horrible truth that you know is coming yet dare not turn away from, as well as making a poignant remark about social ills that alter our societies in ways we do not always see. The only down side is that any prior knowledge of the story drains the life out of it and turns the writer’s intended perception into almost cartoonish caricatures of humans, so do your children or your students a favour and let them experience it as it was meant.