Doctor Sleep (2019)

[GrahamS. 803]

It does have some throwbacks to The Shining that are kinda jarring (especially in the beginning), but it is its own story and is much more emotionally engaging than Kubrick’s iconic, chilly film (which I do like). Ewan McGregor has his best part in a while (that I’ve seen) and is great, but the whole main cast gives really strong performances.

I did like the book that this was based on and I generally like Mike Flanagan’s horror films a lot (he did Gerald’s Game and The Haunting of Hill House series for Netflix, as well as Oculus and others), but the preview for this left me underwhelmed, so I was pleasantly surprised with the result. I think it’s the strongest theatrical adaptation of a King novel in a long time, but I don’t want to over-hype it. I’m interested in what other people think.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I really enjoyed this! After a while I did start to think that it kinda dragged on, but I can totally tell it was Mike's style of horror and I looooove Haunting of Hill House with my entire heart! Rebecca Ferguson killed this roll and I agree that Ewan did a lot better than I've seen in quite sometime!

I'm afraid that people that don't like it are blaming it on the film itself, when I found the things that I didn't like as much to be direct adaptations of Stephen King lol. He can get so silly in his writing sometimes and so many things hearkened back to Dreamcatcher for me and I was like okay Stephen we get it you're obsessed with this concept lol.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

The more I think about it, the more I like it. Ewan is, of course, amazing in the film, but one thing I really liked is casting Henry fucking Thomas to act opposite Danny Torrence. I know he's a frequent collaborator of Flanagan's (Haunting of Hill House is magnificent horror storytelling), but it just seems so perfect to have the "kid from ET" to play the ghost version of the father of the other most famous child role of the last 40 years.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

5 hours ago, Quasar Sniffer said:

The more I think about it, the more I like it. Ewan is, of course, amazing in the film, but one thing I really liked is casting Henry fucking Thomas to act opposite Danny Torrence. I know he's a frequent collaborator of Flanagan's (Haunting of Hill House is magnificent horror storytelling), but it just seems so perfect to have the "kid from ET" to play the ghost version of the father of the other most famous child role of the last 40 years.

When you put it like that, I like it a lot more, but during the viewing I did not like it at all. I was kind of hoping they would just leave Wendy and Jack faceless throughout the film, which thank god they did during the ax flashback. To me - casting new actors in these extremely iconic rolls just kind of took me out of these really great moments. I'm more fine with Wendy being casted again to show new footage, but there was something about recognizing Henry Thomas that made me go, "Oh and there's Henry Thomas," not, "Oh my god he's seeing Jack now!"

[GrahamS. 803]

I read a review that said the scene would have worked better if Henry Thomas was in silhouette. I kind of agree, but I thought that scene was so well-written and ambitious that I still found that scene really powerful.

I didn’t explicitly say it before but Rebecca Ferguson was fucking awesome. And the girl (apologies for not checking her name) was great, too.

[grudlian. 4725]

On 11/12/2019 at 10:17 AM, tay-loe anne photo said:

I'm afraid that people that don't like it are blaming it on the film itself, when I found the things that I didn't like as much to be direct adaptations of Stephen King lol. He can get so silly in his writing sometimes and so many things hearkened back to Dreamcatcher for me and I was like okay Stephen we get it you're obsessed with this concept lol.

This was my problem with it:  Stephen King.

Most every problem I had with this was the writing and it followed the book pretty closely. Some of this, especially in the last act, seems very silly or under developed which is a problem I had with the book.

There is one minor change I think ultimately makes the final act pretty weak. In the book, the True Knot people had basically no steam stored and continuing going after Abra because Rose is desperate. It's basically win or die as I recall. In this, it makes Rose seem stupid to confront her alone knowing how powerful Abra is.

I agree with everyone that the actors were great. Rebecca Ferguson is perfectly cast and exactly what I pictured when I read the book. How is Eean McGregor getting better looking with age? Jacob Tremblay was, as usual, the best thing in every movie he's in.

Overall, I liked this okay but it didn't wow me or anything.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

12 hours ago, grudlian. said:

This was my problem with it:  Stephen King.

Most every problem I had with this was the writing and it followed the book pretty closely. Some of this, especially in the last act, seems very silly or under developed which is a problem I had with the book.

There is one minor change I think ultimately makes the final act pretty weak. In the book, the True Knot people had basically no steam stored and continuing going after Abra because Rose is desperate. It's basically win or die as I recall. In this, it makes Rose seem stupid to confront her alone knowing how powerful Abra is.

I agree with everyone that the actors were great. Rebecca Ferguson is perfectly cast and exactly what I pictured when I read the book. How is Eean McGregor getting better looking with age? Jacob Tremblay was, as usual, the best thing in every movie he's in.

Overall, I liked this okay but it didn't wow me or anything.

I still saw Rose as utterly desperate, but this time it was out of grief. I don't think she was using her head against Abra at all, and I thought it conveyed that pretty well. 

When I saw that Jacob had been cast I honestly had expected him to have been Young Danny, cause honestly it would've fit pretty well and we all know he would've killed any of that fear from the original story. But even though his part was so small, you're right, he nailed that shit and it really got me when they tortured him. 

[grudlian. 4725]

9 hours ago, tay-loe anne photo said:

I still saw Rose as utterly desperate, but this time it was out of grief. I don't think she was using her head against Abra at all, and I thought it conveyed that pretty well. 

When I saw that Jacob had been cast I honestly had expected him to have been Young Danny, cause honestly it would've fit pretty well and we all know he would've killed any of that fear from the original story. But even though his part was so small, you're right, he nailed that shit and it really got me when they tortured him. 

The Jacob Tremblay scene was my absolute favorite (or I guess least favorite) because of how unsettling it was. It was the only scene to really get to me.

I also really liked the scene where Abra's mother called her. A lot of movies would just leave that thread open because it's about a tertiary character. But just imagining everything from the mother's perspective was horrifying and hilarious.

[GrahamS. 803]

11 hours ago, tay-loe anne photo said:

I still saw Rose as utterly desperate, but this time it was out of grief. I don't think she was using her head against Abra at all, and I thought it conveyed that pretty well. 

I agree, I think her primary motivation for the climax came out of grief, rage and ego (yes, Abra is powerful, but I think Rose can’t accept that a girl can get the better of her.). I bought it. Since Rose has known some of these people for centuries, I can see why she’d be irrationally pissed. I dunno, I think there are far more questionable/stupid motivations for characters in horror movies in general—just see the recent Pet Sematary remake (which I enjoyed in a so dumb-it’s-fun way).

i didn’t even realize that was Jacob Tremblay. He was great. That was a rivetingly awful scene.

More spoilers (since we’ve already covered a few)...,

Did anyone else find the scene where Abra ignores the bathtub ghost bad-ass (aka the final scene) ?

Also, I want to celebrate this film for having a black psychic young woman who survives and is the hero, rather than being anticlimactically murdered like (the terrific) Scatman Crothers.

 

[JimKata 62]

Loved the movie until they got to the Overlook. From that point on...not so much. I thought  Rebecca Ferguson  was wonderful  as Rose the Hat.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I read that Jacob's first take of that scene was so unsettling that Rebecca Ferguson stumbled over her lines because she was so upset. If that kid doesn't win an Oscar before he is 15 then there is some bull shit afoot lol.

[grudlian. 4725]

1 hour ago, tay-loe anne photo said:

I read that Jacob's first take of that scene was so unsettling that Rebecca Ferguson stumbled over her lines because she was so upset. If that kid doesn't win an Oscar before he is 15 then there is some bull shit afoot lol.

Leonardo DiCaprio DiCaprio for The Revenant and Jacob Tremblay wasn't even nominated for Room that year. Sure, you could argue Tremblay was the supporting actor but I just really am still salty DiCaprio was nominated for that awful performance.

8 hours ago, JimKata said:

Loved the movie until they got to the Overlook. From that point on...not so much. I thought  Rebecca Ferguson  was wonderful  as Rose the Hat.

I feel like the movie switched big time once they got to the Overlook. The movie turns more into a production design movie over anything else (and those sets are fucking awesome). I felt like the acting got way worse. We should be reading any number of emotions on Ewan Mcgregor's face as he roams the halls and there's kind of nothing there. I get people saying Rose acted out of grief because that's plot but I didn't pick any of that up in the finale from Rebecca Ferguson's performance. It's probably a lot harder to act as you just walk around sets alone or doing such silly stuff (as the plot gets by the end). So, I don't blame Ewan or Rebecca necessarily for their performances at the end, but I still thought they mostly were flat for the climax. 

[taylor anne photo 11311]

1 hour ago, grudlian. said:

Leonardo DiCaprio DiCaprio for The Revenant and Jacob Tremblay wasn't even nominated for Room that year. Sure, you could argue Tremblay was the supporting actor but I just really am still salty DiCaprio was nominated for that awful performance.

You know that was just a "finally let's just give him this award" more than anything else. The performance he should have won for was Django Unchained because he was legit terrifying in that movie.

[GrahamS. 803]

The Revenant just sucked balls. I don’t blame Leo. He had no character to work with. It was definitely a make-up for his previous successful performances that didn’t win anything.

[grudlian. 4725]

1 hour ago, tay-loe anne photo said:

You know that was just a "finally let's just give him this award" more than anything else. The performance he should have won for was Django Unchained because he was legit terrifying in that movie.

Nah, that should have went to Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master that year but I'm fine with it going to Christoph Waltz in Django over DiCaprio

Now, if we're talking DiCaprio getting robbed for performances, I'd say What's Eating Gilbert Grape is the option. 

[GrahamS. 803]

15 hours ago, grudlian. said:

Nah, that should have went to Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master that year but I'm fine with it going to Christoph Waltz in Django over DiCaprio

Now, if we're talking DiCaprio getting robbed for performances, I'd say What's Eating Gilbert Grape is the option. 

If you’re going that far back, why not say he was robbed for This Boy’s Life?

i thought he was really good in The Aviator (and Gilbert Grape as well).

I liked Christoph Waltz in Django, but it was pretty much the exact same performance he gave—and won an award for—in Inglorious Basterds. And I’ve never really seen him vary from that tone or type of performance.

 

[GrahamS. 803]

But honestly, I thought Leo gave a much better performance in Once Upon... than in The Revenant (once again, that movie suuuuucked. Art-house torture porn. It seemed like he was reacting more to extreme conditions than he was given a character to portray. And I’ve seen that movie twice—because I thought maybe I was being to hard on it the first time. The second time I just fast-forwarded through most of the Leo stuff and watched Tom Hardy. By the way, in reality, the person Leo’s character was based on wasn’t avenging his family. He was pissed because his colleagues stole his gun and left him for dead. Now THAT’s a revenge movie). 

I wouldn’t be pissed if he was nominated this year.

[grudlian. 4725]

6 hours ago, GrahamS. said:

If you’re going that far back, why not say he was robbed for This Boy’s Life?

i thought he was really good in The Aviator (and Gilbert Grape as well).

I liked Christoph Waltz in Django, but it was pretty much the exact same performance he gave—and won an award for—in Inglorious Basterds. And I’ve never really seen him vary from that tone or type of performance.

I haven't seen This Boy's Life. So, I can't really say.

I agree that he was great in Aviator but he lost to Jamie Foxx in Ray which is totally fair in my mind. That's the problem for DiCaprio. He's consistently great but most years there is someone I (and apparently Oscar voters) find better.

[Quasar Sniffer 4174]

Well, I loved The Revenant and I thought Di Caprio's performance was Oscar-worthy. Granted, every year there are a dozen performances that are Oscar-worthy, and awarding any artistic achievement a golden statue in some sort of attempt at quantifying the "best" in a particular year is reductive and foolish at best, but I'm glad he got his statue.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

And honestly I looked up the rest of the nominees that year and if anyone won above him then it would've been ridiculous. I can see an argument for someone not even being nominated that deserved it but out of all the nominees Leo was definitely the winner that year for sure.

[grudlian. 4725]

11 hours ago, taylor anne photo said:

And honestly I looked up the rest of the nominees that year and if anyone won above him then it would've been ridiculous. I can see an argument for someone not even being nominated that deserved it but out of all the nominees Leo was definitely the winner that year for sure.

I disagree. This was a particularly weak year for lead actors at least among those nominated. I genuinely think Leo's performance in Revenant was bad (which I guess I'm in the minority on this) and he was outdone by the bigger supporting accepted like Tom Hardy and Will Poulter. I wouldn't want Eddie Redmayne to win just because I thought the movie's treatment of trans people was not bad but misguided. I thought Michael Fassbender, Bryan Cranston and Matt Damon were good in their roles. 

[taylor anne photo 11311]

11 hours ago, grudlian. said:

I disagree. This was a particularly weak year for lead actors at least among those nominated. I genuinely think Leo's performance in Revenant was bad (which I guess I'm in the minority on this) and he was outdone by the bigger supporting accepted like Tom Hardy and Will Poulter. I wouldn't want Eddie Redmayne to win just because I thought the movie's treatment of trans people was not bad but misguided. I thought Michael Fassbender, Bryan Cranston and Matt Damon were good in their roles. 

I haven't seen The Revenant so I honestly can't comment on his performance, but I definitely believe that Tom and Will outshined him because they're genuinely amazing and underrated actors. However, I did see the others and while Fassbender was amazing as Steve Jobs, I did not find it to be an award winning performance. Same with the others. I also am in the same mindset about The Danish Girl and just ugh fuck that movie, but all three of the other men have done better performances in their careers. If I were voting I probably would have voted for Leo as well.

[grudlian. 4725]

5 hours ago, taylor anne photo said:

I haven't seen The Revenant so I honestly can't comment on his performance, but I definitely believe that Tom and Will outshined him because they're genuinely amazing and underrated actors. However, I did see the others and while Fassbender was amazing as Steve Jobs, I did not find it to be an award winning performance. Same with the others. I also am in the same mindset about The Danish Girl and just ugh fuck that movie, but all three of the other men have done better performances in their careers. If I were voting I probably would have voted for Leo as well.

It would be awfully difficult for me to say someone deserves an award for a performance I never watched. We'll have to agree to disagree. 

[taylor anne photo 11311]

46 minutes ago, grudlian. said:

It would be awfully difficult for me to say someone deserves an award for a performance I never watched. We'll have to agree to disagree. 

I see what you're saying, and I'm telling you based on what I know about the way Leo acts I believe he would be better than what I witnessed from the others but whatever lol.

[GrahamS. 803]

19 hours ago, grudlian. said:

I disagree. This was a particularly weak year for lead actors at least among those nominated. I genuinely think Leo's performance in Revenant was bad (which I guess I'm in the minority on this) and he was outdone by the bigger supporting accepted like Tom Hardy and Will Poulter. I wouldn't want Eddie Redmayne to win just because I thought the movie's treatment of trans people was not bad but misguided. I thought Michael Fassbender, Bryan Cranston and Matt Damon were good in their roles. 

I genuinely have no love for this movie or performance, but I’m curious: WHY did you think it was bad?