Metal Reviews

The acting in that TV film was awful.

How can anything with somebody from Wings be awful?

It came off as really stiff and hollow, especially the wife. Say what you will about Shelley Duvall's looks, but she can act. And the kid was so annoying I couldn't bring myself to root for him, thus ruining the entire point of the story. Just my opinion of course.

I was kidding about the Wings thing. The acting was nowhere near the level was in the Kubrik film. I was only commenting on the script. The script was good. It stuck to the story in more of a way that Kings book was. I would give up Kubrik's hedge maze for the come to life hedge animals from teh book any day. And the ending of the book was awesome when compared to the ending of teh Kubrik film. THe TV movie tried to do the ending as best as TV could. ANyway, if anybody likes the movie they should read the book. Thats all Im saying.

Heh, it appears I lost A Clockwork Orange at school.

And it's not even mine. It's my brother's book. >_>

As far as I'm concerned, "The Shining" was the only Kubrick film (Seen all from Paths To Glory) that wasn't excellent or at least very good.

finished Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", and it was very good. i just kinda liked Tom Sawyer (i probably read it in the wrong mindset or expecting the wrong things), but i enjoyed this one.

the ending seemed quite rushed, and nowhere near as nasty as the back cover described (i was expecting a Reign of Terror kind of thing), but all in all i think it's at elast worth checking out.

now i'm reading "The Truth About the Savolta Case" by Eduardo Mendoza, in Portuguese (it's originally in Spanish).

Its true the decline of Jack in the film is much more straightforward. Its almost seemed like he would have gone on a rampage of some description even without the ghosts or maybe even being isolated in the hotel. I probably preferred the ending to the film though. Maybe its just that it was written in 1977 but {ZOMG SPOILARS}
the whole "everything solved by a giant explosion" ending is such a tired cliche. I sort of liked that if anyone was to go back to the Overlook in the film they'd just find two dead guys and an empty hotel. The cliche thing also applies to the "manager" taking over Jack's body completely by the end - I preferred the idea of the evil force just driving him crazy rather than possessing him.

What I disliked most about the film in comparison to the book is the fact that the Shining itself is sort of played for a few freakouts and then dropped. We never get any sense that Danny knows whats going on and knows that his dad is going to go off the deep end sooner or later. I guess that sort of stuff would be tough to get from a 5 year old actor, but still....

Also, the film, as Brahm points out, shows that Jack's loss of sanity was almost entirely 'natural,' so I think the scene where Grady lets him out of the freezer is a bit grating next to all this. It sort of removes any possibility that there were actually no ghosts in the hotel at all.

The book had a sense of madness (supernaturally caused) that the film just didnt. You make a very good point about the freezer scene and I agree with you that it didnt fit the movie. I really missed the hedge monsters in the book also. They are far and away better than the maze. All in all the book is great and the movie is only great if you nevr read the book.

The topiary animals were only dropped because Kubrick didn't think he could make them look convincing enough. It was probably for the best that they were excluded as in 1980 they would only have looked like total shit or at the very best, admirable stopmotion creatures.

The topiary animals were only dropped because Kubrick didn't think he could make them look convincing enough. It was probably for the best that they were excluded as in 1980 they would only have looked like total shit or at the very best, admirable stopmotion creatures.

The Satanic Bible, Anton Szandor LaVey
Tales of The Black Widows, Isaac Asimov.

odin plus satan, classy and in no one contradictory to eachother

I didn't say I was a satanist, I'm just reading the Satanic Bible. IS that not allowed without being a satanist?
And just for my curiosity, how do Odin and Satan find themselves in contradiction?

Read it again, he said they don't.

Pushing Ice - Alastair Reynolds

Just about to finish A Game of Thrones finally. About 30 pages left. Amazing book, took abit for me to get into it. It was very daunting.. Alot of characters, alot of names just thrown at you. I studied the Appendix somewhat though to familiarize myself with the characters and how they relate to each other.. I think it was somewhere between pages 75-100 where everything started to click. I hope nobody out there has ever given up on this book thinking it was too much to take in, it becomes very easy to follow once you learn names. The only part of the book I felt was a tad weak was the Daenerys chapters.. They had their moments but overall I was always kinda pissed when they came up. Though I admit her chapters became increasingly cooler near the end.

I just finished A Clash of Kings, the next book in that series. I'd say the second one is at least as good as the first one--both are excellent. My favorite chapters are the ones told from Tyrion's and Bran's perspective...I agree, Daenerys has the least interesting chapters, although Catelyn Stark is a close second...

But anyways, the series is phenomenal, maybe the best I've ever read. Excellent stuff, can't wait to get the next book.

Daenaerys chapters become much better in book 3, though as a character I really dislike her. Glad you enjoyed the book; I had to buy another copy of A Storm of Swords the other day because my old one fell apart from constant use. Amazing series. And yes, Tyrion is about the coolest character ever. And I reccomend, after you've read all the ones that are out (up to book 4, A Feast For Crows), giving it all a reread. Its amazing what you pick up on the second read that you don't on the first.

hey, i'm also reading A Game of Thrones!
i had to ask a question, though, should i read the appendices or look up stuff on the internet before i go on any further (i'm on the bit with Bran and the pups)? because i get the feeling i'm expected to know wtf they're talking about when they mention walls, wildlings, others, etc etc

i quit "The Truth About the Savolta Case". the book is made up entirely of newspaper reports and court interrogations, with some actual narration in the first person in between. and you're left wondering who the hell is doing the narration, you can't tell if it's always the same person or maybe the person whose court testimony you just heard. and maybe this is from reading too many books in english, but i'm finding the portuguese translation pretty, er, awkward to read.