Sean’s movie thoughts

I did not finish the new Salem’s Lot. I don’t blame the actors. I think the writer/director made some bad choices. I don’t like how the film started. I think it was the wrong choice. Also there should have more mystery.  The novel is large and has a large cast of characters. Maybe some of the choices were made to ensure the movie was less than 2 hours long. The previous two live action adaptations were both TV mini-series and in hindsight that makes sense. Going back to the idea of mystery, maybe the writer/director felt that since this is a 3rd adaptation of the story that people already know the story. I think that was the wrong approach. Or maybe the writer/director was given a runtime he had to meet and decided to cut some mystery from the film. I am not sure if I will go back to finish the movie or re-watch it. Stephen King saw this and really liked it. His posting about film might have saved it from being destroyed for tax reasons. I don’t get what he saw in this film that I ...

Accident Man Hitman’s Holiday is the sequel to the movie Accident Man. Accident Man was about an assassin who made his kills look like accidents.  (This is a good idea. There is a novel series with this concept.)  I think I liked the original Accident Man a bit more than the sequel. I might have to re-watch the original. I wish Salem’s Lot was coming out this year.  Maybe since I don’t go to theaters anymore I would not see it until next year anyway, I am just curious about the reviews. It is my favorite Stephen King novel (I admit I have might have read only four or five of his novels) and I enjoyed both TV adaptations. (I have an interest in King’s work and the adaptions to TV and movies.) I have good things about Section 8, a direct to video action thriller. I might pick it up on Blu-ray. I think Black Site, another direct to video action movie, is supposed to be good. Maybe next month I will pick it up and Section 8.  

https://www.cbr.com/stephen-king-salems-lot-james-wan/ James Wan is set to produce a big screen adaptation of Salem’s Lot. Salem’s Lost is Steven King’s second novel, and it has been adapted twice on TV(in 1979 and 2004). I liked both and will probably re-watch the original before the year is out. There was also a BBC radio show adaption. Right now no director is attached and no star is either. One of the writers of It, Gary Dauberman, is going to write it. That sounds promising. I liked It and I am looking forward to the second part. Dauberman is scheduled to direct the third Annabelle movie. I will probably write more about this project as things develop. I am curious to see how the novel will be adapted on the big screen. I think Salem’s Lot is my favorite Stephen King story.

Salem’s Lot, the 2004 mini-series based on the Stephen King novel, holds up. (My DVD calls it a movie, so I think it qualifies for this blog.) I have not seen it in a few years. It is different from the 1979 mini-series in some ways. Rob Lowe stars as Ben Mears, a writer coming back to the small town of Salem’s Lot in Maine. He wants to write a book about the town. While he is in town, mysterious things start to happen. There are vampires in the town. (This is a 14 year old mini-series based on a book that is 43 years old, I am not overly concerned with spoilers.) I like this movie/mini-series and the 1979 mini-series too. I think Rob Lowe, Andre Braugher, and Samantha Mathis were good in their roles and there are some creepy events. James Cromwell is also good in his role. A major difference between the two adaptations is Barlow is more like he is in the novel and not the monster from the 1979 version. It is worth tracking down.