Comments on: Best Stephen King books turned into a movie

By: bertas

bertas — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:10:55 +0000

Polly thank you for the comment.
Well now that you have told me the Stand is with Gary Sinese I will have to see it…
I do agree with you that most Stephen King movies (well apart from the Landmower man did turn out ok… as I said I can tend to be a nit picker when it is a book that I have enjoyed reading… that is why I didnt like the last Harry Potter movie, its like they have taken out all the good and important bits and made it into something that was watchable but not great.

By: Polly S

Polly S — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 11:14:20 +0000

Liked The Stand - first time I saw Gary Sinese I knew he was Stu. For an author who makes such an impact with his written word, I would say that many of his books > movie ventures have turned out ok. But sometimes you have just gotta leave the words on the page and enjoy it via your own visualisation - and not via some director’s interpretation…
Reading Duma Key now.

By: Richard Madeley

Richard Madeley — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:19:11 +0000

I think the phrase is ‘a tongue like a fishwife’ but I couldn’t imagine that it could refer to you, Bertas. Honestly I can’t.

By: bertas

bertas — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:08:37 +0000

I do have to admit I have been dubbed fisherman’s wife while I was in England… lets just say turdilicious turd is much more polite then what I would usually use

By: Richard Madeley

Richard Madeley — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:57:19 +0000

You do like the phrase ‘turdilicious turd’. I’ve never heard it before but I think I’ll be dreaming about it…

As for books. At the moment, I’m doing nothing but writing so I don’t get time to read. It’s probably why I try to read something especially good when I get chance.

By: bertas

bertas — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:26:04 +0000

Oh I have a fair few guilty pleasures, but unlike with movies (I’m a horrible movie snob) with books I’m a bit of a book tart, I can read anything…
sure I will discard some books half way through if they are astonishingly bad, but even if it is turdilicious turd I cant help to admire the time and effort someone, anyone has put into it… talent is another thing you either have it or you dont, but really even a celebrity autobiography was ghost written by some poor sap who was trying to shape it into something people will read… it does take dedication and effort and I cant help but admire that
And I agree King’s short fiction is a delight to read…

By: Richard Madeley

Richard Madeley — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 23:28:43 +0000

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan. I have read a few of his novels. They are guilty pleasures when I’m in no mood to read anything more meaty. Then again, I’m not one to knock a writer just because he’s popular. King’s prose can sometimes be a bit clunky, but his story telling ability (at least for the first two thirds of a book) are unquestioned. His endings are sometimes a bit of a let down, I find. The Stand was my favourite of his, though I quite enjoyed Cell up to the last 100 pages. His shorter fiction is also really quite good, and I always like the way he actually talks about the craft of writing. Both are quite rare in writers these days. Though, of course, he has the luxury of being Stephen King and has the chance to publish work that other writers would have to give away for nothing.

By: bertas

bertas — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:27:48 +0000

Well damn and blast I didnt take you for a Stephen King fan Richard Jolly good now we have another topic in common

I do agree with you about It, I liked the book, but the mini series was just ew and not in a good way.
The Apt Pupil - I also thought novella was a bit better because even though the movie was dark, the novella was even more sinister.

I enjoyed the Stand, but havent seen the series yet. I also liked Tommyknockers… both the book and the series… I did see Storm of the century, but since I havent read it I cant really compare. And I think I saw the Dead Zone with Christopher Walken, but that was ages ago I should see it again…

Thanks for the recommendations, it is kind of easy to get sucked into though isnt it? Especially with the mini series

By: Richard Madeley

Richard Madeley — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:34:59 +0000

I recently had a Stephen King season. The highlights were some of the lesser known films and series.

The first half of ‘Desperation’ was really good (I’ll watch Ron Perlman in pretty much anything). The whole of ‘Storm of the Century’ was excellent, as was the TV version of ‘The Stand’. I too enjoyed ‘1408′ (I saw the Directory’s Cut, which is supposed to be better than the theatrical version). ‘Apt Pupil’ was well made but I remember the novella being better.

Then there was ‘It’, which I hadn’t seen. Excellent until the final episode when the special effects let it terribly down.

Since I’m a Kubrick fan, I have always dismissed King’s thoughts about The Shining. That said, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the TV mini series. I can see why he wanted it made. Very different in tone to Kubrick’s version.

Even better, though, was David Cronenberg’s ‘The Dead Zone’ with Chrisopher Walken. The line ‘The missiles are flying. Hallelujah, Hallelujah!’ still haunts me.