Doctor Sleep

[peter]

(Should it be Dr Sleep - think it possibly should be, but no matter .... I'm sure you know which film I mean )

The follow up to Kubrick's The Shinning is based on a Stephen King story of 2013 ( did King write the original - I should know) and unlike the original film, is a straightforward piece of storytelling that eschews the original movie's descent into the surreal which was a large part of its success. That it works - and works pretty well - is due to a combination of a decent storyline with a decent cast, with a measure of pretty decent film-crafting thrown in. For those who have not seen the original, or who have not taken the trouble to re-aquaint themselves with the story, there will be much in the film that will be meaningless, but not in such a way as to spoil the viewing experience. Things will become clear as the story progresses, but much of the referencing of the latter to the former will be lost (eg scenes from the first film, recreated in the second).

Following the events of the small boy from the original movie, as he grows up broken and lost, floundering in the aftermath of what he has been subjected to, we discover the existence of a group of near immortals who feed on children unfortunate enough to be born with 'the Shinning' ability. Mike Flanagen, stepping into Kubrick's shoes (brave man!) is abley served by a decent cast led by Ewan McGregor who (almost) pull off the film's nearly three hours running time without a hitch. In fact if there is one criticism that can be leveled at the film it is that it is too long. McGregor, backed up by a small girl and a non-gifted friend get wind of this evil cabal of old-age new-agers and determine (after no small amount of heart-wrenching) to put an end to their nefarious activities.

The film isn't going to go down as a masterpiece; it isn't going to please all of the film-critics and fans of the original - but while it simply doesn't have the power of the original, on it's own merits it's a pretty decent film and worth the watch. And for those who do take the trouble to revisit the original movie first (I cheated and did a couple of reviews/explanation videos on YouTube) there are some fun little references that will make you smile.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I did not realize that there was not already a thread for this movie.

We saw it and thoroughly enjoyed it. To say that Dan (being an adult, he no longer goes by Danny) is broken does not quite do justice to *how* broken he has become. In the opening sequence, that woman he meets at the bar then wakes up in her apartment....when he leaves he actually does not know whether she is alive or dead but he walks out the door anyway, leaving behind the toddler. That is pretty damned cold...but then in the original book there were indications that Jack had physically abused Danny (in the movie version the subtext is that Jack had also sexually abused Danny).

The movie does give us a fascinating interpretation of psychic connections and psychic combat, like being in a lucid dream where you retain all your memories, can make rational choices, and neither time nor space have any meaning.

This is also one of the few movies to actually depict horrible acts being committed on a child. The only other movie I can recall where an act of violence is actually depicted against a child is Eli Roth's Hostel 2.

Anyway....psychic vampires are no less threatening or evil than physical vampires. Some of the elements of the resolution of the film incorporate elements from the resolution of the book version of The Shining.

When Rose the Hat goes to meet them at The Overlook, we suspect she is not sufficiently scared because she suspects that the girl is trying to scare her with visions. She has absolutely *no* idea what building she has entered.....