The laundry list–The Edge of Seventeen; Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game and 1922 on Netflix

I’d like to write everything I want, all the thoughts, moments, passages, but I can’t. Thus, sometimes I abbreviate things. Here are some media files that I have started, but will probably not get around to writing.

• I watched that Edge of Seventeen movie with young people and Woody Harrelson, and I recall the girl being charming. It has been three month or so since I watched it. I got a good impression from it. The world’s not going to stop or anything if you don’t see it, but there are worse ways to kill 90 minutes. The actresses name is Hailee Steinfeld, and apparently she has been in  some things. She was in the Coen’s True Grit, but I don’t recall her. Quite oddly, I haven’t seen that one since I saw it in the cinema. Woody Harrelson is definitely worth the look if you check out the Edge of Seventeen film; it’s a good role for him.

Below is a link to the film’s imdb.com page.

Edge of Seventeen IMDb Page

Netflix has recently released two original movies based on Stephen King works. I’ve watched them both. Gerald’s Game, based on the 1992 of the same name, was released September 29, while 1922, based on the 2010 novella, came out on October 20. (I hope there are more coming.)

• Gerald’s Game stars Carla Cugino as a woman whose psyche begins to fray when she is left handcuffed to a bed in a remote cabin, when her husband dies of a heart attack during some bondage sex. They do a decent enough job with this, the suspense builds enough I think–having read the book, it’s not as easy to be objective–and there is one single moment of horror, one of those “OMG, I can’t believe I just saw that” moments, which is enough to call this and a couple others horror. It’s pretty right there in your face, so when you think they’re gonna pull the punch, be warned because they’re not. In all, altered ending and all–his ending being what I think Mr. King had in mind when he began the writing even–I found it a worthwhile way to pass time, especially fans of the book or King’s other work.

Gerald’s Game IMDb Page

• Thomas Jane is the star of 1922, and maybe I don’t know anything about movies or acting…maybe the critics are going to come along a rip this dude’s performance to pieces, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. First off, I loved the novela on which it is based. Much like Gerald’s Game, and a larger percentage of King’s later output, the treats human horror rather than supernatural. The bad guys aren’t netherworld or alternate dimension boogeymen, but the demons that can live in the space of a human mind. Some of King’s most gripping and memorable work has come from novellas that deal with troubled humans or humans in trouble, “Shawshank”; “Secret Window, Secret Garden.’ Such is the case here, and Thomas Jane nails it. Dylan Schmid is also strong in the role of his son, and Molly Parker…well, she’s Molly Parker; she’s excellent as always. That lady could read a pop tarts box and it’d be OK for me. They tamper with King’s ending here as well, possibly making more of a difference than it did with Gerald’s Game, but I don’t think it takes away from the film’s potential. I think I would have liked the film better if they hadn’t, but I still liked it a lot. I highly recommend this one.

1922 IMDb Page