Something Borrowed, Something Used, Something New...?

Well if you watch t.v. frequently, you'll notice that Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, and John Krasinski all star in a film called Something Borrowed--which is based on the book of the same name.

According to npr.org, " The story is straight out of the chick-lit handbook — perky-but-underdoggish New York lawyer Rachel is in love with her best friend Darcy's fiance, whom she drunkenly beds on her 30th birthday. She then has to choose between her friend, her lover and her self-respect. It's a morality play, really — albeit one set on beach volleyball courts in the Hamptons."

From the movie trailer it tells me that Rachel, who I assume is Goodwin, has had a love for her best friend Dex forever. But when her best friend Darcy [Kate Hudson] comes into the picture she has to decide whether to keep herself happy or Darcy happy.

Will I see it? Doubt it. It looks silly. But because it does, maybe I will---but I won't go right away.

Ratings yet? Nope.

I will say this! The movie is directed by Luke Greenfield and the actor who plays Dex, Colin Egglesfield, is a cutie! ;)

Priestly? More like--BLOOD AND GUTS!

So on May 13th of this year the movie Priest will finally make its way into movie theaters!

Why am I so excited? Well, because it's a priest kicking some serious vampire butt! And also because there aren't many action films these days with holy men actually doing something other than standing at a pulpit lecturing about evil--WHEN HE IS GOING TO FIGHT IT! :D

According to IMDB.com, Priest is about "A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece." Huh, interesting.

The graphic novel/anime comic that the movie is based on is penned and created by Min-Woo Hyung with translations, I assume, by Cory Goodman. The movie is specifically based on Priest: Genesis (Priest Ultimate Edition) Volume 1.

IMDB also, so far, gives the movie a 6.4/10. Not too bad for not hitting theatres yet.

The film is directed by Scott Charles Stewart and also stars Paul Bettany, Karl Urban, Cam Gigandet, Lily Collins, Brad Dourif, Stephen Moyer, and Christopher Plummer.

It's Ol' Abe! No...Not Really

So I've seen a couple of trailers for this movie and guess what...It's a novel!

According to BookReporter.com the new upcoming film about the assassination plot about Abraham Lincoln "The Conspirator" is based on a novel written by Kate Clifford Larsen called THE ASSASSIN'S ACCOMPLICE: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln. The release date was on April 15th in select theaters. The film stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, Alexis Bledel, and Tom Wilkinson. It is directed by Robert Redford.

A blip from BookReporter says the movie is: "A riveting thriller, The Conspirator tells the powerful story of a woman who would do anything to protect her family, and the man who risked everything to save her."

From what I've read, it is about a woman named Mary Surratt who apparently got caught up in the charges of the assassination of Abe Lincoln. It was believed that she was an accomplice to John Wilkes Booth--Lincoln's killer--because she was owner of the house where he stayed at during that time. A lawyer named Frederick Aiken comes down from Washington to help defend her and discovers that someone is using her as a diversion for the actual conspirator to get away. And here's the juicy part: It might be her son!

^ I love James McAvoy!^ <3 Anyways...

Will I go see it? Well, now I kind of want to. It sounds very interesting and appealing!
Read the book? No probably not...not now anyway.
Rating? According to IMDB, 6.8/10. Not too shabby.

Surf's Up--Soul Surfer the Novel?

Okay so all I have been seeing on television are the trailers for the new film Soul Surfer. Little did I know that this popular film was a novel--well not a novel but an autobiography.

According to BookReporter. com, Soul Surfer starring AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, Lorraine Nicholson, and Carrie Underwood was an auto-biography authored by the victim of the shark attach and avid surfer Bethany Hamilton as well as Rick Bundschuh (with some help from contributor Sheryl Berk), published in 2006 by MTV Books. The film premiered just a few weeks ago on April 8th.

From what I've read and seen, this is a story of faith, hope, and perserverance that was born from tragedy. I guess you could say although Bethany lost an arm, she gained something else.

The film is directed by Sean McNamara. EW.com gives the movie a grade of a B, while Rotten Tomatoes gives it 51%. IMDB also gave it a 53/100. I don't know if I'll see the movie but from the sound of this auto-biography, it has a good chance of being one of my summer reads...after I come back from my vacation from the beach :)

<--Don't they look cute? :D

[Bethany Hamilton is on the left while AnnaSophia Robb is on the right]

Notable Horror Novels Made Into Films: Stephen King 1990-Present

Alright everybody. This is my LAST rant on horror movies. I hope you've enjoyed it until now :) Anyway, here it goes.

In 1990, It premiered as a television mini-series that later was formatted into a film. This film project was based off of King's novel by the same name that was published in 1986. In my opinion this is one of the most known novel-into-horror-film created yet. The story is basically about a clown who is really this carniverous creature [I think it is a spider actually] who eats small children and more or less haunts them simulataneously. The group of adults who survive ban together and try to destroy IT. And so there's a brief summary for you. The movie stars Tim Curry as Pennywise the Clown, Tim Reid, John Ritter, Olivia Hussey, and even Seth Green as a little kid! :D Note: I would put a picture up of Pennywise but he freaks me out WAY too much. XD

Now, a year later in 1987 Stephen King came out with Misery. The film came out in 1990 and was directed by Rob Reiner, who also directed Stand by Me, a film that was based off of a novella that was penned by Stephen King which was called The Body in 1982 and the film came out in 1986 starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell, and Corey Haim. Anyway, this is basically about a guy who gets stuck with this crazy woman who seems to want to kill him [you'd have to go to IMDB for all the info]. The film starred James Caan, Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes the crazy woman in which she won an Academy Award for, and Lauren Bacall.

*Quick Disclaimer: I am aware that Stephen King did indeed write novels that were made into other lesser-known films and even great films such as The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Since they are not considered horror, I will probably mention them at another time :) Also, Stephen King has written other books or projects that have been written for television series. Since this is a film blog, it will not be found here. Sorry!*

Now, Dreamcatcher came out in 2003 as a film which starred Morgan Freeman, Jason Lee, Donnie Wahlberg, and Timothy Olyphant and it was also directed by Lawrence Kasdan. I have no idea what this movie is about but according to Wikipedia it is about four friends who have been buddies forever go on a hiking trip and get caught between an insane colonel and an alien invasion. The novel was published in 2001. No word if the book was good or not however according to the picture it is a New York Times Bestseller; but the movie did terrible at the box office and among critics.

This next film I LOVE. It is not too scary but it is incredibly suspenseful and intriguing! Secret Window, Secret Garden was published in a collection called Four Past Midnight as a novella. In 2004 the movie, that of course is based on the novella, starred John Turturro, Maria Bello, and Johnny Depp premiered. The film was directed by David Koepp. Basically it's about this author who kind of goes nutty after he finds his wife cheating on him and they later divorce. I suggest you watch the movie for yourself ;)  By the way, the movie got a 6.5/10 on IMDB. But I still enjoyed it!!!

As we come to a close here, there were two films that came out in 2007 that were based off of King's novels: One being 1408 and the other The Mist. 1408 is basically another haunted motel/hotel story that was published in 1999 and again in 2002. The film starred Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack, and Mary McCormack. The film was also directed by Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom. I'm pretty sure this movie from what I've heard is that the film was not good. But The Mist did well at least. The Mist was a novella that came out in 1980. And yes, it's an alien story. Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Samuel Witwer, Toby Jones, Nathan Gamble, Andre Braugher, and Frances Sternhagen star in this film that was directed and written by Frank Darabont, who interestingly enough did write and direct previous King adaptations The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. Way to go Frankie!

As for future films, all I know is The Stand is supposed to come out in 2013 based on King's novel of the same name that was published in 1978 and again in 1999.

Hope you all enjoyed my horror rant!

Notable Horror Novels Made Into Films: Stephen King 1976-1989

Hey readers! In this blog I will be talking about the early Stephen King novels made into films. He had so many thats been done I just had to do a blog on him exclusively. 0.o

His first published novel (but in fact his fourth written) was Carrie in 1974. Carrie is basically about a young, shy, high-school girl who gets bullied because she got her period and everyone knew about it. She has the unfortunate pleasure of living with her extremely freaky God-fearing mother. In the novel she discovers she has telekinetic powers. So, when her fellow classmates pour pig blood on her at prom after she receives her Prom Queen tiara and such, she goes on a killing rampage killing everyone, even her mother at one point. The film premiered in 1976 starring Sissy Spacek as Carrie and John Travolta as Billy Nolan. The film was directed and co-written by Brian De Palma.

Later on in 1975, King got another novel published named Salem's Lot. Honestly, the only thing I know about this novel is that it is a haunted house/vampire story. A mini-series that was later put together as a film came out in 1979 starring David Soul and James Mason. In 1987, a sequel came out to the film [never to the book] which was called A Return to Salem's Lot. There has also been a 2004 remake of Salem's Lot into another t.v. mini-series starring Rob Lowe, Samantha Mathis, and Donald Sutherland.

Okay please don't kill me when I say this: I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE SHINING. I digress. The Shining came out in 1977. I have no idea but the story is about but from what I've read up on it's about a recovering alcoholic, his wife, and their son who has some kind of power where he's sensitive to spirits. The movie came out in 1980 which was directed by Stanley Kubrick and starred Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, and Scatman Crothers.

Cujo was published in 1981. It was later made into a film in 1983. The story is basically about a mother and her son trapped in a car because their rabid St. Bernard was bitten by a bat with rabies. Talk about one freaky nightmare! From my research the movie IS different from the book but not by much. I'm not telling you why XP The film was directed by Lewis Teague and it stars Dee Wallace [the mom from 7th Heaven!], Danny Pintauro, and Daniel Hugh-Kelly to name a few.

Christine was the following novel, interestingly enough, after Cujo. Christine was published in 1983 and was later adapted into a film later that year :) Christine is basically about a car haunted by supernatural forces and because its Stephen King I'm going to assume there will be blood, murder, and weirdness. The film was directed by John Carpenter, who made the film set in 1978, and starred Keith Gordon, John Stockwell, and Alexandra Paul.             

In 1977 Children of the Corn was published as a short story first published in the March 1977 issue of Penthouse and later featured in King's 1978 literary collection Night Shift. In 1984 the first Children of the Corn movie came out directed by Fritz Kiersch and starred Peter Horton, Linda Hamilton, and R.G. Wells. This novel/film is basically about a bunch of kids living in a nearly-desolate town who get sucked into this craziness of murdering people and whatnot all for some super-natural being. You'd probably get a better idea off of Wikipedia...

Anyway, the last one I am going to mention is Pet Sematary. This novel of King's was published in 1983 and later adapted into a film in 1989. The movie is about the Creeds who movie to some random town in Maine and they come to live right next to a creepy, and I'm guessing weird/haunting cematary that even the neighbors are creeped out by. This film was directed by Mary Lambert and starred Dale Midkiff, Fred Gwynne, and Denise Crosby.

Well, that's all for now. Next week I will talk about Stephen King's novels into movies from 1990-Now.

Don't be too creeped out ;D

Notable Horror Novels Made Into Films: The Later Days

Hey all! Welcome to the conclusion of "Notable Horror Novels Made Into Films!"

"The Later Days" I am referring to now is basically movies made in the mid-late 20th century.

Shirley Jackson wrote The Haunting of Hill House which was published in 1959. The story basically tells of a doctor who wishes to get proof of paranormal existence. This doctor chooses Hill House to do his study and also musters up a list of people aka employees to help him on his quest. There the story begins... The book has been so highly renowned that even the Wall Street Journal claimed it to be one of the greatest ghost stories ever written.This novel has been made into two film adaptations both titled The Haunting. The first one premiered in 1963 (pictured right) and the second one premiered in 1999 starring Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Owen Wilson.

In 1968 an incredibly popular movie came out in which the famous Roman Polanski directed and Mia Farrow starred: Rosemary's Baby. Interestingly enough a year before, the novel in which the movie was based off of was published in 1967! And written by Ira Levin. I don't think I've ever known ANY film to come out so quickly after the novel that it is based off of came out. That was faster than Twilight! Just so you all know Rosemary's Baby is about a woman, Rosemary, who is impregnated by the devil. All I have to say about that is her husband is one bad guy...

Not long after the phenomena of Rosemary's Baby did another horror story top Levin's. In 1971 William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist burst onto the scene in the literary world. The movie The Exorcist came out in 1973 directed by William Friedkin and gave fame to the actress Linda Blair for all her vomitting of pea soup and bizarre headspinning. The film as also nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture. I don't know about you but what freaks me out about this whole story is that Blatty's novel is based on a demonic posession account of Robbie Manheims aka Roland Doe that took place in the 1940s...CREEPY. I'm not going to even put a picture here because I'm already creeping myself out.

After The Exorcist, Ira Levin came out with another ingenious novel which was published in 1972 (a year before Friedkin's Exorcist came out) called The Stepford Wives. The only way I personally know anything about this novel is because Matthew Broderick and Nicole Kidman starred in the 2004 remake. There was of course an adaptation long before this one came out in 1974 of the same name. Levin meant this novel to be a satirical thriller in which these perfect wives are too perfect and that the town suspects they are robots. You get the idea.  

For the moment there is one more novel I would like to mention. This novel was written by Thomas Harris. He actually also made a prequel to this novel as well as two sequels that have also been made into films along with the original novel he wrote. Can you guess it? Well it's The Silence of the Lambs! The Silence of the Lambs was published in 1988 and of course was adapted into a movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster in 1991. Now we all remember the sequels in which Anthony Hopkins starred in: Red Dragon and Hannibal. Interestingly enough, Red Dragon was the first novel he had written in the Hannibal Lecter series which came out in 1981. Hannibal came after Lambs in 1999 and Hannibal Rising did not come out until 2006. All these movies have been made into a film at one time. For the most part the movies did well (except the film Manhunter which was based on Red Dragon). The Silence of the Lambs won the Top Five Academy Awards: Best Picutre, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

With all that being said, stay tuned for the last installment of "Notable Horror  Novels Made Into Films" in which I talk about the many novels Stephen King wrote that have been made into films over the years. I hope you are all enjoying!

"Well, Clarice - have the lambs stopped screaming?"

I love that movie...