Nick has been tearing it up lately, as a result everybody has a homework assignment for this week: find one or two of your friends and get them to start posting. Not to take anything away from Nick because his answers have just been that good lately, but some fresh blood never hurts either.
Ok that said: What is the best movie based on a piece of writing by Stephen King (because God knows there's been enough of them)?
Yesterdays: Really, nobody went for Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby for yesterday's question? He's a tie for first for me along with Umeed "Rai" Merchant from Rushdie's The Ground Beneath Her Feet (That one I wouldn't necessarily have expected to see anyone come up with but Carraway I thought I'd see). Anyway, I give it to Nick (because the narrative style in that book is unbelievable) and Nicole (for basically the same reason). Honorable mention to Martina for Holden.
Nick:
I love the four-way narrative (Maureen, Martin, JJ and Jess) of Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down. It captures the desperation they feel when they meet and also allows you to have different views of the events of the book all while getting them froma first-person perspective.
Nicole:
I'd say for contemporary literature it's Dave Eggers' "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius," if not for his title alone, then for his brazen, hilarious look at his own slice of life characterized against the setting of the early 90s. I guess that's technically a memoir.. So my fictional entry would have to be Charlie from Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower." Perhaps the Holden Caulfield of our generation (as he has been referred), Charlie is the awkward, introspective kid in us all. And what better narrator, than the character who utters (or in this case writes) the words "It's strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book."
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4 comments:
There are really only two choices for me, but I'll only say one, to try and even things out for the plebes and such.
I'm gonna go with Stand By Me. Four friends, all of whom are damaged in some manner, at the age of 12 go searching for the body of a young boy killed by a train. They tell stories, support each other (Especially Chris and Gordie) and they even reference my cousin (Annette Funicello).
River Phoenix was phenomenal as Chris Chambers, a kid whose Dad is a loser, his brother is a loser and he thinks that's where it inevitably ends for him. Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell were all fantastic as the other three boys, while Kiefer Sutherland and John Cusack were awesome in supporting roles.
There are a few lines especially that I just think are absolutely perfect.
Ace: 'You gonna kill us all LaChance?'
Gordie: 'No Ace, Just you.'
And then the final line of the thing, because it's so goddamned pitch perfect.
'I never had any friends like the ones I had when I was 12. Jesus, does anyone?'
Oh this is a tough one. For me, it's between Misery, The Green Mile, and The Shining. Although The Shining is a classic for so many reasons including that memorable moment of, "Heeeere's Johnny!", I think I'm gonna have to go with The Green Mile. I'm afraid my case for this claim is weak because, well... I have none. I just thought the movie was really powerful and left me sobbing at the end. And...that's all I have to say 'bout that.
As with Nick, there are two choices for me. Since Stand By Me was already chosen, it's my Honorable Mention, giving the trophy to The Shawshank Redemption.
The Shawshank Redemption was based on King's short story "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption." Every time it's on TNT, no matter how far along the movie is, I have to stop and watch.
Andy Dufresne, a good guy who gets tagged for a double murder he didn't commit, is sent to Shawshank Prison where he's outcast, beaten, and raped. Only after some time does he make friends, take a chance by doing the taxes for the Captain of the guards, and changes start to happen around him.
Two of the most outstanding scenes are when Andy convinces the guard to get beer for the crew while tarring the roof, and when Andy plays the opera through the PA system throughout the prison yard. The roof scene, in particular, shows us Andy's true character, when Haywood asks, "You want a cold one, Andy?" and he replies, "No thanks. I gave up drinking."
We feel for Andy Dufresne, as the nice guy who is paying for another man's crime. When vindication appears in the form of a young inmate named Tommy, it's quickly stripped away by Warden Samuel Norton. Andy has had enough. After 20 years, he makes his escape. And again, the viewer feels for him. And the entire story is told through the eyes of another inmate, who happens to be the only inmate that will actually admit to his crime.
As with Stand By Me, the writing is outstanding with more than a few memorable lines:
-- "Get busy living, or get busy dying."
-- "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
-- "Andy Dufresne - who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side."
But perhaps the best narrative of that movie is when Red says, "I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend." I think everyone has felt that way about someone in their lives.
The movie ends just as it should, giving hope to the hopeless, and showing the triumph of the human spirit.
I didn't realize The Shawshank Redemption was based on a Stephen King story. In that case, I forfeit and agree with the Shawshank vote that o-train states.
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