Movie Review: Misery

A tightly scripted, suspenseful thriller from Rob Reiner of all people!

Kathy Bates is absolutely terrifying in the role she'll always be remembered for, for better or worse. She becomes the crazed Annie Wilkes, chewing up the scenery left and right. Not to be outdone is the always reliable James Caan as her captive author who brings true dread and helplessness to his role. Richard Farnsworth makes a great turn as a sheriff with a lot of heart and quick wit which is a nice change of pace from all the crazy happening in the cabin.

Reiner proves he can make a masterful suspense film with Misery. His choice to film a lot of the dialogue head on, where the characters seem to address the audience is brilliant.

The cast and direction help this film rise above the usual mediocrity of Stephen King adaptations and along with The Shining, Misery might be one of the best.

Movie Review - Psycho II

Color me impressed. Psycho II is a surprisingly effective sequel to the Hitchcock classic.

I had avoided the Psycho sequels my entire life because I thought nothing more could be done or said in regard to Norman Bates and damn I was wrong.

To say much about the plot would give away more than one of this film's many twists but I will say it's an incredibly well crafted slasher film that accomplishes the rare feat of complementing the original.

Anthony Perkins gives a suitably unhinged performance in his return to the role and the supporting cast is generally good as well. Perkins may be the star here but credit must be given to the screenwriter Tom Holland for being able to come up with a great story and to director Richard Franklin for his ability to keep up the suspense.

Director of Photography Dean Cundey, whose work with John Carpenter I absolutely adore, is fantastic as usual. Some of his shots are mesmerizing, especially his use of shadow and lighting.

All in all, Psycho II never failed to impress me and while it certainly isn't on the Hitchcock level of suspense, it's still a damn fine film. I highly recommend it.