Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

After watching Room 237 I felt I needed to watch The Shining again, since it’s been a while. My first impression was that it really, really looks like a movie made in the 1970s-and not in a good way.  While I liked Jack Nicholson and Scatman Crothers, I have never understood the popularity of Shelley Duvall.  And that kid who played Danny, well, the fact that he only has one other acting credit says all that needs to be said about his skills. Of course, the real star of The Shining was it’s Director, Stanley Kubrick.  Long shots and panning…

Continue reading

War Horse

Produced by George Martin; overproduced by Phil Spector.  -George Martin on The Beatles album Let It Be War Horse is an epic that wants to make sure you know that it is an Epic. Steven Spielberg goes over the top with camera angles, strange lighting, and a closing scene filmed in silhouette like the Burning of Atlanta sequence from Gone With The Wind.  There were several times when hard lighting threw shadows on buildings-from multiple directions, on cloudy days.  These seemed to be a nod of the head to other Broadway plays that have been turned into movies, it’s impossible…

Continue reading