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| Thursday, October 11, 2007
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1408 |
1408 Review GRADE: B-
Wow! Stephen King has reached new heights with his amazing, touching, and obvious creepy storytelling. 1408 has its shocks, frights, and heart-wrenching moments in an extremely creepy psychological thriller that has very little gore at all. Right from the start you’re engrossed into a story that is quite eerie and strange, but you can’t help being interested. I got more and more into the story once John Cusack’s character; Mike Enslin, reaches the destination of the Dolphin Hotel and the almighty creepy room: 1408. This is a film that will reach the teen crowd for it’s occasional scares and will even interest adults for its deep, sad story of a grieving father getting over the loss of his young daughter during a difficult divorce. Early on I thought 1408 was an interesting idea but I thought it couldn’t be better then a “C”. But, as luck would have it, the story took quite a turn and got deeper then I thought it would.
1408 was made by Dimension Films and A Lorenzo Di Bonaventura Production. The MPAA gave this film a PG-13 rating for its thematic material including disturbing sequences of terror and violence, frightening images, and language. It is based on a short story by the terror king, Stephen King. The screenplay was written by Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karaszewski. It was masterfully directed by Mikael Hafstrom and was produced by the widely popular Bob & Harvey Weinstein. 1408 stars John Cusack (from One Crazy Summer, Better off Dead, and Say Anything), Samuel L. Jackson (in Black Snake Moan, Snakes on a Plane, and Pulp Fiction), Mary McCormack, and Tony Shalhoub (star of hit TV series Monk). 1408 tells the story of Mike Enslin, an author of two hit books that focus on supernatural and paranormal activity. For research for his latest book, he is determined to visit the notorious room 1408 in a New York City hotel. However, hotel manager Mr. Olin strongly objects to his stay and warns him of the danger to come. Mike is determined to stay in the room and is convinced that the horrific past of 1408 is just a myth and a coincidence. But, what Mike Enslin is about to experience is no myth. 1408 truly is a room where the guests check in, but don't check out. The performance is almost a one man show with Cusack being the focus. I must say that this stands out as one of better, if not, best performances I have seen him in.
1408 was overlooked in many areas and was oddly only noticed by the Teen Choice Awards in the category of Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller. It got a nomination but sadly lost out to another popular thriller Disturbia (starring David Morse and Shia Lebouf). I’m sure with this being a short story by Stephen King, these screenwriters had very little to work with in what turned out to be a well planned and carefully crafted thriller. To Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander, and Larry Karaszewski, well done and keep the deep intellectual stories coming with those occasional frights. Good work.
1408 is a film that is possible going to be overlooked or sadly missed. For those hardcore John Cusack fans that have seen his known ‘80’s flicks will laugh at a subtle joke in a scene where he’s on hold on a phone call and is shooting hoops. He shoots one shot and misses terribly (joke from his film One Crazy Summer); great sight gag for those hardcore fans. In this particular film Samuel L. Jackson, who is used very modestly in this role does a fine job with what he’s given. John Cusack was the perfect choice for this kind of role. He has moments where he’s confused and dumbfounded which are a good portion of his roles that are under his resume. John Cusack has a superb performance in this film. This ranks as one of “his” best. Samuel L. Jackson has progressed immensely and I genuinely believe is one of the best under-rated actors of his generation. Even with a few religious parts to it’s story context were incredibly well put about heaven, death, afterlife, and all we desire to know about the in between. In closing, I’d like all to know that the story that this film was based on was almost NEVER written. Stephen King originally created the first few pages of '1408' for a nonfiction book, "On Writing," as an example of how to revise a first draft. The story intrigued him, and he ended up not only finishing a complete draft, but also adapted it for an audio-book compilation of short stories. Keep up the good work Mr. KING. |
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posted by Noel's Movie Reviews 8:26 PM
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