martie

Left The Long Walk sick to my stomach and puffy eyed. I think this was a successful adaptation of the novel. It's one of those movies you can appreciate, but never want to watch again because it just hurts you. It was sad, but had that Stephan King warmth that you just cannot beat. I do think one should read the book before or after to better get a grasp on the movie. The pacing was a little quicker than the book. In turn the character development wasn't as clean, built-up, and detailed as the book, but was still there. Like I said, Stephan King warmth. The character dynamics carried over so well into the big screen. You laughed with the boys, you felt their pain in the depth of your chest. The way they interacted was beautiful and poetic against the wornness carried around them. And the little breaks over time, how you could see the effects of the walk on the mind just rounded the whole story and put it together. McVires and Garraty had one of the best friendships and it really contributed to the horror of the story. Just by being friends they raised the odds. At every sweet moment they had on screen I couldn't help smiling in some melancholy way. Now, I don't think that the movie was too gorey or not explained enough. It was perfectly balanced as it was in the book. Just with less detail that could have been too heavy to place within the movie. The small changes and leave outs were not big enough to cause confusion and perfect enough to make the story feel more rounded. A testament to King's more advanced writing skills as an author today. The subtle details of the dystopian world are there for you to peice together. It adds to the insanity. We don't know why their there and they don't really either. And on top of this the gore, the deterioration of the minds, come together to create what is a psychological horror. Although the effects of these were more subtle without the descriptive detail of the book, you can understand that not only are these there for the premise of the story but to create the psychologically damaging environment that draws our mains' (in book and movie) to the same insanity. The ending was successful too. Unlike the book the movie finished the story and still stays true to the more unfinished, up-for-interpretation nature of the book. I think the decision on who wins here was smart and left for just the same emotional impact, if not more, that the book has as Garraty and McVires rely on and loose each other. I like how both endings are more left to interpretation. You decide what you think happens, what the long walk represents, and how you would do in the situation. Overall I found this to be a horribly sickening and great movie; a story that has held up well even today.

Watched Moana today and all I got from it was "we didn't have to make this good because we know you liked the first and will watch this." Moana 2 tried to grab at younger audiences with a sensory overload of action with no meaning to plot. Making the occasional nod to the first, while amounting nothing to the original. Generally, I could keep writing my dislike for this movie until the distaste in my mouth settles, but I digress. I simply found more to hate in the writing of this movie than to love. Needless to say, I will stay delusional in my world where there is only one Moana and live happily.