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Based on a British comic book, Judge Dredd takes place in the future in which judges have become the police, jury and executioners. One such judge (Sylvester Stallone) is the most feared of all the judges, simply because he shoots and asks questions later. Then, he is framed for murder by an escaped convict (Armand Assante) who was locked up by Dredd. The story isn't that bad, but the dialogue needed serious work. The trouble starts at the beginning with a stupid narration on how the Judges came to be the city police. It pretty much goes down hill from there.There are some humorous moments with "Saturday Night Live" alumnus, Rob Schneider as Dredd's sidekick, but very few. The special effects are the only redeeming quality, though Stallone does pull off a comic book type of hero, who seems to be an emotionless robot. Only the kids under 10 will like this. Judge for yourself (Pun intended).
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The best of the Stephen King adaptations (save for "Shawshank Redemption"), the story is about a bullied teenage girl (Sissy Spacek, in the role that made her a star), who uses her telekinetic powers to get revenge on the people that torture her with vicious practical jokes. The reason this is so good is Spacek's performance. Even though she was 27 at the time, she captures a shy teenage girl quit nicely. She also undergoes an amazing transformation at the prom night climax. Speaking of which, that is the most horrifying moment in the entire movie.Brian De Palma's first major film, he captured the terror the book gave. The supporting cast is quite capable of being visible throughout the film, and are not outshined by Spacek. Amy Irving plays one of the girls who bullied Carrie, but feels guilty afterward and decides to have her boyfriend go out with Carrie. Nancy Allen is especially nasty as the head of all the teasing and cruelty. Piper Laurie is the best of them all, playing Carrie's religious fanatic mother. I don't want to spoil any of the good parts, but this horror film is right up there with The Exorcist and Jaws.
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The horror takes place at a hotel in Colorado, where a series of grisly murders took place. Jack Nicholson plays the caretaker of the hotel who, quite quickly, grows insane. He has brought along his wife (Shelley Duvall) and a son who has a special gift of telepathy. The boy becomes friends with the cook (Scatman Crothers) who also has the power to "shine".The story has plenty of good parts to tide you over (including the famous scene of Jack peering through a door and smiling his maniac smile, saying "Here's Johnny!!!"), some excellent performances by Jack and Danny Lloyd, as the boy, and great cinematography, which includes a scene in a maze covered with snow. There is, however, a lack of emotion for a lot of the characters, seeing as how Duvall's screaming sounds more like whining after awhile. Still, if you are a fan of King's, like I am, than you have got to see this film. It's not the best adaptation I've seen (which would be Carrie), but far from the worst (which would be "Pet Sematary").
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A simply awful horror film, this is the pits. The devil (Max Von Sydow) comes to a small Maine town to open up a store. The price for each item, one soul. Ed Harris plays the sheriff of the town, who seems to be content with his life. However, the other citizens seem to think they must go to Needful Things to keep on living, but it is more of a place for dying as Von Sydow turns the entire town against one another.The good cast is shamefully wasted. You know you're in trouble when the devil starts speaking like one of those wise-cracking, Freddy Kreuger wannabes. Harris tries hard to be the manly hero, but it isn't convincing. The souls of the town seem to be good folk, like Bonnie Bedelia as Harris' fiance, until they come across Von Sydow. J.T. Walsh however, as the town's corrupt assemblyman, seems to be a villain just waiting for a set-up. Some people say that King's novels are unfilmable, but that all depends on the direction, script and acting, and none of those can save this BOMB.
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