"Under the Dome' review and Miniseries-Dream Cast

I have been an avid Stephen King fan since around age 12, and have long resolved to read his complete works...which is no easy task, especially because he just keeps going!  Often criticized for how quickly he has books published, Stephen's most recent novel, the 1074-page "Under the Dome", has been in production since the mid '70s. Stephen's ultimate decision to come back to the novel (for a third attempt to finish it) came from constant pressure from his fans for him to write another 'epic novel'  such as "It" "The Stand" and "The Talisman".

Being both his longest book to date, as well as his best, "The Stand" seems to be the critics' favorite King-novel to compare 'Under the Dome' to, for more than one reason.  For one, the amount of characters.  Although 'The Stand' does have a plethora of main and supporting characters...it can't stand up to 'Under the Dome' which features about a dozen main characters, about two-dozen supporting characters and even more minor characters.

"Under the Dome" is a thrill ride from it's start, with the body count rising to double digits by the end of the first chapter. King keeps a thrilling pace throughout the novel, which is not without the patches of internal thought and something I don't remember clearly from any other novel of King's, a few moments where King speaks to the reader as an author, and alludes to him and the reader walking invisibly around two, occasionally brushing past some very confused characters. While I found this interesting, I'm still not sure how in love with it I was.  A few patches it worked wonderfully, other times it was a little irritating.

The book is not one of the horror novel the author is known for, but rather deals with humans' ability to be cruel to one another, and what the common man does under extraordinary circumstances. This is not a new theme for King (see "The Stand", "It", "The Mist") but is one of his better examples of it. 
Also like 'It' and 'The Body" (made into 'Stand By Me'), this book is another to empower children, and put them in serious positions of power, something I always enjoyed when I was one of King's 'younger readers', and still appreciate now.

All in all, the novel is a very enjoyable one and by far one of King's best newer novels.  For it's length, it is a pretty quick read, and I have no doubt that it will make a great miniseries, especially since the project is being held up by the one and only, Steven Spielberg.  Which is ironic, considering the novel contains a passage where Scarecrow Joe discusses his role as 'the smart kid', as being the one that would have to save the day in Spielberg movie.

Speaking of which, here is a quick plausible  cast list that i promised (some alternates included):

Dale "Barbie" Barbara................................Tim Daly
James "Big Jim" Rennie.............................John Goodman/Oliver Platt
Eric "Rusty" Everett...................................Michael C. Hall
Chief "The Duke" Perkins..........................Robert Duvall
Andy Sanders.............................................Alan Tudyk
Rose Twitchell............................................Kathy Bates
Peter Randolph...........................................Mark Ruffalo
Sammy Bushey...........................................Charlize Theron


There are loads more main characters, but at the moment I can't seem to come up with any good ideas for them.


So, if you've read, feel free to throw commentary on the cast my way.


Peace, boys and girls.

Golden Globes: Reaction

Well look at me, back to back entries, how cool am I?

I was mostly pleased with the results read at the 67th Golden Globe awards, and was very pleased with the Globes' first-ever host, Ricky Gervais. Ricky was, of course, Ricky...but NBC had to expect it.  They also should have expected the endless amounts of jokes at their expense, since that is exactly what those letters have become.

Jokes were a big part of last night's ceremony, which I appreciate.  Most coming from Gervais, who continued the fake-hatred he and Steve Carell share for each other. And, since the Globes is, after all, 'the party of the year', Ricky was not afraid to bring his beer to the podium with him. Perhaps my favorite part of the show is when he said: "Honestly, I like a drink as much as the next man...unless the next man is Mel Gibson" and out walked Mel with a clear 'Alright, that was a good one' expression on his face.  Cheers to Mel for taking it in stride...not that he had much of a choice.

But now, let's get to what the ceremony was really about: the awards.

As I said, I'm mostly pleased.  Despite getting snubbed for Best Drama Series, 'Dexter' took home the two categories it really deserved: John Lithgow for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Michael C. Hall for "Best Actor in a Drama Series". Despite the head covering, my beloved Michael showed no outward signs of his cancer, which was made public only one day before.  (For those of you who did not know about that, its not your fault, he has been trying to keep it quiet, and word is that the disease (Hodgkin's) is in remission.)  That being said, i can't be upset that 'Mad Men' won, after all, i did give it a 'Should Win' yesterday, didn't I?  I was also in love with the fact that Jeff Bridges won, and that he was greeted with a surprise standing ovation.  "You're really messin' up my under-rated status, here." he remarked. 

Sure, I was wrong in a few places, but no where that I particularly minded. That is...until Hollywood continued its 'Let's snub Quentin' tradition. I mean, ok, he is not the only one who deserved Best Director/Best Drama Picture, I would have been ok with Reitman or even Bigelow...but Cameron?!  I shouted in disgust after picking my jaw off the floor.

And I let everyone have their fun with 'Avatar'.  I understand the meaning of a blockbuster!  I enjoy them as much as the next movie goer. But when people started asking me what I thought of it, I was never that critical, and held back to only giving a 'Meh, it was ok." verbal review.

This is what I get for being nice to an 'ok' movie.

And before I go any further, yes, I enjoyed it.  Did I understand its hype before I saw it?  No.  After I saw it? No.  Did it look spectacular? Yes. Do i appreciate what the film has done in the world of film technology? Of course. After all, 'Citizen Kane' was the same sort of thing in its day, and it got robbed of the Oscar in one of the biggest outrages in movie history.

I'm also a Science Fiction fan.  I grew up on Star Wars since dippers days.  So it goes without saying that i'm glad the genre is getting some serious recognition...just not for the film that's leading the way.

Technology aside, 'Avatar' (or AV-UH-DA, as Arnold said), was just 'O.K', which is a much nicer word than what it means: mediocre.

First lets talk about acting.  Sure, Sigourney was great in the role she's played her whole life. Stephen Lang was absolutely perfect (there are reasons he is the Artistic Director of The Actor's Studio, you know).  But that doesn't go too far when your lead actors are bland. Mr. Worthington, sure ya did alright, i suppose, but nothing to clap over. (Not to mention it appears you will be playing the same role this summer in 'Clash of the Titans'...huh.) And because of this lackluster performance, its hard to judge Zoe Saldana properly, since almost all of her screen time is shared with him.

The writing was nothing to shout about either. The plot of this movie was more than predicable. Lets face it, Disney even did this plot (I don't think i need to mention in which movie(s).) it also did not appear that Cameron made any script adjustments from when he wrote it in the '90s. (See use of the word 'numbnuts'.)

As for Cameron, I guess I'll give in to him winning Director.  After all, Scorsese finally got an Oscar for a movie that didn't really deserve is...but it was time, i suppose, and the same argument can win here.

Not Best Drama.
I mean, come on!  Again "Inglorious Basterds", "Up in the Air" and "Precious" and "The Hurt Locker"?!  I expected any of those to win! the movies the critics didn't go "Meh." to!

Sigh.

Well, i can look on the bright side.  At least it wasn't The Oscars.


Any way, I should have a review of Stephen King's 'Under the Dome' later this week as I race towards it's finish, as well as my dream cast for the book's upcoming miniseries adaptation.