57 - Carrie (2002)

Connection To STUCK IN LOVE - Stephen King, who had a voice cameo in the previous movie.

Carrie, Stephen King's first novel and the first film adapted to the screen in 1976, well that movie to me (including the very 70's parts of it) is a classic to me, so the fact that now 2 remakes (which both I think owe the same debt to the movie as they do to the book) exist from a film that was only made in the mid-70's is odd - I am not one of those I think I might have noted before who gets pissy about remakes or long awaited sequels (which the original Carrie did have as well) etc., it's just I believe there is more that could of got remade even once before even the first Carrie remake.

This is a TV movie version - Stephen King as been a mixed bag on the television, I mean we've had Salem's Lot, The Stand and IT (I liked it) but on the other hand we've had stuff like The Langoliers and The Shining from 1998 did nothing for me, but I thought honestly, curiosity killed the cat and really wanted to see it, just to see what it's like.

I think the first thing they got right was the casting of Carrie White, for me at least - Angela Bettis, it's maybe because the film I instantly think of when I think of her is May, which I guess is a character not a million miles away from Carrie, Patricia Clarkson as Margaret White is also good (she's no Piper Laurie though), the rest of the characters I wish I could say more about but none of them stand out, I remember them because of who plays them to be honest - Emilie de Ravin as Chris, Kandyse McClure as Sue, Katharine Isabelle as Tina - and I'm not it's the performances but rather the characters they've been handed.

The film takes elements from both the book and the first film - the prom scene is obviously in mind when they was making it - but the film is and feels over long coming at 130 minutes, I think 20 minutes, maybe more could have been chopped off easily.

And SPOILER FOR THE ENDING - Carrie actually survives this version, she is resuscitated... it feels quite a cop out, however I'll give them the benefit of the doubt as this was mean't to be a pilot to a television series that was never picked up END OF SPOILER

Overall, it's not bad really, Bettis shone for me but there is no way I would watch this instead of the 76 one in the future, this was a one time watch for me.

56 - Stuck In Love

Connection To THE HEART OF JUSTICE - Jennifer Connelly

I kept calling this Stuck On You before I watched it and I knew it starred Greg Kinnear, so I kept thinking why would Greg Kinnear appear in ANOTHER movie called Stuck On You. But in actuality it turns out I'm just an idiot and the film was called Stuck In Love (duh).

Well I don't always expect to relate to all characters on screen, something about Stuck On You Stuck In Love (I genuinely did just type Stuck On You first then) was extremely noticeable, maybe because by the point the film starts Kinnear is already a successful writer and his daughter played by Lily Collins is so super talented as well she is getting her first book published.

Honestly, though that was just one of the problems for me - how the characters speak, you know they cool indie speak sort of way, while I don't mean to rag on the writer but it's one of those scripts where you feel like the writer thought was awesome when he was thinking of the dialogue, and while it sounds profound or whatever in theory it just didn't seem natural coming out of the characters mouth, because nobody realistically speaks and acts that way to each other in real life.

As a child of divorce I can normally identify of the pain characters are going through, I don't it's maybe because I never really get to feel what it was like when Jennifer Connelly and Kinnear where married in this, early on he stalks her by looking through her living room window (yes really) but it seems a real none issue between other characters (and even her), but Connelly and Collins as the daughter relationship is much better explored and the residual feelings of being let down.

Among the supporting cast is Kristen Bell (it's obvious by now I'm in love with her) pops up as Kinnear's "fuck buddy" her appearances are fleeting but welcome even if she to suffers from the indie speak in this - I just wish she had more to do.

Overall it feels like it falls into a lot of traps of what I dislike about indie films but to be fair there are moments in the film that genuinely keep me from disliking it