Movie Review: The Dark Tower (2017)

The Dark Tower (2017)

Aug 4, 2017

Rating: PG-13 (for thematic material including sequences of gun violence and action)
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Western
Directed By: Nikolaj Arcel
Written By: Nikolaj Arcel, Akiva Goldsman, Anders Thomas Jensen, Jeff Pinkner
Cast: Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor

Studio: Sony Pictures

There are other worlds than these. Stephen King's The Dark Tower, the ambitious and expansive story from one of the world's most celebrated authors, makes its launch to the big screen. The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.

I went to see The Dark Tower with my 16 year-old-daughter. I've read the whole series, the last book in 2004, so it's been a while. Holly hasn't read the books.

We both enjoyed the movie. I don't know why everyone is hating on it. They made it clear that this movie isn't based on the book series. They take a lot of elements from it, and it was a lot of fun to see the book easter eggs. But it was a different take on the story...and honestly there is no way anyone could capture Stephen King's world...so this was kind of a tribute to the story more than anything.

The star of the movie was Tom Taylor as Jake. The writers/director did a great job with him.  He was a convincing representation of the Jake from the books. Matthew McConaughey was a perfect fit for Walter, and the writers/director got the character right.

Holly made this connection...and she's right.

I love Idris Elba...but he didn't represent the Roland from the books, and I think this is more the writers/director's fault...there are traits that are very "Roland", especially his speech and mannerisms, and those were missing. But I was willing to overlook this and appreciate the story they wanted to tell.

I'm not sure what kind of music score I would have picked, but for the big "Gunslinger powers-activated" scene, the music didn't fit.

In spite of the small things, we both had a great time. I would like to see it again...this time paying more attention to the background and all the Stephen King novel references. Holly even caught one about Pennywise. And the movie made her want to check out the first book in the series!

If you love the movie experience and like fantasy action movies, you won't be disappointed. But you can still appreciate the film on the small screen too.

I hope they make the TV version. I'm always up for more Idris and would love it if they cast Tom Taylor as Jake.

Holly gives it 4 1/2 Sheep

I give it 4 "I kill with my heart" Sheep

SharonS

Book Review: The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King's Epic Fantasy (ARC) by Bev Vincent

The Dark Tower Companion: A Guide to Stephen King's Epic Fantasy (ARC)
by Bev Vincent 
Paperback, 512 pages 
Expected publication: April 2nd 2013
NAL Trade 

AN ALL-NEW COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANTLY CONSTRUCTED WORLDS IN ALL OF FICTION

Stephen King’s bestselling multi-volume Dark Tower series is the author’s most inspired and imaginative creation. The story of Roland Deschain of Gilead, the last gunslinger, and his lifelong quest to reach the tower and save humanity across infinite parallel worlds is one that has consumed King throughout his career as characters and concepts crossed back and forth between the series and the rest of his fictional universe. The mythos continues to be chronicled and expanded in graphic novels overseen by King, interactive adventures on his website, a proposed film adaptation, and in a new Dark Tower novel.

The Dark Tower Companion is the ultimate compendium to King’s evolving magnum opus, presenting the mythology, history, and geography of this epic fantasy that has captivated generations of readers. Featuring interviews with Stephen King, Ron Howard, Dark Tower expert Robin Furth and others, Bev Vincent reveals The Dark Tower’s influential literary origins, examines its connections to the vast majority of King’s other novels, explores the expanded universe, catalogs the major characters, locations and concepts, and includes a travel guide to the story’s real-world locations, giving fans who have followed Roland’s journey—or those who are discovering it for the first time—a fascinating overview of the series and an inside look at the creative process of one of the world’s most popular authors.

The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.- Stephen King

I love the Dark Tower series so you can guess how this review is going to go <G>. I was one of the many readers who waited patiently for each book to come out, wondering if and when it would. It was excruciating! I’ll admit The Dark Tower series isn't for everyone. It is epic in ways non-Stephen King fans can never truly appreciate, but I think this companion guide will give you some idea of the why and how.

Longtime fans and the passingly curious can enjoy this book. It has been a long time since I finished the series and this companion was just the thing I needed to bring it all back and remind me of why I loved it so much. I am not one for rereading anything so it was fun to discover things I missed when I read the series and getting insight into Stephen King’s reasons for writing the series the way he did. If you have just read the first couple of books in the series then this companion will help refresh your memory, cause if you have read some of the books then you know how complex and crazy the Dark Tower world can be. If you haven’t read any of the books then here is a chance to learn a little about the process of writing an epic fantasy that spans over thirty years of an author’s life!

Kudos to Bev Vincent for how he organized the companion and the information he included, especially the information about the status of a movie/TV adaptation. There is also information about the graphic novel series based on the novels and how it came to be. One of the reasons I love this story so much is I felt transported to Mid-World with Roland and his ka-tet every time I opened the book and it stuck with me even after closing it. Stephen King even created a whole new language for his world! Here is a glossary http://www.stephenking.com/darktower/glossary.html because it is just that awesome <G>

Bev Vincent, I bow down to your Dark Tower knowledge and Thankee-sai for putting this together. Long days and pleasant nights…

“I do not kill with my gun;
He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father.
I kill with my heart.” - Roland

"First comes smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire." - Roland

5 "Gun-slinging" Sheep

Sharon Stogner (edit by Kalpar)

About the Author:

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Bev Vincent has been a contributing editor with Cemetery Dance magazine since 2001, writing the News from the Dead Zone column that appears in every issue. He is also the author of The Road to the Dark Tower, the Bram Stoker Award nominated com­panion to Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and The Stephen King Illustrated Companion. 

His short fiction has appeared in places like Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, From the Borderlands and The Blue Religion. He is a contributing editor with Cemetery Dance magazine and a member of the Storytellers Unplugged blogging community. He also writes book reviews for Onyx Reviews. 

He lives in Texas with his wife.

Pre order!

Sheep Review: Mile 81 by Stephen King

At Mile 81 on the Maine Turnpike is a boarded up rest stop on a highway in Maine. It's a place where high school kids drink and get into the kind of trouble high school kids have always gotten into. It's the place where Pete Simmons goes when his older brother, who's supposed to be looking out for him, heads off to the gravel pit to play "paratroopers over the side." Pete, armed only with the magnifying glass he got for his tenth birthday, finds a discarded bottle of vodka in the boarded up burger shack and drinks enough to pass out.

Not much later, a mud-covered station wagon (which is strange because there hadn't been any rain in New England for over a week) veers into the Mile 81 rest area, ignoring the sign that says "closed, no services." The driver's door opens but nobody gets out.

Doug Clayton, an insurance man from Bangor, is driving his Prius to a conference in Portland. On the backseat are his briefcase and suitcase and in the passenger bucket is a King James Bible, what Doug calls "the ultimate insurance manual," but it isn't going to save Doug when he decides to be the Good Samaritan and help the guy in the broken down wagon. He pulls up behind it, puts on his four-ways, and then notices that the wagon has no plates.

Ten minutes later, Julianne Vernon, pulling a horse trailer, spots the Prius and the wagon, and pulls over. Julianne finds Doug Clayton's cracked cell phone near the wagon door — and gets too close herself. By the time Pete Simmons wakes up from his vodka nap, there are a half a dozen cars at the Mile 81 rest stop. Two kids — Rachel and Blake Lussier — and one horse named Deedee are the only living left. Unless you maybe count the wagon...

Whoa, this is a hell of a blurb which pretty much sums up the whole novella <G>. The thing that King does well is take the ordinary and throw in a freaky monster. In this story a young boy who got ditched by his older brother heads out for his own adventure. He goes to an abandoned rest stop at mile marker….you guessed it! 81. This is where the monster shows up in the form of a mud-covered station wagon that eats people in a gruesome way (duh, this is King). It acts like a Venus Fly trap for humans, lures them in and BAM! Dinner is served.

This was an okay story. The manner in which the car “gets” people is pretty cool, but there is a lot of focus on the mundane actions of the boy Peter. Kind of dragged for me. Not sure it was worth the $3 on Amazon. I would wait for it to show up in one of his anthologies.

2.5 Hungry Sheep!

Check out Stephen King's website