What's the Story, Mornin' Glory?

God, I'd give anything for a drink. I'd give my god-damned soul for just a glass of beer.

The Shining
(1980)

     Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholson) is a former teacher turned full-time writer. He takes a job in Colorado to house-sit a large hotel built in 1908 for five months. The 25 mile winding road leading up to the hotel will not be plowed for the off season, so Jack and his family will be totally isolated for five months, which is exactly what Jack is looking for since he's aspiring to write a new novel. The owner warms Jack that in 1970 his predecessor hired a man to look after the place and a few months in he killed his wife and two daughters with an axe and then killed himself. The police believed that the man suffered from cabin fever and slowly went crazy. Unfazed, Jack packs up his wife Wendy (Shelley Duvall), his son Danny (Danny Lloyd) and Danny's friend Tony who lives in Danny's mouth and hides in his stomach, to the empty hotel. When they arrive they get a tour of the place. While Wendy and Jack get a tour of the basement, the cook who showed them the kitchen area Dick (Scatman Crothers) talks to Danny about their gift, which he calls the shining. The shining is the ability to talk with your mind. Dick warns him that sometimes places have a shine gift too and when bad things happen it sticks around.

     A month later Jack finally begins his novel, but he becomes increasingly more grouchy and isolates himself from his family. The worst storm in years hits and they're snowed into the hotel with no phone. As the days pass Jack seems to be going a little stir crazy and Danny experiences the hotel's shine in the form of two little twin girls who want him to come play with them forever and ever and ever.


You Learn Something New Everyday...

A disloacted shoulder is a serious injury that involves pulling your child out of school.
Cannibalism makes good TV.
It's perfectly normal for your child to talk to his finger.
"Correcting" means "kill".

Zing!

Jack Torrance: Mr. Grady. You were the caretaker here. I recognize ya. I saw your picture in the newspapers. You, uh, chopped your wife and daughters up into little bits. And then you blew your brains out.
Grady: That's strange, sir. I don't have any recollection of that at all.

Survey SAYS...

     I remember watching The Shining as a young girl and not being terribly impressed by it. One of three things happened, either I was 1. a jaded youth who was unaffected by disturbing images. 2. I didn't actually pay much attention to the movie, or 3. I blocked it from my memory. It's most likely #2. I was terrified of horror movies until I was in my teens (compliments of my older brothers) and I had something to prove. All my friends were watching these movies and weren't scared, so I probably watched it without actually watching it to be cool. Up until recently I'd catch it on TV every once in a while and I'd quickly get bored with it and change it. I only point these things out because The Shining is one creepy ass movie. It's not scary or terrifying, especially as you watch it, but it's very much like the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre where after you shut the movie off it enters your psyche and makes those creaks and groans and shadows seem a bit unnerving. Those two little girls were so freaking creepy. The Shining is one of those movies where you just have to yell at the Wendy “Get the funk out of there girl!” She just wouldn't leave the hotel and it's totally frustrating. She keeps putting herself into situations where Jack can get to her.

     The Shining seems to be one of those movies that do not translate too well into modern society. Some people who hate the movie complain of Wendy's performance and how she was weak, too conforming, cried a lot, and was overall useless. People have to remember that uppity women weren't the social norm 25 years ago. People can't judge people's actions from a different time with today's moral standards. The other day my boss was complaining about how shady and cruel people were in the movie Gangs of New York, but she was using her moral standards to judge a time when you had to lie, cheat and steal to stay alive, but wow, tangent.

     I had to laugh at the comment that Stephen King made that he didn't want Jack Nicholson to play Jack because his descent into madness isn't quite that big of a stretch of the imagination. Jack Nicholson is already crazy seeming, but I really don't think that any one else could've played crazy Jack any better. On a side note Shelley Duvall is one unattractive lady. In all, I think that The Shining really stands the test of time as a creepy movie. Out of all the Stephen King movies I've seen (which really isn't that many), this one actually didn't lose it's vigor halfway through and actually improved as the movie went on. It also maintained it's creepiness throughout. As for the first step in the direction of seeing all of Stanley Kubrick's movies, I can't really judge if S.K., is an over-hyped director just yet since this is the first movie of his I've seen, but I still have, like, a million more of his movies to watch. So, if you like Bugs Bunny related nicknames, full frontal nudity, corpse kissing, all work and no play, and guys giving head in bear suits, then this is the flick for you. As for us, we give The Shining:

No Burt Reynolds! NO Burt Reynolds! No Burt Reynolds! No Burt Reynolds!

That Wasn't so Bad Was It?



Creeped Out
I was left Feeling: Creeped Out