Directorial Triumph

Rating: 8/10 (9 March 2008)

Since I first viewed "Carrie" on the big screen, I became an instant fan of Stephen King and his work because of the detail to his characters. I relentlessly pored over "Salem's Lot" then "The Shining" and appreciated the intensity of "Cujo" as a diversion from the Man vs. Spirit to the Man vs. Nature, or the specific animal in that instance. Of course the Man vs. Machine was melded against an unknown spirit in "Christine" and "Maximum Overdrive." But one thing I've noticed in quite a few of King's works is the tendency to sputter on the ending especially on his longer works like "The Stand" which I started one Sunday night long ago and called in sick that Monday to finish the 1,000+ page novel I was so engrossed in I couldn't put it down.
Noticing an earlier review, I was alerted that the director of "The Mist" and "The Green Mile" were one in the same, "Mile" being in my top ten all-time movie favorites and now I will always look to see if this director is interpreting another King work for the screen. I'll still watch it if he doesn't, but I will make time for his movie because he is a great complement to Mr. King's end game dilemma of sorts. Better than the first iteration of "The Mist" but not by much. The ending--although different from almost any other King or non-King movie I've ever seen--sealed the deal for me: heroes are not always infallible even when they have best interests at heart . . . just like in real life.