Sometimes it’s tough not to recommend a good movie. While there are exceptions to the rule, they are rare. Francis Lawrence’s (Red Sparrow, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1) adaptation of Stephen King’s 1966 novel The Long Walk is one of those. I imagine his book wasn’t overly controversial when it was published, particularly given that media, such as novels, didn’t have the same reach they do now. Likewise, Stephen King was still a relative unknown. In fact, he wrote this novel under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. That is all to say that a work of fiction that dealt with something as dire as this story’s plot likely wouldn’t have seen the light of day. Nonetheless, once King earned the “King of Horror” nickname, his bloodthirsty fans would undoubtedly search for and find his earlier works.
Category Archives: Cooper Hoffman
Licorice Pizza (2021)
Say what you will about Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia). Whether you are a fan of his directing or not, his movies feel like they are so much longer than they need to be. Painfully so, sometimes. He hooks you with his rich characters (often played by some of the finest actors in the industry) and what feels like is going to be a soft, gentle story. But then his movies tend to drift aimlessly, going down so many different wormholes before finally arriving at an unsatisfying conclusion. Such is the case with Licorice Pizza, a boy meets girl, coming-of-age story that is likely to earn some Oscar nominations despite its waning story and crawl to the finish line.