I was stoked to see Doctor Sleep when it came out last fall. Like our Mike S, I'm not the biggest fan of the film adaptation of The Shining, but I enjoyed the book and it's sequel, Doctor Sleep. When I heard Mike Flanagan was going to direct a film adaptation of Doctor Sleep, and that he was going to honour it as a sequel to both The Shining novel and movie, that got me uber interested. Flanagan is a great director, and well aware of Stephen King's lack of enthusiasm for what Stanley Kubrick did to his book. To have the author's endorsement to approach Doctor Sleep this way spoke well of the project. I missed out on Doctor Sleep in theatres. Hey, it happens! So when I got my hands on the director's cut of the film, which hits shelves tomorrow, I decided this was the best approach to the movie. Here there's only a few new scenes, with most of the extra 30 minutes made up of longer sequences than seen in the theatrical cut. These moments strengthen the relat...

I've sometimes wondered, while out doing errands, "what if the world ended right now and I was stuck with strangers around me?" 2007's The Mist is an interesting, and bleak, answer to that question. The film follows a group of mid-Westerners as the supermarket they're in is enveloped by a fog that hides otherworldly monsters. In true Stephen King fashion, the film is focused on the characters' reaction to the mist, rather than the mist itself. Don't get me wrong though; we do get our fair share of Lovecraftian monster action. The most interesting part of the film is the large cast of characters. They represent most sections of Western society, and give the viewer so many possible reactions to the mist. Despite them making some occasionally stupid decisions, they're a believable collection of people who react believably to the decent into chaos. This movie is refreshing because it isn't afraid to say what it has to say. Honestly, I feel like...

The first season of Mindhunter was easily one of Netflix's best shows; a compelling, and often brooding, adaptation of John Douglas' non-fiction work of the same name. Douglas created criminal profiling for the FBI by interviewing captured serial killers, and the opening season did a fine job of bringing that harsh, but fascinating, story to life. Season 2 continues to draw from the book, and focuses on the Atlanta Child Murders while continuing to follow the story that haunted Douglas' career - the BTK killer. Meanwhile, it expands on the characters' personal stories (which are largely fictionalized), all the while maintaining the mood and cool craftsmanship of the first season. A big part of Mindhunter's continued success is executive producer and director David Fincher. Fincher is so damn good at telling these kinds of stories! Mindhunter is less Se7en and more Zodiac, but it's pure Fincher. He is a master craftsman, and even when he isn't direct...

I vaguely remember Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark appearing in my school library as a kid. I was heading into high school, and more infatuated with girls and action movies than I was horror, so I never really bothered to read them. But I do remember the controversy surrounding the books, and parent groups trying to have them banned for fear the scary stories and gruesome pictures would corrupt their youth. Yup, people were stupid back then too. Now we've got a big-budget horror film based on the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series from veteran genre maestro Guillermo del Toro and director Andre Ovredal (Trollhunter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe). I'm pretty sure someone will freak out over it too. But the only corrupting the film is going to do is turn young non-horror fans into horror fans. Like Poltergeist, The Gate or Arachnophobia which came before it, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is the perfect gateway horror film for parents to watch w...

Two big movie releases and an interview with an independent filmmaker. That sums up this morning's segment From The Basement on the mighty Radio NL 610 AM Morning Show. Hey, it's nice when things are easy and uncomplicated. Roll with it...

Is 20 years too long to wait for a movie? Can two decades worth of anticipation ever be satiated, especially when it comes to the glorious concept of a giant-shark movie? Can such a big-budget film work given the countless low-budget flicks made about that very same topic? Should Hollywood have even tried to adapt Steve Alten's ultimate beach book to the big screen, given the novel came out in the 90s? That's a lot of questions to ask one's self going into a Saturday afternoon matinee. Fortunately the answer to all these questions is the same, single word.

People hated the latest spin on Brian Garfield's 1972 novel from the minute it was announced. They didn't like the idea of Eli Roth directing, and didn't get too excited when Bruce Willis took on the lead. And, when the trailer hit, they didn't like the tone, saying it was too light and action-witty, a phrase I just made up. To me, the dislike for Death Wish is further proof movie fans are incapable of liking anything, and prefer to bitch and complain as much as possible, about anything. Yes, I used anything twice in the same sentence, wanna fight about it?

By now, many, many people have seen the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's It. To the tune of $117 million -- the largest opening for a horror movie ever. There are a lot of reasons for It's success (see what I did there?). It's arguably King's best-known work, and most liked. So that plays a big part. And the movie was well marketed by Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema.

It's 34 C outside right now, which in U.S. terms is something like 80 F. It's F-ing hot out! But despite the dry heat, the new trailer for It managed to provide me with more than a few chills. For one, hearing some creepy kid say "you'll float too" over and over and over and over and over again is, well, creepy. Plus, I'm very familiar with Stephen King's source material, having recently re-read It in anticipation of this adaptation hitting screens. And the book, folks, is . . . creepy.

    Rather than taking taking movies meant for adults , and watering them down to be suitable for young adults, maybe the studios should make movies that are geared towards that age group to begin with, right?   Well, Universal Pictures is doing that in the form of a movie adaptation of Josin L. McQuein's upcoming young adults novel, " Arclight ".  They are also working on adapting a supernatural novel by Julie Kagawa.   Brian Grazer from Imagine Entertainment and Pouya Shahbasian of New Leaf Literary & Media will be producing the film that will have  scripted done by Matthew Sand, while Erica Huggins and Sarah Bowen of Imagine will exec produce.  The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic future, and follows the adventures of a teen with no memory who arrives at a settlement that's protected by Arclight.   McQuein was paid $500,000.00 by Greenwillow Books in 2011 for a two book deal.  " Arclight " will...

I'm about 100 pages shy of finishing Lee Child's Jack Reacher novel One Shot, and can safely say it's one of the best thrillers I've read. And it makes perfect sense to me that producers would pick it up for a feature film. Surprise! They did. And that movie, Jack Reacher, hits theatres Dec. 21, just in time for Christmas. A lot of fuss has been made about Tom Cruise being cast as Reacher, who is much more of a Dolph Lundgren type in the book. But Cruise is mighty convincing in this clip from the film, which also happens to be the first real throwdown in the book. Shits been changed a bit, but the Reacher vibe is here. This is one of the few holiday movies I'm going to put an effort into catching in a theatre. Not The Hobbit, Jack Reacher. I have faith in writer/director Christopher (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie) McQuarrie. And who doesn't want to see legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog play a bad guy named The Zec? I know I do. But I digress. Go watch s...

You read that right: James Wan, he who's made some pretty creepy and influential horror films, is in talks to direct a big-screen adaptation of the classic 80s adventure series MacGyver..  There's been rumblings about a MacGyver movie for years. And hey, if The A-Team can do it and an Equalizer flick is on the way, why the fuck not? Wan would be an interesting choice, and he's dabbled in action before with the under appreciated Death Sentence.  The ABC series ran for seven years starting in the late 1980s, with Richard Dean Anderson as the titular be-coiffed agent of the Phoenix Foundation. What made MacGyver unique was he didn't use guns, but escaped tough situations with what he could find -- tools, tape, paperclips, gum etc. I'm not even going to ponder if this will be any good. It all comes down to the casting and how Wan, should he sign on the dotted line, approaches the material. Until then, we'll leave you with the show's opening credits. ...

Allow me to quickly introduce myself: My name is Kara, and I live over at www.karaschatter.com . I have no experience in the movie industry, other than watching and appreciating them. I thought I would offer up my movie reviewing skills, or lack thereof, to The Basement to give readers a female perspective on movies, new, old, good, and bad.  After reading the Millennium series written by Stieg Larsson, I was rather excited to watch the movies. I will admit that I watched the American version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo , so I was slightly apprehensive to watch the Swedish version of the next film in the trilogy, The Girl Who Played with Fire .  I know that Jason and Shawn had reviewed the first two films a while back and they had mixed feelings. Jason noted that the two leads didn’t spend much (if any) screen time together, but I’ll note that if I remember correctly, they don’t share many “pages” in the novel either. I digress …  I caught myself ...

And I'm left wondering what the fuck!?!? I remember the original Dark Shadows TV series and its early 1990s reboot as being moody soap operas about a vampire haunting his family home. This looks more like Austin Powers by way of The Addams Family. Still, it does feature director Tim Burton's unique visual style and sense of humour. And there is little doubt Depp will bring it as the vampire Barnabas Collins. Still, I only laughed once during the course of this preview, and have no desire to watch it again or see the movie. But I post it here so you, fine Basement Dwellers, can make up your own minds. The film stars Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelle Pffeifer, Chloe Mortez and Eva Green . . . who certainly brings the sexy here. And we like the sexy in The Basement. Rrowrr! Maybe worth a viewing after all? Or a prolonged stint on Google images? Dark Shadows hits theatres May 11.

I had a hard time enjoying David Fincher's take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the movie. In some ways this is Fincher's best work since Se7en and in many aspects it's a far superior, more faithful adaptation of the Stieg Larsson novel than the Swedish film. If you've not read the book or seen that film, you will probably really dig this version. If, like me, you've enjoyed both, you might find few surprises to warrant sitting through the film's two hour and 38 minute running time. I like the performances and love Fincher's command of the material, but was kept at arm's length by the movie as a whole. This has to be a Bad from this Basement Dweller.

For the record, director Don Coscarelli makes some very odd movies. Odd but cool, I might add. I mean he's the brainchild behind the Phantasm series and Bubba Ho-Tep for crying out loud! And now he's at it again with a big screen adaptation of David Wong's novel John Dies at the End. Judging from the trailer, this looks like some weird shat taken to the next level -- an interesting mix of early John Carpenter and David Cronenberg. Kinda. You'll have to watch and see for yourself. The film stars Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Angus Scrimm, Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Doug Jones, Glynn Turman and Daniel Roebuck. The plot, in a prolonged nutshell, is as follows: " It's a drug that promises an out-of-body experience with each hit. On the street they call it Soy Sauce, and users drift across time and dimensions. But some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is ...