Dolores Claiborne (1995)

4 / 5 May '10
Tagline: Sometimes, an accident can be an unhappy woman's best friend
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Written by: Stephen King, Tony Gilroy
Actors include: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Horror
Length: 132 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
Well finally, another successful King adaptation, so few pay off but I think this one was quite effective. I think I read the book many years ago but my memory is quite hazy, the story is quite wonderful. Kathy Bates is brilliant as Dolores Claiborne, a Woman who is accused of murdering Vera the elderly Woman she has spent years caring for. The thing is when Dolores' husband Joe was found dead under mysterious circumstances years before. Some folks thought she was guilty including the Detective in charge of the Vera case and even her own daughter Selena blamed her. Selena returns home to aid her Mother during this time after not seeing her for 15 years I think it was, so their relationship is rather strained. Of course as the story unfolds we learn more and more that things aren't quite what they think they are. It really does teach that one shouldn't make assumptions and so forth. Although it's a very long movie the story is gripping enough that it should keep anyone's attention. The continual flipping between the past and reality was a bit much at times but I still thought it was easy to follow. Recommended for those who enjoy a good story and a good King adaptation.

Availability:  On DVD

El Maquinista (2004) aka The Machinist

4 / 5 Feb '11
Tagline: Trevor Reznick is four letters away from the truth.
Directed by: Brad Anderson
Written by: Scott Kosar
Actors include: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Genre: Thriller
Length: 101 minutes
Banned: Nope

Review:
The ultimate work safety video...or is it. It's one heck of a dark and fascinating character study, and Christian Bale really earned some respect from me here. He looks like a concentration camp victim he's so skinny, but that is sort of the point here. Bale plays Trevor Reznik, an insomniac who works as a machinist in a factory. He looks terrible and barely functions, and things go from bad to worse when he inadvertently causes an accident to happen at work. The story flips back and forth through time so it's a bit tough to follow at first, but it's not too difficult and well worth the effort. It's gloomy, somewhat disturbing and rather gripping as well. Quite the psychological thriller that I didn't even know existed until Kronz mentioned it to me. I certainly think numerous other films took influence from this one after and I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a dark film.

Availability:  On DVD & Blu-Ray