The amount of boy-characters in King's novels is really amazing. Some of his best novels featuring boy-heroes have not yet been adapted to the big screen, like "The Talisman", which is in my opinion one of the finest boy-adventure-fantasy-stories I've ever read. And there's his character Jake in the Dark Tower series, a boy you can't help but fall in love with. The novel Desperation also features a great boy-character in the leading role (a role which would have deserved a better adaptation than the new TV movie, but Shane Haboucha did a decent job). Stand By Me (River and Whil) and It (Jonathan Brandis) have touched my heart and soul and range among my all time favorite boy movies - both stories, joseph, are absolutely brilliant to read. Anton Yelchin in Hearts in Atlantis also made me cry. And of course, one of King's finest novels, Salem's Lot, features a smart young boy in the co-starring role as well (Dan Byrd in the new movie adaptation with Rob Lowe, James Cromwell and Rutgar Hauer). Now that was a great novel to read! The flashback moments in Dreamcatcher were also quite nicely taken into the 2003 movie. Don't forget the original Shining novel - the one which was perverted by Kubrick and nicely adapted as a TV-series in 1997. The boy in the original novel was a great character.
I remember a recent interview with Stephen King after the release of "The Mist" in which he was asked about why boy characters keep re-appearing in his writing. He answered something like, "I wrote these stories when my own kids were at that age". Something which definitely doesn't apply to the majority of his novels.
Joseph, I agree with you that some Stephen King novels and films are utter crap. I've come across some novels of his that are trash. Then again, he has produced some stuff that is absolutely brilliant and eternal.
I also liked The Mist. Here's my short review.
A great boy performance by Nathan Gamble! He is very emotional and absolutely brilliant as the terrified son of Thomas Jane. A typical Stephen King flick - you can actually spot a considerable number of actors who have appeared in previous King adaptations. Andre Braugher, the black lawyer, co-starred in Salem's Lot; Jeffrey DeMunn, who was one of the last survivors in the truck, had a significant role in Storm of the Century; William Sadler, the guy who turned into one of the religious manics, has worked with Darabont before and appeared in the famous Shawshank Redemption (which many don't even associate with King), and Frances Sternhagen, the old woman who was also in the truck with the last group of survivors, appeared in Stephen King's Misery (1990) and his 1991 series Golden Years. But the ultimate cookie for die-hard King fans is to be found in the opening scene, when Thomas Jane sits in his atelier and paints a picture of Roland and the Dark Tower! Wow! A brilliant extra xD
I thought the movie was a classic King story, with clear-cut characters and a situation in which a small group of people, composed of different individuals, finds itself in in a life-threatening scenario that reveals the dynamics of group paranoia and the effects such situations have on people who are cut off from society. A Lord of the Flies variation in a post-modern context. The suspense was always kept at a very high level. The visuals were just fine. Overall, one of the better King adaptations, a Darabont-King gem like its predecessors Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.
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