Reviews and More

I saw the latest Stephen King movie 1408 about two months ago, but had been holding off on writing my review because I wanted to read King’s original short story for the sake of comparison. But I’ve been so busy recently and have so many other books in my reading queue that I’ve decided to give up on that plan and just write the review based on my experience with the movie alone. The details of the film are already becoming a bit foggy, and I know that if I wait any longer, I’ll forget what the whole thing was about! So here we go.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Mike Enslin (played by John Cusack) is a writer who’s making a decent living as a guy who debunks ghost stories. He travels the country visiting these supposedly haunted places (usually hotels and B&Bs), spending the night, and then dictating his cynical impressions into his ever-present tape recorder. His books then basically serve as travel guides for people who are into the paranormal, and we’re given the impression that his reviews actually have a significant impact on the businesses in question.

Mike’s readers and fans constantly suggest places for him to visit. He’ll do a bit of preliminary research on the place, and if he thinks it’s worth a trip, he’ll make a reservation. One day Mike receives a postcard in his P.O. box that simply says, “Don’t stay in 1408.” The picture on front shows that it’s from the Dolphin Hotel in New York. Mike is puzzled for a moment, then quickly adds up the digits in 1408, and smirks when he realizes the result is 13. At first he’s ready to pass it off as a prank, but decides to press further.

When Mike calls the Dolphin hotel to make a reservation for room 1408, he’s told that the room is not available — not for that weekend, next week, next month, or next year. No one uses room 1408 anymore, so Mike’s going to have to choose a different room. Of course, this gets Mike more curious than ever and he demands to speak with the manager, a man named Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson). After some more back and forth about the room, Olin finally caves and says Mike can come in.

Before Mike is given the key to the room, he has to have a meeting with Mr. Olin in person. Mr. Olin tries once more to persuade Mike that he shouldn’t spend the night in the room. There have been 50-something deaths in the room since the Dolphin hotel opened, all suicides, all within the first hour of check-in. Olin even has a file full of gruesome pictures to prove it. Nevertheless, Mike won’t be deterred. He gets his key, an expensive bottle of booze, and checks in.

The rest of the film then shows all the strange things that happen to Mike during his stay in the room and his desperate attempts to survive that critical first hour. He’s visited by the ghosts of past victims who have died in 1408, as well as by the ghost of his daughter who died a year or two earlier. Oh, and he’s also treated to The Carpenters’ “We’ve Only Just Begun” immediately after anything bad happens.

My Reaction: I’m not afraid to admit that I didn’t get this movie at all. In fact, that’s one of the main reasons that I wanted to read the short story before writing this review — in the hopes that the story would answer some questions that the filmmakers didn’t bother with.

The biggest problem I had with this film was the lack of background information on the room and why it was haunted, or possessed, or evil, or whatever you want to call it. Without knowing why or how the room got that way, I couldn’t really get into what was going on with Mike. Was this just supposed to be a random manifestation of evil? I didn’t know, and as a result, I didn’t care.

I did like the first part of the movie, when Mike was just starting out in the room. I thought the use of the Carpenters song was effective and hilarious, and it seemed as though the film had a lot of potential. But then I just kept waiting and waiting for a payoff that never came, so I left the theater disappointed with the result.

Overall, I thought 1408 wasn’t a very good standalone film. Perhaps I need to read the short story in order to appreciate the movie, or perhaps the movie wasn’t even meant to be understood. Whatever the reason, I just felt that this was a waste of time. I give it 4.5 stars out of 10.

As a freelance writer, I’m pretty much always on the lookout for new clients. I do a lot of web work these days, but I also derive a significant portion of my income from handling odd jobs for local businesses. For instance, I help with newsletters, sales brochures, pamphlets, and other promotional material. While I do have a small stable of regular clients, most of this work is completed on a one-time only basis, which means I have to continually try to drum up new orders.

One important lesson that I’ve learned over the years is that companies are more inclined to deal with me when I put forth a professional appearance. When I first started out, I was so inexperienced that I didn’t even have a business card to hand out to prospective client and I carried my portfolio around in a plain, two-pocket folder from the drug store — a look that practically screamed “amateur.”

These days, I’ve definitely got a better handle on what it takes to give business owners the confidence to hire me. The biggest change I’ve made is investing in customized products that have my name on them, from business cards to stationery and pens. I’m also planning to purchase custom presentation folders that I can hand out to prospective clients when I’m making my rounds. I would put my name, logo, and contact information on the outside of the folder, and then enclose a lits of my services and rates, as well as some samples of my past work. A custom presentation folder like this would show that I take my business seriously and that will certainly help me land more clients.

I’ve already been looking around at various printing companies to see what kind of presentation folders are out there and to get an idea of what they cost. I really liked the options I saw at VistaPrint.com, plus I noticed that their prices were very reasonable. This is an investment that I’m sure will pay off big dividends in the future, so I’ll be following through sometime soon!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of my favorite novels, so I’m somewhat surprised that I’d never heard of the latest screen adaptation released in 2000. Sure, it was just a made-for-TV film that aired on A&E, but still… I didn’t realize it was out there until a couple weeks ago when I happened to be checking the film credits of one of the main actors that appeared in this production. Once I learned about it, I knew I had to watch it.

If you’ve made it through high school, then chances are you already know the basic plot of The Great Gatsby. I don’t think I’ve met a single high school grad out there who hasn’t had to read Fitzgerald’s defining work as part of an American literature class. At any rate, on the off chance that you haven’t read the book or have simply forgotten what it was about, I’ll still lead off with my usual plot summary.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The action takes place in the villages of East Egg and West Egg in New York during the 1920s. The narrator of the story is Nick Carraway (played by Paul Rudd), a young man from the Midwest who has moved out to New York to learn the bond business. Nick lives in a small cottage in West Egg, the less fashionable of the two villages, and his next door neighbor, he later learns, is Jay Gatsby (Toby Stephens), an enormously wealthy man who throws elaborate parties at his mansion throughout the summer.

Nick has one family connection in the area: his cousin, Daisy Buchanan (Mira Sorvino) lives in East Egg with her husband Tom (Martin Donovan). Nick goes to visit Daisy and Tom, and there meets up with professional golfer Jordan Baker (Francie Swift). During dinner one night, the four of them get to discussing Nick’s house, and Jordan asks if he knows Gatsby. Daisy becomes curious at the name, but as Nick hasn’t met Gatsby yet, the subject soon changes.

Nick does eventually meet Gatsby, of course, and this acquaintance forms the basis for everything that subsequently unfolds during the rest of the film. It turns out that Gatsby and Daisy were formerly lovers, but that Daisy didn’t wait for the penniless Gatsby to return after the war. Ever since then, Gatsby has been doing all he can to amass a fortune, impress Daisy, and get her to come back to him.

Nick serves as the instrument in setting up a meeting reunion between Daisy and Gatsby. After an initial awkwardness, it becomes clear that the two actually do have a chance of success. However, nothing is that simple for any of the main characters in this story, and the rest of the film details the way events start spinning out of control for all of them.

My Reaction: I admit that I was prepared to nitpick this adaptation from the very beginning and point out all the times that the script departed from the original book. But while several details are missing or out of place (along with numerous scenes and lines of dialogue), I actually liked what the screenwriter did here. It would have been impossible to include absolutely everything, but the story is pretty coherent as told in this version.

Even so, I didn’t like this adaptation of The Great Gatsby at all because I felt the casting choices were terrible! I didn’t like any of the four major characters here and thought that they were all off in some way. For example, Tom Buchanan is supposed to have blond hair and be a “hulking,” powerful man, a brute really. He’s supposed to serve as a contrast to Gatsby, but with Martin Donovan in the role, the two men were practically interchangeable!!

Toby Stephens as Gatsby was hardly a better choice. He was good-looking and refined in the part, but what was up with that fake smile that he flashed throughout the film? Gatsby’s smile was supposed to be genuine, one of the truly honest things about him. When Stephens smiled, it made Gatsby look like a freaking snake oil salesman.

Neither Mira Sorvino nor Paul Rudd were ideal for their roles either, but at least Rudd seemed to be somewhat comfortable as Nick Carraway. Everyone else acted as though they knew they were frauds.

Overall, I don’t think the A&E version of The Great Gatsby will be a big hit with people who liked the novel. The casting just distracts and detracts from the story, and can’t be overlooked. I give this adaptation 4.5 stars out of 10 and caution you to view it at your own risk!

Although I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore gamer, I do enjoy playing certain types of online games to help me relax and regroup during the day. I guess that’s just one more benefit of working from home! Usually I go for card and puzzle games, but sometimes I like to change things up a bit by trying something completely different. The virtual dog game over at Showdog.com definitely fits that bill.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably never even heard of a virtual dog game before. So what is it, exactly? Well, from what I understand after reading through the information on the site, it’s a game where players can buy, sell, raise, train, and enter their virtual pooches into dog shows. All different breeds are available in the game, which means you’ll be able to get the dog you’ve always wanted and see how you stack up as a kennel owner. There are currently more than 10,000 active participants at Showdog.com, so I get the feeling that there’s a very strong community aspect that goes along with playing the dog show game, and that always makes the entire experience more enjoyable.

I’ve already signed up for a free basic account and see that I have $2,500 virtual dollars to go shopping with. It’s time for me to go find pick out a great pup and turn him or her into the best in show! Hope to see you over at Showdog.com soon!