Joyland - 400th Blog Update
Greetings, ‘Joyland’ is a 2013 novel written by horror icon Stephen King and was published under the ‘Hard Case Crime’ label. As can be gleamed from the name, the publisher specialises in printing the types of hardboiled crime stories that were so popular with readers in the 1940s and 50s. King had previously released ‘The Colorado Kid’ with them in 2005 shortly after the founding of the company a year prior. He would collaborate with them again in 2021 when he released ‘Later’ which is described as a combination of horror and crime genres. While ‘Joyland’ does have crime elements within the story, it falls heavily into the slice of life genre too for the majority of its plot but with the typical supernatural motifs King is known for. At 288 pages it isn’t a particularly long book. It is very much a character driven piece and has a fairly simplistic plot as far as King’s other titles go. Unlike most of his other works, there are no film or television adaptations of this story yet although the development of a show had been announced in 2018 with no further notifications in recent years.
The story is set in North Carolina in 1973 and is told from the perspective of a young college student by the name of Devin Jones. The cash strapped Jones is in his early 20s and in a deteriorating relationship with his first girlfriend Wendy when he takes a job for the summer at an amusement park called Joyland. He is tasked with operating the rides which he comes to master quickly under the tutelage of Lane Hardy, an old pair of hands in the carnival business. Devin finds that he is especially gifted at being the silent mascot Howie the Happy Hound which the children adore. Early on in his stint at Joyland, Devin meets the local fortune teller Rozzie who puts on an Eastern European accent for her customers and dresses herself in stereotypical Gypsy clothing when on the clock. Like the character she created for her show, Rozzie’s prophetic powers are also fictitious. Sometimes, however, she believes she has actual supernatural insight and offers Devin her premonition. Rozzie vaguely prophesies that there will be two children who will play an important role in Devin’s life.
One is a girl sporting a red hat and another is a boy who has a dog. Rozzie reveals that one of them is paranormally gifted. Devin takes the message on board but he isn’t convinced by the cryptic foreshadowing. While working at the park, he befriends his co-workers Erin and Tom who all become intrigued by the dark history of ‘Joyland’. A woman named Linda Gray was brutally murdered some years earlier and her body was found discarded in the Horror House attraction. Long-time employees swear that the fearful attraction is haunted by her ghost who is unable to move on into the next life. As the summer continues, Devin is prancing about as Howie in front of an engaged audience when he notices a girl in a red hat is choking on a hotdog. He sprints towards the girl and saves her from certain death. The moment sees Devin hailed as a hero in the local papers and he begins to wonder if Rozzie’s prophecies weren’t as bogus as he first thought.
Regarding the aforementioned simplicity of the storyline, when I got towards the middle of the book I was wondering if it really was going anywhere as it seemed to be more interested in the minutia of Devin’s life than in the mystery of the murdered woman it was teasing. Despite a bit of aimlessness in the middle ‘Joyland’ did ramp up to an exciting conclusion that tied everything up nicely. Overall, I enjoyed this book and its portrayal of carnival life which is depicted by King of having its own lingo that is used throughout the work. On a small note, this blog has reached its next big milestone as this is the 400th entry on the site. It has taken quite a while to get here with 100 entries being reached in December 2010, 200 on New Year’s Eve of 2013 and 300 coincided with the 10th anniversary back in July 2018. At the current rate of output the big 500 won’t be reached until 2032. That seems very far away but then again 2025 did too at one point. We shall all have to wait and see if that milestone can be crossed.
Plot = 7/10
Characters = 7/10
Wording = 8/10
Overall = 7/10
Quote of the Day
This is terrific work, if you like rejection.
Bob Woodward
All the President’s Men
Copycat
Greetings, ‘Copycat’ is a psychological thriller from 1995 that was directed by British director Jon Amiel. Jon has directed several movies during his career, including ‘The Core’ and ‘Creation’ in the 2000s, but has more experience working on television series such as BAFTA nominated ‘The Singing Detective’ all the way back in 1986. The cast of ‘Copycat’ consists of some boast worthy names with ‘Alien’ icon Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter, primarily known to younger generations for her voice role in ‘The Incredibles’, as the two female leads. Dermot Mulroney, William McNamara and Harry Connick Jr are also among the principal stars while J.E. Freeman and Will Patton serve as more secondary characters. The score was composed by Christopher Young who had collaborated with Amiel on numerous productions such as the aforementioned movies. Young has been involved in the film scene for a number of decades, contributing also to the soundtracks of ‘Hellraiser’ and Raimi’s ‘Spider-Man’ movies to name a few of his considerable works.
The story begins with renowned psychologist Dr Helen Hudson delivering a guest talk to a sea of students in a university lecture room. Helen’s expertise is on the minds and methods of serial killers. As she gives her lecture, she briefly thinks she sees the face of a former subject of hers sitting in attendance but she shrugs it off as the product of a hyperactive imagination. Although a little shaken by the unnerving thought, Helen finishes her speech and is escorted under police protection to the women’s restroom. A police officer is in the room with her and watching over her until she closes her cubical while another cop remains in a nearby hallway. There is a commotion in the restrooms and Helen’s privacy is violently breeched when she discovers that her former subject, Daryll, had broken out of prison and really had been intermingled with the crowd. To her dismay, Helen discovers that the guard in the bathroom had also been killed. With no one seemingly around to save her, Daryll attacks Helen and begins to lynch her with a cable by raising her into the air by her throat. Help does arrive as the other police officer hears the disturbance and subdues Daryll before rescuing the chocking Helen from her deadly ordeal.
Some months after the attack, the once tenacious Helen has been reduced to a quivering wreck who needs to shut herself in her hi-tech apartment to get by. With Helen now deeply agoraphobic and unable to leave her room without mentally breaking down, she lives her life with the help of her gay best friend Andy as well as relying on the internet to communicate to the outside world. A local murder occurs that threatens this fragile sense of security she has built for herself. The first victim was killed in a similar matter to an infamous case that took place in the 1960s which Helen was very knowledgeable on. Inspectors Mary Jane Monahan and Ruben Goetz are assigned to the job and eventually convince a reluctant Helen to help them in their investigations as her insight would be invaluable to solving the case. It isn’t long before a new body is found in a different crime scene that is reminiscent of yet another previous and well publicised murder. With the bodies stacking up, Helen is convinced that they are the nasty works of the same person. She believes that there is a copycat killer on the loose who is emulating and re-enacting historical murders. It’s up to her to crack the case before another innocent loses their life.
Asides from a few pivotal scenes I knew of beforehand, I wasn’t overly familiar with ‘Copycat’ but I knew I was going to enjoy it very early on in the film. Weaver and Hunter do a terrific job in their roles with the former nailing both the confident professional in the beginning and a frightened victim later on struggling to cope with her trauma. Holly’s character of Mary is also very three dimensional, showing both strong headedness and vulnerability as the story progresses. ‘Copycat’ is a tense thriller which is excellently paced and it doesn’t drag at any point in my opinion during its two hour run time. Basing the restaged murders on non-fictional killings was an intriguing idea and added to the gritty realism of it. This movie isn’t particularly at the forefront of pop culture these days but it is certainly worth a watch if you are in a more macabre mood and wanted a compelling watch.
Plot=9/10
Characters=9/10
Special Effects=9/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
Come to me, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!
General Zod
Superman II
Cobra Kai
Greetings, ‘Cobra Kai’ is a martial arts, comedy and drama television series that continues the story of ‘The Karate Kid’ films that captured the imaginations of audiences across the world in the 1980s. Consisting of 6 seasons, the show ran from 2018 to 2025 and started out as a Youtube Red production before Netflix bought it over after the second series had aired. The success of ‘Cobra Kai’ revitalised interest in the franchise so much so that a new movie named ‘Karate Kid: Legends’ was released earlier this year. The cast consists of many returning actors from the films such as Ralph Macchio reprising his role of the titular ‘Karate Kid’ Daniel LaRusso, William Zabka as former antagonist Johnny Lawrence, Martin Kove and Thomas Ian Griffith as Cobra Kai senseis John Kreese and Terry Silver. It also ushered in a new generation of actors and actresses into the franchise including Xolo Maridueña, Mary Mouser, Tanner Buchannan and Peyton List who play the more prominent roles. The music was composed by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson, the former of whom worked on the scores for the most recent Muppet movies in the early 2010s.
30 odd years after his surprise defeat to LaRusso at the 1984 All Valley Tournament, Johnny Lawrence is still wallowing in his failure that he suffered on the mat. No longer a bullying adolescent, he has grown into a bad tempered alcoholic with a short fuse and barely scrapes by working as a handyman. His unfulfilling employment is taken away from him after a fiery confrontation with a displeased customer gets Johnny fired from his work. To make matters worse for Johnny, his old rival Daniel is a local celebrity who happens to be happily married and also runs a successful car dealership. It is revealed that Johnny, a person very much stuck in the past in regards to tastes and attitude, is also estranged from his teenage son and has no romantic entanglements to speak of. The listless Johnny soon finds an unexpected sense of purpose in the dreary life he has built for himself after a chance encounter one night. That fresh start occurs when his newly moved in teenage neighbour called Miguel Diaz is being picked on at a grubby convenience store by a gang of wealthy louts.
Things quickly turn violent when Johnny steps in to defend Miguel and uses his old karate techniques to decisively beat the wayward youths. The meek Miguel is awed by Johnny’s fighting capabilities. He begs to be taught to fight like Johnny so he can overcome his own weakness and helplessness. Johnny, still feeling the sting of his defeat many years prior, refuses to do so before he is taken away by the police for disorderly conduct. He is bailed out by his unloving step-father, named Sid, who has disowned Johnny and attempts to bribe him out of his life with an undisclosed amount. Although there is no love lost between the two, Johnny refuses to take the money due to his strong pride. He has a change of heart when his car is smashed up in a hit and run which he later discovers involved Daniel’s daughter Sam. It is the last straw for Johnny as he accepts his father’s offer and uses the money to buy an empty property. Now with a space to teach students, his old dojo of Cobra Kai has returned with Miguel enlisted as Johnny’s first pupil. News of the unwelcome resurrection rattles Daniel who thought the mischievous Cobra Kia had been banished from the Valley for good.
When I was first introduced to this series, I had never seen any of the ‘Karate Kid’ films and wasn’t expecting much from a Youtube original. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the pilot and I quickly became engrossed in the plot it was weaving. I certainly enjoyed the concept of seeing the point of view from the villain of the first movie and the show really developed him into a sympathetic, fun character that is easy to route for. As the programme went on it also humanized other villains, who had been very clichéd up to that point, and expanded on the backgrounds that shaped their brutish personalities. It could be cheesy and a little cringe worthy at times, especially when it came to some of the interactions between teens which were clearly dialogues written by adults, but ‘Cobra Kai’ has become something of a feel good phenomenon. I was very much swept up in the craze and would say that I’m a fan of the show which spurred me on to watching the pictures that inspired it.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the Day
Great Scott!
Doc Emmett Brown
Back to the Future
The Frighteners
Greetings, ‘The Frighteners’ is a 1996 comedy horror movie directed by New Zealander Peter Jackson who is best known for his immensely popular ‘Lord of the Rings’ and less well received ‘Hobbit’ trilogies. Prior to directing those fantasy epics, Peter was mostly notable for producing horror films with a humorous bent such as the one this review is based on. ‘The Frighteners’ was written by Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh who have worked together on every production they have undertook since they first began collaborating back in 1989. This 1990s flick has an impressive cast consisting of ‘Back to the Future’s Michael J. Fox in the lead role of Frank Bannister, Trini Alvarado, Dee Wallace Stone, John Astin and Jake Busey alongside horror staple Jeffrey Combs as well as archetypal drill instructor R. Lee Ermey. Danny Elfman, the talented musician involved in so many hit films throughout the decades such as ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Batman’, composed the soundtrack for the picture that gives it a suitably dark and gothic feel.
The plot begins in the sleepy coastal town of Fairwater which, despite its small town charm, has a long history of misery and is plagued by death. One night a terrified woman by the name of Patricia Ann Bradley is chased around her old house and is tormented by an apparition that climbs out from the walls. The commotion wakes her aging mother from her sleep. The older Mrs Bradley grabs a shotgun and finds her daughter being chocked by the wicked spectre. She fires her shotgun straight into the head of the ghost which causes it to disappear and frees Ann from its grip as she collapses to the floor. The story then switches to the daytime and follows the protagonist Frank Bannister, a self-styled psychic investigator, as he tries to drum up business at a burial service in the local cemetery but his presence isn’t welcomed by mourners. After leaving the graveyard, Bannister gets into his car and travels homeward. He gets distracted during the drive and crashes his vehicle through the fence of a property belonging to a Mr Ray and Mrs Lucy Lynskey.
An irate Ray storms out of his house to see the damage Frank has dealt to his front garden and his tacky garden gnomes. The two have an unpleasant interaction which ends with Frank handing over his business card and promising to pay for the damages he caused. Later that night as Lucy is lying in bed, she reads Frank’s card that offers his services in exorcism and is suddenly beset by poltergeist activity. A panicked Lucy and Ray call Frank who arrives on the scene quickly and is armed with a water pistol. Frank sprays Holy water from the pistol as he walks around the house which causes the paranormal phenomena to suddenly stop. He assures the Lynskeys that his work is done and he wouldn’t charge for his services provided Ray drops the matter of the broken fence which he begrudgingly does so. As Frank turns to leave he sees the number 37 written in an ethereal form on Ray’s forehead. Frank is confused by it but it is clear no one else can see the ghostly writing. He exits the house and as he arrives at his half-completed home, it is revealed that two ghosts had been working with Bannister to haunt the Lynskeys.
Despite being aware of ‘The Frighteners’ for some time I knew nothing about this movie before going into it but was very quickly drawn into its macabre dreamlike world. It does rely on a lot of CGI for the supernatural elements which may have been ground-breaking at the time but it hasn’t held up so well for audiences more accustomed to more modern attempts. It feels like there is still plenty of aspects to explore in this world that only get briefly touched upon, such as Frank’s relationship with his ghostly partners, but it has a solid plot and doesn’t drag during its runtime. I thought the movie was very well paced as it slowly ramped up to its exciting conclusion and I was engrossed in the mystery it was weaving. The characters were all interesting too. I was especially fond of Comb’s bizarre FBI agent Milton Dammers as well as John Astin of ‘The Addams Family’ fame playing the spectre of an old time gunslinger known as the Judge. After enjoying this one so much, I’m keen to explore more of Jackson’s early work.
Plot=8/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=6/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
Wait a minute. Wait a minute Doc, uh, are you telling me you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean?
Marty McFly
Back to the Future
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones
Greetings, ‘The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones’ is a television series based on the early exploits of George Lucas’ beloved globetrotting adventurer which ran from 1992 to 1996. Numerous writers and directors worked on the show at various points including Carrie Fisher of ‘Star Wars’ renown and Monty Python’s Terry Jones. The programme was initially aired as ‘The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles’, consisting of 28 episodes and 4 TV films, but this was later reworked with episodes being fused together and stripped down to 22 films. The primary cast consists of Corey Carrier and Sean Patrick Flanery as a child and teenage version of Indy while Harrison Ford reprises the role in one episode. George Hall played an elderly Indiana that bookended the episodes but he was cut from the revamped version. Other prominent actors and actresses involved are Lloyd Owen as Henry Jones Sr., Ruth DeSosa, Margaret Tyzack and Ronny Coutteure. There are also a considerable number of recognisable stars such as Ian MacDiarmid, Christopher Lee, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Daniel Craig who often portray historical persons or one off antagonists. The music was composed by Laurence Rosenthal.
The plot begins in Princeton in 1908 when Henry Walton Jones Jr, best known as ‘Indiana’ since naming himself after his much adored childhood dog, learns some exciting news. His strict father Henry, a revered lecturer of medieval literature, has been booked for a two year world spanning lecture tour that will lead him to many exotic places. The nine year old Indiana will be accompanying his father and mother Anna as they travel the world but it’s not all fun and games as he will be rigorously tutored by one Miss Helen Seymour. The first stop of the tour before travelling on to the desolate deserts of Egypt is to Oxford where they are to pick up the reserved Seymour who had taught Henry Sr. in his youth. Indiana soon learns that she can be quite a demanding tutor, especially when he often wants to slack off and have adventures, but the two develop a warm affection for each other over time. Once the Jones family reach Egypt, Seymour takes Indiana to the Great Pyramids as part of his academic studies.
It is a seemingly small world as they met up with T.E. Lawrence during their visit. It is revealed that the man who would become famous as Lawrence of Arabia was a former pupil of Seymour’s for a short period of time as well. He strikes up a good rapport with the young and eager to learn Indy. So much so that he invites Jones to witness an excavation occurring in the Valley of the Kings. Indiana gladly accepts and is introduced to Egyptologist Howard Carter during a dig at the ancient tomb of an Egyptian architect called Kha. Once inside the newly opened tomb, they discover the mummified remains and a jewel encrusted Jackal statue with rubies for eyes. One of Carter’s stationed guards was found murdered as night turned to day with both the mummy and treasure having gone missing by the time the sun rose again. The more superstitious workers believe a curse had befallen them for violating the final resting place. Indiana and Lawrence have less fanciful theories and suspect there is a murderous thief in their midst which they intend to discover the identity of.
While this series certainly wouldn’t appeal to everyone thanks to its campy and cheesy feel, I certainly enjoyed it despite there being some slower episodes thrown into the mix. Indiana meets many notable figures of the early 20th Century such as Sigmund Freud, Louis Armstrong, Franz Kafka and an old Wyatt Earp which I found an appealing aspect to the show. He also gets entangled or embroiled in many important events too such as the Easter Rising or the Russian Revolution and the show tackles many genres including war stories, espionage tales as well as slapstick comedy. The fused episodes usually work quite well and appear fairly seamless or thematically linked but it could sometimes by very jarring too. One particular example is ‘Masks of Evil’. It is a spy thriller that has a brooding first half in which one of Indy’s many love interests is killed by a rival intelligence agency in Istanbul. By in the end of the episode he is witness to many supernatural occurrences and facing off against a Dracula-esque Count in Transylvania. Overall, I found it to be a nice little gem full of fun escapades that has been sadly and largely forgotten about with the passage of time.
Plot=9/10
Characters=910
Special effects=7/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
You like me because I'm a scoundrel. There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.
Han Solo
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The Towering Inferno
Greetings, ‘The Towering Inferno’ is a disaster film from 1974 that was directed by British director John Guillerman. It is based off of two novels called ‘The Glass Inferno’ which was written by Thomas N. Scotia and Frank M. Robinson as well as ‘The Tower’ by Stirling Silliphant. Stirling had also written the screenplay for this picture as well as ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ and Dirty Harry’s ‘The Enforcer’. The movie has an extensive cast that is led by two of the top actors in Hollywood at the time, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, as San Francisco Fire Department Chief Michael O’Hallorhan and architect Doug Roberts. The rest of the cast includes Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughan and Robert Wagner as well as a brief appearance from the now infamous O.J. Simpson. The score was composed by the industry stalwart John Williams.
The plot begins with Doug Roberts, the architect of The Glass Tower, being flown by helicopter to the rooftop of his creation. He had designed the impressive tower for developer James Duncan who intended it for residential and business use. Standing at 1,688 feet and 138 stories, the building can be boasted as being the tallest structure in the world. Doug has flown back to attend the dedication ceremony which will take the form of a party that many wealthy and powerful individuals have been invited to. The luxurious occasion will be held on the top floor of the Glass Tower so guests can enjoy the scenic views of the city. During preparations for a magnificent light display later that night which would illuminate the whole building, an electrical short circuit occurs in the main utility room and causes a minor fire. The fire is quickly put out and a confused Doug inspects the scorched wires.
He is shocked and frustrated to discover that they are made of an inferior quality than the one he had insisted upon using. He suspects with increasing concern that Roger Simmons, the electrical sub-contractor and Duncan’s son-in-law, had made a careless decision to use cheaper materials as a cost cutting measure. A determined Doug travels out to Rodger’s plush home to confront him about the situation but Roger remains evasive throughout. Needing to head back for the grand opening, Doug leaves the house without any admissions of guilt and returns to the tower to ensure everything runs smoothly. As guests start coming in throngs, staff and attendees alike are unaware that a small fire had begun in a supply closet on the 81st floor during the earlier short circuit. That crackling fire slowly begins to spread and threatens to engulf the tower, mortally imperilling everyone inside.
‘The Towering Inferno’ had been on my watch list for some years thanks to its recognisable title and star studded cast. I’m glad to say that it didn’t disappoint when I finally got around to seeing it and I would argue that it still holds up well all these decades later. Due to its considerable run time, I had some misgivings that the simple threat of a relentless fire would keep me entertained for long but there are enough twists and turns to make it exciting. Interestingly, it also subverted my notions of where it was heading with many of the authority characters, such as a Senator and San Francisco’s Mayor, not falling into the trope of being cowardly types only out to save their own skin. As I had enjoyed this film and ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ before it, I’m quite keen to check out other movies in the disaster genre and this is especially the case if they are vintage ones.
Plot=8/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=7/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
I'll get drive-thru.
Bruce Wayne/Batman
Batman Forever
