a review of

HOOPTOBER XII NIGHT FIVE: My second current theatrical release of the challenge. I hadn't read the original novel, nor was I necessarily won over by the grim sensationalism of the trailers, nor the promise of Francis Lawrence as director, but I was curious to see how it executed on the premise. And I was pleasantly surprised at how grounded and humane it ended up being, reminding me in places of some of the great counterculture movies of the '60s and '70s, as well as how it captured King's voice as a populist storyteller. Came away really impressed with the ensemble, particularly David Jonsson (also the MVP of last year's ALIEN: ROMULUS), and the way the screenplay resists the urge to tie the film's dystopia directly to our current national dysfunction, while still making it feel metaphorically applicable. Apparently George Romero was in talks to adapt this back in the '80s, and I would have been very intrigued to see his take on the material, but for now this one hit the spot.