The Dark Half

Why can't Hollywood get Stephen King right?

Occasionally one of King's infinitely successful novels is turned into a frightening piece of filmmaking along the lines of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining.

Yet for every Misery there is a Cujo, for every Carrie there is a Cat's Eye and for every Christine there is, sadly, a film like George Romero's The Dark Half.

The 1989 novel on which the latest King incarnation is based was a deeply personal novel that mirrored King's own life. Like the novel, the film deals with author Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton), a serious writer who makes more money writing under a pen name to produce trashy crime novels. When he decides to call it quits for his pen name, his alter ego comes back with a vengeance.

In many ways this scenario mirrors King's own life. King wrote a couple of novels under the pen name Richard Bachman when his publishing company told him he was turning out too many works. Yet unlike the inner horror of the novel, Romero turns the film into yet another blood and gore lovefest.

It doesn't help that Romero has caught Timothy Hutton in his "struggling to be successful in middle-age" period. Hutton seems as lost under tons of bloody make-up as he does with his career. There was a time when Hutton made personal films along the lines of Ordinary People, a sad reflection on a fine actor stuck in films like The Temp and The Dark Half.

Advice: pop some popcorn, curl up in a comfortable chair and read the book.

Benny and Joon

In its own predictable heart-wrenching ways Benny and Joon follows in the footsteps of Untamed Heart in producing yet another great date film.

Although both aren't terribly good movies, they are successful in translating in woozy romantic strokes what love is all about. Both films, to their advantage, don't go overboard with steamy sex scenes but rather spend time listening and watching two people interact with each other.

In fact, both films are successful in large part due to the performances by their leading ladies. Untamed Heart had the fire of Marisa Tomei while Benny and Joon features an equally impressive performance by the radiant Mary Stuart Masterson.

Playing crazy is -- it's always very easy to shift from crazy to insane without a blink. Masterson portrays Joon with a tender craziness that explodes with a realistic intensity at times. She is kept under the watchful eye of her older brother Benny (Adian Quinn), a mechanic whose life revolves around her problems.

Onto the scene comes Sam, portrayed by Johnny Depp with Edward Scissorhands sincerity. A Buster Keaton clone, Depp prances into their lives, developing a relationship with Joon while forcing Benny to consider what is best for his protected sister.

You can probably guess what happens and how the film concludes. Yet Benny and Joon shines in its predictability. Instead of schmaltzy romantic fodder, Masterson and company have hatched some schmaltzy romantic fun.