The History Of Movies From A to Z - "1408"

Where I bought this movie: Hollywood Video of Ronkonkoma. A classic four used movies for $30 deal. How could I turn that down?!?

* Why Own It?: I don’t remember this movie much in the theaters but it had gotten decent 2 and ½ star reviews. Plus, John Cusack in it as well as Samuel L. Jackson so it couldn’t have been THAT bad in my eyes. I was also drawn to the cover of the DVD box which shows a giant close up of John Cusack’s and Samuel Jackson's face staring at me.

* Had I seen this movie before?: First time viewing…breaking a streak of 5 or 6 movies in a row that I had already seen. It was nice seeing a fresh new movie.




* Time collecting dust: A little over 2 years.

* What I thought of the movie: Based on a Stephen King book, the movie tells the story of John Cusack’s character, Mike Enslin, who’s an author that goes around to haunted houses to see if they are really haunted. Needless to say he hears about room 1406 in a posh hotel in New York City and needs to check it out. It’s a pretty standard yet “no that bad” horror movie. What hurts it is a PG-13 rating (horror movies should NEVER be rated anything than an R…in fact it should a HARD R). Nonetheless it’s more about the atmosphere and set up of the movie story rather than the actually things that happen. The ending is pretty good too. I enjoyed the movie for what it was and am sure I’m going to see some much more terrible movies down the road as I continue this DVD journey.

"if this was rated R, the dead lady would have her top off"

And the cast: The cast is small. John Cusack is in almost every scene and by the second half of the movie it’s just him. Like Tom Hanks in Castaway, he does a lot of talking out loud, which I’m not sure I would do…but it needs to be done for the movie viewer I guess. Don't be fooled by the DVD cover, Samuel Jackson doesn’t have a big role here and he’s actually very calm. Mary McCormack plays Cusack’s wife but it’s a small role.

Favorite Scenes: 1.) John Cusack’s surfing accident (I just wanted to see what that looks like in writing) is more humorous than anything else. 2) The scene with Samuel L. Jackson talking to John Cusack setting up the entire movie (it’s the only scene SLJ is in I think). 3.) The last five minutes.



Recommended?: Ehhh, again, it’s not bad but I don’t think you’ll be running out to rent/buy it. If its on cable, I’d say check it out.

Cut the BS about the movie, I just want to know if there is any nudity: None…not even a cleavage shot.

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