The Shining

Saw this in IMAX and HOLY SHIT what an amazing experience!!! I hadn’t seen a movie in IMAX in a few months and when I sat down to view this masterpiece with my large bucket of popcorn and Blue Raspberry ICEE, I was bewildered by the size of the screen and the loudness of the speakers!!!! That opening sequence alone is worthy of being seen on the biggest screen imaginable due to the beautifully picturesque mountains of Colorado. And then you got iconic moments such as “Here’s Johnny!” and when blood spews out from the elevators that are just so much better when seen in IMAX. I noticed things I had never noticed before, I sort of felt as though I was watching it again for the first time. Kubrick is such a masterful filmmaker and knows how to make an intense, terrifying, and nuanced horror movie. Iconic imagery, seamless editing, gorgeous cinematography, incredible acting, and an ending that makes one ponder. This film DEMANDS your attention and quite utterly MAKES you watch it because it is just so damn engrossing, so damn good, and so damn perfect. A number of moments didn’t make sense to me when I first watched this and to a degree still don’t, such as the scene in which a man in a dog costume is seen by Wendy (which NEVER fails to give me chills), but it’s moments like that that are so effective in making you feel uncomfortable that they just work. Additionally, it seems as though that any individual that dies in the hotel ends up being trapped in it as a ghost. The twins, Mr. Grady, the dog costume guy, Jack? It’s all very complex, but at the end of the day this is a movie about a guy who goes fucking nuts. I feel like this is a film that works on many levels. It can be enjoyed by people who don’t really analyze films that deeply, while also having so many moving parts that a movie nerd can pick apart. Kubrick was the man. Nicholson is batshit crazy. Duvall is underrated as hell. Glad I saw this in IMAX. First time seeing it during the winter time (I know it’s still technically Autumn, but it’s December and it already snowed here so I don’t care) and I think I might prefer it to watching it during October.