Customer Reviews:
ANOTHER STEPHEN KING ADAPTION.......2007-11-04
Overweight attorney Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) is thrown a lavish party from his law firm because of his success at a high profile case. On the way home, he accidentally runs over an old woman (Irma St. Paule). Although he is acquitted of the accident and it is ruled accidental, he still feels a tad guilty until he starts losing weight rapidly. His wife Heidi (Lucinda Jenny) convinces him to get tested to see why he is loosing the weight, and he comes back positive. A friend's wife (Elizabeth Franz) tells him that a gypsy curse is the most probable cause of what is wrong with him, which he finds a little hard to believe. Ha visits the town's chief of police (Daniel von Bergen) and is now convinced more than ever that a gypsy (Michael Constantine) is behind the curse that is causing to lose the weight, so he seeks out their camp. Finding the camp but refusing to lift the curse, Halleck calls upon his mobster friend Richie Ginelli, (Joe Mantegna) who helps him seek out revenge on the camp.
The Good News: It did take a long time to finally get moving, since a long setup was required to get the main plot line of the film. It is pretty interesting to see such a new and creative spin on the horror genre, which King is a master at doing. He takes an element that could be a potential yawner, and yet makes a solid horror film out of it. The film also has some really convincing mask-up to show Halleck in his various stages of weight-loss. Each different costume looked really convincing as the man weighs about 280 at the beginning of the film and he shrinks down to about 110. The make-up and the prosthetic body parts are really detailed and are quite graphic.
The Bad News: Even though it does take a while to get started, this film is a bit of a bore at some points. There are almost no deaths at all in the movie, so do not rent this one seeking a giant bloodbath. There was even a death off-screen. That was a major chance for some blood and/or violence to be shown. It didn't even try to think about showing it. Even most of the movie is concerned with the hunting down of the gypsy that caused the curse to begin with. It also didn't spend a whole lot of time with the revenge on the gypsy's, which was a big part of the book. Here, they spend a good thirty minutes just simply wondering how Halleck got to be where he was. This was simply too long, as nothing happened during that time. There wasn't even a discovery into how he began loosing the weight. Everyone simply goes around asking him what diet he's on and if they should go on the diet themselves. Not too special for my tastes.
The Final Verdict: Even though there are a couple of pretty cool scenes in here, I do have to advise caution to those curious about this film: there are periods where watching it would be the perfect cure for insomnia. It is that boring in places. For those that can handle it, I recommend it to hard-core Steven King fans only.
thinner.......2005-10-17
it's so astig...pare..this film is rally freak me out..the gorgeous hot gypsis daughter is so hot.. thius film is really really a scary movie..
If the makeup does not work, then the film does not work.......2003-09-19
"Thinner" is an adaptation of the novel Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman that was almost on the charts on its own accord when his cover was blown. As was the case with a couple of other Bachman novels, the chapter titles were creatively the weight of the main character, lawyer Billy Halleck, whose loses a lot of weight as the result of a gypsy curse. Billy made the mistake of being distracted by his wife while driving and runs down an old gypsy woman. Her father touches Billy and utters a curse, "Thinner." Suddenly, Billy, who has had a growing weight problem, is losing pounds no matter how much food he stuffs into his face.
The problem with "Thinner" is one I associate with Steve Martin's idea of cat juggling. In his comedy act Martin would talk about being a cat juggler, which, if you picture in your mind's eye, is a pretty funny idea. But then in one of his films Martin tried to show cat juggling on screen and it just did not work. The same thing applies to what Robert John Burke has to go through playing Billy Halleck in this film in going from a character who weights 300 pounds to lone who dips under the 100 pound mark. Except for a few scenes in the film Burke always looks unreal to me. This is surprising because the make-up was done by Greg Cannom, who won Oscars for his work on "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "Mrs. Doubtfire." So if Cannom could not pull this off, then it is likely nobody could have (The video includes a featurette on "The Magic of Special Effects Make-Up"). However, this still means that the transformation that the story rests on does not work. Like cat juggling, what sounds like a great and horrifying idea, does not translate convincingly to the screen.
Part of the problem is the voice Burke affects for this role keeps dispelling the illusion. It seems to me to be something of a "fat" voice, but the key thing is that it strikes me as being even more fake that the make-up. This is too bad because the rest of the performances in the film work pretty well, especially Joe Mantegna ("Searching for Bobby Fischer") as Richie Ginelli, the mobster client who comes to Billy's aid with great relish when the lawyer puts the Curse of the White Man from Town on the gypsies in an effort to get them to launch the curse. Michael Constantine ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") has a memorable turn as the old gypsy, Tadzu Lempke, and Kari Wuhrer ("Eight Legged Freaks") plays his fiery granddaughter Gina Lempke. The screenplay by Michael McDowell and Tom Holland sticks pretty close to the original novel by King, who makes his traditional cameo appearance in the film early on. "Thinner" was actually filmed in Maine, which is rather atypical for a Stephen King film.
DO YOU BELIVE IN GYPSY CURSES?.......2003-06-29
WELL DO YOU ?, Becouse after watching this it made me think twice.
The story follows Billy Haleck, a very overweight wealthy attorney with friends in high places(both inside and outside the law) and he comes to need both.
After having a dinner with friends Billy and his wife are travelling back home in their car when his wife decides to show him ways of taking his mind off food. This scene is worth watching not only becouse she exagerates certain things, but becouse it is were the movie really starts.
The night ends badly however when they end up runing over and killing a old gypsy mans daughter who is in town with their travelling fair, and when he goes to court his friends help to cover it up, so he not only gets away with it he dosn't even get a fine or points on his licence.
And so begins the curse, To make sure Billy carnt avoid the consequences of his actions, the old gypsy man places a curse on him that make him THINNER and then leaves town, Billy is delighted at first as the wight drops off very quickley, but soon realises that it isnt going to stop, EVER.
So then he begins a search for the gypsys to take it back off.
There are sub-plots involving his friends, and the ending it so good it makes you wonder why it takes so long to get there sometimes.
I loved the book when I read it years ago, and although the film is based around it I loved it anyway, It has all the main ingredients to keep you watching, And some pretty good special effects too.
A film about peoples actions and how a chain of events can start of with a simple accident and turn nasty.
All in all it is a top film, highly recomended by me and I will be doing so to all my other SK fan friends, and to everyone reading this, WHAT R U WATING 4 BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!
There's just not a lot of story to work with here.......2003-06-07
Stephen King’s Thinner is famous for one thing, and it’s not this motion picture adaptation. Thinner was the fifth novel released under King’s Richard Bachman pseudonym, and its relative success on its own (along with a few tell-tale clues in the text itself) lifted the veil on what was already basically an open secret to reveal none other than Stephen King to be the actual writer. If Thinner had been one of King’s better novels, he would not have released it as Bachman; thus, the movie has little chance of becoming a classic or universal crowd-pleaser. The main problem with this whole story is in fact one of thinness; unlike the main character, who enters the arena rather hugely and soon wastes away to nothing, the storyline starts out thin and basically remains that way. Thinner just doesn’t have the feel a Stephen King movie (or novel) should have; very little of consequence happens outside the tight strictures of the basic plotline; none of the characters seems to bring any life to what they are doing, and no one besides the young daughter is even remotely likable. Depth of character and the inherently interesting relationships between seemingly real individuals make up one of the greatest strength’s driving King’s creations; oftentimes, movie adaptations fail to capture this important magic and, predictably, prove somewhat disappointing. In the case of Thinner, such depth was never there to begin with.
Thinner is about as straightforward a plot as you will ever get from Stephen King. Billy Halleck, an obese, morally ambivalent lawyer accidentally (with some help from his unsavory wife) runs over an old gypsy woman. His friendship with the chief of police and presiding judge allows him to walk away scot-free, a fact which obviously annoys the victim’s 106-year old father. This gypsy king places a curse upon the men who killed and then covered up the death of his daughter. Billy’s curse comes down to one word, “Thinner.” He quickly finds himself losing weight, which seems to be a blessing – at first. It doesn’t take him long to figure out, though, that he is dropping two to four pounds a day regardless of how much food he throws down his throat. When he sees the effect of the gypsy curse on his two friends, reality hits him like a great big frying pan. As his fear and paranoia increase exponentially, he grows distrustful of his own wife, who truly is just a little too friendly to his basically unhelpful doctor. In desperation, having failed to convince the gypsy to release his curse, Billy turns to one of his shady clients, using him to implement his own “white man’s curse” on the gypsy king and his thoroughly despicable grand-daughter. The ending of the movie differs slightly from King’s original ending, but it comes off rather well.
All in all, this is a perfectly good movie that really doesn’t even aspire to anything greater than what it is. Stephen King makes another memorable appearance as the town pharmacist, and that is pretty much the highlight of the whole film for me. If you are some kind of fanatic about movie makeup, though, maybe Thinner has a little more to offer you than it does me. Taking a character from 300 pounds to 128 pounds in a matter of several weeks is not something you just do off the cuff. Thus, the evolution of Robert John Burke’s makeup becomes almost distracting as the movie progresses. This is really beaten into your head listening to the commentary by director Tom Holland and actor Joe Mantegna. Each stage of the makeup job is addressed, and I really don’t care how many layers of latex the guy has on at any point or how that little bit of flaking and almost imperceptible sliding works and doesn’t work, etc. I don’t often listen to movie commentaries to know how they normally go, but this one seems to point out too many little problems, editing mistakes, and budget-deprived inadequacies in the film. Take my advice – don’t listen to the commentary’s litany of problems, just watch the film and try to find what little successes it provides. Again, I’m not saying this is a bad movie; when it’s over, though, you just kind of shrug your shoulders and go on as it immediately begins to fade from your memory.
Customer Reviews:
ANOTHER STEPHEN KING ADAPTION.......2007-11-04
Overweight attorney Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke) is thrown a lavish party from his law firm because of his success at a high profile case. On the way home, he accidentally runs over an old woman (Irma St. Paule). Although he is acquitted of the accident and it is ruled accidental, he still feels a tad guilty until he starts losing weight rapidly. His wife Heidi (Lucinda Jenny) convinces him to get tested to see why he is loosing the weight, and he comes back positive. A friend's wife (Elizabeth Franz) tells him that a gypsy curse is the most probable cause of what is wrong with him, which he finds a little hard to believe. Ha visits the town's chief of police (Daniel von Bergen) and is now convinced more than ever that a gypsy (Michael Constantine) is behind the curse that is causing to lose the weight, so he seeks out their camp. Finding the camp but refusing to lift the curse, Halleck calls upon his mobster friend Richie Ginelli, (Joe Mantegna) who helps him seek out revenge on the camp.
The Good News: It did take a long time to finally get moving, since a long setup was required to get the main plot line of the film. It is pretty interesting to see such a new and creative spin on the horror genre, which King is a master at doing. He takes an element that could be a potential yawner, and yet makes a solid horror film out of it. The film also has some really convincing mask-up to show Halleck in his various stages of weight-loss. Each different costume looked really convincing as the man weighs about 280 at the beginning of the film and he shrinks down to about 110. The make-up and the prosthetic body parts are really detailed and are quite graphic.
The Bad News: Even though it does take a while to get started, this film is a bit of a bore at some points. There are almost no deaths at all in the movie, so do not rent this one seeking a giant bloodbath. There was even a death off-screen. That was a major chance for some blood and/or violence to be shown. It didn't even try to think about showing it. Even most of the movie is concerned with the hunting down of the gypsy that caused the curse to begin with. It also didn't spend a whole lot of time with the revenge on the gypsy's, which was a big part of the book. Here, they spend a good thirty minutes just simply wondering how Halleck got to be where he was. This was simply too long, as nothing happened during that time. There wasn't even a discovery into how he began loosing the weight. Everyone simply goes around asking him what diet he's on and if they should go on the diet themselves. Not too special for my tastes.
The Final Verdict: Even though there are a couple of pretty cool scenes in here, I do have to advise caution to those curious about this film: there are periods where watching it would be the perfect cure for insomnia. It is that boring in places. For those that can handle it, I recommend it to hard-core Steven King fans only.
thinner.......2005-10-17
it's so astig...pare..this film is rally freak me out..the gorgeous hot gypsis daughter is so hot.. thius film is really really a scary movie..
If the makeup does not work, then the film does not work.......2003-09-19
"Thinner" is an adaptation of the novel Stephen King wrote as Richard Bachman that was almost on the charts on its own accord when his cover was blown. As was the case with a couple of other Bachman novels, the chapter titles were creatively the weight of the main character, lawyer Billy Halleck, whose loses a lot of weight as the result of a gypsy curse. Billy made the mistake of being distracted by his wife while driving and runs down an old gypsy woman. Her father touches Billy and utters a curse, "Thinner." Suddenly, Billy, who has had a growing weight problem, is losing pounds no matter how much food he stuffs into his face.
The problem with "Thinner" is one I associate with Steve Martin's idea of cat juggling. In his comedy act Martin would talk about being a cat juggler, which, if you picture in your mind's eye, is a pretty funny idea. But then in one of his films Martin tried to show cat juggling on screen and it just did not work. The same thing applies to what Robert John Burke has to go through playing Billy Halleck in this film in going from a character who weights 300 pounds to lone who dips under the 100 pound mark. Except for a few scenes in the film Burke always looks unreal to me. This is surprising because the make-up was done by Greg Cannom, who won Oscars for his work on "Bram Stoker's Dracula" and "Mrs. Doubtfire." So if Cannom could not pull this off, then it is likely nobody could have (The video includes a featurette on "The Magic of Special Effects Make-Up"). However, this still means that the transformation that the story rests on does not work. Like cat juggling, what sounds like a great and horrifying idea, does not translate convincingly to the screen.
Part of the problem is the voice Burke affects for this role keeps dispelling the illusion. It seems to me to be something of a "fat" voice, but the key thing is that it strikes me as being even more fake that the make-up. This is too bad because the rest of the performances in the film work pretty well, especially Joe Mantegna ("Searching for Bobby Fischer") as Richie Ginelli, the mobster client who comes to Billy's aid with great relish when the lawyer puts the Curse of the White Man from Town on the gypsies in an effort to get them to launch the curse. Michael Constantine ("My Big Fat Greek Wedding") has a memorable turn as the old gypsy, Tadzu Lempke, and Kari Wuhrer ("Eight Legged Freaks") plays his fiery granddaughter Gina Lempke. The screenplay by Michael McDowell and Tom Holland sticks pretty close to the original novel by King, who makes his traditional cameo appearance in the film early on. "Thinner" was actually filmed in Maine, which is rather atypical for a Stephen King film.
DO YOU BELIVE IN GYPSY CURSES?.......2003-06-29
WELL DO YOU ?, Becouse after watching this it made me think twice.
The story follows Billy Haleck, a very overweight wealthy attorney with friends in high places(both inside and outside the law) and he comes to need both.
After having a dinner with friends Billy and his wife are travelling back home in their car when his wife decides to show him ways of taking his mind off food. This scene is worth watching not only becouse she exagerates certain things, but becouse it is were the movie really starts.
The night ends badly however when they end up runing over and killing a old gypsy mans daughter who is in town with their travelling fair, and when he goes to court his friends help to cover it up, so he not only gets away with it he dosn't even get a fine or points on his licence.
And so begins the curse, To make sure Billy carnt avoid the consequences of his actions, the old gypsy man places a curse on him that make him THINNER and then leaves town, Billy is delighted at first as the wight drops off very quickley, but soon realises that it isnt going to stop, EVER.
So then he begins a search for the gypsys to take it back off.
There are sub-plots involving his friends, and the ending it so good it makes you wonder why it takes so long to get there sometimes.
I loved the book when I read it years ago, and although the film is based around it I loved it anyway, It has all the main ingredients to keep you watching, And some pretty good special effects too.
A film about peoples actions and how a chain of events can start of with a simple accident and turn nasty.
All in all it is a top film, highly recomended by me and I will be doing so to all my other SK fan friends, and to everyone reading this, WHAT R U WATING 4 BUY IT NOW!!!!!!!!
There's just not a lot of story to work with here.......2003-06-07
Stephen King’s Thinner is famous for one thing, and it’s not this motion picture adaptation. Thinner was the fifth novel released under King’s Richard Bachman pseudonym, and its relative success on its own (along with a few tell-tale clues in the text itself) lifted the veil on what was already basically an open secret to reveal none other than Stephen King to be the actual writer. If Thinner had been one of King’s better novels, he would not have released it as Bachman; thus, the movie has little chance of becoming a classic or universal crowd-pleaser. The main problem with this whole story is in fact one of thinness; unlike the main character, who enters the arena rather hugely and soon wastes away to nothing, the storyline starts out thin and basically remains that way. Thinner just doesn’t have the feel a Stephen King movie (or novel) should have; very little of consequence happens outside the tight strictures of the basic plotline; none of the characters seems to bring any life to what they are doing, and no one besides the young daughter is even remotely likable. Depth of character and the inherently interesting relationships between seemingly real individuals make up one of the greatest strength’s driving King’s creations; oftentimes, movie adaptations fail to capture this important magic and, predictably, prove somewhat disappointing. In the case of Thinner, such depth was never there to begin with.
Thinner is about as straightforward a plot as you will ever get from Stephen King. Billy Halleck, an obese, morally ambivalent lawyer accidentally (with some help from his unsavory wife) runs over an old gypsy woman. His friendship with the chief of police and presiding judge allows him to walk away scot-free, a fact which obviously annoys the victim’s 106-year old father. This gypsy king places a curse upon the men who killed and then covered up the death of his daughter. Billy’s curse comes down to one word, “Thinner.” He quickly finds himself losing weight, which seems to be a blessing – at first. It doesn’t take him long to figure out, though, that he is dropping two to four pounds a day regardless of how much food he throws down his throat. When he sees the effect of the gypsy curse on his two friends, reality hits him like a great big frying pan. As his fear and paranoia increase exponentially, he grows distrustful of his own wife, who truly is just a little too friendly to his basically unhelpful doctor. In desperation, having failed to convince the gypsy to release his curse, Billy turns to one of his shady clients, using him to implement his own “white man’s curse” on the gypsy king and his thoroughly despicable grand-daughter. The ending of the movie differs slightly from King’s original ending, but it comes off rather well.
All in all, this is a perfectly good movie that really doesn’t even aspire to anything greater than what it is. Stephen King makes another memorable appearance as the town pharmacist, and that is pretty much the highlight of the whole film for me. If you are some kind of fanatic about movie makeup, though, maybe Thinner has a little more to offer you than it does me. Taking a character from 300 pounds to 128 pounds in a matter of several weeks is not something you just do off the cuff. Thus, the evolution of Robert John Burke’s makeup becomes almost distracting as the movie progresses. This is really beaten into your head listening to the commentary by director Tom Holland and actor Joe Mantegna. Each stage of the makeup job is addressed, and I really don’t care how many layers of latex the guy has on at any point or how that little bit of flaking and almost imperceptible sliding works and doesn’t work, etc. I don’t often listen to movie commentaries to know how they normally go, but this one seems to point out too many little problems, editing mistakes, and budget-deprived inadequacies in the film. Take my advice – don’t listen to the commentary’s litany of problems, just watch the film and try to find what little successes it provides. Again, I’m not saying this is a bad movie; when it’s over, though, you just kind of shrug your shoulders and go on as it immediately begins to fade from your memory.
DVD Review:
- Time Tunnel, Vol. 1 [1968] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Underworld [Blu-ray] [2003]
- Underworld - Evolution [UMD Mini for PSP] [2006]
- Urban Legend [1999]
- Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders (Subtitled) (DVD) [1970]
- Vampires [1999]
- Village Of The Damned [1995]
- Walking With Beasts : Complete BBC Series [2001]
- Wrong Turn/Wrong Turn 2 [2003]
- Zombie Flesh Eaters [1980]
DVD Review List
DVD Review
![Thinner [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21CZZ2325RL.jpg)
All Science Fiction & Fantasy
|
Science Fiction & Fantasy
|
Categories
|
DVD
|
Video
![Graveyard Shift [1990] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000063URH.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Graveyard Shift [1990] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![The Tommyknockers [1993]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1573624098.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
The Tommyknockers [1993]
![Stephen King's Golden Years [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005LQ0Q.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Stephen King's Golden Years [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![Trucks [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/6305120021.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Trucks [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![Needful Things [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000068IES.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Needful Things [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![Thinner [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://www.bill88.com/buy.gif)
![Thinner [1997] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://www.germanelectronics88.com/noimage.gif)
