What Katie Watched

Tag: Stephen King

  • The Green Mile (1999)

    3h 9mins

    7/10

    First time watch

    Period Drama – Tragedy – Mystery

    A death row guard is thrown into turmoil when he begins to question whether the latest convict on his watch is truly guilty of the crimes that have condemned him to death.

    I have avoided watching this film for a long time as I struggle to go into a film that is new to me knowing it’s going to be a tearjerker. Plus it’s very long, so you need to purposely carve out enough time to watch a 3 hour film in one sitting.

    Having said that, I am glad that I have finally got around to watching this beautifully touching film.

    Who wouldn’t love the gentle giant inmate, John Coffey ( Michael Clarke Duncan)? His innocent sweet nature is so endearing and has you just as puzzled as prison guard, Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks), as to how on earth he has been convicted of such horrendous crimes. I loved that although Paul knew the men on his ward had committed terrible crimes, he still saw them as worthy of being treated as fellow human beings the whole way up to their last moments.

    I was taken by surprise by the supernatural element of the film, but found it interesting. I knew it was a Stephen King story, but I thought the darkness was going to come from it being set on death row and the use of the electric chair.

    A thought-provoking reflection on the darkness within humanity, the terrible choices people make and the suffering we can cause one another, balanced by a powerful reminder of the importance of recognising the good in others and choosing kindness.

    I’m not sure that I could say I’m racing to watch it again, not because it wasn’t good, but because it was a sad watch and the length of the film. I’m sure I will watch it again in a few years and wouldn’t say no if someone else wanted to watch it with me.

    Would watch again

  • The Monkey (2025)

    1h 38mins

    4/10

    First time watch in the cinema

    Comedy – Horror – Cursed objects

    A wind-up monkey toy that causes mysterious deaths when it’s key is turned.

    I went into this film with high hopes as I had been intrigued by it’s trailer. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

    I could see that it was leaning more towards the comedy aspect of the comedy/horror genre, but the bits I could tell were meant to be the funny moments just didn’t land for me. Having said that, it could just be me, as the audience around me were laughing. It also had this intentional awkwardness that I could see was meant to be humorous, but just made the scenes drag for me, where again others seemed to enjoy it.

    I generally found the film boring, where I felt fidgety and found myself checking my watch to see how long was left multiple times!

    The best part of the film for me was the opening with Adam Scott and then I soon lost interest.

    Would not watch again