Big Driver

First let me say that the books from Stephen King are always better then the movies they made from it. The movies from his books that were well made are The Shining, Carrie, Stand By me, The green Mile and maybe a couple more. But most of the time the movies don't even come close to the actual quality or suspense of the novel. Anyways, for this movie I didn't read the book so it is difficult to compare them. The movie was okay, a typical revenge movie with typical Stephen King characters. Maria Bello gave an okay performance playing the leading role of the raped woman. The music and sound effects were a bit mediocre. It will not be remembered as the other good adaptations of his books but it's an all right movie for TV. Overall I would give it a 6,5 rating.

'Big Driver' is a dark and unexpectedly violent made-for-television adaption of horror master Stephen King's novella of the same name from his 2010 collection 'Full Dark, No Stars.' I haven't seen many Lifetime movies so far, but this one is probably one of the best ever. The movie is dark and graphic but it also includes some comedic elements at the right times. The movie clearly doesn't take itself too seriously, which is a good thing, especially since it's an adaption of of a novella by Stephen King, whose stories are known for their often not all too serious tone and quirky humor. In that regard its very fitting that rock queen Joan Jett has a small role in 'Big Driver.'

The movie has a great revenge story, an evocative setting, and an excellent cast led by Maria Bello ('A History of Violence') and including the fantastic Ann Dowd ('Compliance'). Also highlighted must be Will Harris' ('In Time') both charismatic and terrifying performance as the titular villain Lester 'Big Driver' Strehlke. I don't really remember seeing him in anything else besides 'In Time', but I guarantee that you won't forget him after seeing his performance as Big Driver. Good job! Director Mikael Salomon already directed another Stephen King adaption, namely 2004's two-part television movie 'Salem's Lot', which was a decent effort. Salomon is probably best known for directing the 1998 action movie 'Hard Rain,' which has received generally negative reviews, although I've always liked it. I see stylistic similarities between 'Hard Rain' and 'Big Driver'. Both movies feature good actors in an exceptional setting and both are pretty grim at times and witty at others.

'Big Driver' has the right combination of darkness and humor, which is a feature of every great Stephen King story. I'd say Salomon did a good job bringing King's novella to the screen. It's definitely one of the better Stephen King adaptions and one of the best ones made for the small screen.

Watched the movie despite the reviews because of Steven King's writing it. Couldn't believe I'd seen the same move - it was a good exercise in psychology. To briefly over the story, a successful author is raped. She avoids telling anyone because she fears retribution, both professional and personal. She soon start hunting her assailant. Some of her behavior isn't helpful or rational. Many times you catch the 'heroine' hallucinating, so was she making it all up? Is she the real killer? The tension was well-done. The plot twists were credible and added to the suspense. So what were the detractors watching?? OK, it wasn't a big-budget movie, but it was certainly entertaining.

The lead actress in this movie gives a staggeringly superb performance.

She is a famous fiction writer who becomes the victim of a horrendous crime and decides to seek revenge.

The problem with this film is that it is presented in the screwball style(the story comes from Stephen King) which turns it into what the English call a 'black comedy' with imaginary characters and objects speaking out loud and the dead talking after their demise. Despite these challenges, the lead player still manages to make this a compelling view:

7/10.

This has the creepy overtones of a Stephen King story and the movie does a very good job of delivering on the story.

On the surface we see a successful author of lightweight mysteries, visiting her fans, and enjoying their adulation.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, she has a childhood trauma that has given her some unique coping abilities that she has used to be successful.

When trauma hits once again, she copes because she has a genius ability to compartmentalize everything.

At times, I wondered if this was going to be a rehash of Misery or perhaps another take on The Burning Bed.

The movie successfully mixes the seriousness of a near death with lighthearted satire.