Cinema Soul

Stephen King's book The Shining was not just a thriller about the supernatural; it also dealt with the all too earthly horrors of alcoholism. The new movie Dr. Sleep  is based on King's recent book of the same name that takes up where The Shining left off, both in terms of narrative and theme. Dr. Sleep is not just concerned with addiction, however; in the midst of it's telepathy, ghosts, and psychic vampires it also provides a realistic look at recovery. Stephen King has never been shy about his dislike of Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film adaptation of his novel  The Shining . His biggest complaint has always been that the film version doesn't accurately represent Jack Torrance; in the movie Jack, as played by Jack Nicholson in full leering cocked eyebrow mode, seems ready to blow from the first moment we see him. In King's book Jack was a decent man battling the demons of alcoholism, demons which manifest themselves in terrifying form when he takes his wi...

At  the beginning of Rocketman, the new Elton John movie, Tara Egerton bursts onto the screen in one of the flamboyant musician's signature outrageous outfits. It is no accident that this particular getup resembles some glam rock demon from one of the more fabulous corners of the netherworld. Carl Jung noted that the Latin word for alcohol is spirtus , that it is "...the same word that we use for for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison”. Addiction is a spiritual disease; that's why we say that the addict is "wrestling with their demons". Alcohol and other drugs, food, sex, gambling, shopping...all forms of addiction are demonic in the truest sense of the word; they are pathogens that infect our spirit and possess our souls, hijacking our lives and steering us toward ruin. In the depths of his addiction, Elton John has recognized the demon that he has assimilated; he spends the rest of the movie physically and spiritually rem...