Doctor Sleep

The sequel to the 1980 Stanley Kubrick The Shining, which was a slight adaptation of a Stephen King novel, Doctor Sleep is also based on a King novel. With Mike Flanagan taking on a sequel to a Kubrick classic, which is not an easy task, he manages to create a film that has the spirit from 39 years ago while also giving us its own fresh take. Ewan McGregor plays Dan Torrance, the child from the original, who has grown up to be a broken man due to the trauma he still faces from what happened at the Overlook and afraid to use his shinning abilities. After spending a few years dealing with his sobriety, Dan meets a young girl, Abra, with a much powerful shine and they confront a cult known as the True Knot that either recruit or kill others that shine and absorb their powers to live as long as possible. Led by Rebecca Ferguson's Rose the Hat, the True Knot notice how powerful Abra is and are determined to go after her, which Dan and her use to their advantage once they decide to go back to the Overlook for one last fight. Flanagan makes the film his own while also still in keeping with much of Kubrick's style, including certain camera shots, editing similar to what films did back then, and the music and theme. McGregor and Ferguson give such outstanding performances, especially since Ewan himself is a recovering alcoholic and thus you really see the struggle in both Dan and his actor. Abra's actress, Kyliegh Curran, is not just a newcomer but she is amazing and is able to go toe to toe with the veteran actors she's with. Doctor Sleep does an amazing job at building up the world that was first introduced in 1980 by expanding on what shining is and the many different abilities that it can give people. While certainly not as terrifying as the previous entry it does deliver on its creepy atmosphere thanks to aspects like the cinematography and perfectly capturing the eeriness of the haunted hotel especially after it was abandoned and left to rot. Though a problem when going back to the Overlook is that there are flashbacks to the first film and certain shots that echo to the past that are unnecessary and feel forced. Even with a powerful ending and an awesome way of defeating Rose, there are hints that there could be another sequel as she points out that there are other people like her which makes you wonder how they'll be dealt with. Though a tad long, Doctor Sleep goes by quickly and everyone involved, whether behind the scenes or in front of the camera, proves that it is possible to make a sequel to a film made by someone of Kubrick's caliber. Over all: 100%
2019 top list so far:

1. Judy

2. Avengers: Endgame

3. Ready or Not

4. Doctor Sleep

5. Joker

6. The Lighthouse

7. Toy Story 4

8. Hustlers

9. Shazam!

10. Spider-Man: Far From Home

11. Villains

12. Zombieland: Double Tap

13. Rocketman

14. The Current War

15. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

16. John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

17. Ad Astra

18. It Chapter 2

19. Godzilla: King of the Monsters

20. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

21. Hobbs & Shaw

22. The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part

23. Us

24. Aladdin 2019

25. Pokemon Detective Pikachu

26. Captain Marvel

27. The Lion King 2019

28. Yesterday

29. Pet Sematary 2019

30. The Upside

31. Dark Phoenix

32. Cold Pursuit

33. Glass