Often cited as the best director of all time. Kubrick made some interesting films, but his overreliance on symbolism and his heavy-handed approach often works against his films. That said, there's really no way around his work.
The good stuff
The inoffensive
A film that has lost some of its shine since I last watched it. The Shining is one of the most iconic horror films and those stand-out scenes (the elevator, the twins, the "Here's Johnny" moment) still stand proud today. It's everything that comes in between that seems to have lost a little polish. Maybe I should've gone for the shorter European release, but many scenes felt a little dragged out. Performances were surprisingly poor too. Tony's voice is irritating, Nicholson could've turned it down a notch and Duvall is simply terrible. The whole "shining" ability feels tagged on as well, which is a bit odd for a film called The Shining. The location is magnificent though. The barren mountains, the kitschy interiors of the hotel, the many colorful rooms. The camera work is solid too and the soundtrack is moody, though Kubrick relies too much on volume levels to create tension. It's certainly not a terrible film, but the cracks are really starting to show.Read all
Dubious filler
Plain forgettable
Big nopes
Irritation overload
