Admittedly, I am a recovering movie nerd. Only recently, have I discovered there is so much more to life than movies.

Some may argue that I’m not much of a movie nerd at all. After all, I know some movie nerds that can talk for weeks about every nuance of the Marvel cinematic universe, or the Lord of the Rings movies, or, God forbid, Star Wars.

Yet, there are a few movies I have really gotten into. Some are truly amazing. Others are truly awful. But they have all earned my admiration.

However, my all-time favorite movie is likely The Shining. As a long time fan of Stephen King’s novels, and even with the flaws and faults of Kubrick’s interpretation of the movie, it is truly a cinematic masterpiece.

It’s beautiful. It’s breathtaking. It’s remarkably detailed.

It’s also not the true subject of this post.

Another fun fact that indicates I may not quite be the movie nerd I once believed: I had never seen a movie on opening weekend.

No, never. Until this weekend. I simply could not resist.

I had to see Doctor Sleep on the big screen. Had. To.

And it did not disappoint. Like its predecessor, it was beautifully shot. The cast was brilliant.

Unlike its predecessor, it, somehow, proved itself a faithful adaptation of the novels, yet a complimentary sequel to Kubrick’s vision.

It truly brought all of the pieces together.

I’m not going to lie. There were a couple of scenes that were unnecessary. There was a character from the book that could have been left out of the film entirely. And I’m not certain everything makes sense to anyone who hasn’t read either book. In short, it wasn’t perfect.

It was, however, an excellent, entertaining movie. After a second viewing, I may be able to even affirm that it is the follow up the original movie deserves. I loved that it didn’t hide the fact it IS a different film from the original. They didn’t do the “trendy” thing and CG a young Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall as their characters.

I don’t know if it is at all watchable to someone who has never seen The Shining, but as someone who has been so invested in the characters, the story, and the hotel itself, it was amazing.

And I was blown away at the recreation of the hotel. Simply breathtaking.

Okay, clearly I will never be a movie critic. Or even a writer. I did, however, want to capture some quick notes on what I thought of the best film I’ve seen in ages!

Worth seeing on opening weekend, and removing one more “never” from my life.