Stephen King has confirmed that Lost co-creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof will adapt his epic multi-volume book series The Dark Tower for the screen. Up to this point, King has refused to sell movie rights for this series, even from his longtime collaborator, writer/director Frank Darabont, who adapted The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile.

“I said no to everybody until recently, because I didn’t think much of the chances of it being a good movie,” King said in a panel discussion launching Marvel Comics’ new Dark Tower comic books at the New York City Comic Con on Feb. 24.

Stephen King considers The Dark Tower series his life’s work. He has been writing these books since he was 22 years old, so I guess they would be. They are so different from the rest of his books.

He finally relinquished the rights to the Lost co-creators because he is an ardent fan of the show.

I missed this movie when it came out on television late last Spring. When it came out on DVD, I bought it knowing that I had a 50/50 chance of feeling disappointed. That’s been my experience with Stephen King movies. They’re either very good (i.e., The Stand) or very bad (i.e., Maximum Overdrive). Desperation fell in between.

The movie begins with married couple, Peter and Mary driving across the Nevada desert. Mary spots a dead cat hanging from a speed sign and is properly spooked. Their situation goes from ho-hum to bad in a big hurry when they are pulled over by Sheriff Callie Entragian, who promises to kill them. He hauls them off to jail, where he shoots Peter before he takes Mary up to the holding cells.

Mary finds a family and an old drunk huddled in the cells. A short time later, writer John Marinville (Tom Skeritt) joins them. Entragian takes the wife of the tourist family and disappears for a while, giving everyone ample time to escape the jail. Escaping the town of Desperation is another matter, as they find out.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I haven’t read the book in years, but remembered the basic plot. Desperation the movie didn’t sway too far from that. The best characters were David Carver (the religious boy) and John Marinville (the self-serving writer). While the boy was all about letting God lead them out of Desperation, Marinville relied on himself. That made for a good conflict. Recommended.

I’ve always been a sucker for ghost stories, especially movies with an intriguing plot. Below is the round-up of the movies that will be coming out this year. There might be more, but this is what I’ve seen to date.

February 2: The Messengers

A teenage girl and her toddler brother experience frightening paranormal phenomenon after their family moves into an old farmhouse out in the country. Based on the synopsis and the trailer, this movie looks pretty typical of Hollywood. Normally, I’d pass on it, but one of my girlfriends wants to see it.

March 23: Dead Silence

Jamie explores the creepy town of Ravens Fair after the brutal murder of his wife, and encounters the legend of Mary Shaw, a famous murdered ventriloquist whose presence is still felt. The lead suspect in his wife’s murder, Jamie is forced to dig deep into the town’s bloody past and uncovers the truth behind a curse that ended Lisa’s life and threatens to take his as well. While the special effects are good, the gore factor doesn’t appeal to me. Fans of Saw might enjoy this. See the trailer here.

July 13: Stephen King’s “1408″

After losing his daughter, a writer who debunks paranormal occurences (John Cusack) checks into The Dolphin Hotel’s most notorious room to experience the ghosts first-hand. I don’t know if this movie will compare with King’s original version of The Shining, but it looks like it has plenty of creepy weirdness. I’ll definitely go to see that one! Watch the trailer.

If you missed last night’s episodes, they’re on tonight. However, I would consult your satellite guide rather than the TNT website because there seems to be a confusion in the show’s time. If I hadn’t tried to set a reminder on my TV at 5:30, I would have missed the show, which wound up starting at 6pm instead of 9pm.

That rant aside, I’ll tell you what I thought about the premiere episodes. Battleground was interesting in that there was no dialogue at all from Jason Renshaw (William Hurt). I’m going to have to lug out my copy of Nightmares & Dreamscapes to see if the guy shouted at his nemiseses. Hurt grunted a lot and let out one war cry. That grew tiring real fast.

Crouch Inn was better. The story is about a newly married couple who finds themselves lost in the worst part of England. The acting seemed contrived, and the monster near the end didn’t impress me. The cinematography was good, though.

The thing about Stephen King movies is that they are great (The Shining-original) or they suck (Maximum Overdrive). I’m not going to say that Nightmares & Dreamscapes is terrible, but it definitely got off to a weak start. I’ll commit myself to two more segments in the hopes that each show gets better.