Also, props to the Pennywise makeup when it wasn't rubberized by cgi.
Also, props to the Pennywise makeup when it wasn't rubberized by cgi.
"How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"
--Homer
Sequel planned with the adult side!Quoting D_Davis (view post)
Excellent!Quoting Dukefrukem (view post)
Odds on them stretching the next film into two films after seeing this weekend's grosses?
And then a prequel about Pennywise in early Derry (which I would secretly be very interested in watching)?
As long as they adopt era-appropriate dress and Puritan Pennywise starts throwing scarlet-letter town slatterns at old white men, I'm down.
"How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home wine-making course and forgot how to drive?"
--Homer
Was there any doubt about Chapter 2?
I'm curious how they'll cast people more than anything. Slightly interested.
The online hopes right now are Bill Hader for Richie Tozier and Jessica Chastain for Beverly, and I'm just fine with both of those.Quoting Ezee E (view post)
Would they go for big names at this point?Quoting Dead & Messed Up (view post)
Although Bill isn't too big... I don't see someone like Chastain taking on the role though.
Technically, both are ten years too old.Quoting D_Davis (view post)
How big is Chastain? (Legitimate question.) I think people are chucking her name around because she was already in Muschietti's Mama.Quoting Ezee E (view post)
[And was sporting a killer black hairdo.]
They should get the biggest name to play Stan.
Last 10 Movies Seen
(90+ = canonical, 80-89 = brilliant, 70-79 = strongly recommended, 60-69 = good, 50-59 = mixed, 40-49 = below average with some good points, 30-39 = poor, 20-29 = bad, 10-19 = terrible, 0-9 = soul-crushingly inept in every way)
Run (2020) 64
The Whistlers (2019) 55
Pawn (2020) 62
Matilda (1996) 37
The Town that Dreaded Sundown (1976) 61
Moby Dick (2011) 50
Soul (2020) 64
Heroic Duo (2003) 55
A Moment of Romance (1990) 61
As Tears Go By (1988) 65
Stuff at Letterboxd
Listening Habits at LastFM
Someone online mentioned Jesse Eisenberg,Quoting transmogrifier (view post)
[]
Ah, the Chastain connection makes sense then.
I wanted to say that I thought she was one to not go with franchise movies, but she'll be in the X-Men: Dark Phoenix movie, so never mind. I'm guessing as White Queen?
Maybe too much to expect that a feature-length adaptation feels like the definitive take on this Stephen King story, even one that covers only half of his 1000-page book, so the slight disappointment might be on me. But, if nothing else, at least this feels like the definitive casting, right down to even small roles like Georgie, and already-previously-iconic Pennywise, in which Bill Skarsgård's more unhinged turn really suits the much rawer atmosphere. The seven members of The Losers Club are what powerfully holds this adapation together, as their camaraderie among the summer interludes, and their mutual coming-of-age realization in the horror of both messy grown-up world and sinister cosmic force, reflect some of the book's most potent parts brilliantly. The film's horror can be inconsistent, varying from intensely creepy to overdone CGI-fest, but these young, talented cast manage to sell it in relation to their characters all the way through. 7/10
Last edited by Peng; 09-14-2017 at 05:24 AM.
Midnight Run (1988) - 9
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) - 8.5
The Adventures of Robinhood (1938) - 8
Sisters (1973) - 6.5
Shin Godzilla (2016) - 7.5
Oh, right. I saw this, made the thread, but then got too caught up to actually write about it. [FAKE EDIT: I've also been so busy since that I left this tab open since the weekend(?) and then posted this until right now. Anyway, here it is at last..]
I really did enjoy it, though like DaMU and Efron, there's still a hanging cloud of reservation, and one does still wonder what the film would've been as a fully followed-through Cary Fukunaga piece of work, instead of something he set up and left to be largely continued with, but ultimately changed to what the studio and Muschietti desired. Fukunaga also interestingly had Will Poulter (who eventually moved on to play an even creepier evil sadist in Katheryn Bigelow's Detroit) cast as Pennywise instead of Bill Skarsgard, who here I think is a welcome revelation. His drooling, creakily-voiced shit-disturber version of the clown is exactly the sort of anchor the character needs to be unsettlingly placed in your brain for when the film sadly has put him put aside as and actor for wilder-looking FX versions of him. The uneasy dread of his work lingers even when the rest of the film's scares and atmospherics don't.
It really does need to be commended for just how funny it is. I've seen some critics mention how they wish it was scarier, and I do agree, but in the end I think the stronger and more formidable side of the movie's dynamics is the kids and how believable and radiant their collective presence is. I could point out any one of them or even a bunch of them as standouts, but the fact that so many of them make their own distinct impression says enough on its own.
Another point I've seen made and then subsequently chewed out by others is that some wish this movie was less jump-scare heavy, despite some of those same people having been fine with Annabelle: Creation's arguable more frequent utilization of them. But I gotta say that I'm on the side that thinks the cinematic stakes of quality for this as a film are higher (if only for it being the adaptation of the source it has) and it's more well-rounded and substantial in its overall quality, which makes it use of the easier jump scares feel somewhat below it, but honestly since my expectations for the new Annabelle were closer to the basement, the fact that it delivered so thrillingly with more moderate ambitions makes its "cheaper" horror gags feel more in line with its overall style, with considerable visual inventiveness to go along with them. I'd even argue it's a more successful film than Muschietti's It for it. It should be pointed out that Gary Dauberman wrote the final draft of both, but that he entirely wrote Annabelle: Creation, and was only brought in to rewrite this after Fukunaga left, working from his and Palmer's script. So you have to wonder if the more routine horror elements were only conceived of with his hiring.
In the end I definitely recommend it even if I don't think it quite reaches its full potential, and despite not outright loving I also just might be compelled to go see it again (especially with a big audience), and really look forward to Chapter Two in the meantime, secretly hoping that as an ending it manages make the the quality groundwork here become more well-realized, and subsequently elevate. Float, even!
Last edited by Henry Gale; 09-15-2017 at 02:51 AM.
Last 11 things I really enjoyed:
Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
Safe (Haynes, 1995)
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
Diva (Beineix, 1981)
Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)
Huh. I thought the film was pretty scary (probably partly because it was kids in danger). Maybe I'm a wimp.
This is a really good childhood drama mixed in with a real bad horror movie, which wasn't the least bit scary at any point in time. I keep hearing people say how this movie has so many jump scares, and I'm usually able to telegraph jump scares fairly easily. Here though, even the jump scares were so ineffective that I didn't even notice the movie had any until I saw people complaining about them online after the fact. Oops. But even beyond that, I honestly found most of the horror aspect of this movie to be pretty boring, particularly so as it continued on. It peaks way too early in it's second act, so the entire third act is a total drag for this.
But the horror stuff aside, there's actually a decent movie here, and the cast of kids are outstanding. Loved following this group. But all in all, It was not great, not terrible, just very much OK.
The best things about it, like you guys already mentioned, are the child performances and the cinematography which is stunning.
The adaptation more or less works. There's no room to breathe in the film, which cheapens the scary moments since they seem to happen all the time and have little to no effect on the kids lives. In fact, the only one who decides to share that impossible and fantastical things have happened to her is Beverly. That made the characters a little implausible from a dramatic standpoint. I read in the film's Wikipedia page that WB stipulated that the running time couldn't be over 120 minutes. I think this story needed more than that.
Still, pretty fun to see in theaters. My crowd seemed pretty disturbed by it.
Others have already nailed it. They did wonderful job of casting the film with talented and unique child actors. It's superficially well done from a technical standpoint and avoids any major missteps. However, there is something missing. Maybe it's just that the direction seems to lack a real point-of-view or objective beyond delivering something polished. For a true "four-quadrant" horror movie, perhaps this is the best we can hope for, but it just never feels like essential cinema.
letterboxd.
A Star is Born (2018) **1/2
Unforgiven (1992) ***1/2
The Sisters Brothers (2018) **
Crazy Rich Asians (2018) ***
The Informant! (2009) ***1/2
BlacKkKlansman (2018) ***1/2
Sorry to Bother You (2018) **1/2
Eighth Grade (2018) ***
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) ***
Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018) **1/2
I had the same reaction.Quoting D_Davis (view post)
Though I do agree they go a little bit overboard with some of the scare imaginary. After a while it becomes less scary.
For me, the two things that really got to me, were the "you'll float too" scene in the basement. And the weird lady from the painting at the temple.
But yes, acting was suburb. And it follows my "journey" outline perfectly.
Did they not tell anyone they murdered a bully?
holy.....
No thanks.