This week’s choice for a film was kind of an obvious one considering that if you didn’t notice during the challenge that I am a huge horror fan. So, when I first heard that a remake of Stephen King’s It was going to be made, I just couldn’t wait for the next edition of Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween to see it. So I chose to watch the film It for this week’s Movie Of The Week which means we are all traveling back to the town of Derry, Maine for another horrifying experience. It’s the late 80’s and something weird is happening in the town of Derry as kids are disappearing, but that’s nothing new for this old town. Unfortunately for Bill (Jaeden Lieberher), the loss of his brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) has left him wanting answers. Bill soon finds out that his new band of buddies dubbed The Losers Club have also noticed some strange things going on like the appearance of a clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). So, they band together to battle this evil clown before he claims anymore victims. The film also stars Sophia Lillis (37) as Beverly Marsh, Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) as Ritchie Tozier, Chosen Jacobs (Hawaii Five-O) as Mike Hanlon, Jack Dylan Grazer (Tales Of Halloween) as Eddie, Wyatt Oleff (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Stanley, Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ant-Man) as Ben Hanscom, Nicholas Hamilton (The Dark Tower) as Harry Bower, and the film was directed by Andy Muschietti (Mama).
Spoiler Alert: There is going to be some information leaked in this article that could give away some details or all the details in the film. So either proceed with caution or do not read any further, but you were warned. I am going to have to go back and rewatch the original film just to compare it, but what I remember from it was that it was very choppy because it was a made for TV thing when It came out. This one is not choppy at all and they go above and beyond just to try and scare the living crap out of you. I think another element that you can capitalize on is the fact that technology is a lot better today then it was then and it’s a Rated R film which means you can do more. I have to be honest in saying that while Tim Curry played an excellent Pennywise, they turned it up a notch in my opinion with this one. He was super creepy and some of the scenes were pretty intense from the basement scene with Georgie to the scene where the photos keep changing. They pretty much gave the actor a full license to just be super creepy and I loved it. All of the kids did an amazing job in the film at being who their characters are and even the kid who played Henry Bower was intense. He was so sadistic and insane that he made the original 1990’s Henry Bower (played by Jarred Blancard) look like a complete wimp.
There is one big but in there and that is because there are some things that might tick you off. So, I am going to give you a few examples to better explain what I mean. Number one and most important is that the film takes place in the 1980’s and not the late 1950’s. That is your reason for number two which is that Ritchie’s character is not as charming verbally as the original Seth Green (even he was a little too much at times). The film is long at 150 minutes, but it honestly did not feel like that to me when I was watching it. This may end up being one of the best horror films of the year as long as you can get over the fact that they changed some dialogue to update it to the 1980’s. They also have admitted to not using every detail that the 1000 plus page book has given us because some are just not OK to show on the silver screen. They did stay true however with certain symbols that you should look out for in the film like a turtle because they are symbolic of what’s to come in part 2. Now we just have to wait for the next film to finish the story, but I definitely think that this is one that you shouldn’t ignore. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.
This wasn’t really on the list of must see films that I made up the other day, but I remember a friend of mine strongly recommended the film. The film that I am talking about is the Sci-Fi movie Midnight Special which was released earlier in the year and it was available via Redbox. Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) is a very special eight year old boy with very special powers that one side believes that he is the messiah while another side believes that he is a dangerous weapon. Roy (Michael Shannon) believes that his son is special too and will do anything that it takes to get him to where he needs to go before either the cult or the FBI gets to him. The film also stars Joel Edgerton (Exodus: Gods And Kings) as Lucas, Kirsten Dunst (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind) as Sarah, Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) as Sevier, Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down) as Calvin Meyer, Bill Camp (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) as Doak, Scott Haze (The Sound and the Fury) as Levi, Paul Sparks (Boardwalk Empire) as Agent Miller, David Jensen (Ocean’s Eleven) as Elden, and the film was written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Mud).
The thing I loved most about the film was the actual story itself because for the most part you’re wondering what is this kid? Is he human, mutant, or alien? For the most part, you don’t really know what he is and they don’t really tell you for most of the film. Then there is the human element of the film where there are people that truly believe in this child’s ability that they will go all out for him. One thing that I did want to comment on is that the filmmakers make Kirsten Dunst look old (I don’t mean super old) in the film which just amazed me. She actually looked like someone in her mid to late 30’s in the film, but for the time she is on screen she does a great job. The real MVP of the film besides Jaeden is Michael Shannon who plays the father that will do whatever it takes to protect his son and get him to the destination no matter the cost. I have to be honest in saying that there really isn’t a bad performance from anyone in the film. Everybody knows their role and they play it right like Adam Driver who is the NSA agent who just thinks all of this is cool. The special effects are very cool especially the scene with the satellite crashing to Earth was cool. The film definitely asks the age old question of are we really alone in the universe? Is there other life forms somewhere we don’t know? If you are a fan of Sci-Fi movies then you owe it to yourself to at least check this one out. I am going to give Midnight Special an A- for a final grade.
I have been wanting to see this film for quite some time as I am a big fan of Bradley Cooper (American Sniper), Rachel McAdams (About Time), and of course the legendary Bill Murray (Stripes). The film is called Aloha and it stars Cooper as a star military contractor named Brian Gilcrest who returns home to Hawaii which is the home of his greatest truimphs to strike a deal with the locals for his billionaire boss (Murray). Along the way, he runs into his old flame (McAdams), starts a relationship with a gung ho Air Force pilot (Emma Stone) who was sent to watch him, and learns a thing or two about himself along the way. The film was directed by Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) and it also stars John Krasinski (The Office) as Woody, Alec Baldwin (Outside Providence) as General Dixon, Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) as Fingers, Bill Camp (Birdman) as Bob Largent, Jaeden Lieberher (St. Vincent) as Mitchell, and Danielle Rose Russell (A Walk Among The Tombstones).
Cameron Crowe may have called this his love letter to the isles once in an interview, but I wonder if this type of sentiment really exists in Hawaii. One man who plays the king has the same shirt in the whole film that just reads “American By Force” on one side and “Hawaiian By Birth” on the other. The film is definitely an interesting one as it raises some social issues along inside the love story. The idea of billionaires with lots of money to spend working with the military to develop satellites in lieu of the absence of NASA. Then of course, there is the love story that is attached to this film as we see a man with a lot of issues of holding on finally starting to fall in love with a girl while letting go of the one from his past. One of the things that I will say about the film is that I loved John Krasinski’s character, he’s this tough macho, military guy who has a hard time with expressing himself. He’s too caught up being the man that he just isn’t sensitive enough for his wife until things starting coming into question. I loved the overall cinematography of the film with the beautiful shots of the mountain and beautiful Hawaii, but the 360 degree axis line shot when Rachel first speaks with Cooper’s character was a little sloppy and annoying to me. It was this constant shot of going around in a circle that was done to maintain consistency and fluidity in the shot. The film was definitely interesting at times even though for a while I was trying to figure out what the plot was. I didn’t read what the film was about before I watched it and I kind of forget what it was about anyways. So, I am going to give the film an B for a final grade. It’s airing on Starz as we speak and you can find online or at Redbox (most likely).
365moviesin365dayschallenge 