Movie Of The Week: It (2017)

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.

Day 333: Hearts In Atlantis (2001)

The film I chose for today wasn’t even a film that I was planning on viewing for today. You see the thing is how can I say no first of all to a film that was based on a Stephen King novel and how could I say no second of all to a film that stars Anton Yelchin (Green Room). The film Hearts In Atlantis follows middle aged Bobby Garfield (David Morse) who attends a friends funeral and starts to recollect his past and one particular year when he was 11 years old (played by Yelchin). Bobby lives with his single mother Liz (Hope Davis) who is hopeless and clueless to what really matters in her life. That all begins to change one day when a mysterious man named Ted (Anthony Hopkins) shows up on their door step as he begins to change their lives to show them what really matters in life. The only problem is that Ted is in trouble and he entrusts Bobby for help against the Low Men. The film also stars Mika Boorem (Blue Crush) as Carol Gerber, Alan Tudyk (Zootopia) as Monte Man, Adam LeFevre (Hitch) as Don Biderman, Will Rothhaar (Kingpin) as John Sullivan, Timothy Reifsnyder (Wide Awake) as Harry Doolin, Celia Watson (Observe And Report) as Alana Files, and the film was directed by Scott Hicks (The Lucky One).

The funny thing about this films is who knew that six years later that Hope Davis and Anton Yelchin would play mother and son again in Charlie Bartlett? She’s not a completely hopeless mother in this film because she’s functional, but she is clueless just like she is in the other film. This film features a young Anton Yelchin and he was just as brilliant then as he was right before he passed away. He was masterful as that young child that is full of hope towards the future that the brilliant Anthony Hopkins character can see it. That is why he gives Bobby the gift of being able to see a bright future. While there is plenty of drama in the film, the mystery part is the most interesting part of the film in my opinion. You see Hopkin’s character is on the run from something and we begin to find out what and who as he let’s Bobby in on it slowly. The premise of it is different and interesting and you wonder if the Government really did try enlisting psychics to find communist spies? I loved the story of the film and I love how the film was set in the 1950’s with the outfits, cars, etc. The 50’s is one of my favorite decades besides the 1980’s because it looked like a simpler time so you know I loved the sets and props in the film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because I truly enjoyed it.

Day 300: The Dark Half (1993)

Can you believe that 300 days ago I started this journey where I promised to watch one film a day for the whole entire year. It sounded crazy at first and maybe I was crazy for starting this, but for day 300 I wanted to do something special. I chose a film that features two icons of horror in director George A. Romero (Night Of The Living Dead) who adapted the book The Dark Half from Stephen King into a film. Young Thad Beaumont (Patrick Brannan) always had a knack for writing, but something is disrupting his life. After discovering that his twin hadn’t been absolved and was in his head, it’s removed and he continues his life. Fast forward 23 years later and Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) is a professor at a college and he has a secret identity as a writer. One day after his cover is blown, he decides to be upfront and lose the moniker of George Stark (his secret identity). The only problem is that George doesn’t want to go that easy and he comes to life to kill everyone who agreed to Thad losing the moniker. The film also stars Amy Madigan (Uncle Buck) as Liz Beaumont, Michael Rooker (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Sheriff Pangborn, Robert Joy (The Hills Have Eyes) as Fred Clawson, Royal Dano (Killer Klowns From Outer Space) as Digger Holt, and Rutanya Alda (The Deer Hunter) as Miriam Crowley. To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies. 

Day 281: Maximum Overdrive (1986)

For today’s entry to Eddie’s 31 Days Of Halloween, I was surprised that I hadn’t reviewed more Stephen King films more often than I have. So, today we decided to review a film that was always one of my favorite ones in Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive, a film about a renegade comet that the Earth gets stuck in for eight days. Things start going out of whack on Earth like Lawnmowers running over people, a vending machine killing people with it’s soda cans, and tractor trailers driving on their own. For a group of workers and patrons at a truck stop, they don’t completely know what is going on when things start going haywire in Wilmington, North Carolina. For Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez), a kid with a troubled past is just trying to get through life with his crappy job as a cook until he has to step up to be the hero when all of this craziness is going down. The film also stars Pat Hingle (Batman 1989) as Bubba Hendershot, Laura Harrington (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape) as Brett, Yeardly Smith (The Legend Of Billie Jean) as Connie, John Short (Ransom) as Curt, Holter Graham (Fly Away Home) as Deke, Frankie Faison (Silence Of The Lambs) as Handy, Christopher Murney (The Last Dragon) as Camp Loman, Ellen McElduff (JFK) as Wanda, J.C. Quinn (The Abyss) as Duncan, and the film was directed by Stephen King. To see the rest of the review, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.