Tuesday
Sep122017
"I'm Your #1 Fan..."
Tuesday, September 12, 2017 at 10:00PM IT defied already optimistic expectations last weekend, opening to mostly postive reviews and a staggering box office of $123m. Hot takes are afoot as to why IT is such a mega hit, compared to the flopzilla of The Dark Tower. And amongst the good reviews was the adulation of one particular enfant terrible...
IT is my favorite film this century. pic.twitter.com/86KqVKZFV3
— Xavier Dolan (@XDolan) September 10, 2017
Did you succumb to the scares or were you not amused by the clown? Discuss.
Related: Our "It" Review
Reader Comments (20)
Curry's Pennywise has no rivals. Indifferent to King adaptations made after the Kathy Bates double punch of Misery and Dolores Claiborne.
I saw it and I loved it. Easily one of the best Stephen King adaptations. And I am super excited for Gerald's Game at the end of the month.
I enjoyed It, although more because I felt that the friendship between the kids were very well depicted. I thought Skarsgard's Pennywise was so over the top that it wasn't very scary. The same thing with the climactic confrontations in 29 Neibolt Street (the design of which was also over the top) and in the sewers. I thought the scariest thing was the creepy woman that Stan kept seeing. She was truly terrifying.
It was everything I wanted Stranger Things to be. Some quibbles, but on the whole really liked IT and I've already gone twice.
Yeah, also a few quibbles, but mainly of the "why didn't they show this from the book?!?!" but I mostly found it scary fun. Not as violent as I was expecting. The kids and their banter and scenes of just goofing off were actually better than most of the scenes with Pennywise.
But I disagree on the House on Neibolt Street sequence: that was intensely suspenseful. The Sound design was fantastic and LOUD,even without Dolby. I enjoyed it.
I'm sure Xavier Dolan loved the lingering shots of white boys in white briefs.
I for one am hopefully not expected to like a movie where a phony tomboy is the key element. And the casting of Jaeden Lieberher was a foreseeable mistake. Worse yet, apart from fragile Bill and flirty Beverly, I have trouble remembering both the losers and the bullies from this film. Were Mike and Stanley even in the movie?
Or, to word the question in more general terms: How can there be so little in 135 minutes of screen time? So little dread, so little gore, so little character development, so little Derry.
And to answer my own question: Without the past/present structure of the novel, distinguishable characters and an actually murderous monster, IT all becomes just a bunch of randomly connected scenes - some better, some worse - that eventually evaporate into not much at all. Just like a Xavier Dolan film.
I enjoyed it,I wan't that thrilled with Pennywise,it seemed like a mash up really of James Wan style scares and The Goonies,the kids felt like friends,the young girl was ace,the make up was good,the music was not memorable,I remeber the theme in the 1990 original,the tinkling piano.
Clowns are scary. I barely was able to tolerate the ad campaign. This is a hard pass for me.
Or, to word the question in more general terms: How can there be so little in 135 minutes of screen time? So little dread, so little gore, so little character development, so little Derry.
Exactly,My sister came with me not a reader but saw the mini series recently,she was scared,I said "felt nothing really and I expected too".
Xavier should cast Meryl in his next film.
BC - it might happen! I know he said he wanted to work with her previously.
I knew IT was going to be a big hit when I heard everyone in my age range (20s-30s) talking about it pre-release. Just boils down to nostalgia for the original miniseries.
I thought It was fantastic, but Jesus Christ at the hyperbole.
It undoubtedly was a fun time at the movies, though my cousins and I had quite the ordeal trying to make a show time which wasn't sold out last Friday night. It's what I expected it to be in a positive way and leaps and bound better than the TV miniseries -- which I still enjoy, but re-watching it last Saturday after seeing the film version was like looking at a relic from a bygone era.
The more I think about the movie the more themes of sexual discovery come to mind because this adaptation definitely has more of those overtones than the TV miniseries, and the fact that it focuses on pre-teens furthers that point in my opinion. Pennywise almost is symbolic of that adolescent awakening to sexuality -- the fact that he preys on kids, that there is a level of seduction in his approach to luring them into their fears, that he leaves the adults clueless, etc. Not to mention that the punishment for that awakening is certain death when it's not embraced. Notice that [SPOILER-ISH] Pennywise doesn't kill Beverly when he captures her because she overcomes her fear, i.e. she accepts her awakening. [END SPOILER-ISH] The children are consumed only when they resist the inevitable. It's facing that fear that leads to their survival.
Anyway, I recommend it and can't wait for chapter two.
Meryl Streep is glorious in this movie.
Looking back, this is my favorite female performance this century without a doubt. It's as perfect as she has ever been. Favorite male performance? That would be harder, but perhaps DDL in There Will Be Blood.
Anonny: I'll share my top 10 female and male performances of the century so far:
Female:
10. Amy Poehler, Inside Out
9. Eva Green, 300: Rise of an Empire
8. Naomie Harris, Moonlight
7. Gwyneth Paltrow, The Royal Tenenbaums
6. Ellen DeGeneres, Finding Nemo
5. Eva Green, Casino Royale
4. Rebecca Hall, The Prestige
3. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
2. Viola Davis, Fences
1. Julianne Moore, Far from Heaven
Male:
10. Charlie Day, Pacific Rim
9. Ryan Gosling, The Nice Guys
8. Christian Bale, The Fighter
7. Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike
6. Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz
5. Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
4. JGL, Looper
3. Simon Pegg, The World's End
2. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
1. Michael Rooker, Guardians of the Galaxy 1&2
While not a Carrie/Shining/DeadZone classic, I enjoyed IT. I felt it got at something real about early adolescence when everything is "dangerous" and heightened, where you start to realize the world is scary. Where who you will be as a person is starting to become clear but you can still swerve. I was unexpectedly moved at moments. And, likely unpopular opinion but, the kids sounded like kids (except in one or two "moral of the story" scenes) whereas I couldn't get through Stranger Things because half the kids were so stiff and they all sounded like dialogue on a page.
Anonny: If I made top 10 lists of best female and male leads and limited myself to live-action? Streep and Day-Lewis would make THOSE lists, but still LOW:
Female:
10. Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
9. Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
8. Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
7. Brie Larson, Short Term 12
6. ScarJo, Under the Skin
5. Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
4. Laura Dern, Inland Empire
3. Eva Green, 300: Rise of an Empire
2. Viola Davis, Fences
1. Julianne Moore, Far from Heaven
Male:
10. Sean Penn, Milk
9. Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood
8. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
7. Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
6. Ryan Gosling, The Nice Guys
5. Christian Bale, The Fighter
4. Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz
3. JGL, Looper
2. Simon Pegg, The World's End
1. Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
I liked It. I wasn't a super fan, never saw the series, don't know what Tim Curry did that was so amazing so I had nothing to compare it to. I thought it did it's job, nothing less, nothing more. Plus the kids were really good.
Yes- can we please have Streep in a Dolan movie?
my only gripe with the film was the relationship between the Losers. some of the members are undeveloped (literally forgot Stan was there like 5 times), so the ending with *spoilers* the whole blood pact didnt hit as hard. still, very solid and inspired mainstream horror direction.