IT (2017)

Okay, new movie! New horror movie even! Was it good? Eh...

Okay so I have not read the novel, and haven't even really sat and watched the whole TV miniseries because I...favor my sanity, so how did this movie stack up? Well, it was really good. Had it's faults mind you, but most could be overlooked. So for the people who are wondering what's the deal with the clown I shall try and tell the story without sounding like I forgot to take my medication. So basically a town is plagued by a supernatural being, able to shift into your worst nightmares, and a small group of kids are being hunted by this thing and they have to try and save themselves and their town from It. Now, onto the bad things! This movie aggravated me. Not because it was bad, but certain elements rubbed me the wrong way. A lot. I pose a question, why does every horror movie rely on jumpscares? Every...single...time a legit scare happens BANG! Loud noise. You're killing me Smalls. You just can't be properly scared anymore, gone are the days of atmosphere and suspense. And the worse part is, the movie tries to build atmosphere through set design, music, lighting, and pacing. But then it gets ruined by the friggin' jumpscares! God give me strength. I'd dare you to take a shot everytime a loud noise happened but you would be comatose, if not dead before half of the movie was over. You can scare people with silence, I assure you. And the other problem, the biggest problem is mood. My sweet baby Moses, this movie has such tone issues. If you want to scare people silly, do it. Do not, I repeat DO NOT make endless jokes. Now granted the comedy in this is funny. But that's the problem! It shouldn't be funny!! When you go from, child being murdered in the sewers to talking about how big someone's johnson is, this is what we call 'ruining atmosphere' or as I like to call it, bipolar. Stop it! But...the movie has good parts in it. The kids are great, so great that this movie passes supernatural horror and could be a really thoughtful and realistic look in pre-teen years. The human element was believable, you can empathize with these kids, and they are all very likable! I hate to say this but, IT would have been a better movie without the clown! Now don't get me wrong Bill Skarsgard was, phenomenal. He made me terrified and laugh at the same time! Loved his performance in this movie! God, he's awesome! But I kinda just wanted a movie about these kids and their problems because they were that great. And you do get this Stranger Things vibe, the movie is set in the late 80s, supernatural things are occuring, and it focuses on kids but it does not distract from the movie. This was leaps and bounds better than the miniseries, the only thing that had going for it was Tim Curry and I laughed at him more than be scared of him. This movie allowed for more creative things because of it's budget. There is cgi in this movie, and it's only noticeable near the end, but it does more than the miniseries. In fact, it takes scenes and scares from the miniseries but add it's own twist to it. So like, I knew what was coming but was thrown a curveball. So that helped out a lot. So all in all, it was a good movie, I do think I would recommend it for the actors in it but not so much the scares. Oh, and while I'm here why do people hate clowns? Everyone says IT made people afraid of clowns, and I don't get it. I like clowns, they are funny people whose sole goal in life is to make people smile. So what's the stigma against clowns? They get a bad rep man. But anyway, it's good to be back at this time of the year and I will be back next week with more things to talk about. See you then!

The Dark Tower

You know I was kinda dreading this might be another bad Stephen King movie, but thankfully it was only average. Wait....

So The Dark Tower based off the series of books written by Stephen King just hit theaters today, and......it was okay. By no means a bad movie but also it certainly isn't hitting my top 10 films of 2017. So the movie centers around a boy named Jake who's having constant nightmares of a dark tower, a man in black, and a gunslinger. We spend a bit of time on Earth and I have to say, this kid did a good job in this movie! He's a smart kid, he doesn't feel like baggage or some prized item for someone to obtain, I mean yes he is along for the ride but he still sets out to seek help to defend his world! So through a bit of research he finds a totally not stargate, crosses through, and soon finds the gunslinger. They exchange history between one another and set off to take down the man in black. Yeah, not exactly Shakespeare but it's a decent movie with good action scenes, decent characters, and leaves it open to create more movies possibly in the future. The world of the gunslinger is a mesh of magic and technology, and yet the civilizations range from straight out of the old west that just so happens to have a stargate by it, to a very technological base of operations for the villains. Speaking of which, Matthew is a treat in this movie. And surprisingly he does command this presence and danger about him, even though he does have his Matthew McConaughey moments which I love, so that really surprised me but it just shows he's a good actor and can even play a villain. Side note, they straight up tell the audience magic is real, and the man in black is a sorcerer, but I am willing to hedge my bets in the book it's spelled magick. But anyway, Idris Elba is a good lead, and yes he does have lackluster roles (Star Trek Beyond) but in this he does well! You get the sense he's old, tired, but can still put up a good fight and I like that about his character. But The Dark Tower while not a bad movie didn't leave much of an impact on me. If you have a day where nothing is on TV, you're bored, you want to watch a movie, I'd check it out and hell, if you saw the trailer and want to see the movie I certainly won't stop you. You may have a much more better experience than I, but all in all The Dark Tower is a decent movie. Not great, not horrible, but good.

The Shining

No lie, this movie creeps me out.

What a wonderful adaptation of a novel. A horror novel at that, it's been done before yes and many times with Stephen King novels (although Stephen King hated this adaptation and went on to do his own rubbish miniseries.) but this one was done damn well. Major props to Stanley Kubrick, who already makes creepy and uncomfortable movies and now makes it 1000 times worse. The plot follows Jack Nicholson who plays a character named Jack (It's common.) and his wife and son played by Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd, who are tasked with caretaking a hotel during the winter. Not very long after that, mysterious and downright terrifying things start to happen as Jack slowly starts to lose his grip on reality. Gee, a Jack Nicholson movie where he goes crazy. Never seen that before. Honestly, I joke because his descent into madness is quite possibly the most unnerving thing I have ever witnessed. It is both scary and kinda funny when he loses his mind but the one single, solitary scene I remember most is literally a long take of a close-up of his face staring outside a window with this fraking creepy ass background noise going on. Just...ugh friggin' scary! Playing opposite side of him, Shelley Duvall has the most realistic and genuine reactions to all the bizarre stuff going on around her. It's a great performance that wasn't entirely all just acting. Stanley Kubrick himself targeted Shelley Duvall and made the shoot very difficult for her, causing her almost to have a nervous breakdown and it really does show on film! You have this real feeling of a woman who is going through hell and the insurmountable amounts of isolation and paranoia that she is experiencing! I really almost don't want to call it acting, since her performance mirrored her real life experiences on the set. When you hear people say this is a scary if not terrifying film, they are not exaggerating! The film has an almost surreal atmosphere to it, and that's the core element of the story is the atmosphere. You get the sense of isolation, and paranoia, and terror that these characters experience. I heard about the reputation of this film for awhile before I finally sat down and watched it, and really I couldn't disagree much. The movie got to me, not to the point of other horror films like The Strangers or It Follows but it stuck to my subconscious and that's the worst thing a horror movie could do to you. When a horror film gets stuck in your subconscious, it constantly rattles around in your brain, like an almost over-arching entity or presence that continues to haunt you. Most people see horror films because they enjoy to be scared, they love the rush of adrenaline, but some of them have lingering effects that you can't exactly get out of your head. The Shining did that to me! Not many horror films have that achievement, but the ones that do are the movies that truly stick with us. The movies that pop into our head when we are alone, or in the dark. And that is the most terrifying thing of all, nothing is more scarier or horrifying than our own imaginations. Until next time viewers, unpleasant dreams....