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REVIEW – It (2017)
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Produced by: Roy Lee, Dan Lin, Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg, Barbara Muschietti
Screenplay by: Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman
Edited by: Jason Ballantine
Cinematography by: Chung-hoon Chung
Music by: Benjamin Wallfisch
Starring: Jaeden Lieberher, Bill Skarsgård, Sophia Lillis, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Finn Wolfhard, Wyatt Oleff, Chosen Jacobs, Jack Dylan Grazer, Nicholas Hamilton, Owen Teague, Stephen Bogaert, Jackson Robert Scott
Based on the novel It by Stephen King
Year: 2017
I always seem to preface these types of reviews with this, but it bears remarking again: Horror remakes are rarely successful and rarely a good idea, and the trailers for this 2017 adaptation of Stephen King’s novel about a transdimensional being taking on the form of a malevolent clown who terrorizes children was looking to be just one more film on the pile of crappy remakes, reboots, and reimaginings we’ve been getting since the turn of the century. The emphasis on jump scares, the hammered-into-your-brain catchphrases, creepy horror children, and the audacity to challenge the immortal Tim Curry’s portrayal from the miniseries with a gritty new take on the clown really didn’t work in the film’s favor. This was particularly worrisome, as the film with the film had been in development hell for approximately six years due to creative conflicts before finally moving forward in production in its final form, releasing two years after that. As someone who had never seen the cheesy 3-hour-long miniseries, let alone read the 1000+ page novel, however, I was at least open to the idea that this could at least provide an easy gateway into a cultural touchstone I really had little prior interest in touching myself. Turns out…I was totally right, but not in the way I thought. Read more…
2013 IN REVIEW: The Films I Didn’t See (September – December)
Oscar season! This is when the studios want to release the best films of the year (or so they say). Why? Because they want the films to be fresh in the voters’ minds. Prestige films and the like. Indie dramas, historical period films, war films, controversial films… If it can make you cry, your heartbreak, your spirit lift with joy, make you see things from a new light, this is the season.
It’s also a good time for seasonal holiday films. You’ve got your horror films to cover Halloween, your Christmas films for Christmas, and this year we even got an animated Thanksgiving film (though I’m not certain that all you people looking forward to a big piece of juicy turkey are going to love it). Meanwhile, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa get left out, once again. For some reason, this season was also rife with Christian films, from Kirk Cameron, to Miley Cyrus analogs, to Christmas miracles, the industry that claims to represent my faith has got you covered in that area. Woo.
It’s not all your typical films, though. More and more, Hollywood is figuring out that you should spread your action films and your romantic comedies throughout the year, rather than bunching them all into the middle. Consequently, we got a few Sylvester Stallone-involved flicks this season, a sequel to Robert Rodriguez’s Machete, as well as the latest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: The Dark World.
Nevertheless, as with the first and second entries, I couldn’t see them all, so, as with the last time, here are the films that, as of this writing, I did not see from May– August 2013, in order of release, as noted on Wikipedia. Please note that, as in the past, I still reserve the right to watch any film that is listed here and then re-remark on the film in one of the upcoming articles on films I did see from 2013. So, yes, again, you might see some of these films again, and soon, since this is the last of the films that I haven’t seen from the year. Enjoy! Read more…
REVIEW: The Mist
Directed by: Frank Darabont
Produced by: Frank Darabont, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer
Written by: Frank Darabont
Edited by: Hunter M. Via
Cinematography by: Rohn Schmidt
Music by: Mark Isham
Starring: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher, Toby Jones, Nathan Gamble, Jeffrey DeMunn, William Sadler, Frances Sternhagen, Samuel Witwer, Alexa Davalos
Based on the novella by Stephen King
Year: 2007
Frank Darabont’s third adaptation of a Stephen King novel was, surprisingly, only the first horror film the director tackled from the famed author. Having apparently wanted to adapt the 1980 novella for quite some time, the director instead first tackled The Shawshank Redemption and then The Green Mile before finally getting a chance to direct the smalltown monster movie he had been dreaming of, making small adjustments to the story as he went along – most notably altering the original story’s ending to one that even Stephen King has acknowledged to be superior to the original work. Read more…
Review: “Stand by Me”
Directed by: Rob Reiner
Produced by: Bruce A. Evans, Andrew Scheinman
Written by: Bruce A. Evans, Raynold Gideon (screenplay)
Edited by: Robert Leighton
Cinematography by: Thomas Del Ruth
Music by: Jack Nitzsche
Starring: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, Kiefer Sutherland, Richard Dreyfuss, Bradley Gregg, Casey Siemaszko, Marshall Bell, Frances Lee McCain, John Cusack
Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King
Year: 1986
Based on the Stephen King novella The Body and reportedly being the first film adaptation of King’s work that he fully approved of, Rob Reiner’s adaptation, Stand By Me (renamed due to the producers apparently thinking people would think the novella’s original sounded a little too dark or even perverse) is one of those quintessential “coming of age” films – indeed it may be the coming of age film. So much so that watching it for the first time these days after nearly three decades of imitators may take a little bit of adjusted expectations – you may have seen this done elsewhere. Stand by Me sets itself apart, however, with emotional honesty and engaging performances on the part of its four young leads. Read more…
My Top 10 Favorite Horror Films (2008)
This is a reprint of an article I posted on Facebook, October 14, 2008 — 3 years ago to the day in about an hour and a half, actually! I was busy constructing a new list tonight, when I found myself struggling, getting off track and, thanks to being sick, I didn’t really feel too motivated to continue, to be honest. Then I happened to remember that I had already created one a while ago. I didn’t realize that it was actually that long ago, though!
Around this time, I was going through a phase, writing Top 10 movie lists that will no doubt find their way here one day, much like this list and my Simpsons Movie and Catwoman reviews I posted from my review-writing English class. In fact, these lists were made just a few months after those reviews were written. I was riding high on review writing, and these were my pet projects.
Looking over this list, I’m actually pretty happy with how it is, even with 3 more years of experience with the genre. Possibly the main exception I would make is throwing Scream in there somewhere, but that’ll get its own review soon, anyway, so that movie will get its just attention. Don’t worry! Also, while Shaun of the Dead is undoubtedly horror-related, I didn’t put it here since there’s a strong emphasis on films that scare and create suspense.
I’m once again presenting it unedited from its original format, typos and all, save for some additional photos just for visual flair. I was pretty loose with the term “Horror” to be honest, but I wasn’t really that well exposed to the genre at the time. Heck, I’m still not, which is kind of the point in me focusing on the genre this month. Hope you like this list, though, as I attempt to recover and recharge by being absolutely lazy! Read more…
The Viewer's Commentary 