IT Floats!

This is coming from someone who is tired and frustrated from all the remakes and reboots. IT is by far the best remake of a horror movie since Texas Chainsaw Massacre back in 2003. This film succeeds in many areas that make it surpass the original that came out back in 1990 with acting icon, Tim Curry. IT is arguably one of Stephen King’s most famous novels and Tim Curry brought the infamous clown, Pennywise, to life with his performance. Some fans of the original became skeptical when Bill Skarsgard (Hemlock Groove) was selected to fill the freaky clown shoes.

IT is a novel about a group of individuals that are being haunted by a mysterious clown that terrifies their town and they must confront it. This film focuses on one part and that’s when the individuals were children in their “Losers Club.” As more and more children disappear, they set out to find out who it is and why it is specifically targeting them in their small town. They soon find that they must conquer their own fears before they can confront the demonic clown that is hell bent on making them the next meal. It’s a two hour and 15-minute film full of suspense that gives fans of the original their money’s worth.

The film also gains more momentum by using CGI to show more of the monster that Pennywise was, and giving more to his illusions to frighten the children. Pennywise outfit didn’t get me too excited, but it works well with this film. The illusions that the children suffered were more eerie and shocking than in the original. The main characters have good chemistry together, but the acting was lacking in one of the children for some scenes. I couldn’t say that I was scared because of the original and the novel, but the music and certain scenes gave me plenty to jump about and people were jumping in the theater.

IT isn’t like most horror films that rely solely on the blood, guts and gore. The use of silence, shock and suspense is key to this film’s success and the director did a good job fitting the music to the motion. The film touches on several issues that face children today like: bullying, isolation and child abuse. The film is left wide open at the end with the expectation that there will be a sequel and I anticipate there will be. This was a packed show and more than half of the audience were clapping when the title showed up at the end.

IT doesn’t fall prey to the disaster that was The Dark Tower, this film gives fans what they truly expect to see from something by Stephen King. This is a darker take of the famous novel that will take longer to tell, and we will see that in another film after the success of this one. I’m not expecting a major box office smash, but this film will do well for a few weeks. Congratulations to Bill Skarsgard for doing a good job with Pennywise and I’m sure Tim Curry would approve. IT gets a nine out of ten because I’m still not crazy about Pennywise’s look and the acting in some scenes, but this movie is well worth the price of admission. 

The Tower Falls

Stephen King will go down as arguably one of the greatest writers of our time because of his novels and the films adapted from them. Unfortunately, even the greatest of writers won’t have a decent adaption and that’s the case for The Dark Tower. This film had a lot of promise, but couldn’t deliver in the end, even with the star power of Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. The Dark Tower came off looking like it was going to be an action-packed kickoff to the film adaption of the series. If you’re a fan of the novels then I urge you to avoid this movie if you expect to see a fair adaption.

The Dark Tower is an eight-novel series about a lone warrior known as a gunslinger by the name of Roland Deschain. The gunslingers were an order sworn to protect the tower that has significant meaning. The tower is a structure that stands in the center of everything; it protects all the worlds from the darkness that can’t take over as long as the tower stands. This film is based off the first book, The Gunslinger. Now film adaption of novels are mostly never to the letter, but if almost feels like the director didn’t even try in the film.

The story telling is simplistic with very little backstory and it turns out to be mostly dialogue; there’s only about 20 minutes of action. There were some cool movements during the fire fights, but it was over before you could enjoy it. Matthew McConaughey did a good job portraying the man in black, but the vision the director may have had for the film may not go well with people who had their own opinions. The way the man in black uses his magic will most likely make the audience laugh than amaze them. Everything about this film was quick and for fans who read the novels, this will be the biggest complaint.

From the get go, it starts with here’s the tower and this is how it can come down, but we don’t have the right child which we find out later is Jake. Jake, played by Tom Taylor, was ok but he did have good chemistry with Idris Elba. Idris has yet to disappoint me with any role but he has had a bad habit doing some films that don’t bring in the money. This film will definitely be one of those films that will have a good first week, but that’ll be it. I be shocked if there is enough money made for a sequel.

The Dark Tower is a fast food adaption from the novels and was a huge let down for the fans. Straight to the point with no explanation of why things were the way they were and no back story describing who people are. If you’re in the mood to just watch something to pass the time, then this movie may be pleasing to you. If you’re familiar with the novel and looking for a decent adaption, then don’t even bother to wait for this to come out on Netflix. This film gets a five out of ten, because you might enjoy this if you don’t know anything about the series.