Thoughts on Cinema

Whatever the flaws the first IT movie made, it is amplified again by director Andy Muscutti inability to improve Stephen king’s second half of the novel. The main characters are grownup in the form of James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader. All the adults return after twenty-seven years to again confront the evil Pennywise, reawaken once more to terrorize kids in Derry. The actors are serviceable in their roles with Bader being the stand out as a comedian who hides a bitter secret from his childhood.

The storyline is no different than the first, only bigger, louder and annoyingly longer in its running time. Muscutti must have thought he was doing his own horror version of Endgame. Whereas at least with that behemoth there were some poignant moments that were earned after so many years. Here the past and present are piled on top of each other, flip-flopping between the entire cast having nightmarish visions, with that much abundance it drags toward the three-hour mark as if this warrants a clunky showdown that was done slightly better in chapter 1.

Bill Skargards as the antagonist Pennywise keeps the film on track as well as Hader whenever they’re on screen but their absences call attention to the structure that sinks it whenever their not. Mention should be made of the very noticeable CGI in making the kids young as they were in the original, The overused jump scares scattered about or the odd scene in the restaurant where the adult characters are smashing chairs over tables fending off Phantasmal images, with barely a reaction from the hostess/ patrons on the vandalizing carnage.

The beginning of the film starts promisingly enough, a horrendous hate attack shows the indifferent decline of empathy in Derry as Pennywise’s evil expands emotionally beyond and just not simply gobbling little children. Had the film dealt a bit more with the town, it would have given a little much-needed gravitas to the situation instead of cheap scares.

Admittedly the first IT wasn’t that impressive, but the kids dealing with their adolescent problems and Pennywise at least afforded some emotional connections. Here IT 2 is just a pretend horror epic with no substance.

I give it a quick domestic beer with very little taste.

It’s that time of year again, so as you remove the razor blades from the apples and wonder why certain candies taste funny, check these flicks out.

BLACULA  ( 1972)