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England was once a great Empire, and a great Empire needs a great ruler. Queen Victoria was that type of ruler. Even near the end of her reign, she was still the one in charge, and she let people know it. The movie “Victoria and Abdul” gets into detail about the Queen’s final years, and how a humble clerk from India played a large role in the royal household. Based on true events, it shows how a lonely and despondent lady (who happened to be Empress of India) made a close friend with a common man from that continent.
Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) is a tired and somewhat bored royal Head of State for England and all the colonies. For her Golden Jubilee, there will be two tall and rugged Indian men from the country there in the castle to present with a special gold coin, a mohur. The men are found, and they are brought to England for the ceremony. But one of them named Mohammed (Adeel Ahktar) is not tall or rugged. However, the other man is Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), who is a clerk in his hometown of Agra, near the Taj Mahal. Abdul is optimistic and quite forward. He captures the eye of the Queen, and he and Mohammed are asked to stay in England for more than just the one ceremony.
Abdul presents more items to Victoria, and she decides to keep Mohammed and Abdul as special servants in the royal household. Mohammed is really mad, because he was told it would be a quick one-time thing and then they could go home. The Queen has other ideas, and the more she learns about Abdul, then more she wants him around. She declares that Abdul will be her “Munshi”, a wise teacher. He explains the history of India, and how food from there is flavorful and delicious. He teaches the Queen how to speak and write in Urdu, and he says it is native language of kings. He is bright and very eager to be helpful to Victoria.
Of course, the royal household is not equally enthralled with Abdul. Victoria’s son is Bertie, Prince Edward of Wales (Eddie Izzard) is not a fan and he would like to get Abdul to leave. The head of the castle is Sir Henry Ponsonby (Tim Pigott-Smith) is flummoxed by Abdul, and he is not able to convince the Queen that this situation is improper. The Prime Minister (Michael Gambon) is puzzled why the lowly clerk from India has made a place for himself next to the Empress of India. Also, Jane Spencer (Olivia Williams) is furious that the Queen is spending more time with Abdul and less time with staff. All of they want Abdul out of there, but none of them can convince the Queen.
Of course, the Queen did not rule forever, and upon her death – the situation did change drastically. But the overall enjoyment of this movie is seeing how Queen Victoria moved from being a side character in her own life to a full-fledged master of her own castle. The interactions between Abdul and the Queen are very interesting. She learns more about the area that she rules, yet has never seen. The house staff is constantly scheming to find a way to get the Queen out of Abdul’s Rasputin-like spell. Yet they never succeed and they are admonished again and again.
Dame Judi Dench is perfectly wonderful in the role of Queen Victoria. But then she ought to be. She played the monarch once before in the movie ‘Mrs. Brown’ (in 1997). Now as an older and more melancholy Queen, she is a joy to watch. Her mood picks up as she brings Abdul closer to the royal throne. When the rest of the staff get upset, she feels more in control and becomes confident.
Ali Fazal plays Abdul as a bit of a mystery man. He was picked at random to travel to England, but he plays it up to the hilt. He is pleased with anything that comes along that would make his life easier. He takes pleasure with his time with the Queen. But he passes over some facts, at first. Such as how he is Muslim, not a Hindu. And how he is married with a wife back home. And how he is from the common class, and not an educated teacher…
“Victoria and Abdul” plays out at times like a ‘Very Special Edition of Masterpiece Theater’. Still, the performances are above par, and the locations shots are excellent. The music is moving and delightful. The script is filled with subtle humor and the costumes are period-piece perfect. It is a pleasant way to learn about the history of Queen Victoria. It is also the perfect way to see how Judi Dench makes magic happen…
“Trophy” is a study of balance. It is the balance of nature vs. man. Is it the balance of conversation vs. natural resource usage. It is the balance of animal rights vs. the ability to hunt big game. It is a question asked, and the answer is elusive. Many endangered species may be lost forever, but large funds are collected by groups to allow hunters the permits they want. These funds are used to protect the animals in their habitat, while only allowing a few to be hunted.
The documentary focuses on several groups of people. There is a big game hunter from Texas who wants the ability to hunt in Africa. And he is willing to pay top dollar for that privilege. There is a South African rhino breeder who has many hundreds of the animals. His groups will go out and regularly saw off the horns of the rhino, to prevent the animal from being poached and killed only for the horn. There is a wildlife officer in Africa who wants to prevent illegal trade in rhino horn and ivory. But many people in his back country can only exist of what they take from the land, including some endangered animals.
The film-makers travel to various parts of the world to explore themes in different places. There is the rhino farm in South Africa. There is a guided hunting safari in Namibia. There is a crocodile farm in Africa, and a Las Vegas convention that brings in all the major players in the big-game hunting industry. There is a lot of details to catch during the documentary. Sometimes a brief rundown is put up on the screen, a contrast of the number of animals in this year to another year. It is quick, but it is a fascinating way to see how the process of the endangered species came about.
The photography was very beautiful, since much of it was in the outbacks of Africa. There were a few very well-composed shots taken from overhead (from an airborne drone?). These shots are like viewing the landscape from God’s perspective, and they quite amazing. There are the normal ‘day in a life’ segments and the ‘sit down for an interview’ segments, and these are good. There is a couple of times where it looks like two opposite sides are going to have a loud confrontation, but these never do pan out to anything. One of the Wildlife officer guys starts talking with some animal right activists, and it gets a little heated.
Occasionally, the ‘pay for play’ hunters are shown to be a little too goofball. A little too much of a ‘hold my beer while I shoot this elephant’ type of thing. There probably are some who do behave that way, but it seems that all of them have spent quite a bunch of money to do just that. Also, that money then provides conservation methods and helps the local impoverished economy. The hunters are the not the bad guys in this picture, or at least, they shouldn’t be only bad.
This situation is a matter of life or death, to the animals that might become extinct. But man does have a role to play. By keeping the poachers at bay, and by bringing as much cash into the conservation of the animals – the right balance might be reached. “Trophy” does not say exactly where that balance lies. It lets the viewer think about what is best for the planet.
Never before has there been a movie franchise where the audience didn’t mind at all about the Product Placement! Starting with “The Lego Movie”, and then on to “The Lego Batman Movie”, it has been a very enjoyable series. The fresh approach to an animated kid’s movie, based on the kid’s toy, makes a movie that is much more than just for kids. Can lightning strike a third time with “The Lego Ninjago Movie”, and can it produce another remarkable movie experience?
Starting with a brief live-action sequence, there is a young boy to meets the owner (Jackie Chan) of a Chinese curio shop. The owner begins to tell the boy about a far away (Lego) city called Ninjago, protected by a mighty (Lego) ninja warrior named … Lloyd (Dave Franco). Lloyd works with a group of friends and fellow ninjas; Kai (Michael Peña), Jay (Kumail Nanjiani), Nya (Abbi Jacobson), Cole (Fred Armisen) and Zane (Zach Woods). Respectively, they are Green Ninja, Fire Ninja, Lightning Ninja, Water Ninja, Earth Ninja and Ice Ninja. This team of young fighters is guided by Master Wu (also Jackie Chan).
The city of Ninjago is always attacked by an evil warlord named Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux). Garmadon happens to be Lloyd’s absentee father, and Master Wu is Garmadon’s older brother. Garmadon took the path of darkness and evil, while Wu took the path of light and goodness. That can be tough on the family reunions… But after the recent attack by Garamdon, Lloyd stole the ‘Ultimate Weapon’ from Master Wu’s stockpile. And that unleashed an even greater terror, Meowthra. Meowthra is a cute kitten that comes around and knocks over half of Ninjago.
Master Wu says that there is an ‘Ultimate, Ultimate Weapon’ hidden in a secret place far away. But only a Master Ninja can use the weapon, and Lloyd is not yet a Master Ninja. So the entire team sets out to journey far away on a quest to become powerful Ninjas who can fight off and defeat Meowthra. Master Wu and the gang are attacked by Lord Garmadon. Garmadon is captured, but Master Wu seems to fall to his death. So they proceed to the final destination with Garmadon as prisoner.
There are many obstructions on the way to find the hidden weapon. When they arrive at “Temple of Fragile Foundations”, Lord Garmadon has become more of a father figure to Lloyd (whom he always calls “La-Lloyd”). He explains that Lloyd’s mother Koko (Olivia Munn) was once a Ninja Master called Iron Dragon. The other Ninjas find their inner powers and the group becomes more powerful. Lloyd has become a true Ninja Master, and he is ready to take on the terror of Meowthra. But oops! Lord Garmadon is still up to his evil ways, and it willing to destroy the Ninjas and let the city of Ninjago fall to the clutches of the cute kitty Meowthra.
So, will there be a final climax with Ninja fighting and Master Wu returning and Meowthra purring? Also, as Lloyd learns to be a true Master and Leader, and as he reconciles with his father Lord Garmadon, will find inner peace? Also, will the movie find its inner power at the box office? All signs point to yes…
This movie has an unusually large group involved with creation of what made it to the screen, seven people working on the overall story, six people with credit for the screenplay, and even three directors. It also has quite a few name actors performing in the main voice roles, but they are well suited and the casting works out fine. The animation is clean and bright, and the made-up city of Ninjago is a wondrous thing. The pace is quick and it keeps the characters moving and interacting.
Lego made a good choice to allow qualified people to take up the burden of making a simple toy block set and turning it into a major motion picture franchise. Each new movie is taking Lego higher and higher, building the brand and expanding the audience. I just hope that doesn’t give somebody the idea to maybe make something called “The iPhone Movie”…
“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is a follow-up to “Kingsman: The Secret Service”. That movie was a fresh take on spy movies in general, and James Bond type movies in specific. The English upper crust non-government spy group called ‘Kingsman’ was a fun but violent wild ride. The characters and the organization were displayed in detail. ‘Manners Maketh Man’ was the catch phrase that meant the bad guys would be brought down hard, but with wit and in debonair style. Oxfords only, please…
Now in the new sequel movie, the “Golden Circle” can only bring home the Bronze. In the first one, Eggsy (Taron Egerton) was brought in to the group by long-time agent Harry Hart (Colin Firth). Unfortunately, Harry was shot in the head in the first movie and is assumed dead. The special tech support agent named Merlin (Mark Strong) still helps Eggsy on his missions. But a new bad guy is afoot. A washed-out recruit (from the first movie) named Charlie (Edward Holcroft) is working for a drug cartel leader. Charlie attacks Eggsy and nearly kills him. Charlie has a mechanical arm that makes him super strong.
The new evil drug lord in named Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore) and she is taking over all drug distribution world wide. But her evil plan is to taint the drugs with a potion that will eventually kill all the users. She will blackmail all world leaders to pay her a ransom for the antidote. But first she eliminated all the Kingsman facilities. Only Eggsy and Merlin are left alive. They only have one option – they must contact the fraternal organization in the United States – the Statesman.
The Statesmen finally figure out that Eggsy and Merlin are OK, so they decide to help them out. But they also find the Statesman have been holding Harry Hart, who is alive but without any memories. The agents in Statesmen, led by Champ (Jeff Bridges), are Agent Tequila (Channing Tatum), Agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) and the technical support agent Ginger (Halle Berry). They reconnect Eggsy with Harry, but Harry does not know anything about Kingsman. But when Poppy has threatened the entire world into paying ransom, the remaining Kingsman and Statesman must band together for a united attack against her.
The action moves fast and in (golden) circles all over the globe. Firs, Eggsy goes to a music concert in England, to chase down Charlie’s ex-girlfriend. Then to the French Alps, to a secret location to find where the antidote is being made. And back and forth to England and to the U.S. to check up on things. And then to Cambodia to locate Poppy Adams in her secluded jungle hideout. Did I mention that she is also keeping Elton John hostage for some reason? Yes, the action set pieces are very much on target, but the ping-pong, crisscross of back and forth in the world gets in the way.
“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is still a fair spy movie, but it does not have any of the fresh ideas of the first movie. It works around getting the main character (Harry Hart) killed in the first one by some oddball mumbo-medical-jumbo. The movie has the same weird demeaning attitude to women as the first one does. There are very limited motivations for why Poppy is so bad and evil, and why she still thinks she is stuck in the ’50s. There is more screen time for Elton John than there is for Jeff Bridges. Now who thought that would be a good idea?
The things that the movies get right are the action sequences. They are shot in a way that the camera shows in a very way fluid manner what is going on and where everybody is. That is much better than most shaky-cam shots in other movies, where the editing shows nothing about what is happening. The idea to have the U.S Statesman use the cover of a distillery is clever. The Kingsman cover was an upscale tailor shop in London, but you can’t take a drinking tour of a tailor shop…
All of the acting is at a pretty high quality level. The standout would be Pedro Pascal who is fantastic. He would be the perfect pick to star in a biographical movie about Burt Reynolds! Julianne Moore plays a bit over-the-top as Poppy, but that is her character. The ones who get so little screen time are Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges. They might have been played by just about anyone. Colin Firth and Taron Egerton also bring their ‘A’ game.
So, it is not as good as the first, it runs a little too long, and the locations are too scattered. But the acting is solid, and action parts are off-the-wall quality stuff. The result is that the “Golden Circle” can only bring home the Bronze, it does not deserve the Gold, or even the Silver.
Meet Brad. He’s smart, he’s a good husband and father, he’s a philanthropist but, largely, he’s average. Well, to himself, he’s average and at this point in his life that’s the worst thing he could be. Brad (Stiller) is a guy who has found middle age an impossibly uncomfortable place to be. With his son Troy (Abrams) about to go to college, he recalls what he was like at that age and thinks about all the things he wanted, the opportunities he had and what he did with those opportunities. He has spent most of his adult life comparing himself to the friends he went to college with. This hasn’t helped his self-esteem because most of them are successful, even famous in some circles.
Throughout the film, Brad tells us, through voice-overs, that he doesn’t like himself. His inner thoughts, when he has a conversation with someone, is generally how awful a person he believes himself to be. Since college, all his best friends have done well for themselves so, ‘what’s to like about me?’ Watching his son advance in life to the point of starting his college days, he worries Troy could turn out like him. Another fear is, how will he feel if Troy turns out better? What if he has all the success Brad only dreamed of?
Brad owns and operates a non-profit and though he lives in a nice home and all his needs are met, he believes his life’s work to be, in his words, ‘Absurd.’ He can’t see through all of his jealousy and his need to have more, be more.
He continually focuses on his station or status in life, judging whether being wealthy or not speaks to what quality of a person you are. He wonders how life would be if he were rich like his old friends, who live life as if it was a giant playground while he walks the earth with bills to worry about, finding his ground more in the battle variety.
Where did it go wrong, he asks himself? The voice-over is there to stay but don’t fret, it works correctly to advance the story. He and Troy take a trip to Boston to visit some universities. Troy misses the interview with Harvard and Brad calls on a powerful and influential friend, Craig, played by Michael Sheen. Craig comes through for him, beautifully and gets Troy in to speak with the dean. This moment is big for this young musical prodigy and he’s proud of his father.
There are several touching moments in the film between father and son. Regarding the actual music in the film, it’s completely theatric and necessary. During Brad’s inner dialogue, generally, the scene is accompanied by a single hopping bow across the bridge of a violin. The sound emanating from the instruments F-Holes directed the mood Brad was in and highlighted the black cloud hanging over his head. Every note heard fits into the scene perfectly; the film wouldn’t have been as good without it.
Troy and Brad have dinner with a friend of Troy’s who already attends Harvard and within her, Brad sees the drive and the idealistic intentions he once had. This was the turning point of the film where he tries to explain to her that wanting to help will not be appreciated and that instead, her efforts will go unnoticed and she’ll be forgotten about. This conversation with her awakens him because through her judging eyes and her voice he hears and sees his own, or at least who he once was and would rather be again instead of this bitter man he has become. He has a nice life, doesn’t struggle, but always wants more. When will enough be enough?
He hears of the passing of a favorite professor which hits him hard. It’s this loss where Brad puts things more into perspective. Family. Love. Time. Those things are important. His son, who doesn’t see him as a failure is who matters, not old friends that don’t call and who, as it turns out, aren’t exactly who he thought they were, after all. Brad is alive. Time to be alive and live for himself, not for any of them.
Again, the music throughout every scene is spectacular. Though the character of Brad is depressing you a fair amount of the time, Ben does well with him, carrying the heavy load, so to speak. Brad will frustrate at times and will move you to tears the next. The best part is that at no time during this movie will you see a character like Derek Zoolander come through Stiller’s performance. This is some of the best work I recall seeing from him. Abrams’ portrayal of Troy is competent. He has a real grasp of the character and is the perfect complement to Stiller’s Brad. When Brad was at his most erratic, Abram watched his co-star and went completely in the opposite direction which thoroughly balanced the movie.
Photo Credit : Jonathan Wenk / Amazon Studios
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American Assassin is kind of your typical spy thriller in that it has a very Jack Reacher or Jack Ryan or whoever has the name Jack and is a detective of some sort these days, feel to it with one very big exception; those guys don’t have Michael Keaton walking around in their movie. Keaton gives every performance a little something special and this is no different. Mitch Rapp, the hero in the book series by Vince Flynn, and what will no doubt be a successful movie franchise now, does have Keaton.
Mitch has the drive, strength and the determination to get his immediate goals accomplished, even sometimes acting before he thinks. What I like about the characters is that he is rarely ever wrong and his mentor and guru, Stan Hurley (Keaton), has to bang his head against the walls to try and pound sense and procedure into him. However, Mitch runs on adrenaline and something else… the sense of what is right and wrong. Love drove him to be a vigilante and is what, ultimately, led him to Hurley, a retired SEAL. Hurley’s now training a Black Ops mission led by Irene (Lathan) of the CIA. Hurley knew and worked with Irene’s dad and though he doesn’t trust her instinct on young Mitch, he agrees to train him and see if he’s what they need for their counterterrorism operation.
Irene first stumbled onto Mitch while following his digital footprint. At the beginning of the film, Mitch (O’Brien) was proposing to his girlfriend on the beach when terrorists struck the area and started shooting everyone in sight. Mitch was struck several times but not fatally. While passing out from his wounds, his beautiful fiance’ lies dying beside him. After, he is determined to bring down every terror cell he can. He learns Arabic and studies their history and ideology. He learns to fight, practices martial arts and masters weaponry. He grows a beard and becomes a one-man killing machine out for revenge. Everything you could want in a good guy and your new spy.
On his own and without the help of anyone, Mitch gets close to a terrorist cell but is captured. He’s saved at the last minute by the CIA. When they tell him how stupid, naïve and dangerous his scheme was and tells him he was lucky to have been rescued, he reminds them of the fact that they followed him in, not the other way around. However, what remains a recurring theme in the film is a question, ‘is Mitch too driven by emotion to be any good to a team?’ A big lesson Hurley needs to get through to him is to never let it get personal… it clouds the judgment. The scenes where Mitch is being trained are difficult but he takes his licks and remembers his training. These scenes are entertaining and imaginative but in thinking of the training the actors had to go through to get all the training and fighting scenes shot, I couldn’t help but wince some watching it.
Before long, Hurley decides Mitch is their guy and they go out on a mission to recover stolen plutonium. Iranian operatives intend on making a nuclear weapon and must be stopped. There are other characters introduced and some character driven subplots come and go, which all work in the film’s favor, especially when it comes to the most important one of all, Ghost (Kitsch). He is a former student of Hurley’s with a chip on his shoulder. He has different plans for the bomb once the trigger and a physicist is found to make it complete. His plans are to get back at Hurley and the country that let him down. Taylor Kitsch does a good job in a scene having fun torturing his old guru. He may have had too much fun with it, in fact. Dylan O’Brien, almost a Taylor Kitsch look alike, is terrific in this film, both looking the part and handling the script. He’ll make a very admirable spy movie hero for both new and old fans of the genre, alike.
I liked American Assassin and I think you will, too. Don’t take it too seriously; know you’re going to be captivated by this world for a while. Just sit back and enjoy the show. I did and I was in no way influenced by the audience I watched the screening of the movie with, which were a whole lot of Phoenix police officers who have read the series, love Mitch Rapp and are going to be there to support this film and any that follow. I support it because it did one thing and that was, it entertained the hell out of me. I am looking very forward to the next one. This is a fresh perspective on an overly used but seemingly timeless subject and was appreciated. It’ll be enjoyed by anyone who likes action thrillers and it’ll please them more by giving them a new hero to look up to.
Hollywood will never be allowed to make a movie adaptation of the book “Catcher in the Rye” by JD Salinger. So the next best thing is to make a biographical picture of the reclusive author. Jerome Salinger was known as Jerry to his friends, except he did not have any friends. He would love women he could never have, and ignore the wife and children he did have. He held his inner ghosts tightly, until he could unravel his thoughts out to the page. While his creative outlet makes for some great short stories and novels, it also made for a troubled life.
Salinger (Nicholas Hoult) was not a great student in college. His wealthy father balked at Jerry attending Columbia University just to study creative writing. But his mother urged him to follow his passion for story telling. In class he met Whit Burnett (Kevin Spacey). Whit was a professor and also the editor at Story Magazine. He saw the raw talent in Jerry and also encouraged him to reach for his goals, to be published. At first there was a long string of rejections. But finally Whit published one of Salinger’s short stories. Many others followed, and Salinger was becoming well known.
Jerry began dating Oona O’Neill (Zoey Deutch), who was the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill. He had a passion for her and a few short stories reflected their relationship. But World War II breaks out, and Jerry enlists. He is put into battle and helps storm beaches in Normandy and frees prisoners from Nazi concentration camps. But Oona did not remain true, and married another man. His best friend dies in battle. Salinger is a severely broken man. His constant writings about a character named Holden Caulfield had kept him focused on life and getting home. Now that the war was over, all thoughts of Holden bring up the horrors of the war.
Salinger spends months in a veteran’s hospital, mentally unbalanced. Back stateside with a war bride, Jerry is lost and adrift. Whit Burnett tries to get a book of Salinger’s short stories published. But he failed, and Jerry never forgives him. The wounds of the war are painful, but he finds that meditation calms him down. His ability to write about his internal stories comes back. He creates “Catcher in the Rye” and his agent Dorothy Olding (Sarah Paulson) gets it published. It becomes a nationwide sensation, but Jerry is not comfortable with all the attention.
He marries a young woman named Clair (Lucy Boynton) and they move to a very secluded place in New Hampshire. He is far away from his New York City roots, and his mind is free to create. Clair and Jerry have children, but he ignores them and his wife. Seclusion and privacy for Salinger extends even to his immediate family. Jerry continues to write and to meditate. He is still abrupt and not fond of the public. He will never allow Hollywood to destroy his novel. Not even to his death…
This movie ends up like a ‘greatest hits’ edition that quickly mentions Salinger’s various accomplishments. It does a tiny bit of digging into why his personality was so closed off to the world. He feet that many things in life were phony and just for show. That is brought out in the Holden Caulfield character. It becomes his alter-ego when he writes. This is not the first time this idea has ever emerged, but it is key to the movie.
Nicholas Hoult does a serviceable job with a character that is very difficult to present. He has some tell-tale facial tics that shows when he gives someone disdain and can return satire for counter argument. He stretches over a few decades, but always appears boyish. Kevin Spacey is a great supporting actor in his role. Whit Burnett is always ready to match wits with Salinger. But he does see the talent within and gets JD on the right path.
All in all, this is an enjoyable movie, but mostly for big fans of literary works and of Salanger. Making a movie about a person who rose to fame, only to reject the public that adored him is a tough thing to do. If you have more desire to see a popular author come to life, then this should be a movie that you might want to catch.
Darren Aronofsky has a track record for being the Pied Piper of the Perverse. See any of his prior movies and you see disturbed characters acting in increasingly bizarre manners. Take the movie “Pi”, or “Requiem for a Dream”, or “The Fountain” or “Black Swan” or “Noah”. Each has a main character who tilts a little towards crazy, and everyone else in there does not fare much better. And that brings us to “mother!”…
Since none of the characters are named, there is a young Woman (Jennifer Lawrence) who is married to a much older Man (Javier Bardem). He is a famous poet of some repute, but he is having terrible writer’s block. She is a devoted wife who is very busy fixing and redecorating his old house. This house had burned down years before. Now they live in the very isolated house while she works building it up. It is so far from everybody that he hopes to get his poetry back on track.
The Man and the Woman do not have any children, yet that does not seem to be an important aspect. But one day a older Sick Man (Ed Harris) comes to the house. He says he is a big fan of the Man’s poetry. He is ill and he needs place to rest, so the Man says it is okay. But soon the Sick Man is joined by his Wife (Michelle Pfeiffer). Soon the two of them are flattering their way into the Man’s life, but leaving the young Woman out of all the fun.
The Sick Man and his Wife have two grown boys, and somehow they find their way to the house. They all argue and fight over a will and during a major conflict one of the brothers is killed. The Man is deeply moved and again opens his home to the various friends of the Sick Man and his Wife. They mourn the death of the son, and soon there is a party atmosphere. The young Woman is getting more and more upset at all of these people taking advantage of the Man’s generosity. Once they leave, the two make love and the young Woman will become a mother!
The Man loses his writer’s block and becomes great and famous once again. The very pregnant young Woman is about to serve a very special and very private meal with just her and the Man. But then she hears all the voices outside the door. Press people and publicists have come to interview and fawn over the wonderful poetry from the Man. The young soon-to-be-mother! is disturbed and shocked that people have come her secluded place. But it goes past disturbing to insanity when more and more people keep coming.
During that single night, dozens turn into hundreds and even more are on they way. The Man is looked up to and becomes adored. His word cause people to worship him and a religious cult is created. But there are also people out to loot and pillage and steal items from the home as souvenirs. The riot police come and huge fights break out just as the young Woman is about to give birth. But there is swirling chaos and unending waves and violence erupting in the house. Perhaps the better thing is to leave. but the Man will not have any of that. This is his house and this is where he and the mother! will stay. Perhaps…
To say this movie breaks down normal movie conventions is saying the least. This takes a typical domestic relationship and turns it into the Seven Levels of Hell. The story is no longer about two people in a struggling marriage, but it becomes microcosm of the world at large: fans who become fanatics and loose all control, people who force all of life into the narrow scope of their own fears, police who use brutality to handle all situations, protestors who feel the need to destroy just to get their point across.
Jennifer Lawrence does a noble job playing a concept more than a character. Javier Bardem is also more a collection of traits than an actual character. Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer both do a fine job, but there is more going on between them than there is between the Man and the young Woman. Everyone else pretty much comes into the house in waves, but few people stand out. Of course, this whole production is based on the twisted mind of Darren Aronofsky.
Aronofsky seems bound and determined to, how shall we say… fornicate up your mind. This movie is a testament to the lengths he will go to make you feel uncomfortable…
What IT gives you is a smart and psychotic action-thriller more than a horror film, to be honest. Yes, there were some fabulous jump-scares and a delightfully big creep factor going on, of course, but it didn’t really scare me all that often. The film is based on one of Stephen King’s bestselling books about a killer clown named Pennywise so that alone should tell you that it’s going to be worth the time. It was originally a TV miniseries in 1990. The original had the entire nation afraid of clowns and we may have that going on again. Creepy is definitely a good way to define what the character offers the audience but what you might not expect is some of the sound acting from its young cast.
Not surprisingly, some of the best comes from the Skarsgård in the group. There is plenty of talent to be had in his family and he’s no different. Bill, plays the movies evil clown. He’s the son of Stellan Skarsgård (Good Will Hunting, Thor) and the brother of Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood, The Legend of Tarzan). At age twenty-seven, Bill already has twenty-seven film credits to his name and now has gotten this opportunity to be the memorable Pennywise as did Tim Curry who originally played the role.
I would have preferred it if the script had given Pennywise more of a chance to be… scary! Skarsgård had what it took to frighten the pants off of you but the focus was more on the trials of the boyhood pals and their new friend Beverly. Beverly is played by Sophia Lillis who is another shining piece of the pie. Her story is that of an abused daughter who offers love and support to others in need rather than display the resentment and pain she may feel from the maltreatment and violation she is exposed to daily. She is not weakened from her struggles she is strengthened despite them.
The movie starts by giving us the information that children in Derry, Maine are disappearing. Little Georgie, (Jackson Robert Scott) an adorable boy afraid of his cellar who director Muschietti set us up to feel bad for right away, is Pennywise’s first victim. This is dreadful and sets up an expected tone. What you presume you’ll see is more of this but what you get is more like The Expendables when the men were pre-teens… facing their fears together and refusing to give up on defeating their biggest demons. At the end of the school year, Georgie’s older brother Bill (Lieberher) and Bill’s friends look for Georgie.
As the story plays out, each child’s inner skirmishes are displayed and what Pennywise ends up being is a metaphor of the life they are no longer willing to live. An emblem, even, of their fortitude. What one might wonder is, does this clown really exist? Is what they’re experiencing really happening or is he the manifestation of their trepidation to grow beyond childhood; to lose what they now have and be exposed to their vulnerabilities? Georgie was afraid of the cellar because of what his imagination made materialize. Bill and his boyhood friends are, essentially, suffering that same fate… each of which will get worse if they don’t confront their beast.
IT is an engaging watch that keeps you interested in the outcome of the characters. The friends are, for the most part, different from one another and you do care for them as they face their plight. The cinematography is beautiful and the humor and feeling sorry for all of them is a big part of what makes the kids more likable. You’ll be rooting for them every step of the way. I’d like to note for you that for the biggest chills, don’t miss the scene when Ben, (Taylor) follows the balloon into the back of the library or the scene in the garage.
