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IT Chapter 2

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Overall, I really enjoyed the film.

 

First, the cast was pretty perfect.  They truly just seemed like adult versions of the kids from the first movie.  I don't mean in looks, just mannerisms and everything.

 

I was curious how they were going to end the film since obviously the book had the whole ritual and the tongues tied together stuff and the joke, the turtle, etc etc.

 

So I'm glad they tried to make that a little more accessible to the viewers in the movie.  I think the GA will like that change 

 

I liked the flashbacks as it built up the emotions and the comraderie of the group and what they went through for the little time period they were separated in the first film.  Filling the little gaps there was nice and it made show why they became the adults they did

 

The two kid kills in this were pretty disturbing.  Especially the girl under the bleachers, as it really was just like a child predator able to sway a kid that doesn't know any  better.  Pretty freaky when you can think of that in real like and not a supernatural clown.

 

Ok, off that morbid point, I liked the Stanley letter at the end to wrap up his arc, as well.

 

My one main "negative" was the Eddie/Henry Bowers thing.  I get they were probably going for a bit of humor but when Eddie got stabbed the cheek and had the weird voice and didn't seem to take it seriously, or even when he tries to killed Bowers.  It just seemed like one big joke.  Again, probably nitpicking, but it just all seemed odd

 

But the wrap up at the end about, kind of like the book, that you can't hold onto your childhood, but that doesn't mean you should forget the good parts, was a really nice touch

 

So overall, yeah at least a B+, it will probably go to an A- when I see it again

 

 

Edited by 75Live
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A rousing conclusion to what director Andy Muschietti began two years ago, It: Chapter Two successfully captures the combination of dread, gallows humor, and heart that made its predecessor work so well. Though I suspect that the film’s detachment from the ‘80s nostalgia that made the first installment such a smash hit with audiences, I quite enjoyed this follow-up. It does run perhaps a touch too long at just eleven minutes short of the three-hour mark, but it’s an ambitious film that earns most of that gaudy run time with effective character development and astute exploration of how adults grapple with past trauma. The stakes feel higher now that the Loser’s Club are fortysomething-year-old adults; their bravery in facing the titular monster feels less reckless, and they engage with their mortality in such a way that their decision to fight feels weightier and more potentially dangerous because they lack the optimism and invincibility they had in their youth. The set pieces are staged with visual and aural flair, hitting their peak with a particularly engaging third act that pops more than the conclusion of the previous film. The adult cast works well with one another and succeeds in forging believable chemistry comparable with the kids in the first film. As before, if there’s a standout, it’s the sole female lead, as Jessica Chastain delivers another solid performance that makes excellent use of body language to communicate her character’s feelings. Bill Hader is also quite a bit of fun in a comic relief role, though he also channels a surprising level of depth in some of the film’s heavier scenes. And while Bill Skarsgaard feels like he has less to do despite the film’s significantly longer run time, he still appears to be having a ball hamming it up as Pennywise the dancing clown. I suspect that I will be in the minority on this count, but I found this sequel to be a worthy companion piece to what came before and one of the better adaptations of a Stephen King horror novel. 

 

B+

 

And that Stephen King cameo made me really freaking happy.

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I didn't like this very much. I went to a late showing. I was already a little tired. It was long. I got bored. It didn't have the same charm as the first with the kids (or at least not as much of them). It wasn't scary or unnerving outside of the two scenes where Pennywise eats children. Like the scenes that are supposed to be scary, like "Oooh isn't this craaazy?! The fortune cookies are turning into eyeballs and bat wings!" I was just sitting there bored and unimpressed. And the ending seemed exactly the same as the first one, they go down in a tunnel, decide they're not scared of the clown any more, start yelling at him and he dies. Isn't that what happened in the first one?

 

One thing I'll say is I like how these movies are shot. I just remembered that transition where the stars turn into the underside of a jigsaw puzzle, and the movie is full of cool visual flourishes like that. In general these are just really good looking movies.

Edited by MOVIEGUY
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I liked this just fine, but it definitely has its share of flaws and isn't anywhere nearly as effective as the Chapter One. Honestly you could probably blame most of this movie's issues on the source material: the kids section has always been much more compelling than the Losers Club all grown up. Biggest culprit though is arguably the absurd running time, as I really thought this failed in justifying being almost 3 hours long beyond the filmmakers being allowed more freedom following the surprise massive overperformance of the previous film. There are a number of scenes that I felt could've been cut to no ill effect. And the climax dissolves into pure silly CGI nonsense, with the image of Giant Spider Pennywise especially providing more guffaws than chills. But there's no denying the craft involved in the film as there's a number of really well-executed moments of tension building, and I really liked the camaraderie among the cast. Bill Hader is given the best material out of all of them by far but James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and the others all do a perfect job of inhabiting the characters we saw last time (and who appear again here via flashbacks), while Bill Skarsgard continues to provide the creeps as Pennywise. Overall, the IT movie saga combined is solid and better than the miniseries, but with more judicious editing, could've been much more satisfying than it ends up being. B-

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B-

 

It was...fine. The CGI though was some of the worst I have ever seen in a movie. I don't know if this was done on purpose because this plays more like a horror comedy than a straight horror but I know I didn't appreciate it in the slightest.

The main problem I have with both this and the miniseries is that for me personally Pennywise wasn't the scariest thing about the book but it's 99% of the focus of the movies. Far more chilling (which is a weird thing when dealing with a child murdering monster) was the influence IT had over Derry and how the population of Derry was almost completely corrupted. Their evil was scarier than the clown imo. The book is superior because you get the layers of horror upon horror in a small town and one small group that stands up and stops it. I didn't think the movies/miniseries do as good a job at showing just how bad things are. But IT probably needs a season on a streaming service to be done right.

 

Edited by glassfairy
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7 hours ago, Eric! said:

I didn't know where to put this (spoilers n all), but this was brilliant lmao

 

 

Can we also talk about how much of a homophobe Pennywise is in this? First he kills that dude in front of his boyfriend at the start of the movie, and then he later he taunts Richie about knowing his "dirty little secret." Who knew killer clowns could be so #problematic lmao.

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gave it a C in the poll yesterday but after sleeping on it i think that's too generous. a shapeless mess. loses whatever through line the first movie had. just a bunch of poorly stitched together lame horror setpieces. pennywise under the bleachers is the only one that worked for me. bill hader was the only grown up who was any good. the rest were either bad or good actors slumming it like chastain and mcavoy. and the lousy de-aging on the kids took me out of their scenes.

Edited by CoolioD1
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7 hours ago, CoolioD1 said:

and the lousy de-aging on the kids took me out of their scenes.

I actually mentioned that in the spoiler thread the other day. Really have no idea why they didn't plan ahead and shoot those scenes while they were making the first unless they had a misplaced hunch that it wasn't gonna do well enough to justify making the second part. Poor planning on their part.

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I liked it much less than the first one, and even less than many other recent horror films. First of all, young adults getting eaten and scarred is more interesting than adults. None of them felt natural. They each had to 'come up with their artifact'. where did the film makers come up with that? Each one goes on their own, has something that personally scares them from a past memory, faces that fear, retrieves the artifact, Do all the artifacts combine to release a giant turtle? I don't know nor do I care. I guessed that the dude that called them back to town created that to help them conquer their own fear, but it has no other value. That process made this film a predictable formula, where the only shocker was how the evil-influenced bad people would play into this. That was not as prevalent in the story, leaving the predictable formula to carry us for too long. Of course I knew the ending could allow a sequel. This eternal thing doesn't die, and kids in 27 years meeting 60 y o survivors might make an intriguing continuation. 

 

I liked how children are tougher than before, the girl doesn't go off with a stranger, yet gets lured to her demise eventually. And that boy should have called his dad for help with a baseball bat. That theme was overkill. Was that the same kid from Toothfairy? he is aging well if he is. 

 

The worst part was the cell phone / flashlight viewing that needs to stop. I fear a clown will someday eat you. Everyone deals with the films boredom differently. sigh

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