This movie will follow hot on the heals of Marvel's biggest movie, Avengers: Infinity War.
And I have to say I like the strategy of literally going smaller for this film.
My favorite part of the generally bland Ant-Man movie was hot it made the idea of minaturization fascinating. I loved the creative ways it looked at our world from a completely different persepective. Unfortunately, I found those moments were fewer than I had hoped for in that movie. Instead the focus was on the standard hero origin.
But form this teaser, I hope they are embracing the thing that sets this series apart from the others. I really loved the creative use of shrinking the van and the building. And the chemistry between the characters, even in this short teaser, feels more natural than the first movie.
I did not think I would be that excited with an Ant-Man sequel. But maybe this movie will be more Winter Soldier than Dark World.
Sexuality/Nudity Mature Violence Mature Vulgarity Mature Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable
There is a reason that this horror movie has become a crossover hit: it focuses on character and story before scares.
Stephen King's novel IT has been called the Moby Dick of horror novels and I don't think that this accolade is overrated. It has been constantly in print since it has been written because as dense as the book is, it taps into some deeply primal fears in novel form. The story had been adapted into a fondly remembered mini-series, but fans of the book lamented the inability of the TV to capture the fully-realized, ethereal world that King created.
This version by director Andy Muschietti, gets almost everything right in this adaptation.
First of all, instead of covering both the story of the children and the adults, Muschietti along with screenwriters Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunga, and Gary Dauberman slice story down to only the story of the kids.
The story focuses on the small town of Derry, Maine during the summer of 1989. This is the summer after Bill (Jaeden Lieberher) went through the trauma of his brother Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) goes missing. He has a core group of friends in class clown Richie (Finn Wolfhard), hypocondriac Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer), and slightly neurotic Stanley (Wyatt Oleff). This group also falls in with new kid/fat kid Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor), put-upon black kid Mike (Chosen Jacobs), and outcast girl Bev (Sophia Lillis). Together they form a "Losers Club" that find comfort in each other as they are picked on by violent bullies like Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). But their troubles are worse than they know. Bill is obsessed with finding Georgie, who is just one among many children that have gone missing. They soon begin to encounter a horrific, monstrous clown named Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard). As the group tries to survive these encounters, they start to realize that the clown facade is masking literally monstrous creature preying on the children of Derry.
This is a story that is straightforward and easy to latch on to. Like the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, IT does a good job of translating the fears of transitioning from child to teenager. They sometimes hit the idea of "facing your fear" a bit too hard, but they generally avoid being too heavy-handed, so as not to impede the enjoyment of the story. And despite how scary the story it, Muschietti makes it truly enjoyable.
The second thing that the movie gets right is how they capture the nostalgia of 1989. I happened to be the exact age of the main characters in 1989 and the filmmakers captured the feel for the era perfectly, down to the double billing of Batman and Lethal Weapon 2 at the local movie theater. Yet they don't over saturate you with nostalgic references, but instead do a great job of creating the atmosphere.
The third thing that IT does very well is capturing that awkward transition into adolescents. Our heroes are not little kids, but they are not fully semi-independent teenagers. Our heroes feel the odd loneliness of responsibility creeping in. And at the same time we sense their feeling of powerlessness at their youth. The adults all come off as out of touch or slightly sinister, causing a greater sense of the kind of alienation you feel at that awkward stage.
Normally I have a strong revulsion to vulgarity with younger characters. But here it comes off as an odd combination of innocence and immaturity. Richie makes a lot of crude sex jokes, but they sound like they come from a child who doesn't understand half of his own filth, but is just getting a charge out of saying things that are naughty. It reminds me of how my brother and I used to repeat Eddie Murphy jokes all the time without fully understanding their meaning. It is also reminiscent of little Eliott from Steven Spielberg's ET calling his brother a vulgar name at the dinner table, causing the mom to yell and laugh at the same time.
Speaking of Spielberg, his influence on this movie is very clear. Muschietti uses the camera to great effect. His scares are not only the jump scares. Instead he uses the frames to create a real sense of terror. He also doesn't waste the background space, often filling it with disturbing images that you aren't quite sure are meant to be there or not. But outside of the horror side, Muschietti captures this time of life the way Spielberg did, making it not only scary but almost magical as well. The wide, wooded vistas are not just filled with threats but also possibilities and freedom.
There's a scene where all of the Losers, including Bev, swim in a pond in their underwear. The young boys cannot help but stare at their female companion. But rather coming off as creepy, it rings true to the confusing and compelling awakening of the libido in teenage boys; their fascination seems to be in proportion to their awkwardness and confusion. Contrast this to overtly inappropriate scenes of Bev with her father (Stephen Bogaert) that leave you sickened with its predatory and incestuous overtones. Thankfully the movie does not show any inappropriate sexual encounters (as the novel infamously does)
And with seven main characters, the character development could have felt light. But the movie does a good job of balancing the ensemble. Each character is given a distinct look, voice, and story arch. The relationships get complicated, such as the burgeoning love triangle between Ben, Bev, and Bill.
If you notice, I haven't spoken much of the horror element. As I am not a horror fan, I may not be the best person to evaluate its merit. I have spoken to a number of fans of the genre who were disappointed in this area. But I found the scares to be not too overwhelming, but enough to keep me on the edge of my seat. Skarsgard's Pennywise doesn't get close to the subtle menace of Tim Curry's version from the mini-series. But he is sufficiently scary for the purposes of the story.
The guiding theme of the movie is facing your fears. One of the sharpest growing pains of this time of life is moving from the fearlessness of childhood to the anxiety of adulthood. That encroaching world can feel suffocating and terrifying. Watching the kids face their fears was a powerful reminder that the key to overcoming what scares you isn't to avoid it, but to bravely confront it.
In the end, the story is ultimately a story of friendship tested in fire. I pray we all have those friends who walked through the fires of adolescents to find themselves forged into the men and women they are on the other side with those bonds solidified into who we are.
OBJECT: Get the most points! HOW TO PLAY: Fill out a score sheet for each category with your choice (who you want to win) and your prediction (who you think WILL win). CATEGORIES 1. MAJOR AWARDS -Best Picture -Best Director -Best Actor -Best Actress -Best Supporting Actor -Best Supporting Actress -Best Original Screenplay -Best Adapted Screenplay -Best Original Score -Best Original Song -Best Animate Feature On the night of the Oscars, give yourself 1 point for each correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS. If you get a prediction wrong, subtract 1 point. Give yourself 1 point for each correct guess in MY CHOICE. There is no penalty for incorrect guesses for MY CHOICE. For example: Category BEST DIRECTOR -MY CHOICE = Spike Lee, “BlacKkKlansman” -MY PREDICTION = Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma” BEST ACTOR -MY CHOICE =Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody” -MY PREDICTION = Christian Bale, “Vice”
BEST ACTRESS -MY CHOICE = Glenn Close, “The Wife” -MY PREDICTION = Glenn Close, “The Wife” If Alfonso Cuaron wins Best Director, gain 1 point for a correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS, but no points for an incorrect MY CHOICE (total points = 1) If Rami Malek wins Best Actor, gain 1 point, for a correct MY CHOICE, but subtract 1 point for an incorrect MY PREDICTION (total points = 0) If Glenn Close wins Best Actress, gain 1 points for correct MY CHOICE and 1 correct MY PREDICTION. (total points =2) You may NOT make a guess for a MY CHOICE in a category if you have not seen any of the films in the category. You may, however, make a blind guess for the MY PREDICTION section even if you have not seen any of the nominees. 2. TECHNICAL AWARDS -Best Editing -Best Cinematography -Best Visual Effects -Best Sound Editing -Best Sound Mixing -Best Makeup -Best Costumes -Best Production Design For these, give yourself 1 point for each correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS. Give yourself 1 points each correct guess in MY CHOICE. There is no penalty for incorrect guesses for MY PREDICTIONS or MY CHOICE. 3. MINOR AWARDS -Best Documentary Feature -Best Documentary Short -Best Animated Short -Best Live Action Short -Best Foreign Language Film For these, give yourself 1/5th of a point (.2) for each correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS. Since so few people have seen these, there is no MY CHOICE section. There is no penalty for incorrect guesses for MY PREDICTIONS. PARTICIPATION: Fill out the below score sheet and send it to me. I will be the designated score-keeper. You may change any choice up until the broadcast begins. The winner will receive bragging rights and recognition on this blog.
So the nominees were announced this past week for the 90th Academy Awards. These awards remain the most prestigious in film. And while many of you, dear readers, are of the opinion that all awards shows are terrible and should simply be shunned, it is my perpetual hope that Hollywood will reform itself and once again nominate movies that matter. For example, here are the top 10 grossing films of the year: 1. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi 2. Beauty and the Beast 3. Wonder Woman 4. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 5. Spider-Man: Homecoming 6. It 7. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 8. Thor: Ragnarok 9. Despicable Me 3 10. Justice League Keep in mind that I have always maintained that box office alone is not a statement about a film's quality. My own top ten of the year include: 1. Logan 2. Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi 3. Justice League 4. The Greatest Showman 5. Murder on the Orient Express 6. Wonder Woman 7. IT 8. Coco 9. Dunkirk 10. Beauty and the Beast Only half of the top ten films belong to the highest grossers. While I am in the minority regarding my love of the movie I think was the best picture, more than half of the ones on my list are in the top ten box office. Murder on the Orient Express is in the number 29 spot behind Baby Driver. However I will say that each of these movies has made at least $100 million dollars domestic. This bolsters my thesis that, for the most part, audiences will respond to quality films. This year's Oscars for Best Picture? Where do they rank? 14. Dunkirk ($188 million) 16. GetOut ($175 million) 59. ThePost ($45 million) 63. Darkest Hour ($41 million) 67. LadyBird ($39 million) 77. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ($30 million) 82. The Shape of Water ($30 million) 127. Call Me By Your Name ($9 million)
142. PhantomThread ($6 million)
Last year, not a single one is from the top ten of the year and none of the nominees have made over $100 million by the time they were nominated. This year is an improvement. We have two genuine hits: Dunkirk and Get Out. We have 5 middling films that some people have seen. And we have two that no one has seen (Call Me By Your Name and Phantom Thread). Together, their combined box office total does not match Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. In fact if you average their box office, it would less than what A Dog's Purpose made. Additionally, if you remove either Dunkirk or Get Out, the combined box officer would not make it into the top 4 films of the year. This tells me 2 things: 1. This will once again be an incredibly low-rated Oscars. The majority of movie goers do not have a dog in this fight. Apathy is not a big ratings draw. If Dunkirk and Get Out received more nominations, this might be some interest. But the ones with the most nominations are The Shape of Water and Three Billboards. 2. The winner will be insignificant. No one will really care about the winner in a few months. The Oscars used to be about timeless movies. But in the last decades they are about the film industry patting itself on the back for either being incredibly clever or send the "right" message. Moonlight, Spotlight, Birdman, 12 Years a Slave, Argo, The Artist... Are these all films people will still be watching in 10 years? (Of this list, I would favor Argo, which was an excellent movie. But Lincoln is the more timeless film of that year.) So below are my thoughts on some (not all) of this year's nominees. And make sure you scroll to the bottom if you would like to participate in this year's Oscar Game!
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Timothée Chalamet, "Call Me By Your Name"
Daniel Day-Lewis, "Phantom Thread"
Daniel Kaluuya, "Get Out"
Gary Oldman, "Darkest Hour"
Denzel Washington, "Roman J. Israel, Esq."
-I haven't seen any of these movies, but I think that this is Gary Oldman's year. It is about time to honor the world's best living actor.
-I only saw Streep's performance, but I didn't think it was anything special. Hollywood love McDormand, though.
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Mary J. Blige, "Mudbound"
Allison Janney, "I, Tonya"
Lesley Manville, "Phantom Thread"
Laurie Metcalf, "Lady Bird"
Octavia Spencer, "The Shape of Water"
-Again, didn't see any of these.
Best animated feature film of the year
"The Boss Baby"
"The Breadman"
"Coco"
"Ferdinand"
"Loving Vincent"
-Coco was a very nice movie and stands out from the others here.
Achievement in cinematography
"Blade Runner 2049"
"Darkest Hour"
"Dunkirk"
"Mudbound"
"The Shape of Water"
-I've only seen Dunkirk, but I've Blade Runner was amazing to look at.
Achievement in directing
Christopher Nolan, "Dunkirk"
Jordan Peele, "Get Out"
Greta Gerwig, "Lady Bird"
Paul Thomas Anderson "Phantom Thread"
Guillermo del Toro, "The Shape of Water"
Nolan is one of the best and strongest voices in film today. While Dunkirk is not the best movie I've seen this year, it is a fantastic piece of directing. But my guess would be that del Toro will win.
Achievement in film editing
"Baby Driver"
"Dunkirk"
"I, Tonya"
"The Shape of Water"
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
-This is actually a tough call for me because each film I saw did some wonderfully different things with their editing. Baby Driver had some fantastic and frenetic action scenes that were expertly edited. But Dunkirk has some of the most creative narrative editing I have seen.
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
"Dunkirk"
"Phantom Thread"
"The Shape of Water"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
-they should just give the Oscar to Williams, but they won't.
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"Mighty River," "Mudbound"
"Mystery of Love," "Call Me by Your Name"
"Remember Me," "Coco"
"Stand Up For Something," "Marshall"
"This is Me," "Greatest Showman"
-There were so many songs from The Greatest Showman that should be nominated, but "This is Me" is a fine choice
Best motion picture of the year
"Call Me by Your Name"
"Darkest Hour"
"Dunkirk"
"Get Out"
"Lady Bird"
"Phantom Thread"
"The Post"
"The Shape of Water"
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
-I've only seen Dunkirk and The Post. But neither will win.
Achievement in visual effects
"Blade Runner 2049"
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2"
"Kong: Skull Island"
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi"
"War for the Planet of the Apes"
-For Snoke alone, this should go to Star Wars, but I think Blade Runner will take it.
Adapted screenplay
"Call Me by Your Name"
"The Disaster Artist"
"Logan"
"Molly's Game"
"Mudbound"
-I am so excited that Logan got a nomination, but I think this will go to the gay coming of age Call Me By Your Name
Original screenplay
"The Big Sick"
"Get Out"
"Lady Bird"
"The Shape of Water"
"Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri"
-Because this is the only category that The Big Sick is nominated in, I think it has an edge.
picture by Yasir72.multan
