I remember as a kid everyone talking about how scary the miniseries was; never thought about watching then.( maybe was too scared myself) When all the hoopla was going on around here about setting up the Neibolt st house set; I was all in. Not a huge reader myself, and never threw myself into a book like I did with it...but am I ever glad.
Just saw IT! SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
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I remember as a kid everyone talking about how scary the miniseries was; never thought about watching then.( maybe was too scared myself) When all the hoopla was going on around here about setting up the Neibolt st house set; I was all in. Not a huge reader myself, and never threw myself into a book like I did with it...but am I ever glad.
AchtungBaby What's your verdict? I don't know if you went to a later show or a different theater but I looked for you out of curiosity, didn't see you.
Overall I loved IT. As everyone else has said the heart and spirit of the story were spot-on, and the losers were amazing. But "greatest adaptation ever" is too far for me. "Stand By Me" is simply flawless. Shawshank and The Green Mile aren't far off, either. The Shining is probably a better film, even if it fails to represent the book. Henry Bowers is given no motivation at all to be so obsessed with the losers from the start, and the performance seemed extremely weak and unnatural - all screaming and zombie-walking with no subtlety at all.
The editing bothered me, too. Things seemed to just happen, sometimes in no particular order or without context. Bev cutting her hair. Eddie's first encounter with the leper - the kids were all together (I think the slide projector scene?) and then it cuts to Eddie walking by himself on Niebolt St. Is he walking home from that group scene? Is it another day? Another week? There was very little sense of time, it should have been their entire summer but onscreen it felt like most of it happened inside of a week or two.
In the end I think this film will settle in somewhere around Christine for me. Don't get me wrong, I love Christine! But I think it has many of the same strengths and flaws and IT. Some great casting (and some clunkers), great ambiance and overall tone, but too much missing from the book (or too much that is shown but relies on your knowledge of the book to really work).
I saw it in Cullman actually!
Uh.... it's a good movie. Well made, I thought. I feel bad judging it because I don't think I'm in a place where I could enjoy it or any other sort of entertainment, personally. Tried and failed. Maybe soon that will change. I plan to rewatch when the DVD releases.
Don't feel bad, I think we all had different expectations which plays a critical part in one's enjoyment. I hope you can give it another viewing when enough time has passed. Do you start school in the fall? Keep writing and try to not beat yourself up.
Saw it at the weekend and really enjoyed it. The point has been made before, but unless someone can persuade HBO to turn it into a ten part limited series then scratching at the surface of the novel is probably the best you can hope for in a couple of movies. As it is I think so far they’ve pretty much nailed it, Derry looked fantastic, very, very close to how I’ve always imagined it would look. The kids were generally great, Richie is the stand out for me, followed pretty closely by Beverly, Eddie and Ben. And Bill Skarsgard as Pennywise? Actually if I have a complaint it’s that we didn’t get enough of him or his origin story, although I’m glad they didn’t sacrifice too much of the kids’ developing relationships to try and shoehorn that in. As has also been said before they have managed to capture the spirit of the book, and as an adaptation I think it’s a fine piece of work so far. Roll on Chapter 2.
Oh yeah, and excellent use of XTC's Dear God, unexpected bonus of updating it to the 80's.
I saw "IT" this weekend and I wanted to come here and give my 2 cents. I assume from the title of this thread we don't have to use spoiler button and can just talk freely about the movie. I skimmed thru the 11 pages before this post, so forgive me if I hit on some of the same things others might of said.
So I will start with my double rating for this, I give it a 7/10 for book adaptability and a 8.5/10 overall.
The movie was good, very good. Not amazing in my opinion but blows that other version out of the water, or sewer if you will.
My first thought was it was a mash up between, Stranger Things, Goonies and Stand by me. I got strong homages to all of those movies in this.
The casting and acting of the kids in this movie was dead on. I think Bill, Beverly and Ben all stood out and did an amazing performance. Finn Wolfhard as Richie got a little annoying but he still conjured a few laughs from me. And Mikes character just didn't get much screen time or chance to really shine.
I could really see the The Duffer bros. Influence on this movie. They were involved early on and it certainly shows. With the casting of Finn and the attention to all the 80's details, from the posters and movie marquess to the shirts and music choices I really got that Stranger things vibe from this.
Bill Skarsgård nails it. All I have to say is, Tim Curry who? I like the look and his creepyness. The drool when he talks and the overall look just nails it. Only complaint is that I think they over used the "fast shaking movement scare tactic thing"
The opening scene with Georgie is brutal and definitely sets the tone.
There are so many Easter eggs in this movie I had to stop looking for them just so I could pay attention to what was being said. There could be a separate thread just for them but I will name the few that I noticed. I am sure there are plenty more and would love for others to post what they noticed. There are two turtle references (Maturin) that I noticed. One when they are swimming and then the Lego turtle in Georgie's room when Bill goes in later and drops it.
When Eddie goes into the Rabbi's office there is a copy of THE STAND on the table.
When Richie goes into the clown room there is a Tim Curry "IT" clown to the left.
The Paul Bunion Statue in the town center.
And what I thought was one of the more subtle but quite powerful detail is at the end when the losers club make their pack to return to battle IT again if it ever shows itself the order they exit the circle is the order that they die as adults.
That is all that I could find in one viewing but I am sure there are plenty more.
Over all I really enjoyed the movie, and it Killed it at the box office so I am quite sure we are getting the second part. I will be seeing that opening weekend as well. Looking forward to see who they cast as the adult versions of the kids. I am sure the possibilities just opened up even more due to the success of part 1.
So I will start with my double rating for this, I give it a 7/10 for book adaptability and a 8.5/10 overall.
The movie was good, very good. Not amazing in my opinion but blows that other version out of the water, or sewer if you will.
My first thought was it was a mash up between, Stranger Things, Goonies and Stand by me. I got strong homages to all of those movies in this.
The casting and acting of the kids in this movie was dead on. I think Bill, Beverly and Ben all stood out and did an amazing performance. Finn Wolfhard as Richie got a little annoying but he still conjured a few laughs from me. And Mikes character just didn't get much screen time or chance to really shine.
I could really see the The Duffer bros. Influence on this movie. They were involved early on and it certainly shows. With the casting of Finn and the attention to all the 80's details, from the posters and movie marquess to the shirts and music choices I really got that Stranger things vibe from this.
Bill Skarsgård nails it. All I have to say is, Tim Curry who? I like the look and his creepyness. The drool when he talks and the overall look just nails it. Only complaint is that I think they over used the "fast shaking movement scare tactic thing"
The opening scene with Georgie is brutal and definitely sets the tone.
There are so many Easter eggs in this movie I had to stop looking for them just so I could pay attention to what was being said. There could be a separate thread just for them but I will name the few that I noticed. I am sure there are plenty more and would love for others to post what they noticed. There are two turtle references (Maturin) that I noticed. One when they are swimming and then the Lego turtle in Georgie's room when Bill goes in later and drops it.
When Eddie goes into the Rabbi's office there is a copy of THE STAND on the table.
When Richie goes into the clown room there is a Tim Curry "IT" clown to the left.
The Paul Bunion Statue in the town center.
And what I thought was one of the more subtle but quite powerful detail is at the end when the losers club make their pack to return to battle IT again if it ever shows itself the order they exit the circle is the order that they die as adults.
That is all that I could find in one viewing but I am sure there are plenty more.
Over all I really enjoyed the movie, and it Killed it at the box office so I am quite sure we are getting the second part. I will be seeing that opening weekend as well. Looking forward to see who they cast as the adult versions of the kids. I am sure the possibilities just opened up even more due to the success of part 1.
Oscar "Butch" Bowers, what a transformation! From a crazy-psycho farmer to an actual cop 
That was my WTF moment
Saw it today for the second time, third time coming this Friday. Great, great movie. More in depth opinion later
That was my WTF moment Saw it today for the second time, third time coming this Friday. Great, great movie. More in depth opinion later
I saw IT this weekend and was absolutely giddy about it. The theater was packed but it didn't seem crowded since we went to the one with the wide, reclining seats. I don't think I'll ever be able to see a movie any other way now. It seemed like pretty much everyone who was there was a Stephen King fan and excited to see this adaptation. The kids were brilliant, the casting for Pennywise was superb and it was deliciously creepy yet also emotional. Best part - my husband, who is not a reader, has decided he must now read IT to find out what happens. He ordered the book today. 
Myself, it's been a few years since I read the book so I'm due for a reread. I'm really glad I saw it on the big screen.
Myself, it's been a few years since I read the book so I'm due for a reread. I'm really glad I saw it on the big screen.
it's like you're reading my mind lol. my thoughts exactly. other easter eggs,some of which you may have seen mention of already just because of the trailers:
richie wearing a "freese's" shirt
bill wearing a "tracker bros" shirt
eddie is wearing a shirt at one point that looks like a subtle nod to christine
there's a mural on the wall of the alley of the bradley gang shootout. apparently at one point while they were working on ben, pennwise starts appearing on the wall behind them. i've seen a still where he's present. i totally missed it, so will have to look for it when i go again.
georgie's room had circus wallpaper and there was also the lego turtle
this one is debatable, but seems solid to me. i noticed when the losers club was passing patrick in the hallway, he licked his lips at them in a kind of lascivious way, and that he was wearing a shirt with what looked like a cat on it. to me, those were very subtle nods to his chapter.
speaking of . . . i've seen someone put forth the idea that the entire separation of the losers, followed by the rescue of bev bringing them back together, is a substitution for that infamous sewer scene where she did the same. i'm not 100% convinced, but it's an interesting argument.
someone said bev had a turtle on her watch
idk if it counts totally as an easter egg, but having edward corcoran as one of the missing was a good touch
we see ben carrying a model he made of the standpipe. since we didn't get the dam building, this is a nice little hint of his future as an architect.
i've heard someone claim there was a bust of barlow in the basement of neibolt, i didn't actually spot it
i'm sure you saw silver and heard bill say hiyo silver at one point
we got nods to It's spider form and mummy form during the final battle. brief, but there. the "mummy" attacked ben during this.
probably a few i'm forgetting, these film makers had a lot of subtle stuff going on.
Biggest opening for a horror movie ever? Damn straight.
I'm still high on this flick! Feel we've all won a major victory.
We need to throw a party or something...
I'm still high on this flick! Feel we've all won a major victory.
We need to throw a party or something...
Really? That's awesome, I didn't see that.
*btw...it was Stan that went into the rabbi's office.
I Loved It. Made the TV version look amatureish. The friendship between the losers was proper screen chemistry. My husband, who is a fan but not a CR also compared It too Stand By Me as it from the kids point of view and it was all their experiences. I didn't think it was scary, but atmospheric.
I'll bring the beer and powdered donuts. Hostess and hooch, lol.
But you're treating all of us to Jade of the Orient.
At first, I read this as "damn building'" and I thought, "What damn building is he talking about?"
At first, I read this as "damn building'" and I thought, "What damn building is he talking about?"
I remember seeing the Standpipe, too. As Machine says...didn't Bill pass it on his bike?
we see ben carrying a model he made of the standpipe. since we didn't get the dam building, this is a nice little hint of his future as an architect. Yes that was a cool touch. But Maybe I am nuts but I swore I saw a scene with the standpipe with Bill riding his bike past it?
He means we didn't get to see the Losers building the dam in the beginning of the movie. We did get to see the actual Standpipe in the movie.
He means we didn't get to see the Losers building the dam in the beginning of the movie. We did get to see the actual Standpipe in the movie.