Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of September 2, 2019
It Chapter Two
Rated R for disturbing content and bloody images throughout, pervasive language, and some crude sexual material
In Theaters
Based on Stephen King’s iconic novel and following up on 2017’s Chapter One, Chapter Two takes place 27 years later, once again in the town of Derry, Maine, as the evil clown Pennywise returns to once again wreak havoc. The group of friends from Chapter One, who lovingly call themselves the Losers Club, make good on their vow to return to Derry should Pennywise come back. Translating Stephen King stories for the big screen has plagued Hollywood for years, and while it has been done successfully several times, there have been a far greater amount of failures. But after the rousing success of the first part, there seemed to be great promise in this new installment. One of the reasons for the great success in Chapter One was that they made the movie about the friendship of the children, much like we have seen in Stranger Things, or even Stand By Me and Goonies from years ago. This turned out to be a brilliant choice, creating characters we could become deeply invested in. So now, 27 years later, the kids are still very present (this time in important flashback sequences) and the adults manage to bring us that same feeling of camaraderie and nostalgia. Of course it helps here to have some of the biggest actors in Hollywood as the leads, including James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader, who all bring not only their amazing talent, but also a strong credibility to the project. Of course the film would be nothing without a great scary story, and this one literally kills it. The movie is both thrilling and absolutely horrifying, making you an absolutely nervous wreck as you follow their journey to take down the clown. I’ve had several folks ask me “is it better than the first one?” My answer is that the two chapters need be taken in as a whole. The films need each other in order to succeed, and this is done in beautiful fashion here. A
Ma
Rated R for violent/disturbing material, language throughout, sexual content, and for teen drug and alcohol use
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54%
Available on Disc and Streaming
Oscar winner Octavia Spencer plays a lonely middle-aged women living in small town America who tries to win over teenage friends by buying them alcohol and allowing them to use her house to “safely” party. But once the kids start to separate from her, she goes a little off the deep end, revealing hidden secrets and a frightening agenda. I really wanted to like this film, but while Spencer is great, the whole thing just doesn’t come together like it should. The overarching plot is a nice touch, but the logistics to get it there could have been delivered so much smoother. By the end, it simply lacks the goods necessary to create the kind of horror/thriller they set out to make. C