#and to the one really big Molly in silver stan (you know who you are)

[promisedclan]

Wowie Zowie!! We’re almost at 50 followers. I’m flattered you all are fond of the silly cats. (And I apologize for the horrific things they’ll probably go through in the future.)

I am working on the moon one panels, fear not. But I think hitting this milestone calls for another Butterflypaw Speaks,,,

About what? You decide! Most of these are topics that I have plans to release a BS for anyway.

I avoid confronting my indecisiveness, you get the lore you want. Win win!!

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

IT Chapter Two

I wish I had been writing reviews in 2017 when the first IT came out, because it was one of my favorite films of that year and by far one of the best Stephen King adaptations I’ve ever seen. As a lifelong fan - I was reading The Shining in fourth grade while my peers were still hanging with the Boxcar Children - I know it’s not easy to capture King’s imaginings on film. On the surface, IT is the story of a group of childhood friends battling an evil shapeshifter that often takes the form of a clown. That’s cinematic as shit! But it’s ALSO a deep dive into the 400-year-long history of the town of Derry and the big showdown is a psychic battle of wills taking place everywhere and nowhere in the cosmos. There’s also a preteen orgy. You take the good with the weird with Mr. King is what I’m saying, and not all of that (good OR weird) is translatable to the screen, so I was quite curious how IT Chapter Two would stack up against its charming and thematically rich predecessor. The Losers’ Club is all grown up and back in town to face off against Pennywise 27 years after their last encounter with It, and this time they aim to finish the job. Can their attempts to defeat the demons of their childhood possibly be as interesting as seeing those childhoods play out so successfully on screen 2 years ago? Well...

I wish I could say yes. IT Chapter Two has a lot of strengths, its casting chief among them, but ultimately it suffers from a number of modern cinematic choices that didn’t seem to touch part one with its 1989 nostalgia quite so glaringly. 

Some thoughts:

There 100% needs to be an Academy Award category for Best Casting because Rich Delia has earned it 100 times over. Each of the adults are perfect counterparts to their childhood selves, but it’s downright eerie how good adult Eddie (James Ransone) and Richie (the incomparable Bill Hader) are. They walk away with every scene they’re in. 

On a side note, I’m wholeheartedly convinced Bill Hader is our generation’s Jimmy Stewart. There’s nothing he can’t do, and between this and his tour-de-force performance in HBO’s Barry, I am more and more impressed with him with each passing year. 

Much to-do has been made about Hader’s character and some implications about his love life that aren’t included in the novel. Personally, I feel like the changes make sense for the character and for the way that relationship is treated both in the novel and in the films. And much like Beverly’s terrifying and complicated relationship with her abusive father, the film doesn’t shy away from showing us through Richie’s story that the most terrifying things in Derry are the things humans do to each other (and themselves) in the name of fear and hate. 

With an almost 3-hour running time, you would expect the film to feel overstuffed, but I found the opposite problem to be true. It feels like not much is happening for long stretches, or perhaps it’s the problem of knowing that we have to get a flashback scare and a present-day scare for each of the returning Losers - either way, it all starts to feel a little by-the-numbers. 

A spoiler/content warning for those who are sensitive to such things: as in the book, the big inciting event of It’s return to terrorize Derry 27 years after It’s battle with the Losers is a horrifying and graphically violent anti-gay hate crime. I found this to be even more horrifying than in the 1986 novel simply because it’s now 2019 and this still felt like a plausible and unsurprising attack. 

I thought it was a truly excellent touch that Myra, Eddie’s wife, is played by the same actress who played his mother (Molly Atkinson). A+, guys. That made me laugh out loud.

Same with the detail of Stan (Andy Bean) and his bird puzzle. I still think a giant bird would have been way more terrifying than some of the CGI creatures the movies dreamed up.

Another note on pacing - it felt like we really blazed through each of our introductions to the grown-up Losers in favor of moving things along quickly to get them all together again (smart) but also to get them back in Derry so they can get to the “main event” and each have their one-on-one scares with Pennywise (less smart). Both of these films are most winning when they focus on the humans that Pennywise is terrorizing. I wish we’d had more time to get to know our grown-ups before the rest of their screentime was devoted to running and screaming and being covered in all kinds of muck.

On a related note, the scenes that are really allowed to linger and creep along - I’m thinking of a small, memorable sequence with a little girl who encounters Pennywise under some bleachers - are by far the best. I really wish the extended scene with Mrs. Kersh hadn’t served as the first trailer for the film, because I think its unsettling creepiness is the closest the film gets to the big scares of the book and I just wish there had been more of that, less of CGI creatures running around gibbering.

There is a real magic in the chemistry The Losers have together, and those scenes are the other main highlights. The Chinese restaurant scene is a real standout and maintains the sudden, creeping dread of the same scene in the novel. But even with that magic, the adults camaraderie pales in comparison to the kids’ when they’re all together. It’s really a shame they decided to split the films up chronologically because the scenes with the kid Losers are just more interesting and more emotionally resonant in every way. 

Didn’t love the de-aging CGI they had to do on the kids’ faces though. And the ADR did something strange to their voices. In some scenes it wasn’t so bad, but particularly in the clubhouse scenes, there’s some uncanny valley effect going on.

Y’know, for Silver being so important to Bill, he sure does clank it to the ground every fucking time he dismounts like Silver ain’t shit.

There’s a fun, and fairly extended Stephen King cameo that I enjoyed very much.

Did I Cry? Yes, for Stan and for Eddie and for Richie and for all the Losers at the end as they process all the events that came before. 

Frankly, my biggest complaint is an overall feeling that Gary Dauberman’s script is overwritten, too quippy, too punched up. There’s a big scary encounter that gets completely undercut by “Angel of the Morning” blaring for 3 seconds, then cutting out. Why was that there? There’s no radio in the scene that gets knocked over or something, it’s a completely artistic choice that robs the scene of any tension or fear for the sake of a cheap (not even that good) laugh. Same with a quip from Eddie about a character’s haircut after an intense act of violence has occurred - the line isn’t even an Eddie line, it’s a Richie line, and it all leads to a feeling like these are characters acting out a script. That’s never what I want a movie to feel like, especially not one where suspension of disbelief is so vital to selling the audience some pretty weird stuff.

There are two dogs - one scary and one Very Good Very Not Scary dog at the end :)

In many ways, the scares here just aren’t really that scary and end up reminding me of better films. Stan’s spidery head is a clear homage to The Thing, the underground cavern feels very much like Alien, Bev’s encounter with the blood feels reminiscent of both Carrie and The Shining - it all adds up to a feeling that, like Pennywise, the film is just a mimic trying to capitalize on easy, surface-level scares. I wanted to love this more, but somehow there just didn’t seem to be much heart in it. Maybe they’ll try again in 27 years and get it absolutely right.

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

[thelastspeecher]

Werepire Stangie AU - Leighanne

Day 01   Day 02   Day 03   Day 04   Day 05   Day 06   Day 07   Day 08 Day 09   Day 10   Day 11   Day 12   Day 13   Day 14   Day 15   Day 16 Day 17   Day 18   Day 19   Day 20   Day 21   Day 22   Day 23   Day 24 Day 25   Day 26   Day 27   Day 28   Day 29   Day 30

I didn’t do a prompt for today, since I spent most of the day with my family, because, y’know, Thanksgiving.  So I decided to take a short write I did last week but didn’t finish, and finish it and clean it up a bit.  What is this write?  Well, it’s what happened after I thought to myself “What if in the Werepire AU, werewolf Angie and vampire Stan ran into someone who knew one of them from when they were human?”  That combined with my recent desire to develop Leighanne’s personality, and, well, here we are.  Enjoy.

Word count: 1264

              The bell jingled as the door to the ice cream shop opened.  Leighanne looked up.  She smiled fondly at the young girl that rushed over to the display case and promptly pressed her face against it.

              “There’s so many,” the girl whispered excitedly.  The bell jingled again.

              “Cadenza, slow down,” a man said briskly.  He was carrying a young boy about the same age as the girl.  The girl – Cadenza – looked back at the man.

              “Daddy, there’s so many!” she said.  The man chuckled, clearly worn down by his exuberant daughter.

              “Yeah, there are.”  The man joined Cadenza by the display case, peering down at the various flavors. Leighanne wondered if there was something wrong with the fluorescent lights; both the man and his daughter seemed almost inhumanly pale.  Then again, the boy still being held by the man wasn’t ghost-white.  The man looked up at Leighanne.  “You’re the expert.  What’s the best flavor?”

              “Well, I’m personally very fond of our maple butterscotch,” Leighanne said. “It’s maple flavored ice cream with butterscotch swirls.”  Cadenza wrinkled her nose.

              “Yuck.  Got any blood flavored?” she asked.  Leigh blinked.

              “I’m sorry, what?”

              “Cadenza,” the man hissed.  He smiled apologetically at Leigh.  “Sorry ‘bout that.  Kids, y’know?”  Leigh smiled back.

              “Put me down now,” the boy mumbled.

              “You got it, Emmett.”  The man carefully set the boy – Emmett – on the ground.  Leighanne leaned against the counter and tried to figure out why this stranger and his children looked so familiar.  Her eyes widened.

              “Oh!”  The man looked up, surprised.  “Yer Stan, right?  Angie’s husband?”

              “I- how did you-”

              “Sally and Mearl showed me about a million pictures after ya married Angie, and then a million more each time the two of ya had kids.”

              “Oh.”  Stan grimaced.  “You’re a McGucket.  Shoot, I- I don’t know most of Angie’s relatives.”

              “No, it’s fine.  I’m not actually a McGucket.  But Angie and I grew up together.  She was my best friend when we were kids.”  Leighanne sighed.  “I’m still a bit disappointed that I never got an invite to the wedding.”

              “We kept it small.  Real small.”

              “That’s what Angie’s folks said.  Apparently yer a bit of a private person?”

              “Yeah.”  Stan looked over at Cadenza and Emmett, who were still staring at the ice cream in the case.  “Emmett, no licking!”

              “But ice cream is for licking,” Emmett whined.  Stan frowned at his son.

              “You’re licking the glass right now, not the actual ice cream.  Stop it.  We’ve been over this.”  The door jingled a third time.

              “Boys!” a voice shouted desperately.  A broad smile spread across Leighanne’s face.

              I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Two boys the same age as Cadenza and Emmett rushed over, shoving past Stan to get to the display case.

              “About time you showed up,” Stan said to the woman who had come in with the two boys.

              “They’re fast buggers,” the woman said, joining Stan.  Leighanne’s grin was so big it hurt.

              “Angie!” Leighanne said gleefully.  Angie looked over at her.  Her jaw dropped.

              “Leighanne?  I didn’t know ya worked here!”

              “Well, I married Willie, and his fam’ly has owned this place fer years and years.  So I sorta got grandfathered in, y’know.”

              “You married Willie?  Really? That’s quite the odd match.”

              “No less odd than the match you made with yer husband,” Leighanne retorted. Angie rolled her eyes.  “But seriously, Angie, it’s- it’s been years since I last heard from ya.”  Leighanne reached out to take a hold of Angie’s hands.  She was remarkably warm, despite the cold outside.  “Last time I saw ya was before ya went missin’.”  Angie tensed visibly.

              Okay, don’t go down that route. Leighanne rubbed Angie’s fingers reassuringly, stifling a small sigh.  I wonder if I’ll ever know what exactly happened when Angie went missin’.

              “That was over a decade ago,” Stan said.  Leighanne nodded.

              “Exactly.  It’s been far too long.”

              “I’ve been busy,” Angie said with a forced smile.  “Stan ‘n I don’t really get many chances to come down ‘n visit my fam’ly.  They have to come visit us.  Between the kids and our jobs…”

              “Yes, yer kids,” Leighanne said.  Angie’s smile became more genuine, clearly pleased to be talking about something more comfortable.  “These are the quadruplets, I take it?”

              “Yep.”  Angie looked over at her four children, clustered around the display case.  “In birth order: Emory, Emmett, Cadenza, and Caleb.”  Leighanne watched the two boys that had come in with Angie excitedly point at the various types of ice cream.  They were the spitting image of Stan, but much less pale, and had Angie’s bright blue eyes.

              “Ya came in with Emory and Caleb?” Leighanne asked.  Angie nodded.  “They look awful similar.”

              “They’re identical twins,” Angie said.  She shook her head.  “But Emory was born first and Caleb last.”  Leighanne chuckled softly.

              “And the triplets?” she asked.  Angie raised an eyebrow.  “Yer parents come in here a lot to show off pictures.”

              “Ah, well, Molly, Danny, ‘n Daisy wanted to ride here with Lute.”  Angie looked back at the door, frowning slightly. “Not quite sure what’s takin’ ‘em so long.  They left before we did.”  As if on cue, the bell over the door jingled once more.  Lute strode into the shop, closely followed by three girls, who were all the same age.  “Ah! There they are!”

              “What took you so long?” Stan asked.

              “We took the scenic route,” one of the girls, the only one with the distinct McGucket nose, piped up.  Lute scowled at his niece, but the expression had no real malice in it.

              “No, we took so long ‘cause you thought it would be funny to shout ‘Look, a deer!’ and make me drive off the road,” Lute said.  He shook his head.  “Took us ages to get the truck out of the ditch.”

              “Daisy,” Angie scolded.  Daisy grinned in response.  Angie sighed. “You girls are nothin’ but trouble.”

              “Trouble and cuteness,” Daisy shot back.  Angie rolled her eyes, trying to hide a small smile.  “Uncle Lute was tellin’ us about the different flavors they have here.” Daisy grinned cheekily at one of her sisters, the one who had inherited Stan’s nose but Angie’s golden hair.  “Danny should stay far away from the garlic ice cream.”

              “We don’t carry that anymore,” Leighanne said.  She cocked her head curiously.  “But why would one of ya need to stay away-”

              “Allergies,” Stan interrupted.  Leighanne looked at him.  “The, uh, the kids inherited some nasty allergies from me.  You don’t use silver ice cream scoops, do you?”

              “No.  We use stainless steel.”

              “Good.  Silver’s one of the allergies.”

              “Huh.”  Leighanne pretended like she didn’t notice the glare Stan shot at Daisy.  She grinned at Angie.  “Yer children seem like oddballs.”

              “Yep.”

              “Good,” Leighanne said firmly.  Angie laughed.  Either Emory or Caleb – Leighanne wasn’t sure which one, since they were identical – tugged on Angie’s shirt.  Angie looked down.

              “Yes, sweetie?”

              “Are we gonna have ice cream?”

              “You bet yer butts we are.”  Angie’s son beamed toothily at her, his canines seeming sharper than average. Angie looked back at Leighanne.  “And since it’ll take ten years fer us all to place our orders, we better get started right away.”

              “You got it.”  Leighanne moved over to the case.  “Yer usual, Angie?”

              “Of course.”

              “You sure you don’t have blood-flavored?” Cadenza asked.

              “Yes, I’m sure.  No blood flavor.”

              “Oh.”  Cadenza sighed heavily, an action that was immensely amusing, given that she couldn’t have been more than seven.  “You should get some.”  Leighanne smiled.

              “I’ll take that into consideration next time we make up a new flavor.”

[briangroth27]

IT (2017) Review

IT is fantastic! I don’t remember much of the original miniseries except that Tim Curry was very good as Pennywise, but this felt like a whole other animal. I haven’t read the book, but the movie definitely made me want to. The tone was perfect, with just enough humor to get you through the ever-increasing tension created by Pennywise, Henry Bowers, and the general sense of dread from the town’s adults. There’s a palpable sense that even though the adults lived through similar events, they’re not going to be any help to the kids. One of my favorite subgenres is kids encountering the supernatural, and IT absolutely delivered!

Every single one of the kids did a spectacular job! They all felt like real, relatable kids and they’ve got incredible talent. These actors also formed an incredible sense of chemistry; like the young casts of Super 8 and Stranger Things, they felt like actual friends and I imagine shooting this was a lot of fun for them. The thing that perhaps let them down a bit was the runtime; at two hours and fifteen minutes, it’s understandable things had to be succinct, shortchanging a couple of the Losers. Stan (Wyatt Oleff) in particular didn’t get much to do, but even he had some great moments of characterization, such as when all the kids unceremoniously drop their bikes and run off, while he takes a moment to calmly use his kickstand. Since his bar mitzvah is the big moment in his life here, I think they could’ve explored what his idea of becoming a man was and how that played into dealing with Pennywise, particularly as this is a coming of age tale. Mike (Chosen Hansen) didn’t feel like he got much screentime in comparison to some of the others either, but I liked the connections to societal issues his story included; he experiences the racism in Derry the other kids don’t, pulling him a step further into the horror of the town than the other kids. I really liked Mike’s grandfather’s (Steven Williams) speech about Mike needing to decide whether he wanted to be the man killing sheep or the sheep being killed, because if he didn’t the world would decide for him. That felt especially relevant to today while playing into his arc of learning to stand up for himself (and he gets a particularly surprising climax to that arc!). Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor) handled the exposition well (as did Hansen) and brought a plucky charm to his role as the new kid in town. He was easy to root for and sympathize with, and had several perfect adolescent moments like sneaking a peek at Bev’s room during a break from a rather disturbing clean-up session. Eddie’s (Jack Dylan Grazer) hypochondria provided him with a solid Achilles Heel, a great place for comedy to spring from, and a strong foundation for him to eventually stand up to his mom (Mollie Jane Atkinson). Grazer played all of those to their fullest extent! My friend pointed out that his mom’s obsessive overprotectiveness may’ve been brought on because she does know something evil is in Derry, she just doesn’t know what, and is protecting him the best way she can. That’s an interesting variation to the Derry adults’ forgetfulness/apathy about the evil in their town.

I was a little disappointed Richie (Finn Wolfhard) didn’t get a solo scare sequence outside the house on Neibolt Street like everyone else did, though if cutting it got us as much time with Ben, Mike, and Stan as we got, I’ll take it. Still, he had perhaps the most clearly-defined and strongest characterization of the kids; Wolfhard refused to let Richie be just another kid in the group. Going in, I thought he’d feel like his character on Stranger Things (probably because this is also 80s-set horror with kids encountering a monster), but Richie was totally different from Mike and Wolfhard sold it completely. Sofia Lillis was very good at achieving balance between Bev’s friendly, almost cheery outlook with her new friends and the jaded, knowing sensibility that had been forced on her by everyone else. The whole town seemed to see Beverly as a sex object or a slut, including creepy adults (like Mike, she’s deeper into the hell that is Derry than the others). Beverly knowing exactly how to work the adults to her advantage spoke not only to the fact that this is nothing new to her and she’s had to learn coping and survival skills, but to the tragedy that this was the case. Every scene with her father (Alvin Marsh) was incredibly uncomfortable given what he was, and I was rooting for her to escape the situation. Bill (Jaeden Leiberher) and Ben’s crushes on Bev worked well, though I think they could’ve played up the difference in their early meet-cutes a bit more: she’s nice to Ben and talks to him, while Bill sees her walking in near-slow-motion in dreamy sunlight. They also could’ve contrasted Stan exploring what it means to be a man (and Mike discovering what it means to be an African-American man) with her attempts to define what being a woman means outside of what everyone tells her she should be. The love triangle between Bev, Ben, and Bill was sweet, with neither of them expecting anything from her, and thankfully didn’t explode into jealousy the way I thought it would. Bill had the most personal connection to Pennywise via Georgie’s (Jackson Robert Scott) murder, and they mined it for all it was worth. I totally bought Leiberher as the kind of kid who could rally the others to go on an adventure to save the day. Bill’s stutter felt totally natural and never felt like Leiberher was playing a caricature of someone with a speech impediment. His relationship with Georgie was sweet and they felt like real brothers, so Bill’s pain over losing him felt real. Watching him literally fight through his sorrow and guilt over giving the boat to Georgie (and encouraging him to sneak out of the house) was great! Scott was perfect as Georgie too, showing just as much range in his limited scenes as the other kids got to: from scared of the basement and telling himself “I’m brave,” to carefree (and sneaky) kid playtime, to sad Bill wasn’t with him after his death, and finally horror as a manifestation of Pennywise, he was fully on par with the other young actors.

When I watched Georgie meet Tim Curry’s Pennywise as a kid, I remember being sadder about him losing his boat than encountering a killer clown in the sewer (I guess as a kid, losing a beloved toy was the more likely and pressing fear!). That was not the case here. Bill Skarsgard’s Pennywise was playful enough with Georgie, but otherwise he was unsettling and a few jump scares got me. I liked how there were moments where his whole body would quiver and waver except his head, giving the impression that he was tightly coiled and ready to spring into an attack at any moment. He had an otherworldly sensibility about him—appropriate given what the deadlights are—and an overall creepy demeanor that was perfect. He didn’t echo Tim Curry’s Pennywise voice and that was a smart choice; Skarsgard was creepy in his own way. I really liked how he was able to pervert the entire town, popping in and out of murals to watch the kids, running a bizarre kid’s television show no one seemed to find strange, and possibly fueling (or feeding off of, which would be worse) the hate, apathy, and ugliness under Derry’s wholesome surface. Aside from school bullies and adults who varied from uninterested in protecting the kids to downright creepy predators, the real-world villainy mainly manifested in Henry Bowers (Nicholas Hamilton). I imagine Henry is a bully to prove to himself that he’s not the only “paper man” who’ll crumble when confronted with fear. Even with that tenuous understanding, though, Henry is a total psychopath who was scarier than Pennywise (possibly because Pennywise needs to eat kids to survive, while Henry is just angry and violent for no reason). He was such a strong villain that they could’ve removed the supernatural altogether and it still would’ve worked as a solid coming of age movie. As it was, the supernatural was a perfect bonus to the story being told!

The move from the 50s setting to the 80s worked very well, with It’s manifestations (aside from Pennywise) reflecting the kids’ personal fears instead of classic movie monsters. I love Dracula and those monsters, but using the tragedies of Derry’s history and the personal struggles the kids are living through as Pennywise’s alternate forms works better. The one thing that stood out to me as perhaps not fitting with the ’89 setting was naming Bill’s bike Silver; would a kid in the late 80s have been a fan of the Lone Ranger? There was a failed movie in 1981 with Christopher Lloyd, but I don’t know if westerns or that character in particular were very popular by then. Maybe Bill’s dad (Geoffrey Pounsett) introduced him to the Lone Ranger and was a fan in his youth (I was born in the mid-80s and was aware of the Lone Ranger thanks to my parents). Perhaps this Silver is a reference to King’s Silver Bullet wheelchair in Cycle of the Werewolf and the Silver Bullet film instead (maybe Bill sees a connection between Marty’s paralysis and his stutter?). In any case, that was a very small thing and otherwise contemporary mentions like the AIDS epidemic (which played into Eddie’s hypochondria perfectly) made the time period feel real, while the presence of 80s movie posters, movies like Batman playing at the theater, and video games like Street Fighter made it feel like the 80s without being nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake. The New Kids on the Block elements that appear in the film also served to build Ben’s character rather than just appearing as cheap jokes or because it was the late 80s.

Derry itself felt like a very real, relatable town that you might want to live in if you didn’t know what was beneath the surface. The house on Neibolt Street was a perfect haunted house that stuck out like a festering sore on the town, while also feeling like it was a natural part of this world. Cutting from animals walking though slaughterhouse stalls to kids heading through the school halls was a great, ominous bit of editing at the beginning. The pacing was excellent; while it felt like a long movie, it did so because it felt so full rather than because of dull scenes. When the kids first confronted Pennywise in 29 Neibolt street, I thought it could be the climax, but the movie keeps going to a very satisfying conclusion after that! It was smart to split the book into one movie for the kids and another for their adult counterparts; even if this weren't a huge success and sure to get the second half, it'd feel like a complete story. Whoever they cast as the adult versions of the Losers Club are going to have some impressive shoes to fill! I definitely hope they get the kids back for flashbacks in Chapter 2.

The film has a great feeling of dread (punctuated by some truly funny lines), excellent villains in Pennywise and Henry Bowers, and a young cast of fantastic actors. 2017’s IT (perfectly released 27 years after the story’s last adaptation in 1990!) is neck and neck with Kubrick’s The Shining as the best of the Stephen King adaptations. Definitely see this and get your Halloween season started off right!

  Full spoilers….

-I’m glad the sex scene in the sewer was left out. Obviously that’d be really screwed up to film/show/see, but I don’t think it would’ve fit even beyond the fact of the creepy content. Not only did these kids not need that to bond them, but I don’t think it would’ve fit with any of their characters as they were drawn here. Even boastful loudmouth Richie seems like the kind of guy who’d be intimidated by the prospect of sex if it actually presented itself. That’s to say nothing of the fact that Bev would’ve been forced into exactly the role the town wants her to take (and wants to punish her for taking), and that would’ve been a tragedy. The kids just hugging after their ordeal worked perfectly.

-I was so glad that there were no consequences to Bev killing her creepy father, even to her reputation (at least from what we saw) once word inevitably would get out about why she did it. It’s possible she was leaving town partially because of what people would say, but I’m choosing to believe she was just jumping at the chance for a fresh, happier start.

-I think the leeches I’ve heard of in the book for Patrick Hockstetter’s (Owen Teague) death would’ve been cooler than the burnt people he encountered in the sewer. That’s probably the one Pennywise manifestation that sounds better in the book than what was onscreen.

-Eddie changing the “Loser” signature on his cast to say “Lover” was a funny bit of characterization I wish we’d seen more of from him. Who is this kid—or who does he want to be—to proclaim himself that? Haha

-Eddie mistakenly calling placebos “gazebos” was perhaps the most unexpected laugh I’ve had in a theater in a long time.

-Given how little Stan got to do in this movie and what I’ve read about adult Stan’s part in the present-day portion of the book, I really hope his fate is changed in the sequel. If not, it’ll feel like he was just there to die.

-Finn Wolfhard gets maybe the best line in the movie with “…and now I’ve gotta kill this fucking clown!”

-There were a few Easter Eggs in the movie, including a picture of Tim Curry’s Pennywise!

-IT has perhaps some of my favorite stories from Twitter. One guy said someone in his screening released a single red balloon into the theater once the movie was over! Another theatergoer walked into his screening and there was a clown cosplayer sitting alone in the room, holding a single balloon. I’d have been severely unnerved. Hahaha I think it’d be great if theaters did things like this in an official capacity; it’d be a fun return to the promotional stunts of the 50s and 60s.

[comic-movieheroesranked]

Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2007) Part One

Seven movies were released during 2007 that make it on our list! Marvel’s debut of Ghost Rider started us off, followed by the incredible action film, 300! Up next was TMNT, the list’s first animated movie as well as the return of Spider-Man 3, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Alien vs Predator: Requiem! Also debuting is the horror film 30 Days of Night. Here’s #61 through 41!

Cameo Appreciation: Stan Lee (Spider-Man 3, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

Stan Lee graces us with his presence in both Spider-Man 3 and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In Spider-Man, Stan Lee shows up to casually give Peter Parker advice and in Fantastic Four, Lee actually recreates his scene in the comic where he tries and fails to get into Sue and Richard's wedding.

Cameo Appreciation: Uncle Ben, Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, Flash Thompson (Spider-Man 3)

Three characters from the previous films of the trilogy return. Norman Osborn shows up as another hallucination to further drive his son insane and Flash Thompson shows up to attend said son's funeral. Uncle Ben shows up when we learn how he truly died at the hands of the Sandman, which ends up being a total accident.

61. Wilson Bulosan, Carter Davies, Isaac Bulosan, and Helen Munson (30 Days of Night)

"They don't feel any bullets."

Unlike most of the citizens in Barrow that were murdered by the vampires, these four were a little more prominent plot-wise before they met their demise. Wilson and Isaac were a father/son duo that managed to hide out with the main group until Isaac, who's memory isn't the best, took off into the night. It's left uncertain what happened to him but its most likely he shared the same fate as Wilson, who was killed looking for him. Carter stayed with the group for awhile until he ended up turning in a vampire himself and volunteered to have himself killed. Helen, Eben's grandma, was the saddest death in the whole movie for me. I literally gasped when I realized she was dying through the walkie talkie.

60. Carrie, Drew, Darcy, Dale, and Tim (Alien vs Predator: Requiem)

"If you can find them in 30 minutes or less asshole."

These five characters obviously showed personality but were more obviously created to die. Drew is Ricky's strict boss at the pizza shop who gets snatched by aliens right after joining the group to the hospital. Darcy, who lost her son and husband at the beginning of the movie, mostly just watches Molly until she leaves with Morales to blow up in the center of town. Tim is Kelly's husband and it's obvious Molly was closer to him but he's the one that gets killed by an alien when it invades their home. Carrie is a pregnant waitress and is the first person we see the hybrid implant baby aliens into. Dale is Jesse's ex-boyfriend that likes to bully Ricky with his friends. He dies at the gun shop when the alien's acid blood destroys his face.

59. Daxos (300)

"I see I was wrong to expect Sparta's commitment to at least match our own."

Daxos lead the Greek men who volunteered to join the Spartans in their fight against the Persians. Not all of them were warriors so it was no surprise that when things got rough, they abandoned ship.

58. Galactus (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

*destroys planets*

Galactus doesn't really have a big role in this film. We see him destroy a planet in the beginning so we know he's capable of ending all life on Earth, but the Fantastic Four focus their time trying to stop the Silver Surfer before Galactus even arrives. When he does show up, the Silver Surfer manages to destroy him once and for all.

57. Theron (300)

"This will not be over quickly. You will not enjoy this. I am not you King."

I feel like Theron wasn't even hiding the fact that he hated Leonidas which is why the King and Queen thought so little of him. It isn't a shocker that he's working for the Persians but it does suck that he took advantage and raped Gorgo before then trying to make it seem like she was trying to commit adultery to the council. He died like a little bitch, which is all I could ask for.

56. The Stranger (30 Days of Night)

"They didn't take me!"

First strike is this asshole killed a bunch of beautiful dogs that did nothing to anyone! Second is he was rude to the Lucy as she tried to take his order, which is a personal pet peeve of mine, and three is he basically helped hand over the entire town to a bunch of vampires with the hopes of becoming one. So yes, I was very happy when they didn't turn him and just killed him instead.

55. General Hager (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

"So far, the only one I've regretted trusting here is you, Richard."

I don't know what this guy's problem is, but he made life way more difficult for the team. He really thought that his army could stop the Silver Surfer after the Fantastic Four failed? He really thought bringing in Dr. Doom was a great idea. Him dying at the hands of Dr. Doom is the biggest 'I told you so' you can get with this guy and what's even better is no one is surprised to find his body when they do.

54. Billy Kitka, Denise, and Lucy Ikos (30 Days of Night)

"They'll just think it was some horrible accident."

These three townspeople had a bit more focus than the rest. Denise and Lucy were the only two to survive, along with Jake and Stella, in the main group. They also helped put up a fight when Eben took on Arvin. Billy is the other sheriff that ends up killing his family so that they don't end up being slaughtered by the vampires. When the group takes on Arvin, it's Billy who pushes him into the grater, losing his hand and starting to change into a vampire. Eben kills him before he does and then uses his blood to turn into a vampire.

53. Jesse, Molly, Morales (Alien vs Predator: Requiem)

"There's a monster outside!"

Molly is actually one of the survivors but honestly, she only lives because her mom is a badass. Morales is the sheriff of the town and good friends with Dallas. It's clear he's trying to do whatever he can to save everyone, but his trust in the law is what causes his downfall. Jesse is the love interest of Ricky who travels with the group to find the helicopter at the hospital. She ends up accidentally getting killed by the Predator when he's fighting a pair of aliens.

52. Eddie Brock/Venom (Spider-Man 3)

"I like being bad. It makes me happy."

Wow, I never thought I'd hate anyone in this trilogy as much as Harry, but then they introduced Eddie Brock. He's selfish, overly dramatic, and is quick to play victim and blame others when he deals with the consequences of his own actions. He's even petty enough to pray for the death of Peter at church. Like, who does that? With all his hate towards Peter it only makes sense that he gets infected with the symbiote and becomes Venom. He teams up with Sandman to take Peter out in this big flashy way, but ultimately fails once Peter figures out Venom's weakness and throws a goblin grenade to destroy it. What does Brock do? He jumps after the grenade...as if his human hands could've stopped it. Obviously his death was for the best.

51. Jake Oleson (30 Days of Night)

"No one's touching him."

Eben's little brother and one of the youngest people who stayed around Barrow during the attack. He witnesses his grandma die in front of him and he eventually takes out a vampire himself, although the vampire is just a little girl. When Eben isn't around, Jake takes charge in leading the group to safety and is one of the town's few survivors once the month is over.

50. Captain Raye (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

"Not interested."

This girl has a lot of nerve criticizing Johnny when she works for a general who is a complete idiot. She acts like she isn't interested when Johnny tries to make the moves on her but at the end of the movie she ends up being his date at Richard and Sue's wedding.

49. Gressil, Wallow, and Abigor (Ghost Rider)

"He's not so tough."

These three are fallen angels that can now become three different elements: Ground (Gressil), Water (Wallow), and Air (Abigor). One by one they face Ghost Rider and one by one they're killed by him. He burns Gressil and Abigor with his chain, althouh he has to get creative with Abigor, and evaporates Wallow with his flames. None of them really stood a chance and died pretty quickly.

48. Ephialtes (300)

"Yield, Leonidas! Think of your men, I beg you!"

A deformed Spartan that wants nothing more than to serve Sparta as a soldier. Due to his deformity, however, Leonidas denies him this request as he'd end up putting his men in danger. Ephialtes ends up betraying the Spartans by working with Xerxes. I, like Leonidas, also hope he ends up living forever so that he can never die in battle like a true Spartan warrior.

47. Astinos (300)

"You still here?"

Astinos is the pretty and youthful son of the Captain. He can hold his own during battle, even taking out a freaking rhinoceros before it comes barreling down on the Spartans. He's one of the first main Spartans to die, getting decapitated by a Persian when he wasn't paying attention.

46. Alicia Masters (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer)

"We're different and we're still happy!"

Alicia really fits into the team's dynamic really well. Her relationship with Ben is going great, the two can't get enough of each other and she's bonded with the other members as well. From helping settle Sue's wedding day nerves, to calling out Johnny about wanting a serious relationship, Alicia really did look like she's been with the team for years.

45. J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, and Miss Brant (Spider-Man 3)

"Where's my photographer?"

With the wrap of this particular trilogy I decided to add Robbie and Miss Brant along with Jonah Jameson. They're the only two that seem to not bend to Jonah's will, with Robbie pciking fights with him on what stroy gets published and Miss Brant reminding him to take his medicine. As for J. himself, he still hates Spider-Man but also still features him whenever he can. He also gets hustled by a little girl, which is fun to watch.

44. General Mono, General Serpiente, General Aguila, and General Gato (TMNT)

"We are immortal and made of stone."

The four generals that served Max Winters three thousand years ago when he was a powerful warlord. They were also the price he had to pay for immortality and turned into stone for those three thousand years. So while he got to live and later discover that immortality was a curse, they were just stone. So I kinda get why they turned on him, no one wants to just die as soon as they break free from their curse. Still, the turtles defeat them and send them into the portal leading to the other dimension.

43. Barton Blaze (Ghost Rider)

"When you do things without thinking you ain't making a choice, the choice is making you."

You know Johnny's dad likes to lecture him a lot about dumb decisions despite the fact that he continues to smoke cigarettes even though he's dying of lung cancer. He really hates the idea of Johnny and Roxie being together so young and doesn't get the chance to change his mind after Mephisto kills him during his circus act.

42. Ricky (Alien vs Predator: Requiem)

"Fire him."

I liked Ricky. He wasn't really an outcast he was just picked on by Dale and his friends because of his obvious connection with Jesse. When the aliens attack, Ricky follows his brother in hopes of survival. He gets upset when Jesse dies and tries to attack the Predator, which ends up getting him impaled by the Hybrid. Still he manages to escape with his brother, Kelly, and Molly.

41. Iris, Arvin, and the Little Girl Vampire (30 Days of Night)

"I'm done playing with this one."

Out of all the vampires rolling with Marlow, these three were the main ones popping up. The Little Girl Vampire was only in one scene but she really disturbed the group with her young appearance before they killed her. Iris was Marlow's second in command and was always by his side as they stalked their prey throughout the town. She meets her end when Eben manages to turn on Helen's ultraviolet lights on her, burning her so badly that Marlow gives her a sympathy kill. Arvin was one of the most vicious vamps, ruthlessly killing a lot of the townspeople before following Billy to the main group's hideout. Eben and the group struggle to take him on until Billy shoves him in a giant grinder.