It: Chapter Two Review

It: Chapter Two

Release Date: 5th September 2019 - Australia

Production Companies

New Line Cinema (presents)
RatPac-Dune Entertainment (in association with)
Vertigo Entertainment
Lin Pictures
KatzSmith Productions

Distribution

Roadshow Films

Genre: Horror

Rating: MA15+ (Not Suitable for Young Children)

Runtime: 169 minutes

Budget: $79,000,000

Box Office Gross: $473,122,525 (Worldwide)

Plot Summary

Six members of the "Losers" club are all grown and reunited after being called back to Derry for something they should have done 27 years ago when people started to disappear all over town. Now, the Club must confront their deepest fears and make one final stand to defeat the evil clown Pennywise once and for all.

Cast

James McAvoy - Bill Denbrough

Jessica Chastain - Beverly Marsh

Bill Hader - Richie Tozier

Isaiah Mustafa - Mike Hanlon

Jay Ryan - Ben Hanscom

James Ransone - Eddie Kaspbrak

Andy Bean - Stanley Uris

Bill Skarsgård - Pennywise

Jaeden Martell - Young Bill Denbrough
Sophia Lillis - Young Beverly Marsh
Finn Wolfhard - Young Richie Tozier
Chosen Jacobs - Young Mike Hanlon

Jeremy Ray Taylor - Young Ben Hanscom
Jack Dylan Grazer - Young Eddie Kaspbrak
Wyatt Oleff - Young Stanley Uris
Nicholas Hamilton - Young

Henry Bowers

Tristian Levi and Torian

Matthew Cox - 4-Year-Old

Mike Hanlon

Joan Gregson - Mrs. Kersh 

Teach Grant - Henry Bowers

Jackson Robert Scott - Georgie 
Denbrough

Javier Botet - Hobo/The Witch

Xavier Dolan - Adrian Mellon

Taylor Frey - Don Hagarty

Stephen Bogaert - Alvin Marsh

Molly Atkinson - Myra/Sonia Kaspbrak

Luke Roessler - Dean

Stephen King - Shopkeeper (Cameo)

Peter Bogdanovich - Peter - Director (Cameo)

Will Beinbrink - Tom

Jess Weixler - Audra Phillips

Martha Girvin - Patty

Ryan Kiera Armstrong - Victoria
Fuller

Jake Weary - Webby

Katie Lunman - Chris Unwin

Kelly Van der Burg - Victoria's Mom

Jason Fuchs - Richie's Manager

Joe Bostick - Mr. Keene

Megan Charpentier - Young Gretta

Juno Rinaldo - Gretta

Neil Crone - Chief Borton 

Jake Sim - Belch Huggins
Logan Thompson - Victor Criss
Owen Teague - Patrick Hockstetter

Ry Prior - Connor

Ari Cohen - Stanley's Dad

Kate Corbett - Dean's Mom

Shawn Storer - Dean's Dad

Janet Porter - Richie's Mom

Crew

Director - Andy Muschietti 

Based on the Novel "It" - Stephen King

Screenplay/Executive 
Producer - Gary Dauberman

Executive Producer/Unit Production Manager - Marty P. Ewing

Executive Producers - Richard Brenner, 
Seth Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg 
and Dave Neustadter

Producers - Roy Lee, 
Dan Lin and Barbara Muschietti

Co-Producer - Victoria Palmeri

Co-Producer/Script Revisionist (Uncredited) -

Jason Fuchs

Choreographer - Roberto Campanella

Production Designer - Paul D. Austenberry

Original Set Design - Claude Paré

Concept Artists - Vicki Pui, Aaron Sims,

Michael Pecchia, Carlos Haunte and

Vincent Proce

Art Director - Nigel Churcher

Set Decorator - Shane Vieau

Property Master - Christopher Geggie

Costume Designer - Luis Sequeira

Makeup Designers and Creators: Pennywise -

Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr.

Shop Supervisor - François Dagenais

Prosthetics Supervisor/Department Head -

Sean Sansom

Hair Designer - Stephanie Ingram

Director of Photography - Checco Varese

First Assistant Director - Michael Lerman

First Assistant Director: Second Unit -

Travis McConnell

Second Assistant Directors: Second Unit -

Adam Bocknek and Lauren Cowley

Third Assistant Directors: Second Unit -

Andrew Pritchard and Abel Erazo-Ibarra

Second Unit Director - William Waring

Stunt Coordinator - Jamie Jones

Special Effects Supervisor - Christy Hollidge

Special Effects Coordinator - Warren Appleby

Visual Effects Supervisor - Nicholas Brooks

Visual Effects Producers - Randy Starr

and Jimmy Uddo

Editor - Jason Ballantine

Additional Editor - Peter S. Elliott

Sound Designers - Erick Ocampo and

Randy Torres

Supervising Sound Editors - Bill R. Dean

and Nancy Nugent

Re-Recording Mixers - Michael Keller

and Tim LeBlanc

Music - Benjamin Wallfisch

Review

IT: CHAPTER TWO is an awaited conclusion of Stephen King's original story and is much bigger and more ambitious than the first movie (click here). While its predecessor exceeded expectations from those who read the novel, this film comes close in succession. It doesn't come as much of a shock for audiences who opted for the second part of IT to be superior to the miniseries version. The pacing is, at times, slow, the running time is nearly three hours long, and there are much weaker scares than those in the predecessor. Still, I appreciated the movie for its themes and loyalty to the source material, and there are terrifying moments like the infamous Hall of Mirrors scene, which haunt you and put shivers down your spine.

James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader deliver great performances to the sequel that nearly captures the fright and suspense of the original. Bill Skarsgård is still as terrifying as Pennywise. Keep an eye out for the author. He has a cameo as the shopkeeper in the film.

Not quite as scary nor good as the first movie, IT: CHAPTER TWO remains a solid conclusion with a surprise waiting for moviegoers and is for everyone who has seen the previous instalment.

Star rating: (7/10) Good Movie

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In Memory of Robbie Coltrane (1950-2022)

Robbie Coltrane (1950-2022)

Hello moviegoers, we've just lost someone famous that happened quite recently. Scottish-born actor Robbie Coltrane, best known for portraying the lovable half-giant Hagrid in the "Harry Potter" series, died on 14 October 2022. He was 72 years old. Coltrane was only a stage name when the actor got it from the inspiration of his favourite jazz musician, John Coltrane. Before gaining international fame, Coltrane dabbled in comedy on the theatre stage and in 1980, he made his film debut in "Flash Gordon" in a minor role as a man at the airfield. The following year, Coltrane became a regular on the comedy "A Kick up the Eighties" and landed an iconic role in the Comic Strip's "Five Go Mad in Dorset" by playing a female shopkeeper and a male gypsy. He even appeared in a short-lived sketch TV series, "Alfresco", with English actors Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson.

In 1987, while the actor was becoming reasonably well-known on television, he made his big break when cast in the lead role in the six-part heartwarming rock 'n' roll drama series "Tutti Frutti". It reunited him with Thompson, earning him his first British Academy Television Award nomination for Best Actor. After "Tutti Frutti" came a few movie roles for him, including "Nuns on the Run" and "The Pope Must Die". In 1993, Robbie would land a lead role as a troubled criminal psychologist in the dark and hard-hitting drama series "Cracker", which won him three BAFTAS and ran for three seasons, with two subsequent specials. Coltrane continued to thrive extensively on television and cinema, especially when he appeared as a former KGB operative, Valentin Zukovsky, in the James Bond movies with Pierce Brosnan, "GoldenEye", and "The World Is Not Enough".

In 2001, he received a natural role in the "Harry Potter" franchise when J.K. Rowling was desperate to cast him as the bearded half-giant gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. Naturally, Coltrane accepted it as his children urged him to do it. Starring in all eight movies, this impacted a new audience of younger fans for Coltrane that helped to re-energise his career, particularly on British TV. In 2016, he returned to the small screen with an edgy drama "National Treasure", where he played a TV actor accused of sexual abuse. Coltrane appeared less frequently in films and television, especially in later years when health issues started to plague him. However, he returned for an interview in HBO Max's "Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts", where the aging actor recalled his time in the movies and Hagrid's impact.

Goodbye, Robbie and thank you for playing the character that impacted younger generations. Here is the clip of his iconic role in a pivotal moment that introduced Hagrid and utters the famous line to Harry about who he is.

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In Memory of Angela Lansbury (1925-2022)

Angela Lansbury (1925-2022)

The acclaimed actress of stage, film and television, Dame Angela Lansbury, has died two weeks short of her 97th birthday. She has starred in films such as "Beauty and the Beast" and the television series "Murder, She Wrote".

She was born Angela Brigid Lansbury in London on 25th October 1925, the daughter of an Irish stage actress and a career politician. Her father died when she was 9, and not long after, she fled to New York City with her family during the beginning of World War II to avoid the bombings by Germany during the London Blitz. During her time in New York City, Lansbury studied to become an actress, and at her mother's urging, she soon moved to Los Angeles to be in the movies. She debuted opposite Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer in the paranoiac classic "Gaslight", playing a role as a maid. This part earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, she was nominated again for Best Supporting Actress for 1945's "The Picture of Dorian".

She was under contract to MGM but was sometimes loaned by the company to other studios, as she told the Los Angeles Times in 1985. Lansbury appeared in several films, including "National Velvet" (as Elizabeth Taylor's sister), "The Harvey Girls", "State of the Union", "The Three Musketeers", the Danny Kaye comedy "The Court Jester" and "The Long, Hot Summer". She often portrays characters much older than she was, including in movies like "Blue Hawaii" as Elvis Presley's mom when she was 35 to the 26-year-old Elvis. One role she was too young for, however, was playing Laurence Harvey's controlling mother in "The Manchurian Candidate". Lansbury was five years older than her 34-year-old co-star. Though the film was initially unsuccessful, it did earn Lansbury her third Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Lansbury also had an illustrious career on Broadway, appearing in several productions like "Mame", "Gypsy", and "Sweeney Todd", which earned her five Tony Awards. After becoming a musical theatre star in the mid-1960s, Lansbury returned to films occasionally in the 1970s, with the lead role in the 1971 Disney hit musical "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". In 1991, her association with Disney continued several years later when she voiced the teapot, Mrs. Potts, in the Oscar-nominated animated movie "Beauty and the Beast". She also starred recently in "Mary Poppins Returns".

In her 60s, she achieved what was to be the greatest fame in her starring role as mystery writer turned detective Jessica Fletcher in the TV series "Murder, She Wrote". The show aired on the American television network CBS. It lasted for 12 seasons and was in the top 10 most-watched shows on television.

In 2013, Lansbury received her Honorary Oscar and accepted it. The following year, she received her damehood from Queen Elizabeth II. Here are the clips of the movies that highlighted her performances.

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Polishing and Improving My Critiques

Hello, everyone. There's nothing to talk about what I was doing. In the past several years/months/weeks, I've been using the Grammarly app. I started in 2020 to improve my reviews when COVID hit. Since then, I've been making changes by rewriting plot summaries, rewording, expanding, shortening and polishing review descriptions.

Recently, I've been juggling my animation work, new job and movie critiques so I won't be distracted by anything else.

I compiled a list of my original reviews, which I've already updated recently. Click on the names below, which are linked to the critiques and see what you think of these improvements.

• Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
• The Lion King (1994)
• How to Train Your Dragon
• The Lawnmower Man
• Casablanca
• Die Hard
• Die Hard with a Vengeance
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
  
• Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
• Dr. No
• Casino Royale
• Pixels
• Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park
• The Karate Kid (1984)
• X-Men
  

As for The Amazing Spider-Man, Rock of Ages, The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, Roman Holiday, The Darkest Hour, and Get Smart, which are still under maintenance. I'm still working on them.

More updates will be coming as I resume my busy schedule.

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