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    Heroes

    Heroes

    Stephen Fry

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Mortals and Monsters. Quests and Adventures . . . ___________ There are Heroes - and then there...

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David McK (3623 KP) rated The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9) in Books

May 12, 2024  
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9)
The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes #9)
Arthur Conan Doyle | 1927
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
"Come at once if convenient. If not convenient, come at once all the same - SH"

The final entry in Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes canon, which - again - I experienced through a mixture of reading and listening to the Stephen Fry narrated Audible version, and which is also really once again a collection of short stories rather than a single over-arching narrative.

What is unique in this collection, though, is that some of the stories are presented as Holmes himself delivering the narrative, rather than Watson acting as the biographer.

I also noticed - perhaps reflecting the nature of the time in which they were written, and Doyle's own interests - that there are more of the, shall we say, supernatural elements in the case chosen ("The adventure of the Sussex Vampire" springs to mind, for example) although - in all cases - the supernatural elements are later debunked by Holmes himself.

As a whole? I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the company of Holmes and Watson.
  
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated It (2017) in Movies

Feb 14, 2018  
It (2017)
It (2017)
2017 | Drama, Horror
8
7.9 (354 Ratings)
Movie Rating
IT is very good
I met the clown and IT is...fascinating, gripping, thrilling, humorous, intense and good.

But...is it scary? Sure...scary enough, but this adaptation of Stephen King's bestseller is much, much more than a scary movie.

One of the best screen adaptations of a Stephen King book, ever, IT tells the story of a group of13 year olds in Derry, Maine (one of the main towns featured in a variety of King's stories). It is 1989 and children have been going missing at an alarming rate. The adults in the town seem impassive about this, and when the younger brother of one of the gang goes missing, this "Loser's Club" investigates. What they find is a horrifying evil at the center of it all.

Like the plot of this film, there is much, much more going on in this film than what that last paragraph suggests, for this story is not only about the mystery of the missing children, it is a loving look back at childhood, friendship, caring and bonding. Think of this film as STAND BY ME meets...well...a killer clown.

And the clown IS killer. As played by Bill Skarsgard (TV's THE CROWN), Pennywise The Dancing Clown is slyly sinister, drawing the children in as a spider would a fly. It is only when the children are close (and alone) does he drop the guise of niceness and pounce. This is an intense and terrifyingly terrific performance, keeping the fine line between realism and camp (a line that Tim Curry trounced all over in the TV Mini-series version of this material in the 1980's).

I'm a big fan of Stephen King's writing (having read nearly all of his books and short stories) and I walked out of the theater thinking "finally, someone figured out the right way to make a Stephen King thriller work on the screen" and that someone is Director Andy Muschietti (MAMA). He guides this film with a strong hand, not wavering in his vision or sense of purpose as to where (and how) he wants this story to go. He let's the young actor's lead this story, with Skargard's clown pouncing every now and then. This works well, especially when infusing something that is sorely lacking, typically, in these types of films - humor.

And the humor, mostly, falls into the hands of Richie Tozier (Finn Wolfhard, STRANGER THINGS). He is an absolute bright spot injecting just the wrong (or maybe it is right?) comment in a tense situation, just as a 13 year old boy would do. As part of the "Loser's Club", he holds a bright spot in keeping things together when the mood threatens to get too grim or dire. And grim and dire is what is following this set of "Loser's", a veritable "who's who" of loser stereotypes. There is the "fat kid", Ben Hanscome (Jeremy Ray Taylor, ANT-MAN, in a sweet performance), the "always sick kid with the overbearing mother", Eddie Kasbrak (Jack Dylan Grazer), the "Jewish kid", Stanley Uris (Wyatt Oleff) and the "Black Kid", Mike Hanlon (Chosen Jacobs).

But the heart and sole of this film is the two main leads of the "Loser's Club", Bill Denbrough (Jaeden Lieberher, star of two criminally under-viewed gems MIDNIGHT SPECIAL and ST. VINCENT) and Beverly Marsh (Sophia Lillis, a relative newcomer that bears watching in the future). Both are harboring deep, emotional scars - Bill blames himself for the death of his brother by Pennywise and Beverly is (wrongly) viewed as a 13 year old slut by school rumor and innuendo and is sexually harassed by her father. The relationship between these two and the rest of the Loser's Club is the real treat of this film and the actor's are up to the challenge to draw us in and care about what happens to them when they are, ultimately, separated and confronted by Pennywise.

I was surprised by how little graphic gore there was in this film (though there is plenty of blood) and there is a little too many "jump scares" for my taste, but these are quibbles for a very good, very intense "scary film".

I floated out of the cinema after seeing this film You'll float too.

Letter Grade: A-

8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)