It (2017)

Adapting what is, for many, a formative reading experience into a movie is always a challenge. Attempting to do that after there's already been a fantastic, and beloved, TV movie adaptation that many still view as definitive and iconic would seem to be a fool's errand. It's happened before with Stephen King works though, and I have no doubt that it will happen again. I'm not sure I would mind if they all turned out as well as this.

It, and it's worth mentioning for those who may be unaware that this is the first, albeit nicely self-contained, part of an enjoyably sprawling horror story that is spread out over two movies, is all about a group of youngster who help one another survive an extremely deadly summer in Derry, Maine. They all end up being affected by a creature that can take on the shape of their fears, although it mostly catches victims while in the shape of Pennywise the clown (Bill Skarsgård, doing such a great job that he somehow manages to equal the nightmare-inducing performance given by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV movie). That's all you need to know. Seven children, a lifelong bonding experience, and a killer clown.

Having very recently rewatched this, I am sure that I was a bit harsh on It during my first viewing experience. I did praise certain elements, particularly the mix of scares and bloodshed without a reliance on either, but I also mentioned some unnecessary CGI used, a slightly weak script, and the fact that the main characters weren't really. Well . . . present me disagrees with the past me (although I still think there are one or two bits of CGI work that didn't have to be done that way, or maybe even done at all).

With Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman figuring out the best ways to turn King's major tome into a satisfying screenplay, Andy Muschietti can stay focused on direction. The screenplay is a great blend of coming-of-age episodes and well-executed scares, even if a number of them are jump scares, and Muschietti serves the material well. The film is, in many ways, a mood piece, a painting by someone who wants to depict growing pains and common anxieties in the same picture. And, in that regard, it works. In fact, it works brilliantly, constantly evoking a growing sense of nostalgia, the blossoming of dark petals of sadness, and an impressive sprinkling of dread over every main sequence.

There are no weak performances to critique, which makes it easy for me to simply namecheck all seven members of "The Loser's Club" here; Jaeden Martell (Bill, credited here as Jaeden Lieberher), Sophia Lillis (Beverly), Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben), Finn Wolfhard (Richie), Chosen Jacobs (Mike), Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie), and Wyatt Oleff (Stanley). All of these characters get enough time and space to feel like more than just a scared victim, and the cast members are all perfectly cast. Nicholas Hamilton and Owen Teague are also very good, although they are given the unenviable task of playing typical King bullies who are, and Jackson Robert Scott does well enough in the role of young Georgie to cast a suitable little shadow over the entire film. As for Skarsgård, he's a creepy and brilliant delight in ways that I cannot even begin to list here. Whether pretending to be innocent and fun or showing a hint of his true evil nature, he's always an interesting depiction of a monster never quite comfortable enough in any one form to fully convince people that there's no threat nearby.

The 135-minute runtime ticks over without any pacing issues, those responsible for the adaptation from page to screen have great instincts for what to show, what to imply, and what to completely excise, and the whole thing is just about as good as you can get, certainly in the realm of modern mainstream horror. It's still hard to watch without thinking of the novel, or thinking of that beloved TV movie, but it's easily up there with the very best King movies (and the top of that particular tree has some real classics nesting there).

8/10

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Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023)

While I never exactly got into Dungeons & Dragons when I was younger, I did explore some of the lore and the scenarios created for it. I enjoyed a number of RPGs, but would often spend more time reading the rule books (for stuff like Star Wars and the brilliant Paranoia) and settling back into the single-player fun of the Fighting Fantasy books. But there was a time when I certainly knew a gelatinous cube from a less harmful creation, and I had a selection of impressively unusual dice.

I had heard good things about Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves since it first hit cinema screens a little while ago, and many people complimented it by saying that it somehow managed to evoke the atmosphere of a gaming session with friends. Many people were correct.

The plot is quite simple. Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez play bard Edgin and barbarian Holga, two people working together to escape their prison, assemble a group of people with various skillsets to help them, and defeat a villain who has been taking care of Edgin’s daughter for some time. The list of potential helpers includes Simon (Justice Smith), a sorcerer trying to get better with his powers, Doric (Sophia Lillis), a shape-shifting Druid, and Xenk Yendar (Regé-Jean Page), a Paladin who is mistrusted by Edgin. 

Co-directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio, this is a snappy and confident slice of genre work that may have benefited from those involved not having already worked with fantasy adventure material. The script balances everything well between the witty dialogue, the serious approach to the lore and world-building, and a number of brilliant little extra gags and references that those familiar to the game will catch, and the direction is polished and inventive enough to help make the 130-minute-plus runtime fairly fly by.

It also helps that the casting is actually about as perfect as can be. Pine turns his charm all the way up to full power, and that’s something almost impossible to resist, Rodriguez is as believably tough as ever, but with a good and loyal core making her easy to warm to, even as she is scowling at most of the people around her, and  there’s yet another wonderfully roguish turn from Hugh Grant, who is seeming to have more fun at this time in his career than he has at any other time. Smith gives us a character with an endearing lack of confidence, Page is at the other end of the spectrum, and Lillis is often the coolest member of the group until she transforms into whatever shape is required to cause maximum havoc. Chloe Coleman is fine in the role of Kira, Edgin’s daughter, and Daisy Head is enjoyably sombre as a powerful wizard with a plan to plunge the world into a new age of darkness and misery.

There are a couple of great set-pieces, including a hilarious sequence involving some magic used to enable Edgin to question some corpses (trust me, it’s much funnier than it sounds), the score/soundtrack is a delight, every element of the production design, wardrobe, and FX work looks as if it has been worked on with genuine care and attention to detail, and there’s a strong chance that this contains at least one of my favourite cameos in recent years (not to mention the other main cameo, a star name placed in a delightfully amusing scene that provides a little insight into what Holga looks for in a partner).

I am already keen to rewatch this, and I hope others feel the same way. It may have underperformed slightly at the box office, but, trust me, it’s a critical hit.

8/10

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Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase (2019)

I've always been aware of Nancy Drew, but have never tried to read the source material. While a voracious reader as a child, something I carried into adulthood until time became more limited and movies became my main obsession, I tended to focus on the tales aimed at young boys, the likes of The Hardy Boys and The Three Investigators. There was a good mix in The Famous Five and The Secret Seven, but they still felt suitably boyish in their narrative. Nancy Drew, to my young and closed-off mind, was just a plucky girl who probably didn't get up to anything as exciting as her male counterparts.

Ah well. It's never too late. Maybe I should revisit my youth, this time including Nancy on my reading list. But at least I had a general idea of the character, from my limited exposure to her over the years. To put it in very simple terms, Nancy Drew is a smart young investigator. She's like a one-woman Scooby gang, without the big dog accompanying her. That's all you need to know to appreciate this enjoyable teen flick.

Things start with Nancy (Sophia Lillis) helping a friend get revenge on a bully. This gets her in trouble, which leads to her doing some community service. While doing this community service, Nancy ends up helping Flora (Linda Lavin), an elderly woman who has to endure strange occurrences in her haunted home. Flora's niece, Helen (Laura Slade Wiggins), ends up helping Nancy in her investigation, despite the disapproval of Nancy's friends, George (Zoe Renee) and Bess (Mackenzie Graham).

Based on source material that fans of Nancy will already be very much aware of, written by Mildred Wirt Benson (under the pen name of Carolyn Keene), Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase has a solid script from Nina Fiore and John Herrera (taking quite the sidestep from work that has been made up of genre TV shows, from The Vampire Diaries to The Purge) and fine work from director Katt Shea. You get the gist of the character from the opening scenes, you get the sense of fun mixed with the potential for very real, serious consequences, and you can see everything being slotted into place for a fun mystery that won't hold many surprises for anyone with experience of this kind of adventure, although it's probably pitched just right for younger viewers.

Lillis is great in the lead role, a perfect fit. She's absolutely believable as the smart, plucky investigator who cares about the people she is helping. Renee and Graham are also very good, friends who are willing to help, even while they disagree with the company that Nancy starts keeping, and Wiggins gets to enjoy a nicely-worked character arc. Andrew Matthew Welch is a sweet young man, Deputy Patrick, trying to help while he also tries to make sure that he upholds the law, and the adults are played by a likeable bunch, including Lavin, Sam Trammell (playing Nancy's father), Andrea Anders, and more. The villain of the piece is obvious, but also played in a way that doesn't let things descend into some kind of pantomime finale. The tone stays just right, not too scary for kids, but with some threat to the main characters that feels very real.

It may not be your first choice, especially if you're not a teenage girl (what can I say, I am happy to watch anything, and can always keep in touch with a teen version of me who is happier to watch movies aimed at any demographic), but Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase is a quality little film, even better than the 2007 Nancy Drew movie, which I also enjoyed. It's entertaining, it's well-paced, and it has a great character that youngsters can view with admiration, and hopefully want to emulate sometimes.

7/10

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