Tag: tim curry

Don’t you know a kid always wins against two idiots? “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992)

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directed by Chris Columbus
© 1992 20th Century Fox. All Rights Reserved.

I guess today’s post isn’t a surprise. Yesterday I told you that I cannot imagine winter without “Home Alone”. Well, each year on the following day, after watching “Home Alone”, I watch its sequel. And I honestly think that both parts are equally good, despite the difference in general ratings. So as you know very well (I hope), in this part Kevin ends up in New York without his family. And until they come to get him, he has to survive on his own, which wouldn’t be a problem unless our two lovely robbers didn’t end up in the same city as well. And I know that a lot of people think this part is worse, but I think that the producers did a really good job. Imagine if they repeated the story – Kevin stays at home again. Booooring. Or the family moves to another house and the same guys are trying to rob Kevin’s house. Boooooring. Or they exchange Kevin with another boy or the criminals with some other guys. Hell no! So I think making Kevin stay on his now in a huge city was a wonderful idea (for cinema, of course, don’t do it with your own children, please). In this part there are some fun facts you should know about as well. For example, Macauley Culkin earned a huge amount of money for that role – 4,500,000 dollars. Yes, I wrote those zeros on purpose so you see how much it is. If you ask me, I wish I was Kevin. And I guess Joe Pesci was a bit jealous too, because he wasn’t much friendly with Macauley. Some say it was his way of showing he likes the kid, some say he actually didn’t like him. Who knows? Next fact – the filmmakers had a lot of problems during shooting because of… snow. Normally, in most Christmas productions, they use artificial snow. In “Home Alone 2” they were lucky enough to have enough of real snow on set. Unfortunately, their cameras didn’t like that and they were often freezing. You cannot have everything, right? At least they could take breaks for building a snowman while waiting for the equipment to start working. Oh and I guess you know that Donald Trump appears in the film for maybe 2-3 seconds? He shows little Kevin the way, which is probably the only nice thing he’s done in his life (I don’t like talking about politics, but I just had to joke about that, laugh with me or forgive me). Anyway, there are too many funny moments in the sequel to skip it or rate it lower. And let’s face it – winter without Kevin is not winter, so I’m truly thankful that such story was created.

My rating: 9/10
S.

Clowns should be served only in Curry. “It” (2017)

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directed by Andy Muschietti
© 2017 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Surprisingly, I had huge hopes for this film. I liked both the book and the first film-series based on Stephen King’s “It”. Therefore, I thought such re-make with the modern technology we have now would be spectacular and I would watch it with 3 blankets on my face. Unfortunately, it was quite disappointing. Maybe I expected too much or it really isn’t the best re-make. This post is absolutely personal and subjective, so if you did like the 2017 version, I’m happy for you. If you don’t know the story at all, let me write a few words about it. It all starts with a little Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) who is playing with his paper sailboat in the street. Accidentally, the toy goes down a storm drain, where the boy meets Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Bill Skarsgård). The creature bites his arm off and the child disappears with him. Or I should say with “It”. Later, we follow the brother of missing Georgie together with his friends. The group tries their best to find Pennywise and Georgie, who is believed to be still alive. So basically, “Stranger Things” and a creepy Clown. The story is pretty basic, but, when it comes to the book, those were the descriptions by King which kept people feel anxious the whole time. When it comes to the series from 1990, I think the biggest applause should go to Tim Curry. I know that choosing between him and Bill Skarsgård is like the discussion “who is the best Joker from “Batman”?” I’m sure there will be different opinions. Personally, for me Tim Curry was quite natural. I know it sounds ridiculous considering the fact he played a creepy clown-murderer, but I felt no lie in his behaviour. And when it comes to Bill, he overacted the character. For me he was trying too hard to be Pennywise and it looks cheap, in my opinion. I believe that a good horror character should be the one who just appears on the screen and already gives you goosebumps. They don’t need any special effects to make us feel scared. So definitely 1990 Pennywise wins in my eyes. But I’m waiting for the second part. I’ll definitely give it a try.

My rating: 4/10
S.

And we could have seen Colin Firth in a sexy body suit… “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” (1994)

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directed by Stephan Elliott
© 1994 Gramercy Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Oh buddy… That’s a film that made my brain dance. I mean it. If you haven’t heard of it, let me put it this way… Imagine that Agent Smith from “Matrix” (1999), Leonard from “Memento” (2000) and that creepy guy who played Ramsley in “The Haunted Mansion” (2003) decide to get together, buy a big bus and go on tour as… drag queens. You think I’m joking? Ha, I wish. Or actually, no. I liked this film so thank you gentlemen for wearing those sexy shiny costumes and making me spend almost 2 hours in shock. Those three gentlemen (if you don’t know the films I’ve mentioned, then you have something to catch up on) are of course Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp (sorry for calling him creepy, but he really makes me shiver when I see him, even in this role). And actually, Stamp plays a transgender woman, while the other two are men working as drag queens. They decide to go for a month-long tour across the desert and perform with their special kind of cabaret. The story is both adorable, amusing, but also slightly dramatic, because people in small towns weren’t used to seeing men in such clothes. Oh, speaking of clothes. You can be sure to get a lot of new ideas since this film got an Oscar for best costume design in 1995. Well-deserve one, in my opinion. However, I cannot let you watch it without telling you about some funny facts. Do you remember amazing Tony Curtis? He was supposed to play Bernadette (the transgender woman), but finally resigned. Their second thought was… John Cleese, but he resigned as well. And then… Tim Curry! Imagine how different this film would look like if any of those fantastic actors decided to actually take the role. However, Stamp did a great job, so perhaps it was for the best. Still, it was possible to see Colin Firth in one of the roles as well. That would be better than “Mamma Mia” (2008) and “Bridget Jones’s Diary” (2001) in one. I think this story shows us the importance of casting, huh?

My rating: 7/10
S.