Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: It: Chapter Two (2019)

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-06-2019, 09:27 PM:

I won't be sitting through this gore-fest, but I do have to endure listening to it from my office.

It's pretty amazing how much the word "fuckin'" has entered the language. These are not direct quotes, but I've endured about a half hour (so far) of phrases like:

"I fuckin' hate you, man!"
"You don't fuckin' know what you're talking about!"
"This fuckin' place creeps me out!"
(or "This place fuckin' creeps me out!")

In all instances, "fuckin'" could have been left out and the sentences would have made just as much sense.

I could say it's lazy writing, but it is reflective of the way many people talk these days, sad to say. They've even got kids in the movie talking this way.

Posted by Peter Foyster (Member # 9599) on 09-06-2019, 10:49 PM:

I often wonder, being that the crude expression for the act of coitus has become part of the vernacular world wide, what word will take its place for the actors, comedians and those with questionable communication skills to use now that the shock value no longer exists.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 09-07-2019, 12:33 PM:

I'll use profanity occasionally in social situations where that kind of language is acceptable, so I can't act like I'm some kind of super righteous person. With that being said even I get worn out by over-use of profanity in movies and TV shows.

Various "four letter words" lose their effect when used too much in a movie or TV shows. They have a numbing effect after awhile and lose any meaning whatsoever. If anything, when profanity is over-used it only gets annoying and possibly exposes writers for being really lazy.

It's one thing when a foul mouth fits a particular kind of character. If the movie is about mobsters you're sure not going to expect to hear G-rated dialog all the time. Even still, the screenwriter (and director, actors, etc) have to realize what kind of effect elements of dialog have on an audience. If you want a profanity-enhanced statement from a character to make a big impact with the audience it helps if the audience hasn't been hearing a constant stream of profanity up until that point.

In Season 2, Episode 6 of the Breaking Bad TV series on AMC the episode had a scene in a restaurant where the use of profanity had a devastating, punch in the gut effect. The main character, Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is transforming into his drug dealing "Heisenberg" persona. He has a tense conversation with Gretchen Schwartz, a woman he almost married but who is now married to a former business partner. White has long been furious about selling his half of a company called "Gray Matter" to his partner for only $5000, only to later see the company and his former partner become ultra rich while he ended up teaching high school chemistry. Gretchen tries reaching out to him to mend fences (Walter bailed out of their engagement by the way). The conversation goes awry. She says, "I feel so sorry for you." White angrily replies, saying, "fuck you."

I remember my reaction the first time I watched that scene. I was staggered. Not just because they wrote "fuck you" into a basic cable TV show. It worked in multiple ways, but also helped by the fact the series was allowed only one f-bomb per season. By using that curse word of all curse words in a vary sparing way it had far more of an impact than other words frequently heard, like "bitch" or "shit."

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-07-2019, 02:21 PM:

I work in a shop where, some days, people are dropping the F-Bomb every third word and it goes virtually unnoticed. It's part of the culture in that kind of place, I guess.

Personally, I don't care but I do find it to be "low-minded."

I'll often say something like, "Go fly a kite," using the same tone of voice and the same stress on the letter 'F' that one might use when telling somebody to "F-Off."

I think it actually has more effect when said that way.

When it comes to movies and TV, I'm okay with swearing if it fits the context. The problem is that there are too many shows that use it gratuitously. I don't really mind, per se, but I do find it boring and more than a little bit grating.

The first movie that I can remember where there was swearing is "The Taking of Pelham 1:23" (1974) -- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072251/

It came out when I was around ten years old. My father used to take my brother and I to the movie theater and drop us off so that he could go out drinking.

It seemed kind of normal that cops and bad guys would swear at each other so I thought it was all right. By the same token, if one of the characters in that same movie had sworn in the wrong context I would have noticed.

Even as a kid, I knew about foul language. I grew up in an environment where swearing was common. I still understood that there was a time and a place to swear or not to swear.

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 09-10-2019, 09:36 PM:

The language seemed honest for the time, to me.
Actual review after seeing it in a Toronto cinema (Alliance Beaches #2) Sunday afternoon, house maybe 20% full:
Presentation ok, sound a bit low as is normal.
The first two hours are almost all back story, assorted drama, and setup. Then the action picks up. Jump scares and assorted gore and humor. Stretchy granny is good for a laugh.
Without spoilers all I can say is that the ending is not too believable, a "creature" as ancient and powerful as It shouldn't fall for that. But Stephen King stories are all rather porous.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 09-13-2019, 12:20 AM:

I liked the first It better than this one. This one is ok, but it doesn't have the impact of the first one. We've seen Pennywise before, and the stuff with the bathroom drains was a lot more interesting than what they get up to in part two.

I don't see why they had the short scene where they showed Pennywise without his makeup, either. He's not scary without it and isn't that the the objective?

The escaped crazy man could have been used for a lot more stuff than he was allowed to do.

The granny is good. So is the house of mirrors.

And I got a kick out of scene from The Thing.

Posted by Helmut Maripuu (Member # 2281) on 09-13-2019, 02:04 AM:

Fuck! That is why we Europeans hate FUCKING! American movies. OH where are all the good movies from London based movie studio Pinwood.

Posted by Frank Cox (Member # 6258) on 09-14-2019, 11:57 PM:

Are the rest of you getting a lot of scare-outs with It 2?

Three boys around 18 or 20 years old got scared out and left last night, and one tonight. They look pretty white and shaky when they leave, too.

One other customer got so tense about the movie that he had a nosebleed last night, too.

I don't remember there being so many scare-outs with the first It movie, but maybe I've just forgotten.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-15-2019, 09:41 PM:

We haven't had any yet, as far as I know. The only people who usually ever leave scary movies are more grossed-out than scared out, I think. (Or they are teenagers who decide it would be more fun to go and "make out.")

Posted by Marcel Birgelen (Member # 6801) on 09-28-2019, 08:33 AM:

"This fuckin' place fuckin' creeps the fuck out of me."

-- There. I did a Gordon Ramsay on that one.

I'd say the language in the movie pretty much reflects the general approach of the movie. It's all just over the top. Seemingly gone are the days of the horror movie that could build a somewhat believable scenario based on mainly subtle inputs and small reveals. Shock value is important, but it wears off quickly, at least for me. What then remains is essentially a bad comedy movie that takes itself way to seriously.