I've just (finally) finished IT, by Stephen King, and I have to say, "ehhhhh"... To elaborate, I just didnt like it as much as I thought I might. I didnt go in with an expectation one way or the other, having finished it though, I can't honestly say I'll ever read it again. I've always been a fan of the made-for-tv movie adaptation. A lot of screaming fanboys rant and rave about how great the novel is, and how shit the film is by comparison. Whatever. The film is not great, and suffers from a pretty damn woeful ending, and having read the book now, I can fully admit that the ending of the movie stinks even more. That's it? A fucking papier mache spider with some halogen globes in it's gut? After Tim Curry's fantastically creepy Pennywise, that was a giant letdown. It just failed miserably to capture the mood, style or substance of King's words. And yes, the acting is not fantastic either. But I enjoy the movie anyway, in a nostalgic kind of way, and it's a great way to pass a couple of idle weeknights, watching it as a "miniseries".

One thing that always strikes me about King's writing is how dead-on he nails childhood. It's obvious this guy relished his. He perfectly captures the "crush" mentality of Ben for Beverly, and likewise Beverly's feelings for Bill. In addition, the childhood games, pranks, and mischief kids that age get up to. Again, absolutely spot on. I was laughing hysterically at the bit where Henry and his pals eat the baked beans and go lighting their farts at the dump. Not that I ever did that. I'm just sayin...

The way he juxtaposes the adult "lucky seven" with the kids, paragraph by paragraph and chapter by chapter, is amazing. King is one damn talented writer. Definite shades of "The Body" (or Stand by Me) in the bits with the kids. The way he builds mood, fleshes out the story of Derry, Maine, and of "IT" itself, is again, wonderful writing. The way he depicts the inherent belief of childhood as opposed to the cynical non-belief, and indeed blindess of the adult townsfolk, again, magic.

Still, things annoyed me. For one thing, it's overlong, at times I found myself sighing in frustration, and muttering "fucking jeebus h christ, man, just get on with it..." and certain elements really got on my nerves, the most intrusive was Richie Tozier's "Voices"...although they play an integral role at the end, which I figured they would, when King would have him go on and on with them, I just found my eyes wandering off the page. If I knew a kid like that, I'd be slapping him upside the head. To King's credit, some of Richie's friends, on occasion, do just that.

Couple of things scared me, and were wonderfully creepy, Pennywise beckoning to little Georgie from the drain struck me with a cold shiver. The interrogation of the guys that throw the homosexual fella off the bridge, again, creepy, I paraphrase:

Kid: "I don't know who that guy under the bridge was though, I'd never seen him before."
Cop: "What guy?"
Kid: "The guy in the clown suit. The guy with the balloons."

Again...cold, cold shiver.

I found IT's manipulation of people fascinating, not just Henry Bowers, but the entire town. The part in Mike's history of Derry where the guy comes into the tavern and starts hacking those guys up with an axe was fantastic too. I enjoyed the book heaps, it was certainly a great, much-needed revelation as to what IT was, and how it was an integral part of the town itself, and I was grateful to learn a lot more about the lucky seven. The Turtle (completely absent from the film) was a great turn too, especially the "sicked up the universe" aspect...King has a wacky imagination.

Freaking hell, there I go again, getting all wordy, this wasnt supposed to be a review of the book, I'm just killing time on a very boring Friday the 13th afternoon at work.

All in all, my beginning comments were a tad harsh, I did enjoy the book, just wasnt floored by it. I actually have a favourite King novel, the oft-overlooked "Gerald's Game." It's a masterpiece, in my opinion. It's engrossing, fascinating, and above all, the third act is fucking terrifying.

Well, as I said, it's Friday the 13th today...I'm off to watch some horror movies...

Okay, among other wacky things since I quit smoking I've been having these weird-ass vivid dreams. Last night I'm helping this old guy cut up and remove a tree that was blocking a small dirt road, and we look over to this building/tree (it was both, sort of a Giger-esque monstrosity of architecture) and these humungous sloths were cavorting around in it like monkeys, swinging from branches etc, and I turn to the old guy and say "c'mon, man, giant sloths don't exist!" and he looks at me very sagely and says "This is a dream, mate, they exist in dreams." And I thought, well fair enough then!

Okay so some dream-time later I'm walking around on a wet sports field, and I see this baby swan (the size of a real, adult swan) so I start patting it's head. Then all of a sudden I'm being chased by its mother, this GIANT swan that stood easily like 18-20 feet tall with a huge beak, it looked like some prehistoric beast, and i was fending off its violent pecks as it chased me around trying to kill me for daring to touch its offspring.

Why can't I just dream about naked chicks?

The caption above is from the flick "Home Alone" when Mac decides he's not scared any more, but it applies to me in the way I'm not scared of movies like I use to be. I just dont get that terrified can't sleep feeling...I guess its all a part of getting older and more cynical. The last thing that scared me was a book on a serial killer, BTK, who (among other terrible acts) threw a cinder block through a lady's front window, then killed her when she jumped out of bed to investigate. That sh*t scares me, the thought of a demented sicko throwing a brick through my window and topping me before I can reach for a weapon, actually had me lay awake for a few minutes before a combination of pills and booze ensured a restful night.

I do get scared...things make me jump, and I can always appreciate a well made horror flick. On the occasions when I can bring out that child in me, I do get the creeps watching a good horror movie. Even one I've seen countless times before. I just sometimes miss the days when I'd get into bed, the lights'd go off, and I'd lay awake in fear until sheer exhaustion had me nodding off. It used to happen after most horror movies, actually...but I guess the flipside is that nowadays I'm ecstatic when a flick can make me feel that way, I appreciate it all the more.

Yikes, I've just rattled on like a pratt again about nothing particularly interesting. Oh well. Its been fun.

I must say i approach all new horror movies with a certain amount of trepidation. That's not to say Im not regularly raiding the shelves at my local dvd store or checking out all things new to the cinema world of horror, but i've been so incredibly disappointed with a lot of them. Nothing irks me more than the Saw abominations. What part are we up to now? 27? Just kidding, it's like, 4 or something, with 5 on the way...i mean, c'mon, the dude from Princess Bride was in the first one. That alone had me giggling before the flick had even got started. Whoah did i say NOTHING irks me more? That's a lie. Hostel irks me more. I hated that movie with a passion. Eli Roth couldnt write his way out of a bloodsoaked paper bag. Nevermind the plot holes, that movie sucked because it wasnt scary. It attempted to be very gross, but failed there too, because IMO the over the top gore stank of "I'm tryin to gross you out", and that doesnt work for me. I'm just rambling here...I'm not expecting any feedback on any of this, just getting stuff off my chest and to kill some time at work...christ dont get me started on the Texas Chainsaw massacre remake, or the prequel, and whatever other garbage has been spat out attempting to cash in on the success of the first (and only) Texas Chainsaw Massacre. That was a horror movie. All imitations pale by comparison. I liked Rob Zombie's music. IMO he should have stuck with music. Enough said there.

Well I've mouthed off enough for one post.