Okay, so I’ve not written anything here in quite a while.  September brought my annual vacation, then at my company picnic a local SPCA brought puppies.  I went home with a new little girl who has been running me ragged keeping her out of trouble and cleaning up after her!  Anyway, onto some reviews…

“It: Chapter Two”

A movie that needs no real introduction.  Not as good, I didn’t think, as the first, but still quite enjoyable.  Bill Skarsgård’s turn as the titular pronoun’s evil clown incarnation is still fantastic and creepy.

Final Grade: B+

“Villains”

A dark comedy about two thieves (Skarsgård and Maika Monroe) who unfortunately have their getaway car run out of gas on a back road.  They spy a nearby home and break in, hoping to steal the owner’s car or at least siphon gas from it.  Instead, they find out the homeowners (Jeffrey Donovan and Kyra Sedgwick) have some rather criminal tendencies as well.

A fun and twisted romp, well performed by the cast.  Highly recommended!

Final Grade: A

“Castle Rock”

Series by Hulu, streaming on their service.

Based loosely on the fictional town featured in many Stephen King novels and stories (King serves as an Executive Producer and Writer on the series), the first season of the show starts with a new warden taking over at Shawshank Prison after the last warden has died.  Finding a wing of the prison that isn’t used, the new warden sends some guards to investigate and they find a man (Skarsgård, his second King property) imprisoned there, presumably by the late warden for reasons unknown.  The man is mostly quiet and doesn’t talk, but says the name “Henry Deaver,” a former Castle Rock resident turned death row attorney.  One of the guards notifies Deaver, who returns to Castle Rock, intrigued as to why this man would have asked for him.

The series unfolds over 10 episodes, revealing just who the man is, what his connection to Deaver is, and why the town of Castle Rock is plagued with random acts of severe violence.  More thriller/sci-fi than horror (as might be expected by King’s involvement), but I rather enjoyed it nonetheless.  The twists keep coming, and the pacing is very good.  Season two is coming soon (but does not contain Bill Skarsgård in the cast).

Final Grade: B+