Minority Mindset

If you want an honest look at succeeding in Los Angeles – especially in the entertainment world – you have to admit it often requires difficult compromises. Almost everyone trying to make it ends up making choices they’d prefer to avoid dwelling on, whether intentionally or not. The show I Love LA initially seemed like it would stay lighthearted, but everything shifts when Maia receives a note from her old boss in New York. Her expression, the story itself, and even the way the show is filmed all change. You don’t even need to read the message to understand it’s from someone who both intimidates and intrigues Maia, and the fact that it’s addressed to “Lewinsky” explains exactly why.

As a huge Marvel fan, I’m still waiting for any real news about the next Avengers film! Marvel’s been super secretive so far, and while there’s talk of a first trailer possibly dropping before the end of the year, it sounds like it won’t reveal much, even then. They’re really holding back on details!

The series doesn’t gain anything by showing more of the human side of Pennywise, and it actually weakens the fear surrounding his most recognizable form. The backstory of who Bob Gray was isn’t important – he was just another disguise the creature used. The show spends too much time explaining this, which slows down the episode. This is especially frustrating because the last episode ended with a tense cliffhanger: a group of armed citizens heading to the Black Spot to confront Hank. Luckily, after a brief flashback, the story quickly returns to that moment. Hank tries to prevent a fight by surrendering, but the soldiers take control and order the crowd to leave. They succeed, but it’s a hollow victory. As soon as the mob steps outside, they start a fire, throwing Molotov cocktails into the Black Spot, trapping dozens of people inside. This event won’t surprise viewers familiar with the book It or the 2017 movie, but it’s still incredibly disturbing to watch. The chaotic fire and desperate escape attempts are sometimes hard to follow, but the sequence is undeniably intense. The most striking image is Pennywise emerging from the flames, and equally memorable is the shot of him eating Jax’s date, Noreen. (There’s even a darkly humorous moment where he jokes to Ronnie, “Do I have face on my face?”)

To prepare for his role as a younger Dick Hallorann, Chris Chalk thoroughly researched the character and the story. He read Stephen King’s It, watched The Shining and Doctor Sleep, and even studied a book about Stanley Kubrick’s film adaptation. He was familiar with the backstory of the Black Spot, a burned-down juke joint featured in It: Welcome to Derry. However, he didn’t know how the series’ co-creator and director, Andy Muschietti, would actually bring that history to life on screen.

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4
• Episode 5
• Episode 6

Over the years, each new wave of Western films has given us unforgettable characters – both heroes and villains – that fans continue to love. Memorable Westerns are often defined by their memorable characters, and Doc Holliday from the film Tombstone remains one of the very best. Few Western characters have reached the same level of iconic status.