The Rite

Directed By: Mikael Hafstrom
Written By: Michael Petroni
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Collin O'Donoghue, Ciaran Hinds & Alice Braga
Rated: PG-13

MY RATING: C+

It's Anthony Hopkins in a creepy role, what else needs to be said?

Based on actual events.  In The Rite, Michael Kovak (Collin O'Donoghue) is an American seminary student who has lost all faith.  He is about to give up on being a priest when his mentor sends him to Italy to take a course in exorcisms.  Once in Italy, Father Xavier (Ciaran Hinds) who is teaching the course, learns of Michael's lack of faith and sends him to work with exorcist Father Lucas Trevant (Anthony Hopkins).  Through working with Father Lucas, Michael witnesses things that shake him a little but nothing he can't explain.  As his journey continues however he can no longer deny the presence of the devil and resurrecting his faith in God is the only thing that can pull him through.

I enjoyed this film but it wasn't that memorable for me.  It's difficult to critique the storyline since it's based on actual events. However I thought there were holes missing in Michael Kovak's backstory or maybe a clear enough picture wasn't painted.  There were many flashback scenes that in the end had no impact on the story.  Other than that I enjoyed the rest of the script. The exorcism scenes were quite disturbing as they should be.  Now I know they were trying to give Anthony Hopkins a Hannibal Lector type of role but this one didn't quite hit the mark.  Don't get me wrong, Mr. Hopkins did a great job but it wasn't as memorable as his Hannibal Lector character.  I did however love the arch that Michael (O'Donoghue) went through.  This story I believe is relatable to many people.  I even shed a tear towards the end of the movie.  Job well done on the makeup effects, special effects and use of locations.  Visually perfect.  As a drama this would be great, but did it scare me? Not so much.  However this is still a good exorcism movie to put on the list.


So I'd say see it but there's no rush.

The Haunting in Connecticut

Directed By: Peter Cornwell
Written By: Adam Simon & Tim Metcalfe
Starring: Virginia Madsen, Martin Donovan, Elia Koteas & Kyle Gallner
Rated: PG-13

MY RATING: C +

Well told story but not haunting enough for me. 

The Haunting in Connecticut is based on a true story.  It follows the Campbell family who relocates to Connecticut in order to get their very sick son, Matt (Kyle Gallner), the Cancer treatment he needs.  They find the perfect home but not soon after they move in, Matt starts witnessing strange events.  It is quickly discovered that their new house used to be a funeral home.  Desperate to get her son the help he needs, Sara Campbell (Virginia Madsen) is willing to overlook that simple fact.  However Matt is no so lucky when he starts having visions of the dark past locked inside the house.  As things escalate more and more the question becomes will the Campbells all escape the house before it's too late?

This one is pretty hard to critique because it is painted with the brush of being "based on a true story." Of course I had many moments where I wanted to yell at the screen, get out of the house! I never understand why the family doesn't leave as soon as strange things start happening. However, being that these are supposed to be actual events I had to let that be.  Although I must say they did a good job of making the audience relate to the mom's perserverance and anguish in wanting to help her dying son.   
Now on to the horror elements. The ghosts were visually somewhat disturbing. I grimaced a little here and there.  Nothing made me want to turn away so it wasn't terribly gory. With a PG-13 rating I guess that's to be expected.  Not much suspense for me either. I felt the "jump" scenes were pretty predictable so nothing really got me.  My main issue was the unrealistic looking special effects used in a climactic scene at the end.  If I'm spending all of my time focused on how divorced the actor is from the special effect he's supposed to be physically connected to then that's not good.  Luckily that was a small fraction of the film because the rest held up fairly well.  At the end of the night I was not disturbed by this film at all, which is what I like after watching a horror film.  But I was entertained.  It was nowhere near one of the scariest movies I've seen but it was a little creepy and kept me intrigued throughout.  The actors were good. The story was good. The make-up effects were great!  All in all, not bad.    

I'd say check this out but there's no rush.

Whistling in the Dark

Directed By: S. Sylvan Simon
Written By: Robert MacGunigle, Harry Clork and Albert Mannheimer
Starring: Red Skelton, Conrad Veidt and Ann Rutherford

MY RATING: B +

A great way to mix comedy with mystery!

Whistling in the Dark begins by introducing us to members of the Silver Haven cult group.  Their mission is to con rich people out of their money.  One woman in particular has left her inheritance to the Silver Haven but they can only receive it once her living heir dies.  Leader Joseph Jones (Conrad Veidt) decides to have the woman's heir murdered to speed up the process.  Who better to enlist  than a popular radio crime solver named Wally Benton a.k.a. "The Fox" (Red Skelton)?  Jones kidnaps him to have him devise a murder plot and for extra insurance he also kidnaps The Fox's fiance and friend.  Now Wally (Skelton) has to figure out how to escape and save everyone involved. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this classic!  It certainly was more of a comedy but I can see why Red Skelton was one of the comedic geniuses of his time.  I laughed out loud many times and it's hard for jokes to grow with the times.  Red Skelton delivered some hilarious lines though!  Also Conrad Veidt was perfect as the creepy, vindictive cult leader.  There's a line in the movie where Joseph Jones tells "The Fox," "Remember you only have to kill one person to save three." Perfect!  That sums up the stress thrust upon Red Skelton's character and the tension that builds throughout the movie.  Not to worry, there's plenty of comic relief. 
I also loved the integration of the radio programming with the story.  I'm always fascinated with how radio shows were the only form of entertainment back then and this film definitely gave a window into that world.
The set for the Silver Haven mansion wrapped the story up in the cold, haunting background it needed. 
As a classic this one definitely holds up!  I thought it was resolved a little too easily but that tends to be the case for a lot of films of it's time.  They only had an hour and 18 minutes to tell a story, not the 2 plus hours used today. 
But overall less can be more.  Whistling in the Dark ... very entertaining!

I'd say definitely check this one out!

Bridesmaids

Directed By: Paul Feig
Written By: Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Ellen Kemper
Rated: R

MY RATING: B +

A hysterical new comedy from the female perspective that can rumble with the big boys!

Bridesmaids is about two childhood best friends, Annie (Kristen Wiig) and Lillian (Maya Rudolph) who have been through everything together.  However, Annie is struggling with her love life and life in general while things seem to be running smoothly for Lillian.  Just as Annie relies on the fact that she'll always have her best friend, Lillian breaks the news that her boyfriend has proposed and they're now going to be planning her wedding.  Naturally Annie is asked to be the Maid of Honor and she's then introduced to an interesting bunch of ladies who will serve as the bridesmaids.  One in particular - the beautiful, well-off Helen (Rose Byrne), is trying to steal the spotlight and make Annie's life miserable.  Though way out of her league, Annie is determined to show Lillian just how much her friendship and wedding mean to her. 

Let me say I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard during a movie.  At one point I was in tears thanks to the talented Melissa McCarthy who did a splendid job as the rough around the edges, brash, soon-to-be sister-in-law, Megan.  I know this was supposed to be Kristen Wiig's film, serving as writer, co-producer and main character but I'm sorry Melissa McCarthy stole the show.  Every time she was on screen she dominated but that is also a credit to the script.  She could not have accomplished the humor without the lines on the page.  For the most part I thought the script was pretty darn good.  Loved the dialogue!  What grabbed me the most was the realism.  When you wished a character would say something in a scene, they actually did.  That was gratifying.  They also tackled vulgar humor in a tasteful way.  Of course there were things added in for comic value that I felt could've been eliminated and the story got off to a slow start.  This is one of those films where you know the premise ahead of time so you're ready to just get to it and it takes a tick to get there.  I also wasn't quite in love with the pacing.  Scenes of absolute hilarity are followed by more serious, heartfelt moments and it didn't always make for a smooth ride.  The jokes outweigh anything else though and if laughter is what you're looking for then this is the film to see.  All in all I was pleased and it lived up to the hype. 

So I say this one is definitely worth seeing for some good laughs!

Faster

Directed By: George Tillman Jr.
Written By: Tony Gayton and Joe Gayton
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Carla Gugino and Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Rated: R

MY RATING: C+

Vengeance was good but could've been kicked up a notch.

Faster follows an ex-con (Dwayne Johnson) who's newly released from prison and on a mission to avenge his brother's murder.  He receives a list of all of the people responsible and he plans to take them out one by one.  After finding and killing the first person on his list he leaves a trail for police to follow.  At the same time a crazy hit man (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) is out to kill him.  So who will be "faster" and reach their goal first? 

I loved seeing Dwayne Johnson in a R rated film and he's good as a bad ass!  In this film it was more about his body language and the intensity in his eyes because he barely had any lines.  Throughout the
majority of the film he was alone in his car and when he did come across other people he didn't have much to say.  Job well done as a menacing figure.  The story that was given to his character was very interesting.  I thought it was nicely developed but I needed more from his dramatic scene when we finally learned how his brother was killed.  For me his reaction wasn't big enough for the moment but it also didn't ruin the film either.  This leads me to my only other issue - for what Dwayne Johnson's character had been through I felt like his victims got off too easily.  I wanted more!  Nevertheless I was entertained and into the whole story.  Billy Bob Thornton brought a nice element to the table as the washed up detective hoping to redeem his reputation before retirement.  I'm not sure the hit man character (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) was necessary for the development of the story but he added suspense so why not.  Faster had plenty of action, lots of blood and even a little twist which all made for a pretty good action movie.  Overall I was pretty pleased but there was nothing super impressive either ... besides Dwayne Johnson of course. 

So I'd say see it but there's no rush.