Month: June 2016

James Wan is back to direct a second tale depicting paranormal researchers/ghost hunters Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren. But is it as scary as “The Conjuring”?

Synopsis: In the 1970’s Ed and Lorraine travel to England to investigate a haunting which locals refer to as London’s Amityville.

The Good: For the first hour, “The Conjuring 2” does almost everything right. Even though director James Wan essentially uses the same horror buildup’s, which lead to the same jump-scares and thus the same cranked up to 11 horror musical cues, that he always does; he does it all so well many may argue that Wan has created his own official horror style; a style which holds the highest rate of effectiveness in the genre. It’s as though with every movie he’s teaching a master-class in cookie-cutter horror direction, but does it better and more effectively than anyone working today.

The Bad: Little by little, there emerges this love story aspect between Ed and Lorraine. This love story is pushed along by some of the worst dialogue I’ve heard outside of a Harlequin romance. As this aspect moves to the forefront of the story, it becomes more cringe-inducing, reaching the point where every time Ed and Lorraine pause, turn and tell each other something unbearably lovey dovey, I couldn’t help but imagine that the latter half of “The Conjuring 2” would essentially be the movie Nicholas Sparks would make if he tried his hand at the horror film genre.

Along with said love story, there also emerged another questionable aspect which stops this film dead in its tracks time and time again. “The Conjuring 2” becomes a religious film; or at least contains a very religious undertone. I understand that movies dealing with hauntings and exorcisms go hand in hand with priest and bible verses, but this is different. I would almost liken the religious undertones this film takes on to movies like “Do You Believe?”, “Fireproof” or “Courageous”; films which seem like dramatic genre pieces, but end up morphing into Sunday School lessons. This aspect isn’t a bad thing, on face value. But much like the love story aspect, wholesome religious rhetoric seems way out of place in a film of this nature.

That said, there will be many who will be able to look past the sappiness and the Sunday School level preaching. But even if that’s the case, screenwriter Carey Hayes has one more surprise in store for those who reach the 2 hour mark; an ending which in its own right is idiotically simplistic, but whose explanation is so convoluted that as it begins, I looked down at the time and recoiled in horror at how long I’d been sitting there.

Final Thought: Do you remember “Insidious: Chapter 2”? I don’t and (looking back on my article) I gave it a positive review. That’s what “The Conjuring 2” is. Even if you enjoy this overlong British version of its predecessor (just with more religious asides and a painfully sappy Hallmark inspired love story crowbarred in) at the end of the day it’ll still be a forgettable film.

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Maybe after watching “Snowpiercer” and the Terry Gilliam canon, director Ben Wheatley decided to make a movie about people in a confined location, broken down into class systems, until all hell breaks loose (adapted from a novel by J.G. Ballard).

Synopsis: In a future where dogs are consumed and drowned, a bunch of people live in a high-rise and act peculiar. There are meant to be five buildings with a grand lake in the middle, acting as a palm of sorts (and the buildings are the fingers). This particular high-rise is the first one to be completed and seems to be all encompassing; there is a supermarket on the 15^th floor, an entire floor dedicated to playing squash on, etc; with the wealthy living on the upper floors and the working-class on the lower. A doctor (played by Tom Hiddleston) moves in, but seems like a fish out of water within the upper class. It doesn’t help that everyone seems to know his business before he opens his mouth and that he begins to be put into very awkward Gilliam-esque social situations, time and time again.

With the best cinematography I’ve seen in any film all year, at many times “High-Rise” displays storytelling that can only be described as “incoherent”; except for every establishing shot, which shows Wheatley’s eye for spatial recognition (you are always aware of how high in up in the building you are at all times). But if you’re looking for a coherent storyline, then look elsewhere.  And if you make it to the second hour, you will only become more frustrated and more visually put-off by the nonsensical plot developments.

Final Thought: “High-Rise” seems to have a point about class systems being evil, but I don’t know what it is saying that hasn’t been said before, with much less “abstract meaning within the meaningless” sequences. Thus, the overall issue comes down to the fact that without a doubt 90% of audiences either  won’t grasp onto the odd little eccentricities that moves this story forward or won’t care enough to do so; basically giving up on this beautiful looking train-wreck, eventually.

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There are all sorts of ways to tell someone’s story. But by far, a by-the-numbers type biopic is the most boring. Far too plain to pay homage in any kind of impactful way, “I Saw the Light” is deserving of little more than a spot on the Lifetime Channel.

Synopsis: The life and times of country-western singer, Hank Williams Sr.

Problem is (aside from the vanilla handling of the live fast, die young material) for the most part this movie flies though certain aspects of the story without explanation or exposition. I really never got to know who Hank Williams Sr. truly was. And it is my opinion that no matter how famous the subject, if one has to be a diehard fan or have read a book to grasp onto what they are watching, the director and/or screenwriter(s) (in this case, Marc Abraham) have failed their audience.

The performances from Tom Hiddleston (Hank Williams Sr.) and Elizabeth Olsen (Audrey Williams, Hank’s first wife) are more than serviceable, as these are two emerging powerhouses in their field. And at the end of the day, no matter how much I believe Abraham mishandled this story, “I Saw the Light” was always going to live and die on Hiddleston’s singing abilities (as Hiddleston’s actual singing voice is used in this film); an aspect which Abraham wasn’t afraid to put into the forefront of his feature. And the results are…well, he’s no Joaquin Phoenix.

Final Thought: It is impossible not to draw comparisons to James Mangold’s “Walk the Line”, as the both are bios of legendary country-western singers set within a decade of one another. But when you realize that “I Saw the Light” shows its hand within the first 20 minutes (meaning: this film was all it was ever going to be within the first 20 minutes) you may find yourself sinking in your seat, as the comparison will become so distractingly overwhelming, that it should find a majority to perceive “I Saw the Light” as instantly forgettable.

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