Review - Sinister

Scaring Up Goose Bumps

True crime writer Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) is living on his past glories while looking for his new hit. His books have always caused a bit of a chaos in towns so you can excuse the local law if they are not happy about his newest stop. In fact the new house he has moved into is more than just the house down the street from where a horrific tragedy occurred, it is THE house that was home to the massacre.

The story is one of a family that was found hanging from a tree in the back yard. There were of course, some mysterious things around the case. One of the children was never found and the case was never truly explained.

Immediately on moving into the house the strange things start to happen. It seems all centered on a box of innocuous enough films that were left behind in the attic. They look to have been left there AFTER they purchased the house and they have sweet titles like Hanging Out, Pool Party and Lawn Work…but these titles hide what is the true content of the films. When Ellison starts examining the films he quickly finds they are videos that capture a gruesome series of murders.

But that’s not all. Strange things start to happen around the house including their son with “night terrors” and films that start on their own to name a few. These weird happenings drive Ellison deeper into his examination of the cases and deeper into the bottle by his side. As things start to come together, the weird happenings get worse. Will he ever get to the bottom of this horrific crime scene?

Horror/Thrillers rarely screen for us in the critical community, and I don’t know why. Sinister is a film that got goose bumps on my arms on a number of occassions, and that is a success.

What I liked about this film that was different from many current horror attempts is the ability to put the crimes in your head and make them slosh around a bit instead of showing you pits of gore on screen. There is something to be said for a film that makes a gruesome scene SCARIER without seeing onscreen gore.

The kills in the story are not pleasant; there is no question about that. But director Scott Derrickson shows us them through filters whether a film on a screen or shooting the killing with the view in a mirror that you don’t have to splatter all the blood in the audience’s face every time.

It’s that imagery in your own mind of what that kill looks like that creeps you out. That mixed with good sound creates a film that is a decent scare.

Sure it devolves into some things that are a bit cliché and mainstream. And sure some of the characters act blissfully clueless in the movie, as the horror script goes. But, overall if you are looking for some definite goose bump action…Sinister will scare them up on your skin.

B

Sinister

Summit Entertainment

Director: Scott Derrickson

Stars: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Dalton Thompson, James Ransone

Rating: R

Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes

Home Screening Room - Prometheus is the Rock of Ages

Playing a bit of catch up here with Personal things going on..so let's get to the Home Screening Room with things that have come out over the past couple weeks. A week off from some trailers...but they will return next week, I promise!

This Week's Big Releases

Prometheus- Rated R (Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Noomi Rapace)

Alien before Alien? Yep you betcha. The Blu-ray is said to be loaded with extra goodness for fans.

Rock of Ages- Rated PG-13 (Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Russell Brand)
Hair band fans of the world unite. Turn off Hair Nation on XM 39 for awhile and watch Rock of Ages. It may not be the best film you see all year, but you'll have fun before it's over.

The Raven- Rated R (John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve)
Serial killer, Edgar Allen Poe books, nearing Halloween...this might be your choice.

What I missed from the last two weeks!

The Avengers  Rated PG-13 (Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth)

The NUMBER ONE movie of 2012 at the box office is home in a variety of different presentations.

Dark Shadows- Rated PG-13 (Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer)
Based on the TV series, this one has a TON of style in it, and it's ready for your Halloween viewing as well.

People Like Us- Rated PG-13 (Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks)
This one snuck up on me a bit. Not a happy tale by any means, but an intriguing story played out by some talented actors.

Also New This Week

12 Dogs of Christmas: Great Puppy Rescue– Rated PG (Danielle Chuchran, Sean Patrick Flannery, D.B. Sweeney)

30 Beats – Rated R (Jennifer Tilly, Paz de la Huerta)

The Barrens – Rated R (Stephen Moyer, Mia Kirshner)

The Cottage – Rated NR (David Arquette)

The Courier – Rated R (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Mickey Rourke)

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - Rated PG (Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore) 

For the first time on Blu-ray -- get the 2-disc limited collector's edition. Yes, this is cool.

The League: The Complete Season Three

One of my favorite shows from FX that fantasy football fans the world over rejoice to watch.

Whitney Season One

What I missed from the last two weeks!

90210: The Fourth Season

Ghost Hunters: Season 7, Part 2

Gilmore Girls Season 3 and 4

Grassroots - Rated R (Jason Biggs, Cedric the Entertainer)

The Letter - Rated R (James Franco, Winona Ryder)

Magic City: The Complete First Season

New Girl: The Complete First Season

Red Lights - Rated R (Cillian Murphy, Sigourney Weaver, Robert De Niro)

The Tall Man - Rated R (Jessica Biel)

And Finally

Grassroots – Rated R

(Jason Biggs, Cedric the Entertainer)

Politics....you've seen Obama/Romney....you've seen The Campaign...but we have yet another political movie for  you. Take a peek at the red band trailer by clicking on the link. Check the trailer out.

DVD/Blu-ray Tidbit of the Week

Look for the highly regarded Beastsof the Southern Wild to come to Blu-ray on December 4. Plus watch for a great animated film, ParaNorman coming home right around Thanksgiving this year.

Pick of the Week

Of course The Avengers is near the top of my must have list, plus ET on Blu and even Rock of Ages (the put it in while doing other things but sing along factor is pretty high).

Pop Popcorn, Do the Diet Dew, and Bust out the Blu and remember to Save Me A Seat!

Review - Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In The House of God

Amazing, Heart Wrenching and Moving

Alex Gibney has been the driving force behind some amazing documentaries. Sure Michael Moore grabs the headlines, but people like Gibney really shake things up. Over the past seven years alone he has been involved with some of the best documentaries of the period. Films like Taxi to the Dark Sice, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, Frakonomics and Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer have come from the directorial vision of Gibney. Now he is set to tackle the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic church.

 

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God has its United States premiere at the Milwaukee Film Festival. The film that starts with an emphasis on the case of Father Lawrence Murphy, a Catholic priest that abused children at the St. John’s School for the Deaf. Murphy is thought to be one of the first cases of its type where the victims actively protested the accused.

Over the course of the film, Gibney makes the case, when starting with Murphy, that the Vatican had knowledge of the abuses on all levels and refused to do anything about it. Instead of facing the criticism early on, the Vatican chose to hush up the accusations, and pay off the victims for their silence. But they will not be silent any more.

The film shows instances from the viewpoint of the victims of a man that preyed on those that couldn’t communicate with their families. Not only was it children that Murphy was interested in, but he “favored” those with parents who didn’t know sign language, so the kids could not tell the tales.

It’s a graphic look at a predator that deserved much worse in this life than he was ultimately given. It’s a look at a system that was more interested in preserving an institution, than protecting the innocent. There is abuse of power, corruption, and a film full of interesting connections – who knew and when?

Ultimately, the connection is made to the current sitting Pope, Pope Benedict XVI. Gibney’s trail shows that before then Cardinal Ratzinger was elevated to the highest office in the Catholic Church that he had knowledge of all of the scandals.

How will this film play with audiences? It’s anyone’s guess. But ultimately it will break your heart to witness the total lack of protection for the most helpless in society. Our children.

This makes two years in a row that the Milwaukee Film Festival folks have shared amazing documentaries with the fans of film. Last year The Interrupters was an amazing look at the topic of gun violence in Chicago and the US. This year, Gibney lets us experience his amazing film that lays out a strong case against the leaders of the Catholic Church.

As someone who was raised Catholic, it’s hard to watch. It’s hard to listen to some of the things that Father Murphy thought were ok. It’s hard to hear that so many leaders of the Church let things go on so long. But it has to be seen!

Your stomach will churn at what Gibney shares…but much like a hard to watch scene in a fictional movie…it’s the same feeling of sickness you have. Gibney knows how to tell a story, and lay it out in a manner that flows and doesn’t feel like a classic documentary. He uses voices of Hollywood talents like Chris Cooper and Ethan Hawke to tell the stories of those with no voice. And he will have you shaken by the end of the film.

This is a must see during the Milwaukee Film Festival or whenever it heads to your neck of the woods.

A-

NR

Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God

HBO Documentary Films

Director: Alex Gibney

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes

Trailer - A Good Day To Die Hard

Yippeee Ki-Yay?

Since we are on a trailer kick today -- my brother tipped me to the A Good Day To Die Hard trailer.

I've always been a fan of Bruce in the Die Hard franchise...and even the worst is better than many of the action offerings every day.

So here ya go...

Yipppeeee Ki-Yay????

Trailer - The Lone Ranger

Yep...I'm slow in posting this...but here it is -- thoughts? 

The Lone Ranger coming to theaters July 3, 2013.

Will this trailer pique your interest...or???

Poster - Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2

Ok folks...the final poster for the Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2....I know there are fans out there on this one...what do you think?

Security at Movie Screenings - No Common Sense?

Movies are a great American collective experience. Sharing a night at the movies is something that truly can engage viewers for weeks, months or even a lifetime.

As a member of the press, one of the privileges that I’m afforded is to see films before they are released. The only way I can talk about them on the radio or television station is to see them before I’m talking on air on a Friday. And it’s a privilege I am extremely grateful to the studios for the opportunity to utilize.

That said, I full well understand that what I’m about to write may rub some people the wrong way. And some of those people are studios and publicity people that I absolutely love to work with. But I need to get something off my chest.

The security measures at screenings are sometimes bordering on the ridiculous.

I AGREE, the studios should take recording devices from the crowd, even though they can be the only lifeline to the outside world should something crazy happen.

I give up my cell phone whenever I’m asked, as that is just part of doing this job (or leave it when I don’t want to give it up).

Although there is sensitive info in my phone; I entrust it to the men and women of the security team, believing none of that info will be compromised.

I can understand that. (And like I said…for the most part…I generally like these guys and gals.)

But last night’s screening was…well harder than going through the airport can be to get into.

First question – blanket rule is out there – take recording devices….(what am I going to do to record a presentation in 3D? Stick my cell phone behind my glasses and film that way? And if I AM doing that…shouldn’t 4 security guards in a theater of about 150 people be able to catch me? That doesn’t seem reasonable…yet I happily handed over my phone as I prepared for a good film with my wife and daughter.

As I have it out and am going to the table to hand it over, I’m stopped by a security guard that wants to wand me to make sure…well I’m not sure what they are looking for by wanding me…more recording equipment beyond my phone I have in my hand, I guess…

Sporting Events...ok..but come on.

No problem…had the wand run over me many times in the past…no big deal. Then he stops and tells me to take out any change or keys? Really? (no bucket to put it in, or organization like at the airport) so now the silly picture of me is holding my cell phone (which I could not get to the table to check in, and my keys (house and car) with my arms spread. (Thankfully I had no change on me at the time or I’d have really looked silly).

As he proceeded to the run the wand over me it hit on something in my pocket…what’s in there he asked? With my shorts being so amazingly bulky I guess….I said…umm…some PAPER MONEY and a credit card (which I then had to take out)…REALLY????? So I sarcastically asked…do you want the STACK of credit cards from my other pocket???  (I was told, NO that STACK of 6 didn’t set off the wand – I guess the American Express card really IS special!

Only then was I allowed to go to the next step and check my cell phone. And get in to enjoy the movie….and I’m sitting in the front row of the stadium seating with other members of the press. (PLUS some of those guards have seen me at least one other time this week!)

The kicker on all this is there were 4 security guards present. Couldn’t the 4 have been put to better use IN the theater watching for people that were trying to do no good…trying to record the movie, opening their phones and talking or texting (that they snuck by the security folks), instead of sitting in the lobby “guarding” the phones that they took from us.

 

That said I don’t want them PACING across the theater like some security folks have (being in the front row of the stadium seats means getting walked in front of like 10 times in some movies). And – since we had to give up our phones…what about the security guards who are in the theater – who I’ve seen lights on THEIR phones go off during the film. And lastly – maybe understanding that if you are standing on the side by the entrance, when you carry on a full blown CONVERSATION in a loud tone…we can all hear you – and that hurts the movie!

Ok….I need to bring it back a bit now….

Again – I’m a huge supporter of Hollywood keeping tabs on their copyrights on their property. I’m a huge supporter of not allowing the audience to bring their phones in…not even from the standpoint of recording, but just from being a nuisance. (There are a TON of stories I could share here). But it seems to me we’ve lost one important thing…common sense.

As a member of the press covering this title…I’m working and would NEVER do anything to jeopardize that fact. Heck, I’m someone that’s online that STILL doesn’t roll things out in advance of release date. I love the studios, the reps, and even some of the security.

I just wish we all could start thinking a little more, and understanding that this shouldn’t be an unpleasant experience even before settling down in your seat.

I love being a movie critic.

I love movies.

I love what I do. 

I just would like to leave the cavity searches…to my doctor.