The Rite Review

This Review is Inspired by True Events (1.5 out of 5 Stars)

A Film Review by Matt Brigner

The Players: Colin O'Donoghue, Anthony Hopkins, Rutger Hauer, Alice Braga, Ciaran Hinds, Toby Jones

What’s Going On: Michael Kovak (Colin O’Donoghue) goes into seminary to escape his father. Not his Holy Father, but his crazy, related by blood father (Rutger Hauer). He doesn’t necessarily believe in God or the Devil, he just feels that lying about his faith for the rest of his life is a much better alternative to living with his creepy, undertaker dad. As he is about to graduate he has a change of heart and tells the Father Superior (Toby Jones) that he made a mistake and wishes to leave the seminary before he graduates. After finding out that his 100K scholarship will become a 100K loan he reluctantly accepts an offer to attend a school in Rome to become an exorcist. This is when he meets Father Lucas Trevant (Sir Anthony Hopkins) and things get interesting. Well, sort of. Not really. Okay this is when things stay boring.

How Is It: Every time I see a trailer for a new film about exorcism an internal struggle ensues. Part of me hopes that this will be this generation’s The Exorcist. The other part of me knows that this will not be the case. As these two sides duke it out more revelations about the film come into focus. TV Spots start saying things like “Inspired by True Events,” “Anthony Hopkin’s Best Performance Since Hannibal Lecter,” and the always popular “Best Horror Film of the Year!” My hopes soar sky high and then I see the PG-13 rating and they come crashing down. By the time I went to see it my hopes were in the basement and that is where they stayed for the duration of this very boring movie.

As For the Acting: Colin O’Donoghue falters in the lead. He isn’t very believable and doesn’t do the poor writing any favors. Anthony Hopkins does a decent job as Father Lucas but his reliable acting isn’t enough to salvage this boring and lifeless movie. Rutger Hauer excels as Istvan Kovak and provides the film’s creepiest moments. The rest of the cast fills out okay. They carry their weight and pass in and out of the story with little to no effect.

Did This Really Happen? Okay, so apparently this author named Matt Baglio wrote a book on an exorcist named Father Gary Thomas called The Making of the Modern Exorcist. Producers Tripp Vinson and Beau Flynn bought the movie rights to the book and alas we are left with The Rite. So to answer the “Did this really happen” question I would say this particular event did not happen. But since the film is “inspired” and not “based” on true events the producers thought it would be scary to let us know that exorcisms really happen in the world. Since most of us know that this ritual is practiced it doesn’t make this particular movie scary. As a matter of fact the scariest thing about The Rite is the PG-13 rating and the Justin Bieber trailer that preceded the film.  

What The Movie Is Most Like: The Rite is basically a watered down and boring version of The Exorcist. This is funny considering the movie takes a stab at the 38-year-old classic when Father Lucas grumbles, “What did you expect? Spinning Heads? Pea Soup?” If you really love this movie and have never seen The Exorcist, watch it right away. I think you will prefer the pea soup.

Better Movies To Watch About Demonic Possession: House of the Devil (2009), REC (2007), The Evil Dead (1981), and The Shining (1980).

A Film Review of True Grit

True Genius  (5 out of 5 Stars)

A Film Review by Matt Brigner

The Players: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Elizabeth Marvel, Dakin Matthews

What’s Going On: After the unfortunate murder of her father by the cowardly villain Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires a U.S. Marshall with “true grit,” Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help hunt down the outlaw in the Indian Nations. An articulate Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) is also searching for the outlaw for some outstanding warrants in Texas that will pay dearly if returned. Let the hunt begin.

Why You Should See This Movie: Over the years the Coen brothers have become something of an acquired taste for film goers. Used to doing more with less, they have traditionally put out work that was easily recognizable apart from their contemporaries. With True Grit they have re-created a fairly straight forward tale peppered with their dark humor and busting at the seams with authenticity of the old American western. There isn’t an abundance of action happening on the screen, but the story and acting provide enough kinetic energy to keep the film perfectly paced. The Coens are truly masters of their craft and their expertise is on display for all 110 minutes of this nearly perfect movie. If you are a fan of the original, have no fear, your story has been in good hands. Ten dollars is a small charge to spend two hours in the world of True Grit. I pay it gladly. 

As For The Acting: As with any Coen brother’s movie the acting is top shelf. When you look at a cast list with the likes Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Barry Pepper you would expect nothing short of a brilliantly acted film. The true surprise comes with newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. She plays a character that can hold her own and does so in acting rings against the who’s who list of acting talent that was mentioned above. Every aspect of her portrayal is believable and reinforces the authenticity of the film. Jeff Bridges turns in another brilliant performance that will gain his second Oscar nomination in as many years and quite possibly his second straight win. Matt Damon does his best work since Invictus and Brolin and Pepper are perfectly believable as the dirty, scummy outlaws that you should hope to never cross paths with.  

On A Sweeter Note: One of the best aspects of True Grit lies in Carter Burwell’s brilliant score. He crafts his score using old hymns, which the Coen’s described as something that “couldn’t be soothing or uplifting, and at the same time it couldn’t be outwardly depressing.” Burwell captures this perfectly and the music doesn’t necessarily add or take away from the story, it simply carries us from scene to scene letting the story and scenery do their job. Since the music is from other source materiel it cannot be nominated for Best Original Score, but it will remain one of the best scores of 2010 after all is said and done.

Over And Under On Oscar Nominations: The Over/Under is 8. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Art Direction. I will take the over.  

A Film Review of Saw 3D

4D Torture (1 out of 5 Stars)
A Film Review by Matt Brigner

The Players: Tobin Bell, Costas Mandylor, Sean Patrick Flanery, Cary Elwes, Betsy Russell, Chad Donella, Gina Holden, Laurence Anthony, Chester Bennington

What’s Going On: Another Halloween has passed with another release of the once clever Saw series. This version of torture has us following two separate story lines. First, our favorite Jigsaw protégé Detective Mark Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) begins his pursuit of Jigsaw’s widow Jill (Betsy Russell), who left Hoffman for dead in Saw VI. He also has his sights set on self proclaimed Jigsaw survivor Bobby Dagen (Sean Patrick Flanery) who has made a whole bunch of money by telling his made up story of surviving a Jigsaw contraption. While the story unfolds an awkward internal affairs investigator (Chad Donella), who reminds me of Steve from Blue’s Clues, tries to uncover the man behind the murders and save those playing the game.

How Is It: This go around has not yielded the result that many fans of the franchise were expecting from the what is supposed to be the last film. Instead we are left with a predictable, gory, and dumb practice in horror, which believes that it accomplishes something special, but simply has its line caught on something humdrum. In the few moments people aren’t subjecting themselves to torture the movie reminds me of a Syfy original with suspect acting, poorly staged set pieces and campy dialogue. It is still good to see Tobin Bell make an appearance in a 40 second flashback, but for me that stands as the one high point in an otherwise forgettable film.

The M. Night Shyamalan Effect: The first two Saws drew a following by mixing clever, gore inducing contraptions with a solid twist ending that kept the fans talking. Each installment since has gotten stuck in this same effort. As a result of this we are left with monotonous violence without purpose that may be creative in design, but simply exists because it is expected; much like M. Night Shyamalan films which often exist more for the twist rather than the story. Saw 3D subjects us to the most gruesome and pointless violence yet. Even a horror fan like me was turned off by almost every aspect of the film and often got confused as to whether the director was out to entertain me or make me sick.  

Is The 3D Worth It: I can appreciate the use of 3D in horror films despite it being much more of a gimmick than an immersive experience.  I would have been less offended if the director would have been at the theater asking me for three dollars rather than forcing me to pay three dollars for the occasional piece of flesh flying at my face. If you must see this movie and have a choice to see it in 2D take that road and spend the extra three dollars on some ice cream afterwards. I think a waffle cone of birthday cake ice cream would have made this a much better day

Parting Words For The Franchise: “Game Over!”

Film Review of Toy Story 3

The Godfather Part II of Pixar Films (5 out of 5 Stars)
A Film Review by Matt Brigner

The Players: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Laurie Metcalf, Bonnie Hunt, Whoopi Goldberg

What’s Going On: All good things come to an end and Andy’s toys realize that with him leaving for college their days are numbered. With their options being the trash, the attic, or the daycare the toys decide to take matters into their own hands. They sneak into the donation box to be taken to the daycare center and arrive to the playhouse of their dreams. It looks like everything is going to be perfect until they realize that everything is not as it seems.  

Why You Should See This Movie: Of all the movies I have seen this past year this one is the best by a far stretch. This movie has it all! Humor, sadness, action, romance is all sewn together seamlessly and the result is a great story which holds onto us for its entirety. As every intricate plotline was brought to a close I was quietly hoping that the movie would not end. The animation is superb, voice acting is top notch, and Pixar has shown us once again their commitment to storytelling which they have consistently displayed since the first Toy Story in 1995. This movie should get nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and has a great shot to be the first ever animated movie to win that title.

Why Is It So Good: Toy Story 3 builds its story around the simplest concept. Life shifts and changes around us all the time. As kids grow up they go to college and leave behind their families and familiar faces from their high school days. They want everything to be the same, but there is that sinking feeling that everything will change and there is nothing that can be done about it. Toy Story 3 recognizes these moments in our lives and this serves as the life of its story. There is nothing flashy or overly dramatic here. Just the simplest and most difficult of concepts to accept: Life goes on. The Writers and Director of Toy Story 3 approach this topic aware of its power and use it to their advantage.      

Be Prepared: Have the tissues on hand when you watch this movie. The emotional scenes are different than the ones in UP, but still have plenty of power to openly invite tears. If you are a fan of the franchise like me, be prepared to cry a little more.

New Additions To The Toy Box: There is Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty) who is the toy leader at the daycare, Buttercup the Unicorn (Jeff Garlin), and aspiring thespian Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton), and Ken (Michael Keaton) who steals the show! He lives in the coolest of places and has a pretty impressive wardrobe. All of your old favorites return and continue to provide the most memorable moments.  

Review of The Human Centipede: First Sequence

It Takes Three to Tango (2.5 out of 5 Stars)
A film review by Matt Brigner

The Players: Dieter Laser, Ashley C. Williams, Ashlynn Yennie, Akihiro Kitamura

What’s Going On: A world renown German doctor made a career out of splitting Siamese twins and since his retirement he has picked up a new hobby. He successfully connects three rottweilers, which unfortunately didn’t make it, and now has dreams of connecting 3 humans via one large digestive tract. Cue two lost American travelers who won’t be missed and an angry Japanese man who the doctor successfully kidnaps. Wear your scrubs, it is about to get messy.

What Is Most Disturbing About This Movie: I know you’re thinking that the prospect of seeing an actual human centipede is destined to be the most disturbing aspect here, but that is probably third on the list of “Top Three Disturbing Aspects in The Human Centipede”. First, I would put the performance of Dieter Laser as the deranged Dr. Heiter whose expressions throughout the film are scary enough to evoke nightmares. Second most disturbing aspect would be the whines and moans of the unfortunate second and third pieces in the human centipedes. For the experiment to work properly they lose their ability to use their mouths which makes groaning and crying their only way to communicate. Last and certainly not least you have The Human Centipede, which provides me enough motivation to never knock on a stranger’s door ever again.

Who Will Love This Movie: Fans of the gore genre, extreme horror fans, and people who want to watch something super shocking.

Who Will Hate This Movie: Everyone else.

Avoid At All Costs: Watching this movie on a date. This would undoubtedly ruin conversation for the rest of the night. The only way to watch this is alone, or next to like minded buddies. When the credits start to roll you will probably sit in silence for a while wondering if you had just done something wrong. Don’t worry, that feeling will pass after you watch a few Disney flicks.

Don’t Get Me Wrong: This isn’t a horrible movie. It just makes you feel horrible. The acting from Dieter Laser is memorable at the very least and the other actors pull their weight. I wasn’t sold on the acting of Ashley Williams and Ashlynn Yennie until they were forced to act with just whimpers, groans and facial expressions. At these moments they excel and enhance the feeling of peril you get from watching this. The director does a fairly good job showing you horror without showing using excessive amounts of blood. This is a gift that few horror directors nowadays possess.

Review of The Town

The Best of Boston (5 out of 5 Stars)
A Film Review by Matt Brigner

The Players: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Pete Postlethwaite, Jon Hamm, Titus Welliver, Slaine, Chris Cooper

What’s Going On: Ben Affleck moves his directing focus to Charlestown, Massachusetts where good, honest citizens make a living robbing banks and security trucks. Charlestown is a proud society known for producing generations of thieves and antihero Doug McCray (Affleck) and his able gang of bank robber buddies are keeping the spirit of Charlestown alive. Things become complicated when Doug falls in love with his former hostage Claire (Rebecca Hall) and wishes to leave the life behind for a new life with her somewhere warmer than Massachusetts. Before Doug can have his redemption he must break the news to his trigger happy friend James (Jeremy Renner), evade the motivated FBI agent (Jon Hamm) while attempting to pull off one last job he was strong-armed into taking by a pushy crime boss (Pete Postlethwaite) who loves flowers. Ohh by the way, he has yet to tell Claire that he was the man behind the mask holding the gun that helped take her hostage.

Why You Should See This Movie: If you can look past the brief moments of social commentary and spotty acting by Blake Lively then you would be watching one of the coolest bank heist movies in recent memory. Affleck does a great job painting a tense picture which keeps your eyes on the screen and encourages you to fight the urge to use the restroom until the screen goes black. The pace of the film works well balancing expositional moments with white knuckle bank heists and car chases. The acting is top notch; each role was carefully cast and works to the degree it needs in order to be plausible. The story has a very pulpy quality and at its best moments provides a very palpable feel of suspense and dread.  

Oscar Contender: The interesting thing about a movie like this is how often it tends to fool us by showing us the action that will draw us in, but then revealing the kind of acting and story that keep us there. There are at least three performances in this film that deserve some Oscar consideration. Ben Affleck as Doug McCray sets the tempo of the film and delivers one of the best performances of his career; Chris Cooper only needs the screen for about three minutes to turn in one of his best performances, and Jeremy Renner puts on a show that might award him another Oscar nod a year after The Hurt Locker brought him so close.  

What Has Hollywood Taught Us About Boston: Being a lifelong Yankee fan I want to believe that Boston is a horrible place that should never be visited. I would be surprised if Boston is as bad as it is portrayed in films over the last 15 years. Keep in mind while watching your favorite movies set in Boston that the city is a lot more like Cheers than it is like The Departed, Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, and Edge of Darkness.

What It Reminded Me Of: Heat (1995), The Departed (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Mystic River (2003), and Point Break (1991).