Wow, this really is a shitty time of year for movies.With no big new releases this week I decided to go see The Hundred Foot Journey. I did this for two reasons- first, I've already seen just about every decent movie that's out right now. Second, I happen to be a huge fan of Helen Mirren and will watch anything she's in. To be honest, she was the only really good thing about this. The rest of the movie was just okay.
The Hundred Foot Journey is based on the novel by Richard C. Morais. It tells the story of a talented cook named Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) and his family who move from India to France after a terrible tragedy. They open up an Indian restaurant directly across the street from a famous French eatery run by Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren). A heated rivalry is formed.
The movie is directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Oh how I wish he had made me care about these characters, but I didn't (with the exception of Madame Mallory. There were a few nice moments spread throughout but there were other moments where I found myself bored. It's sad because I know this guy is a decent director. He directed a charming little movie called Chocolat, which I absolutely love.
I will give a lot of credit to the cinematographer. All of the imagery was very nice to look at.
The food featured in this movie looked good enough. But if we're going to talk about food porn, I definitely preferred the meals featured in Chef. It's not a knock on The Hundred Foot Journey. I've just never been into French or Indian food.
Compared to a lot of movies being released now, The Hundred Foot Journey isn't bad. But it's not great either. If you're a fan of the book or of Helen Mirren, check it out. However, wait and rent it from the Redbox.
My Rating: 6.5/10
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
Chef
After hearing so many good things about it, I finally decided to go see Chef. I can see why so many people like it. Wow! What a great movie.
Chef stars Jon Favreau (who also directed, produced, and wrote the script for this movie). He plays Carl Casper- a man whose family life is going downhill. He's also frustrated with his job creatively as an acclaimed chef. One day, a food critic gives him a less than kind review and he just goes off on him. He loses his job after the video of his rant goes viral. At the suggestion of his ex wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) he starts up a food truck in the hopes to rediscover his passion for food and life. Carl, along with his son Percy (Emjay Anthony, a talented young actor who I hope we see more of in the future) and friend Martin (John Leguizamo) take the food truck across the country. Not only does he serve up delicious food along the way, but he develops a closer relationship with his son.
Just to warn you, DO NOT see this on an empty stomach. The food that's shown in the movie looks so good and will make you hungry. It's the ultimate in food porn.
Aside from the great food, I think what I liked the most about Chef was the growing relationship between Carl and Percy. Carl has clearly made a lot of mistakes in his life and hasn't been the best father. But he's working hard to make things right. And you have Percy who just wants to spend more time with his Dad and get to know him better. It's really sweet. Jon Favreau and Emjay Anthony worked really well together.
I loved the soundtrack as well. I thought each song fit well with the tone of the movie.
If you're looking to see a really sweet, funny, and charming movie then Chef is the one for you. It's another near perfect movie that has a very good chance of making my top ten list. The only reason I'm not giving it a ten is because there were a few (and only a few) moments towards the beginning where I felt the movie dragged a bit. Still, I had a fun time watching it and I think you will too. I really hope Jon Favreau continues to make more movies like this.
My Rating: 9/10
Chef stars Jon Favreau (who also directed, produced, and wrote the script for this movie). He plays Carl Casper- a man whose family life is going downhill. He's also frustrated with his job creatively as an acclaimed chef. One day, a food critic gives him a less than kind review and he just goes off on him. He loses his job after the video of his rant goes viral. At the suggestion of his ex wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) he starts up a food truck in the hopes to rediscover his passion for food and life. Carl, along with his son Percy (Emjay Anthony, a talented young actor who I hope we see more of in the future) and friend Martin (John Leguizamo) take the food truck across the country. Not only does he serve up delicious food along the way, but he develops a closer relationship with his son.
Just to warn you, DO NOT see this on an empty stomach. The food that's shown in the movie looks so good and will make you hungry. It's the ultimate in food porn.
Aside from the great food, I think what I liked the most about Chef was the growing relationship between Carl and Percy. Carl has clearly made a lot of mistakes in his life and hasn't been the best father. But he's working hard to make things right. And you have Percy who just wants to spend more time with his Dad and get to know him better. It's really sweet. Jon Favreau and Emjay Anthony worked really well together.
I loved the soundtrack as well. I thought each song fit well with the tone of the movie.
If you're looking to see a really sweet, funny, and charming movie then Chef is the one for you. It's another near perfect movie that has a very good chance of making my top ten list. The only reason I'm not giving it a ten is because there were a few (and only a few) moments towards the beginning where I felt the movie dragged a bit. Still, I had a fun time watching it and I think you will too. I really hope Jon Favreau continues to make more movies like this.
My Rating: 9/10
Saturday, August 16, 2014
The Giver
The Giver is one of those books that's required reading in school. Although back when I was in school I don't think that was one of the books we read. For years Hollywood has tried to turn this 1993 Louis Lowry into a movie and now they've finally done it. Unfortunately it's just... okay. Don't get me wrong, while I didn't love it, I didn't hate it either.
The Giver takes place in a futuristic society where everything is seemingly perfect. There's no war, suffering, or pain. Everyone seems to be happy with their place in life. When Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is 17 he's chosen to be the society's Receiver of Memories. He begins training with a man called The Giver (Jeff Bridges). Jonas learns all about the truths of the world- including war and suffering but also about love and beauty. Confronted with all this, Jonas must make some hard choices about his future.
One of the things I did enjoy about the movie was the visuals. Most of it is in black and white with a couple of scenes in color spread throughout. It was really creative and fit well with the story they were trying to tell.
For me though, the best part was Jeff Bridges. I thought he gave a really good performance. Given that the movie was so so, I kind of feel bad for him since this seemed like his passion project. In addition to playing the title character, he also served as one of the movies producers. Meryl Streep is in this as the Chief Elder of the society. She's good, but it's far from her best role. The rest of the cast, I felt, was terrible.
Also, the musical score was pretty. But other than the things I just mentioned, there was nothing about this movie that made me walk out thinking "Wow! That was amazing." Maybe because I've seen this premise before only done a lot better.
The Giver was one of those movies that had a lot of potential. Is it worth paying the money to see it in theaters? Not really. If you're a fan of the book and are curious to see how it turned out, wait until it comes to the Redbox. Better yet watch it when it's on tv.
My Rating: 6/10
The Giver takes place in a futuristic society where everything is seemingly perfect. There's no war, suffering, or pain. Everyone seems to be happy with their place in life. When Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is 17 he's chosen to be the society's Receiver of Memories. He begins training with a man called The Giver (Jeff Bridges). Jonas learns all about the truths of the world- including war and suffering but also about love and beauty. Confronted with all this, Jonas must make some hard choices about his future.
One of the things I did enjoy about the movie was the visuals. Most of it is in black and white with a couple of scenes in color spread throughout. It was really creative and fit well with the story they were trying to tell.
For me though, the best part was Jeff Bridges. I thought he gave a really good performance. Given that the movie was so so, I kind of feel bad for him since this seemed like his passion project. In addition to playing the title character, he also served as one of the movies producers. Meryl Streep is in this as the Chief Elder of the society. She's good, but it's far from her best role. The rest of the cast, I felt, was terrible.
Also, the musical score was pretty. But other than the things I just mentioned, there was nothing about this movie that made me walk out thinking "Wow! That was amazing." Maybe because I've seen this premise before only done a lot better.
The Giver was one of those movies that had a lot of potential. Is it worth paying the money to see it in theaters? Not really. If you're a fan of the book and are curious to see how it turned out, wait until it comes to the Redbox. Better yet watch it when it's on tv.
My Rating: 6/10
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Guardians of the Galaxy (IMAX 3D)
Any time a Marvel movie comes out I have to go see it. Guardians of the Galaxy was no exception. I've been excited for this movie since the moment I saw the first trailer. I'm happy to say that it more than exceeded my expectations. I had such a great time watching this!
Guardians of the Galaxy tells the story of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who steals a mysterious orb that is desired by the villain known as Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). In order to stop Ronan and save the galaxy, he teams up with Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel, who only says three words in various tones throughout the movie- "I am Groot."), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and Drax (Dave Bautista).
This movie is very much Marvel's comedy. A comedic space opera some would call it. The humor was definitely one of the best parts of the movie for me. I could not stop laughing the whole time.
The director of Guardians of the Galaxy is James Gunn, who previously directed a segment in the god awful (and that's putting it mildly) Movie 43. Thankfully he redeems himself here. You could tell that he actually cared and was trying to deliver a fun summer blockbuster. I would definitely say he succeeded.
I also thought the casting was excellent. Chris Pratt ended up surprising me with his performance and now I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. But lets face it, the real star of the movie here is Rocket Raccoon. While Bradley Cooper, who I'm a fan of, may have been an odd choice, I think he nailed it. His character was my favorite. A combination of bad ass and hysterical.
I really liked Vin Diesel as Groot as well. Not many actors could pull off a character who only speaks the same three words over and over again, but she sure does. I thought the rest of the cast did a good job as well.
Whoever was in charge of the soundtrack, I applaud you. Each song fit perfectly. It was also fun listening to a lot of the music I grew up listening to again.
As far as the 3D goes, it was kind of hit or miss for me. During certain scenes it worked well but in other scenes it wasn't even noticeable. The movie did look pretty good on an IMAX screen though so if you see it that way it's worth the extra money. Really, no matter what format you choose to see it in it's going to look good.
This should go without saying but- STAY TIL AFTER THE CREDITS! You would think after all these Marvel movies we've had people would know this by now. While it may not have been my favorite post credits scene I still thought it was fun and worth sticking around for.
Originally I had planned on giving this movie a perfect rating. But I got to thinking about the last Marvel movie I saw- The Winter Soldier (I'm not counting The Amazing Spider-Man 2), which I have a 9.5/10. I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy just as much, for different reasons. However, I thought The Winter Soldier had a much stronger villain. Not that Lee Pace didn't do a good job here as Ronan, he did. It's more of a personal preference.
During Comic Con this year it was announced that they are already planning on moving ahead with Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which will also be directed by James Gunn. I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go with this franchise. If it's anything like this movie, it'll be really good.
My Rating: 9/10
Guardians of the Galaxy tells the story of Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who steals a mysterious orb that is desired by the villain known as Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). In order to stop Ronan and save the galaxy, he teams up with Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel, who only says three words in various tones throughout the movie- "I am Groot."), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and Drax (Dave Bautista).
This movie is very much Marvel's comedy. A comedic space opera some would call it. The humor was definitely one of the best parts of the movie for me. I could not stop laughing the whole time.
The director of Guardians of the Galaxy is James Gunn, who previously directed a segment in the god awful (and that's putting it mildly) Movie 43. Thankfully he redeems himself here. You could tell that he actually cared and was trying to deliver a fun summer blockbuster. I would definitely say he succeeded.
I also thought the casting was excellent. Chris Pratt ended up surprising me with his performance and now I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. But lets face it, the real star of the movie here is Rocket Raccoon. While Bradley Cooper, who I'm a fan of, may have been an odd choice, I think he nailed it. His character was my favorite. A combination of bad ass and hysterical.
I really liked Vin Diesel as Groot as well. Not many actors could pull off a character who only speaks the same three words over and over again, but she sure does. I thought the rest of the cast did a good job as well.
Whoever was in charge of the soundtrack, I applaud you. Each song fit perfectly. It was also fun listening to a lot of the music I grew up listening to again.
As far as the 3D goes, it was kind of hit or miss for me. During certain scenes it worked well but in other scenes it wasn't even noticeable. The movie did look pretty good on an IMAX screen though so if you see it that way it's worth the extra money. Really, no matter what format you choose to see it in it's going to look good.
This should go without saying but- STAY TIL AFTER THE CREDITS! You would think after all these Marvel movies we've had people would know this by now. While it may not have been my favorite post credits scene I still thought it was fun and worth sticking around for.
Originally I had planned on giving this movie a perfect rating. But I got to thinking about the last Marvel movie I saw- The Winter Soldier (I'm not counting The Amazing Spider-Man 2), which I have a 9.5/10. I enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy just as much, for different reasons. However, I thought The Winter Soldier had a much stronger villain. Not that Lee Pace didn't do a good job here as Ronan, he did. It's more of a personal preference.
During Comic Con this year it was announced that they are already planning on moving ahead with Guardians of the Galaxy 2, which will also be directed by James Gunn. I'm really looking forward to seeing where they go with this franchise. If it's anything like this movie, it'll be really good.
My Rating: 9/10
Saturday, July 19, 2014
The Purge: Anarchy
The first Purge was a surprise hit last year- having earned $89 million on a 3 million dollar budget. What's not a surprise is that they decided to make a sequel. Most of the time a sequel is rarely as good as the original, but I must say, I really enjoyed Anarchy. Even more than the first movie. It wasn't great by any means, but I still found the whole thing interesting.
The basic premise is pretty much the same as the first movie. So you don't really need to see the first in order to see Anarchy (but I think you should anyway). It takes place in American in the not so distant future. A new government has been formed and has decided that on one night a year, all crime is legal for a 12 hour period (including murder). All police services are suspended and the hospitals are closed during this time as well.
What's different about Anarchy is that, unlike the first, it's not confined to one house. It actually expands and explores this universe. That's what makes it better in my opinion.
The story here follows five characters- a police Sergeant (Frank Grillo) who's out for revenge on the man who killed his son, a mother and daughter named Eva and Cali (Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul), and a married couple- Shane and Liz (Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez), who's car breaks down minutes before the Purge is about to start. Circumstances bring them together as they try to survive the night.
I like that director James DeMonaco (who also directed the first Purge) too the time to develop these characters somewhat and made you give a shit about them. Most of them anyway. This is something that doesn't happen to often in movies like this.
I also thought the actors did a decent job, especially Frank Grillo. He's quite the leading man and is a complete bad ass in this.
As I said before though, Anarchy is good but it isn't great. My main problem is that it's loaded with cliches and very predictable. There were several times where I sat there thinking, "Okay, this is about to happen..." and sure enough, it did. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it. I was certainly never bored.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. I wouldn't tell you to rush out and see it or anything, but definitely check it out at some point.
My Rating: 7/10
The basic premise is pretty much the same as the first movie. So you don't really need to see the first in order to see Anarchy (but I think you should anyway). It takes place in American in the not so distant future. A new government has been formed and has decided that on one night a year, all crime is legal for a 12 hour period (including murder). All police services are suspended and the hospitals are closed during this time as well.
What's different about Anarchy is that, unlike the first, it's not confined to one house. It actually expands and explores this universe. That's what makes it better in my opinion.
The story here follows five characters- a police Sergeant (Frank Grillo) who's out for revenge on the man who killed his son, a mother and daughter named Eva and Cali (Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul), and a married couple- Shane and Liz (Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez), who's car breaks down minutes before the Purge is about to start. Circumstances bring them together as they try to survive the night.
I like that director James DeMonaco (who also directed the first Purge) too the time to develop these characters somewhat and made you give a shit about them. Most of them anyway. This is something that doesn't happen to often in movies like this.
I also thought the actors did a decent job, especially Frank Grillo. He's quite the leading man and is a complete bad ass in this.
As I said before though, Anarchy is good but it isn't great. My main problem is that it's loaded with cliches and very predictable. There were several times where I sat there thinking, "Okay, this is about to happen..." and sure enough, it did. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching it. I was certainly never bored.
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. I wouldn't tell you to rush out and see it or anything, but definitely check it out at some point.
My Rating: 7/10
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (3D)
SPOILER ALERT: While there really aren't any spoilers for this movie, there are a few for 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I strongly suggest you watch it before you see Dawn. Mainly because it's amazing but also because you'll probably be confused about certain plot points.
I was beginning to have my doubts, but we finally have a well made, intelligent summer blockbuster in the form of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I knew this movie would be good but I had no idea just how good. Wow!
Dawn takes places ten years after the events of Rise. The Simian flu that started towards the end of the first movie has now wiped out most of humanity. Meanwhile, Caesar (Andy Serkis) leads a flourishing community of apes in the woods near San Francisco. He encounters a group of human survivors, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke). The reach a fragile peace, but tensions rise between both groups that will push them to the brink of war.
Dawn is directed by Matt Reeves, whose previous work includes Cloverfield and Let Me In. He does an amazing job here. You can tell he really cares about this franchise. He puts so much effort into every little detail and delivers a movie that not only has some amazing action sequences, but a big emotional impact as well.
I also have to give a lot of credit to the visual effects team for all of their hard work. Not once while I was watching this movie did I think anything looked fake. Everything looked so real, especially the apes. It's amazing how far technology has come along even in the last few years. I've always been a huge fan of motion capture. Through the use of this technique you're able to see the actors every facial expression and emotion translated onto the screen.
Speaking of motion capture and actors, Andy Serkis gave another amazing performance. I've said it before and I will continue to say it- this man deserves an Oscar. I don't care what the Academy says- motion capture IS real acting. Just because you don't see his actual self on the screen does not mean he wasn't really in the movie. Check out some of the behind the scenes videos on YouTube and you'll see he performed in each and every one of the scenes his character was in.
I also thought the actors who played the human survivors did a good job as well. Especially Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman. Just so you know, Gary Oldman's character really isn't in this movie as much as the trailers led you to believe.
I ended up seeing this in 3D and I must say it was worth the extra money. The 3D was pretty good overall. Maybe it wasn't as in your face as other movies and was more subtle, but it was still effective.
I honestly can't think of anything wrong with this movie. It's one of the best I've seen this year and has a very good chance of making my top ten list. I highly recommend you see this if you get a chance.
So how does Dawn compare to Rise? I think it's just as good if not better. Matt Reeves is also directing the next installment and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
My Rating: 10/10
I was beginning to have my doubts, but we finally have a well made, intelligent summer blockbuster in the form of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I knew this movie would be good but I had no idea just how good. Wow!
Dawn takes places ten years after the events of Rise. The Simian flu that started towards the end of the first movie has now wiped out most of humanity. Meanwhile, Caesar (Andy Serkis) leads a flourishing community of apes in the woods near San Francisco. He encounters a group of human survivors, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke). The reach a fragile peace, but tensions rise between both groups that will push them to the brink of war.
Dawn is directed by Matt Reeves, whose previous work includes Cloverfield and Let Me In. He does an amazing job here. You can tell he really cares about this franchise. He puts so much effort into every little detail and delivers a movie that not only has some amazing action sequences, but a big emotional impact as well.
I also have to give a lot of credit to the visual effects team for all of their hard work. Not once while I was watching this movie did I think anything looked fake. Everything looked so real, especially the apes. It's amazing how far technology has come along even in the last few years. I've always been a huge fan of motion capture. Through the use of this technique you're able to see the actors every facial expression and emotion translated onto the screen.
Speaking of motion capture and actors, Andy Serkis gave another amazing performance. I've said it before and I will continue to say it- this man deserves an Oscar. I don't care what the Academy says- motion capture IS real acting. Just because you don't see his actual self on the screen does not mean he wasn't really in the movie. Check out some of the behind the scenes videos on YouTube and you'll see he performed in each and every one of the scenes his character was in.
I also thought the actors who played the human survivors did a good job as well. Especially Jason Clarke and Gary Oldman. Just so you know, Gary Oldman's character really isn't in this movie as much as the trailers led you to believe.
I ended up seeing this in 3D and I must say it was worth the extra money. The 3D was pretty good overall. Maybe it wasn't as in your face as other movies and was more subtle, but it was still effective.
I honestly can't think of anything wrong with this movie. It's one of the best I've seen this year and has a very good chance of making my top ten list. I highly recommend you see this if you get a chance.
So how does Dawn compare to Rise? I think it's just as good if not better. Matt Reeves is also directing the next installment and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.
My Rating: 10/10
Friday, July 4, 2014
Deliver Us From Evil
Oh Scott Derrickson, why did you do this? Why, why, why? He did so well with Sinister- a movie that I really enjoyed and consider to be one of the better horror movies to come out in recent years. Now he goes and releases this crap. To be fair, it's not the worst horror/thriller movie I've ever seen. But it's not great either.
I'm just going to warn you know- this review WILL have some spoilers. I normally try not to do that but for this I don't care. I'm sure most of you won't see it anyway. At the theater I went to, aside from my friend and I, there were only about seven or eight people there. Including a couple who brought a young child. The little girl couldn't have been more than three or four. At least she was well behaved (unlike some guys sitting behind us who wouldn't shut up at first, causing us to change seats) and mostly slept in her Dad's arms the whole time. It just drives me crazy when parents bring their kids to R rated movies. Especially ones like this. But that's a rant for another day.
Deliver Us From Evil is one of those movies that is "inspired by true events". Which really means, "Look, some of this actually happened. But mostly we made this shit up." It's based on a book written by Ralph Sarchie, who recounts his time as a NYPD officer and some of the strange cases he worked on. In this movie, Ralph is played by Austrailian actor Eric Bana (Munich, Star Trek 2009). Ralph is a police officer (married, with a young daughter) in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the Bronx. He and his partner Butler (played by Joel McHale. I kid you not.) investigate a series of crimes that are discovered to be connected by a demonic possession. Ralph, a skeptic with a lot of personal issues, eventually teams up with an unconventional priest named Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) to try and stop this evil before it's too late.
I wish there was more to the plot but there's not. It's your standard horror/thriller that you've seen a million times before. There's nothing new here.
I'll start off talking about what I did like. I thought the actors did a decent job. Mainly, Eric Bana and Edgar Ramierz. The two of them looked like they were really trying. Which couldn't have been easy considering what they had to work with.
The movie actually started out strong for me. I thought the whole investigation aspect was really interesting. But then as the movie went along things got crazier and gorier. Just to warn you, there's several disturbing image (even ones involving animals). I like craziness and gore as much as the next person but this was too much. By the end it was so over the top that we laughed at how bad it was.
I also didn't care for the way Scott Derrickson shot the film. For one thing, he used that god awful shaky cam. Another is some of the scenes seemed almost blurry. I know he shot them that way on purpose and I get what he was trying to do, but it made me think something was wrong with my vision for a second. Not fun. He also dragged things out way too long. The movie was about two hours total but it felt like ten. Especially the exorcism scene at the end. I wanted to scream, "For the love of god! Just get the demon out of this guy already and be done with it!"
I obviously wouldn't recommend you see this in theaters. At least I had a free movie pass so I didn't waste any money on this. Deliver Us From Evil is okay if you want to get together with some friends, rent it from the Redbox, and have a few drinks. But that's about it. Hopefully Scott Derrickson's next movie will be better.
My Rating: 5.5/10
I'm just going to warn you know- this review WILL have some spoilers. I normally try not to do that but for this I don't care. I'm sure most of you won't see it anyway. At the theater I went to, aside from my friend and I, there were only about seven or eight people there. Including a couple who brought a young child. The little girl couldn't have been more than three or four. At least she was well behaved (unlike some guys sitting behind us who wouldn't shut up at first, causing us to change seats) and mostly slept in her Dad's arms the whole time. It just drives me crazy when parents bring their kids to R rated movies. Especially ones like this. But that's a rant for another day.
Deliver Us From Evil is one of those movies that is "inspired by true events". Which really means, "Look, some of this actually happened. But mostly we made this shit up." It's based on a book written by Ralph Sarchie, who recounts his time as a NYPD officer and some of the strange cases he worked on. In this movie, Ralph is played by Austrailian actor Eric Bana (Munich, Star Trek 2009). Ralph is a police officer (married, with a young daughter) in one of the toughest neighborhoods in the Bronx. He and his partner Butler (played by Joel McHale. I kid you not.) investigate a series of crimes that are discovered to be connected by a demonic possession. Ralph, a skeptic with a lot of personal issues, eventually teams up with an unconventional priest named Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) to try and stop this evil before it's too late.
I wish there was more to the plot but there's not. It's your standard horror/thriller that you've seen a million times before. There's nothing new here.
I'll start off talking about what I did like. I thought the actors did a decent job. Mainly, Eric Bana and Edgar Ramierz. The two of them looked like they were really trying. Which couldn't have been easy considering what they had to work with.
The movie actually started out strong for me. I thought the whole investigation aspect was really interesting. But then as the movie went along things got crazier and gorier. Just to warn you, there's several disturbing image (even ones involving animals). I like craziness and gore as much as the next person but this was too much. By the end it was so over the top that we laughed at how bad it was.
I also didn't care for the way Scott Derrickson shot the film. For one thing, he used that god awful shaky cam. Another is some of the scenes seemed almost blurry. I know he shot them that way on purpose and I get what he was trying to do, but it made me think something was wrong with my vision for a second. Not fun. He also dragged things out way too long. The movie was about two hours total but it felt like ten. Especially the exorcism scene at the end. I wanted to scream, "For the love of god! Just get the demon out of this guy already and be done with it!"
I obviously wouldn't recommend you see this in theaters. At least I had a free movie pass so I didn't waste any money on this. Deliver Us From Evil is okay if you want to get together with some friends, rent it from the Redbox, and have a few drinks. But that's about it. Hopefully Scott Derrickson's next movie will be better.
My Rating: 5.5/10
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