This summer, the smash of The Conjuring crowned him king. Based on a “true” case file of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (if you believe bunk to be true), the film begins with perhaps the most frightening doll in cinema history — or at least since Poltergeist — and things just grow creepier from […]
“insidious”
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Sinister
Had I been watching it alone, on a dark and stormy night, my neck likely would be sore by the end of it, from making repeated glances behind the couch — you know, just to be safe. It’s 2012’s Insidious: well-built, respectful of viewers’ intelligence and yet genuinely freaky. Ethan Hawke (Daybreakers) plays Ellison Oswalt, […]
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Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark
But let’s give credit where credit is due: This is a remake of a fondly remembered, made-for-TV movie in 1973. Although effects have come a long, long way, baby, I still prefer the original. Living underneath the new-to-them Rhode Island mansion of architect Alex (Guy Pearce, “Animal Kingdom”); interior-designer girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes, TV’s “The […]
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The Mechanic
Fresh from the all-star “The Expendables,” Statham takes over Charles Bronson’s role from the 1972 “Mechanic” as Arthur, the title’s hit man for hire who is ordered to off his wealthy mentor (Donald Sutherland, TV’s “The Pillars of the Earth”) and then, feeling guilty, takes the man’s destitute son, Steve (Ben Foster, “Pandorum”), under his […]
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Bridesmaids
Can’t we just call it “really hilarious” and leave it at that? Then again, consider that Hollywood’s women-fronted comedies are almost always of the rom-com variety and aggressively push Kate Hudson on us. This work is not of that lineage, and thank the Lord for that. “Bridesmaids” marks not so much a breakthrough for females […]
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Insidious
What little optimist left in me thinks it could have been worse; at least our son wasn’t sent into a coma by a malevolent demon he encountered in the attic. That’s the situation facing the Lambert family in “Insidious,” opening Friday. From the creative talents behind the “Saw” and “Paranormal Activity” franchises, this welcome twist […]