The Rite

The Rite has hit theatres this weekend. It stars Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins as Father Trevant, Colin O'Donoghue as the young priest in-training Michael Kovak. The film also includes performances by Alice Braga and Marta Gastini. The Rite tells a story, based on true events, that centers around Michael having a crisis of faith and his lunge into a case involving demonic possession and an exorcism.

My main problem with this movie is its relevance. It's a story, although based on true events, has already been told. Doubting priest (in training) that finds himself in a showdown with evil. It's been done before. The first time was in The Exorcist (1973) and it has never really been done all that well since.

The acting was okay. I've seen Hopkins do better. Most of his character's personality seemed to be written much like his character of Abraham Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). Colin O'Donoghue did well but nothing too memorable.

I will say the film had some good atmosphere to it. Lots of dark scenery and some spooky looking stuff. Also you really never get to bored and the movie doesn't drag on and on.

The Rite isn't all that bad but it's tough, as others have found out, to follow what William P. Blatty and William Friedkin did nearly 40 years ago. It still hasn't been touched.

FX/TBS It.

True Grit

True Grit has hit theatres this week. It stars Jeff Bridges as Marshall Rooster Cogburn, Hailee Steinfield as Mattie (my momma's name, don't see that too often), and Matt Damon as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. The screenplay is by directors Joel and Ethan Coen. It's based on the novel of the same title by Charles Portis. This novel was also the basis of the 1969 True Grit film starring John Wayne. The plot of the story centers around 14 year old Mattie seeking retribution for the murder of her father- a crime committed by the hand of Tom Chaney (played by Josh Brolin-he got third billing over Hailee for some reason). To accomplish this, Mattie hires Rooster Cogburn, who is joined by LaBoeuf and unwittingly Mattie herself, to seek out and bring in Chaney. This takes them on an adventure through unsettled territory where Chaney fled off to.

I will open by stating plainly that this one of the best movies of the year. I'm ranking it #3 on my 2010 list. Behind only Kick Ass and Let Me In.

The acting is outstanding. Oscar and other nominations could easily be coming for Bridges and Hailee. And for the whole movie as well. It has some real heroic moments where the music takes off and you're ready to take some people down. But at the same time the movie is realistic. The characters all have their flaws. Stubbornness and arrogance abound.

The main theme that you start out with is obviously revenge. Revenge for a family member. But this evolves to loyalty and what makes a family. I could elaborate a bit on that but that would lead to spoilers of the ending...Once the final events of the film unfold - you will understand the title and what it means to have true grit....

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Black Swan

This review will be different from any other review I have done.

For this review I'm not going to summarize the movie and how it begins. I was told before I viewed the movie, that the less I knew about it the better the experience would be. I don't know about other people but for me this was true. I would recommend that you watch the trailer...better yet don't watch the trailer just look for a TV ad or blindly go without looking at anything. The trailer reveals a little too much in my opinion.

I will readily say that Black Swan is not for everyone. I say this because I saw five people get up and leave throughout the showing that I attended. I won't speculate as to why they got up, but rather say that this movie takes an acquired taste and an open mind.

This movie is one of the most gripping and engaging ones that I have watched all year. The acting was perfect on all parts and it was real. The overall intensity of it was turned all the way up and never came down. Few movies can pull that off and still end up being good. I don't have any complaints about the movie at all. Without going further into what I thought of the movie( so i don't spoil it), I would like to say that I was pleasantly surprised. For the second time....this movie isn't for everyone, but if you are bold enough I would recommend that you....

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Review: Tron Legacy

Tron Legacy is the long awaited sequel to the 80's classic. The movie follows Sam Flynn, the son of Kevin Flynn( the main character from the first movie). We find out early on in the movie that his father has been missing for almost 21 years. In that amount of time Sam has grown up and is the majority shareholder of ENCOM. Sam shirks the responsibilities that come along with that power and is uninterested in running the company that his father was CEO of. All of that changes when Alan Bradley( a close friend of Kevin Flynn) receives a page from Flynn's arcade. When same travels there to investigate, he finds himself eventually transported to the Grid and the world of Tron.

Tron Legacy is one of the best movies that I have seen this year. It is visually stunning, and the 3D is really good. It's like looking at candy for your eyes for 2 hours. With amazing graphics comes an amazing story that never gets boring or tedious. The acting is first rate and is never overdone.

The only thing that I didn't like was the CG that was used for Clu and the younger Kevin Flynn. Other than that one small complaint the movie was excellent.

Overall, Tron Legacy was an amazing ride and it should be seen, especially in 3D. The only thing that I can say more is to......

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The Tourist

The Tourist is a new movie of the spy genre in the tradition of James Bond, etc. It co-stars Johnny Depp as Frank and Angelina Jolie as Elise. It is directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. The basis of the story is Elise running around doing some spy stuff in Europe which Frank, a tourist, gets caught up in unsuspectingly.

The main thing I liked about this movie was getting to see two of favorite performers, Angelina and The Depp, on the screen at the same time.

But beyond that there wasn't a whole lot to it. There really isn't a great big good story (it's on the same level as Jolie's Salt). The characters aren't nearly as deep as I was hoping they would be. Johnny had said that he really wanted to do a movie with Jolie. So I think he just jumped into this one because it was there. I don't feel this role really challenged him. Most anyone out there could have played it the same way. It isn't one of his definitive performances. I would like to see Johnny and Angelina try another movie sometime-one that's deeper. Also too the ending was kinda easy to foresee (that always bothers me).

Not a bad movie but nothing spectacular...FX/TBS It.

For Colored Girls

I knew that the moment the word was released that Tyler Perry's next film would be entitled For Colored Girls, that I would have to see it. Once I began to research further, I discovered that the movie would be based on the stage play, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. The original story is told in a series of 20 poems, weaving together the tale of 7 women, who deal with love, abandonment, and other horrors beyond the imagination. Contrary to popular belief, it is my opinion that Tyler Perry did a great job in adapting the chorepoems to film. For someone like myself, who was unfamiliar with the original, it has made me interested in finding it and reading it for myself. Yes, this movie definitely has some depressing places, but they are very real places that exist for some people. The 8 women that tell us their story will definitely remind you of someone you know, perhaps even yourself. Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Jackson, Kerry Washington, Thandie Newton, Phylicia Rashad, Loretta Devine, Tessa Thompson, Kimberly Elise, Anika Noni Rose, oh, I could go on and on about the wonderful actresses and actors that did an amazing job in bringing their characters to life. It is definitely worth watching, even if only once. And no, you do not have to be a colored girl to see it, as its messages are universal!

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Paranormal Activity 2 - Quick Review

Paranormal Activity part 2 is in theatres now and is the sorta kinda sequel or prequel to last year's successful film. It follows the same basic premise. There are a few things to point out though that are a bit different. Instead of a hand-held camera being in use we have a whole house-wide security cam system...therefore we see alot more of the house from all sorts of angles.

Furthermore, this PA movie is very sound oriented. You see alot of creepy stuff happening. But the true effect of this movie comes from the sound. This is the main reason that we suggest seeing it in the theatre. But make sure you have seen the first one first to prevent any spoilers. PA2 is mostly a prequel but it does overlap...GO NOW.