Review: "The Last Exorcism" is Kinda Crazy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 15 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Last Exorcism (2010)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing violent content and terror, some sexual references and thematic material
DIRECTOR: Daniel Stamm
WRITERS: Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland
PRODUCERS: Marc Abraham, Thomas A. Bliss, Eric Newman, Eli Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Zoltan Honti
EDITOR: Shilpa Sahi
COMPOSER: Nathan Barr

HORROR

Starring: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones, Tony Bentley, John Wright, Jr., Shanna Forrestall, Justin Shafer, Becky Fly, Denise Lee, Logan Craig Reid, and Adam Grimes

The Last Exorcism is a 2010 supernatural horror film. It is also a found footage film, a movie that pretends that it is made of film or video that was found somewhere. That film or video is a recording of real events that happened sometime in the past – usually the recent past. The best known examples of found footage films are The Blair Witch Project and the Paranormal Activity franchise. The Last Exorcism follows a troubled evangelical minister and the documentary crew filming his last exorcism.

The Reverend Cotton Marcus (Patrick Fabian) is a Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based evangelical minister. Years earlier, he and his wife, Shanna (Shanna Forrestall), went through the difficult birth of their son, Justin (Justin Shafer), and Cotton had a crisis of faith. After he learns of an autistic child being killed during an exorcism, Cotton begins performing fake exorcisms on people who claim to be possessed, but are probably suffering from some mental or psychological disorder.

As the film begins, Cotton decides to retire and want to perform his last exorcism. He agrees to let director/producer Iris Reisen (Iris Bahr) and cameraman Daniel Moskowitz (Adam Grimes) film his final exorcism as a documentary to help expose exorcism as a fraud. At random, Cotton chooses an exorcism request sent by farmer Louis Sweetzer (Louis Herthum), who claims that his 16-year-old daughter, Nell (Ashley Bell), is slaughtering his farm animals while she is possessed.

Cotton, Iris, and Daniel travel to the Sweetzer farm in Ivanwood, Louisiana, where they meet Louis and his hostile son, Caleb (Caleb Landry Jones). After meeting Nell, Cotton begins his fake exorcism routine with all the bells and whistles, but things turn really strange from there.

The Last Exorcism is like a cross between a horror movie and a reality television series, with the goofiness and inadvertent comedy of reality TV sometimes taking over the movie. There are moments when The Last Exorcism seems as if it is going to end up being an earnest movie crippled by its low-budget and by worn-out exorcism film clichés.

Then, the last half hour kicks in, and things get real fk-up. That’s when the party starts and we have us a horror movie. That’s it. That’s The Last Exorcism in a nutshell.

The acting from the leads is quite good. Ashley Bell’s mostly calm turn as Nell makes the moments when her character becomes possessed that much scarier, and Bell apparently did her own body contortions. Although it takes the entire movie, Patrick Fabian eventually sells Cotton Marcus as an authentic character.

As Louis Sweetzer, Louis Herthum gives an award-worthy performance. He reveals Louis’ troubled nature (which includes alcoholism), lingering grief over his wife’s death, and his stubborn religious fundamentalism in layers, one over the other. This is a performance that is both passionate and subtle. Somewhere, from some film group, there should have been at least a best supporting actor nomination for Herthum. In some ways, he gives The Last Exorcism gravitas.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

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Happy Birthday, Uncle Phil

I haven't called you that in a long time.  Happy Birthday, and many, many, many more, Grandpa.

Negromancer Marches On

Hey, it's March 2013.  We made it.  We have big plans... We always have big plans for a new month.

Welcome to Negromancer, a ComicBookBin blog (www.comicbookbin.com). This is rebirth of the former movie review website as a movie review and movie news website and blog.

All images and text appearing on this blog are © copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

Spielberg Announces New Shoah Foundation Challenge

Steven Spielberg Announces the Launch of the USC Shoah Foundation’s IWitness Video Challenge

“I implore educators not to allow the Holocaust to be a footnote in history, please teach this in your schools. There are 350,000 experts who just want to be useful for the remainder of their lives. Please listen to the words and the echoes and the ghosts and please teach this in your schools.” - Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg, USC Shoah Foundation Executive Director Dr. Stephen Smith and USC Shoah Foundation Director of Education Dr. Kori Street commemorated the Schindler’s List 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Blu-ray™ release with the global launch of the USC Shoah Foundation’s IWitness Video Challenge on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 at The Chandler School in Pasadena, CA. They were joined by middle and high school students who had participated in the program while in Beta.

IWitness Video Challenge is an online program from the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education aimed at middle and high school students that brings thousands of taped testimonies of Holocaust survivors into the classroom for guided exploration, connecting kids with the past while engaging them in the present. For more information, please visit http://iwitness.usc.edu

Inspired by the experience of making Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg established the USC Shoah Foundation in 1994 to videotape interviews with survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust. Since the Foundation's inception, nearly 52,000 eyewitness testimonies have been recorded in 56 countries and in 32 languages. Today the Institute is committed to teaching with testimony, endeavoring to make the power of each story accessible to students, educators, scholars, and the general public on every continent. A powerful reminder of the heroism and humanity of those willing to stand up against intolerance, Schindler’s List will be available for the first time on Blu-ray™ on March 5, 2013. Digitally restored in high-definition from the original film negative, the Blu-ray™ release will expose the film to a whole new generation of viewers.

An edited video piece from the event is now available at:  http://youtu.be/jUbhE0k3nn0

Happy Birthday, Tracy

On the age thing - I won't go there, for the whole electronic world to see.  Have a Happy Birthday and many, many, many more.

Oscar-Winner Anne Hathaway Returns to the Cast of "Rio 2"

Twentieth Century Fox Animation Announces RIO 2 Casting

Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg and the Rest of the Original Gang Are Back for the Follow-up to the 2011 Animated Hit

An Exciting Lineup of Top Acting and Musical Talents Joins the 'RIO' Family

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The starring voice cast of Twentieth Century Fox's 2011 animated smash RIO is reuniting for the follow-up, RIO 2, and they are joined by a flock of top actors and musical talents new to the franchise, it was announced today by Vanessa Morrison, president of Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

The film is now in production at Blue Sky Studios. Twentieth Century Fox's international rollout begins March 20, 2014, followed by its domestic release on April 11, 2014.

Returning to RIO 2, a world rich with grandeur, character, color and music are Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Jemaine Clement, will.i.am, Tracy Morgan, George Lopez, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro, Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto, Jake T. Austin, and Jamie Foxx.

Carlos Saldanha, who was inspired to create RIO based upon his experiences growing up in that city, is back as director, as are producers John C. Donkin and Bruce Anderson.

In RIO 2 we find Blu, Jewel and their three kids living the perfect domesticated life in that magical city. When Jewel decides the kids need to learn to live like real birds, she insists the family venture into the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in with his new neighbors, he worries he may lose Jewel and the kids to the call of the wild.

Joining the RIO 2 team are Oscar® nominee Andy Garcia, Grammy® winner Bruno Mars, Emmy®/Tony® winner Kristin Chenoweth, Oscar®/Emmy®/Tony®/Grammy® winner Rita Moreno, "The Hunger Games'" Amandla Stenberg, singer/actress Rachel Crow, "Looper's" Pierce Gagnon, and "Today" news anchor Natalie Morales.

Brazilian music legend and RIO executive music producer Sergio Mendes returns along with composer John Powell. RIO 2 will feature new Brazilian artists and original music by Janelle Monáe and The Wondaland Arts Society, who also voices a role in the film. Soundtrack will be released on Atlantic Records.

Released worldwide in April 2011, RIO's global box office tally is $486 million. It also was a huge hit on DVD and Blu-ray disc.


About 20th Century Fox Film
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, 20th Century Fox Film produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of 20th Century Fox Film: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

Review: "The Raid: Redemption" Simply Terrific

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 14 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Raid: Redemption (2011)
Serbuan maut – original title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Indonesia; Language: Indonesian
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
Not rated by the MPAA
EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Gareth Huw Evans
PRODUCER: Ario Sagantoro
CINEMATOGRAPHERS: Matt Flannery (D.o.P.) and Dimas Imam Subhono (D.o.P.)
COMPOSERS: Aria Prayogi and Fajar Yuskemal (Indonesian version); Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese (U.S. release)

ACTION/CRIME/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring: Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Doni Alamsyah, Yayan Ruhian, Pierre Gruno, Ray Sahetapy, Tegar Satrya, Iang Darmawan, Eka “Piranha” Rahmadia, and Verdi Solaiman

The Raid: Redemption is a 2011 Indonesian martial arts and crime film from director Gareth Evans. The film, which was released in the United States in 2012, showcases “pencak silat,” the traditional Indonesian martial arts. The Raid: Redemption stars Iko Uwais as a member of a SWAT team trapped in a notorious tenement building and forced to fight off ruthless criminals.

Rama (Iko Uwais) is a rookie cop and expectant father. The morning that the film begins, he joins a unit of Detachment 88 (kind of the Indonesian equivalent of an American SWAT team) as it prepares to raid one of Jakarta, Indonesia’s most notorious apartment blocks. Led by Sergeant Jaka (Joe Taslim) and Lieutenant Wahyu (Pierre Gruno), Rama and the other officers infiltrate the building in order to capture Tama Riyadi (Ray Sahetapy), a legendary mobster. But the team soon finds itself trapped in the building and forced to fight its way out. Tama’s right-hand men, Andi (Doni Alamsyah) and Mad Dog (Yayan Ruhian), lead an army of killers and thugs ready and willing to claim the bounty Tama has placed on the cops.

On the surface, The Raid: Redemption seems like a “no frills” film, but the breathtaking pencak silat brawls, duels, fights, etc are a celebration of the cinematic ballet that martial arts can be in film. This is bone-crunching frills, a kind of body-smashing version of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s exquisite martial arts duels and clashes.

The Raid: Redemption is also the kind of movie that is especially the work of the director, film editor, and fight choreographer(s). Gareth Evans is editor and director, and actors, Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian, designed the fight choreography. For all the fights there are, one doesn’t resemble the other. Each fight is its own thrilling thing. It helps that Mike Shinoda and Joseph Trapanese’s musical score for the U.S. release heightens the sense of impending doom and nerve-wracking action; this is a score worth owning.

Evans manages to make a tense cop thriller full of action, without the movie turning into the ridiculous thrill machine that many Hollywood action films are. Evan also gets a number of good performances from his cast. Few gun-toting movie thugs and street-level cops are as interesting as the ones in The Raid: Redemption. Because the performances successfully construct the characters, you hate to see many of them blown away.

Sometimes, I am reluctant to recommend even movies that I really like, but I heartily recommend The Raid: Redemption. If you don’t want to read subtitles, the DVD has an English dub, so don’t use a foreign language as a reason not to see one of the best action movies in a long, long time.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2013 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding International Motion Picture”

Friday, February 22, 2013