Tag: Colm Feore

Petals Off the Rose (The Exorcism of Emily Rose, 2005)

Exorcism_Of_Emily_Rose_PosterInspired by a real life trial from the 1970’s, The Exorcism of Emily Rose tells the story of an exorcism that resulted in the death of the possessed young woman and the priest on trial for her death.

Unlike a lot of Exorcism related films, director Scott Derrickson (making his second appearance this month) makes the heaviest focus the courtroom drama. The exorcism is done more to give us background on Emily and her situation as it pertains to the charges against Father Moore.

He is defended by agnostic lawyer Erin Bruner, who finds herself having to question if she needs to believe in God to provide the defense. Can she accept the idea that Emily’s was a spiritual affliction?

Jennifer Carpenter gives a great performance and was able to contort her body in ways to make the exorcism sequences especially harrowing.  Derrickson noted that he abandoned plans for a lot of digital effects because Carpenter was able to do so much herself.

The cast is pretty stellar for a small court room drama horror film. Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson are especially good as Lawyer and defendant.

The resolution seems a little pat, but then, I believe this is how the original trial that inspires the film also resolved itself.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a strong film, with a unique focus for an exorcism film. It is not about the power of evil, but rather the questions of faith and accountability. At the same time, while the questions are asked, Derrickson is not telling you where you must come down on the answers.

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Hammer Time (Thor, 2011)

thor-posterAs Marvel worked their way to the Avengers, they had a bit of an issue.  Thor is supposedly a god, as are all his friends and family.  How does this fit into the Marvel world?  Their resolution was that they are mistaken for gods, but really their magic is just science we do not understand yet.

Thor is introduced as a brash young man, a drunkard who cares more for fun than responsibility. This frustrates his father Odin to no end.  On the other hand, his brother Loki is a schemer who wants to rule.  All of this leads to Thor being cast from Asgaad and his powerful hammer being taken from him.  Thor discovers he cannot wield the hammer until he proves himself worthy.  After being found by scientist Jane Foster and her team Darcy and Erik Selvig, they find themselves being watched by S.H.I.E.L.D., specifically, Agent Colson.  They have found the hammer, which nobody can move.

The film is a fish out of water story.  And Hemsworth, who was not a name brand actor at the time, had a certain charm he brought to the role.  Of course, eventually Thor must get his hammer and put an end to Loki’s plan.

The human characters suffer in this film.  Clark Gregg knows his role backwards and forwards.  And Kat Dennings has a lot of fun as Darcy.  Stellan Skarsgård is entertaining as father/scientist figure.  kay, it seems like it is mostly Jane Foster.  The film tried to set her up as the smart scientist, but she really spends hr time mooning over Thor.

The Asgardians are a fun lot of both character actors and name talent.  Anthony Hopkins brings a regal presence to Odin, while Renee Russo brings wisdom and motherly compassion to both her sons.  The Warriors Three and Sif are strong warriors, but also know celebration.  Tom Hiddleston plays a Loki who is both very likeable and duplicitous.

The film makes some choices that seem rather counter intuitive.  Supposedly the destruction of the Bi-Frost severs the connection from Asgard to earth, but that does not last long.  Nor is it really ever explained.  In addition, a big plot whole is…if Thor has never been to Earth before this…how are there legends of his exploits??  Unlike Captain America: the First Avenger, Thor feels more like it is busy setting things up for the Avengers than being it’s own story.  It is an enjoyable film overall, but it feels like it could have been stronger, especially considering the talent at the directorial helm of Kenneth Branagh.

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The Second Most Amazing Spider-Man (the Amazing Spider-Man 2, 2014)

spider-man-amazing-2-poster-imax1The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was pretty much greenlit before the previous film was released.  Sony has been trying to make their Spider-Verse work…and to date they just cannot seem to find the footing.  Spider-Man 2 was not just a sequel, it was meant to set up other films, such as a Sinister Six film.Which means the film is packed with villains.

We meet the Rhino, though he is only in the film for a few minutes, setting him up for a Sinister Six film.  We also meet the Green Goblin and Electro.  The film wastes Chris Cooper, who plays Norman Osborne.  In the previous film we barely met Osborne.  We were told he had a debilitating disease, and was eager for Dr. Conner’s work to have results.  The disease apparently gnarls the body and turns flesh a greenish tint.  Harry is brought home to see his father.  His father tells him about the disease and how it is genetic.  This sets up Harry to become obsessed with a cure as well.  And he believes Spider-Man’s blood contains that cure.  He and Peter re-kindle their friendship and when he finds out Peter “knows” Spider-Man, he begs him for help.

Meanwhile, Peter is constantly dating and then breaking up with Gwen.  He is haunted by the “ghost” of Captain Stacy.  So, they are together, then he gets emo and pushes Gwen away.  It becomes frustrating.

Peter and Spider-Man deny Harry’s request causing a strain in the friendship.  Jamie Fox plays Max Dillon as a nebbish but smart electrician.  He fancies himself as Spider-Man’s friend after Spider-Man saves him and calls him his buddy.  After a freak accident with a tank of electric eels, Max is  given the power to generate and manipulate electricity.  When Spider-Man cannot quite recognize him he becomes enraged.  After Spider-Man takes him down, his anger only grows.

Of course, Harry becomes Green Goblin to gain revenge on Spider-Man and teams up with Electro to take Spidey down.  In some ways, the Amazing Spider-Man 2 is better than the previous film.  Spider-Man is a bit more Spider-Man.  But they still have him mopey about his dad.  In a flashback, we see where he and Peter’s mother went after dropping Peter off with Aunt May and Uncle Ben.  The problem with this is that Uncle Ben is the catalyst for Peter Becoming Spider-Man and yet he seems to not spend much time dwelling on Ben, he is more driven to find out more about his dad.

The film recreates one of the comic books most tragic moments for Peter.  And this results in Spider-Man disappearing for awhile.  But, of course he comes back.  The sequence where he returns to action is nicely done, involving a kid in a Spider-Man costume standing up to Rhino.

The biggest problem with this film is that it feels like a massive setup for other films.  We even see a sequence where different costumes of future villains are on display cases.  Tying all of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery makes for some lazy storytelling.  The film is still entertaining, but not in a way that it would ever be seen as a classic.  A third Amazing Spider-Man had been announced, but it was put on the back-burner.  Eventually, it was scrapped all together and Sony partnered with Marvel Studios to bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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