02/01/11 Recommended New Releases

Today is a huge day for DVD/Blu-Ray releases, and I am here to provide my recommendations:

 Let Me In (Matt Reeves, 2010) - an impressive remake (from the director of Cloverfield) of the Swedish hit, Let the Right One In (which was based on a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist). Chloe Moretz, in particular, gives an extraordinary performance as Abby, and Elias Koteas (in a supporting role as a policeman) is always a welcome presence on the screen.

Format: Blu-ray - this version includes an exclusive special feature titled "Dissecting Let Me In," as well as a Digital Copy of the film.

Monsters (Gareth Edwards, 2010) - a critically acclaimed flick from the UK. The film takes place six years after an alien invasion in a quarantined area of Mexico, where a U.S. journalist agrees to help an American tourist make it through the quarantined zone to reach the U.S. border.

Format: Blu-ray - Includes all of the special features of the 2-disc DVD edition (which is actually more expensive) and is BD-Live enabled. Like the 2-disc DVD, the Blu-ray also includes a Digital Copy of the film.

Secretariat (Randall Wallace, 2010) - based on the true story of the racehorse Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown in 1973.

Format: Blu-ray - Includes the DVD version of the film as well as a slew of special features exclusive to the Blu-ray version (take from the Amazon.com listing):
• Heart of a Champion
• Choreographing the Races
• A Director's Inspiration: A Conversation with The Real Penny Chenery
• Audio commentary by director Randall Wallace
• 7 Deleted Scenes with optional audio commentary by director Randall Wallace • Secretariat multi-angle simulation
• Music video - AJ Michalka "It's Who You Are" 

                                           

Hatchet II (Adam Green, 2010) - the sequel to the 2006 cult hit, picking up right the original film ended, with Marybeth (Danielle Harris) narrowly escaping the clutches of the vicious maniac Victor Crowley. While I was not too fond of the original film due to its emphasis more on self-reflexive humor than actual thrills, the sequel is supposedly more the latter this time around. Plus, Tony Todd is in it, which is all a film really needs to at least pique my interest.

Format: Blu-ray - includes two exclusive features: "Hatchet II: First Look," and "Meet the FX Team." The sale price of $14.99 this week, specifically at Best Buy and on Amazon.com, makes the Blu-ray only an extra dollar or two investment. 

Conviction (Tony Goldwyn, 2010) - based on a true story and starring Hilary Swank as Betty Anne Waters, a woman who puts herself through law school in order to represent her brother (Sam Rockwell), who has been wrongfully convicted of murder and can no longer appeal through public defenders.

Format: DVD - the release is bare-bones with only a single special feature to speak of ("A Conversation with Tony Goldwyn and Betty Anne Waters"), and the Blu-ray sports nothing extra. Furthermore, the DVD version is on sale for $13.99 at Best Buy this week, and comes with a coupon to save $5 instantly when purchased with Never Let Me Go.

Never Let Me Go (Mark Romanek, 2010) - an adaptation of the Kazuo Ishiguro novel from the director of One Hour Photo.

Format: DVD - there are not extra features for the Blu-ray release, and the DVD version is on sale for $13.99 at Best Buy this week. Also, as previously mentioned, one can save $5 when purchasing this film with Conviction.

Theatrical Review: The Rite (Mikael Håfström, 2011)

After a little over half a year, I have returned. I will dispense with the explanations and excuses, for your benefit as well as mine. On to the review:

Ever since I watched The Last Exorcism, after it hit DVD/Blu-Ray earlier this month, I have become somewhat obsessed with demonic possession and exorcism. I wound up reading The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty, and then picking up the recent Warner Bros. Blu-ray book of the William Friedkin film adaptation, as well as another film - The Exorcism of Emily Rose. I am now awaiting the February 1st re-release of Legion, Blatty's sequel to The Exorcist, and plan to watch the film adaptation Blatty directed himself, The Exorcist III. Needless to say, amid my sudden fascination with the subject, I was eager to see The Rite in theaters.

From left to right: The Exorcist, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Last Exorcism

The film is loosely based on a book by Matt Baglio of the same name. The book details the true story in which Baglio - a journalist - follows an American Roman Catholic priest who takes a course on exorcism at a sabbatical in Rome and then becomes the apprentice of a renowned Italian exorcist. The film is, generally speaking, much the same format, though the viewer witnesses the narrative unfold from the perspective of the American priest as opposed to the journalist.

Colin O'Donohue fills the role of Michael Kovak, a young adult who works with his father (Rutger Haeur) at a family-owned funeral home, helping to prepare bodies of the deceased for burial. Unsatisfied with his life, Michael decides to enroll in seminary school to get away for a few years. Cut to four years later, where Michael resigns following his ordination via a letter to his Father Superior, claiming a lack of faith. Soon after, a tragic accident finds Michael absolving a dying girl, who mistakes him for a priest due to his attire. Father Superior witnesses this incident and asks Michael to attend a course on exorcism in Rome, confiding that he was charged with seeking out candidates and believes Michael to be worthy. Not only that, but he suggests that should Michael simply leave, his scholarship could be converted to financial aid, resulting in nearly $100,000 of debt. So, Michael accepts the invitation with the assurance that should he still wish to resign after, he would be free to do so.

Upon arriving in Rome, Michael attends a few sessions of the exorcism course, taught by Father Xavier (Ciarán Hinds, an extraordinary actor whom you might recognize as having played Julius Caesar in the HBO series Rome), and befriends another student by the name of Angeline (Alice Braga), who later reveals herself to be a reporter covering the course for an article. After a few sessions, during which Michael debates Father Xavier over distinguishing between cases of genuine demonic possession and cases that have psychological explanations, Xavier sends him to meet with Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins), an experienced exorcist. Michael is then allowed to assist (and thus experience firsthand) Father Lucas with the exorcism of a pregnant sixteen-year-old girl. Still, despite extraordinary occurrences, Michael remains a skeptic.

What follows is sequence of events in which Michael accompanies Father Lucas as he continuously visits the pregnant girl and another patient, which are occasionally humorous but often chilling, eventually culminating in something of a twist that is still as interesting as it is predictable. Suffice it to say, without spoiling too much, that Michael has his faith tested far more rigorously than he anticipated. Truth be told, though, The Rite does not offer much in the way of originality in regards to films dealing with demonic possession and exorcism. Much of the scares are either ones the viewer has witnessed in The Exorcist or others like it, and the film walks the tired line of the protagonist coming to grips with his/her beliefs. This is something of a letdown considering that, when you stop to count, there really are not all that many films like this out there; one would think that a little more effort could have been put forth to craft a more unique experience. 

That is not to say that The Rite is not an enjoyable movie. Anthony Hopkins performance is refreshing, and his presence keeps the viewer entertained and engaged, especially throughout the third act. O'Donohue is passable as Michael, though his inexperience shows, and Ciarán Hinds shines in what little screen time he has. I feel sorry for Rutger Hauer, though, whose minuscule roles in films these days tend to go by largely unnoticed (I was stunned when it took several repeat viewings of Batman Begins for me to even realize he was in the film). He is a wonderful performer, and I would love to see him in a more prominent role once again. Furthermore, The Rite is ripe with both gorgeous and unsettling cinematography that allows for an appropriate and effective atmosphere. Overall, it is a thriller I would recommend viewing, so long as you go in without expecting much of anything you have not seen before.

B-