Better Late Than Ever Vol. 7

Adam Driver dominates much of my watchlist as Netflix and Amazon Prime provide several flicks that are becoming the talk of the town and potential award contenders. In addition to several streaming movies is a sequel to a sequel from Sony still in cinemas.

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 8): 'The Conjuring 2'

Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga).

Horror sequels are notorious for not being good as the first movie, but because the genre doesn't require that big of a budget, they are quick to make and still make enough money at the box-office. It doesn't help when most of the time, its not the same people who stay on board after the first installment. Perhaps the Saw movies would have benefited if James Wan stuck around as a director. It certainly helped the Insidious movies as he returned for the sequel with good results; even after passing the torch with the later chapters. Returning back to The Conjuring universe, Wan does it again.

Cinema Spotlight IV - James Wan (Part 5): 'The Conjuring'

Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren.

"...what’s funny is, when I made Saw, I got accused of being a fascist, when I made Insidious, I got accused of being godless, and now I made The Conjuring films and I’m accused of being too much God. (laughs) So it’s really interesting to see how people have reacted to my three sets of horror films."

-James Wan

Better Late Than Never Vol. 2

There were more than a couple of films that came earlier this year and wasn't able to write on. Many are already available to purchase or rent. Here's the quick rundown:

Double Review: First Reformed & Won't You Be My Neighbor

Two movies I highly recommend have two ordained clergymen taking very different paths on finding the meaning of life and love.

Better Late Than Never Vol. 1

Since October I've had the chance to see a lot films but have written on only three. (Sad, I know) I plan to write a full review for many of these but in the meantime (and with The Last Jedi upon us) these are my very brief thoughts on what has been playing the multiplex these past couple of months.

Cinema Spotlight I – Scott Derrickson (Part 4): ‘Deliver Us From Evil’

Father Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez) performing an exorcist in Deliver Us From Evil.

(Originally Published on October 28, 2016)

With three films under his belt, including the successful ghost story Sinister, Scott Derrickson collaborates with film and television producer Jerry Bruckheimer (whose extensive résumé includes the television crime drama CSI and the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise) and screenwriter Paul Harris Boardman (previously worked with on The Exorcism of Emily Rose) as we return to the exorcism genre in Derrickson’s fourth theatrical fright fest: Deliver Us From Evil.

Cinema Spotlight I – Scott Derrickson (Part 1): ‘The Exorcism of Emily Rose’

Father Moore Performing an Exorcism on Emily Rose  

(Originally Published on Oct. 6, 2016)        

Having worked on a couple of horror-related and direct-to-video projects (Urban Legends: Final Cut and Hellraiser: Inferno), Scott Derrickson made his directorial debut with The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Released on September 23, 2005 the film is based on true events that centers on a court case involving Father Richard Moore (Snowden’s Tom Wilkinson), a Catholic priest who is put on trail for the death of a nineteen year old girl named Emily Rose (Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter).

Gibson Returns Strong in the Faith/War film: Hacksaw Ridge

(Originally Published on November 28, 2016)

When making a movie that centers on a Christian character, great care must be taken for it to appeal to both audiences of believers and non-believers. Hollywood has surprisingly shown to be capable of this formula from A Man for All Seasons, Dead Man Walking, The Mission, Chariots of Fire, and A Walk to Remember. Nowadays, when one hears the term “Christian movie,” films like God’s Not Dead and War Room come to mind.