In this decade alone, Ed and Lorraine Warren have become figures of the supernatural with films made based on their case files like The Conjuring, A Haunting In Connecticut, and Annabelle. So, it’s safe to say that I was super excited to see that The Conjuring 2 was coming out and hence why I chose it for today’s film. In this film, it’s 1977 and Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) have been on a sabbatical since the events at the Amityville house. They get pulled out of that sabbatical when a strange case comes to them all the way from Enfield, London, England. Things are tough for Peggy Hodgson (Frances O’Connor) and her kids as they struggle to get by. Things ill start to get worse when it seems that her youngest daughter Janet (Madison Wolfe) starts to become possessed. The Warrens now have to fly out there to figure out if it’s true or if the girl is faking it. Can they help her or will they leave? The film also stars Lauren Esposito as Margaret Hodgson, Benjamin Haigh (The People Next Door) as Billy Hodgson, Simon McBurney (Body Of Lies) as Maurice Grosse, Franka Potente (Blow) as Anita Gregory, Bob Adrian (Twelve Monkeys) as Bill Wilkins, and the film was directed by James Wan (The Conjuring).
We all know that sometimes horror sequels are never really that good and we usually leave the theaters disappointed. While I still hold the first film in high regards, I really thought that this was a very good film that was just so spooky at times. There were those cheap scares, but they definitely scared me a couple of times. The demon int he film is just spooky as hell and is enough to really give you the creeps. I love how they started out the film at the Amityville house because they sort of explain what Lorraine felt when she was going through the house. I loved the soundtrack to the film which featured a lot of great music from the late 70’s, but I also loved the score to the film. The score to the film was so creepy that it made it worse for you as you waited for something to happen. While some things that the evil spirits did were a little predictable at times, it didn’t bother me because in my opinion this is the best horror film of 2016 so far. What makes it even more scary is that it’s true and it’s from their case files. Stick around to the end of the film because you get a special treat where you actually get to hear the real voice of the evil spirit that they recorded during their visit plus you get to see real pics from the experience. The evil nun in the pic you see was a great antagonist for Lorraine as it puts her faith to the test throughout the whole film. I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who is a fan of horror and these types of cases. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
For today’s film, I was simply flipping through my guide when I saw that Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) and Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) were starring in a film that I had never heard of. So, I took the chance and for today’s film I watched Home Sweet Hell. Don Champagne (Wilson) seems to have it all from the perfect wife, family, home, and he even owns his own business selling furniture. Not everything is what it seems as his wife Mona (Heigl) pretty much runs his life by making decisions and even when they have sex. At his business, Don hires a sexy woman by the name of Dusty (Jordana Brewster) and the two begin to have an affair. When Don finds out that she is pregnant and wants money, Mona will stop at nothing to fix the issue and keep her perfect family together. The film also stars Kevin McKidd (Trainspotting) as Freeman, A.J. Buckley (Disturbing Behavior) as Murphy, Jim Belushi (Mr. Destiny) as Les, Heath Freeman (Skateland) as Benji, Chi McBride (Let’s Go To Prison) as Chief Malcolm Brown, Madison Wolfe (The Campaign) as Allison Champagne, Aiden Flowers (The Big Short) as Andrew Champagne, and the film was directed by Anthony Burns (Skateland).
I have to be honest and say that I was sold on this film the minute I saw the sweet behind of Jordana Brewster. She is so sexy in this film and she does an amazing job playing a seductress. I mean who would fall for her trap? You’ll have to see the film to know exactly what I am talking about there, but this film was pretty enjoyable to watch. Katherine Heigl did such an amazing job playing a really creepy housewife who is obsessed with the idea of perfection. She has everything mapped out in a scrap book that she calls goals. As soon as somebody tries to mess with it, she snaps. She definitely sold her part very well to the point where I believed that she was who she was playing. Patrick Wilson also did a terrific job playing a guy who thinks he’s confident, but when things get real, he’s a bubbling idiot who certainly can’t take confrontations. So, you can definitely tell who wears the pants in that family, but the end will certainly shock you a tiny bit. There are times however that certain events happen that are a little too predictable and you say to yourself that you saw that coming. Jim Belushi does a great job as sort of the alcoholic sidekick that works for Don at the furniture store. The film is pretty decent and it’s certainly worth checking out if you get a chance. It’s airing on Encore as we speak, but for how long I do not know. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
There are things that I am a huge fan of with one being that I am a fan of Kurt Russell and the second thing is creativity. That is exactly what you get with the film Bone Tomahawk which stars Russell as a sheriff in this wild west/horror style film. Everything is normal in a small frontier town until a drifter (David Arquette) mysteriously shows up. What follows is something unholy as a deputy, a doctor, and the drifter are kidnapped by cannibalistic Indians. So, the Sheriff (Russell), the back up deputy (Richard Jenkins), A sharpshooter (Matthew Fox), and the doctor’s husband (Patrick Wilson) who happens to be a cripple, go on the journey to rescue all of them before they are eaten by the savages. The film also stars Lili Simmons (Banshee) as Samantha the doctor, Evan Jonigkeit (X-Men: Days Of Future Past) as Deputy Nick, Sid Haig (House Of 1000 Corpses) as Buddy, Maestro Harrell (The Promotion) as Gizzard, James Tolkan (Back To The Future) as Pianist, Kathryn Morris (A.I. Artificial Intelligence) as Mrs. Hunt, Zahn McClarnon (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron) as the professor, Sean Young (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) as Mrs. Porter, and the film was written and directed by S. Craig Zahler.
This is definitely one of the most unique westerns I have ever seen in my life besides Cowboys & Aliens. When I said I liked creativity, this was exactly what I was talking about because I had been trying to develop a western that was also a horror film. I am just glad that someone finally did it and did it well. The film has some real brutal scenes like a body splitting scene that you will see as the cannibals are pretty brutal and cool looking as well. thing that gets me is they look like they belong somewhere else in the world and not in the wild west. Nevertheless, the film starts out like a western film where it takes time to develop the story and then as soon as they get close that is when all the good stuff starts to happen. Kurt Russell was as good as expected and this has me excited to see him The Hateful 8. The other star of the film is Patrick Wilson who as I said is a cripple trying his best to save his wife before it’s too late. Yes, its the stereotypical kind of story, but it works in this film and you feel for this character. You want him to succeed and you want him to get to his wife (plus his wife is super hot). If you’re a fan of cannibals, westerns, horror films, and Kurt Russell then check out this film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
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