Name: THE CONJURING 2
Released: 2016-06-10

THE CONJURING 2 Review

James Wan didn’t reinvent the supernatural horror film with 2013’s The Conjuring, but his assured direction certainly elevated the tropes. While using all of the requisite bumps and whispers in the night, Wan took the necessary amount of time to build the tension to white-knuckle level before hitting us with the “boo!” scares, crafting one of the most anxiety-inducing films of recent memory. In The Conjuring 2, he takes a bit too much time to get to the goods.

Posted by: Blake Crane June 11, 2016

THE NICE GUYS Review

The Nice Guys is a supremely entertaining romp. Its middle gets just a tad saggy under the weight of plot, but the sharp writing and directing, coupled with two dynamic lead performances, make the somewhat protracted two hour run time a pleasurable ride. A silly, pulpy mix of Raymond Chandler and buddy cop movie, the play on L.A. noir doesn’t skimp on the sleaze, the violence, or the prickly wit, which makes for a fun, off-kilter concoction.

Posted by: Blake Crane May 20, 2016

THE DARKNESS Review

Beginning with its generic title, The Darkness is an entirely unimaginative ghost story. Derivative doesn’t feel like a strong enough word, as horror films of this ilk are becoming increasingly indistinguishable. It seems as though there’s a prototype PG-13 supernatural horror script floating around that has the details filled in Mad Libs-style for every “new” release. This time, the filling-in-the-blanks duty went to director Greg McLean and co-writers Shayne Armstrong and Shane Krause. None of their ideas are new, or interesting, or scary.

Posted by: Blake Crane May 13, 2016

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE Review

If Christopher Nolan’s moody Dark Knight trilogy could ask Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice a question, it would be: “Why so serious?” Director Zach Snyder is so concerned with the brooding and the bombast of a superhero conflict with dire potential consequences, there’s no time left for actual heroism. If Nolan’s films were a grounded, darker take on DC comics, Batman v Superman is the oppressively bleak version. The Man of Steel and The Bat of Gotham are laser-focused on battling each other ideologically and finally, after much fretting, physically, and the movie loses sight of the tangible stakes.

Posted by: Blake Crane March 27, 2016

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE Review

What’s in a name? A lot, if referencing the hype machine that was fired up when the 10 Cloverfield Lane teaser hit theaters out of the blue just a couple of short months ago. Is this a direct sequel to the 2008 found footage monster movie? Are those people in the bunker taking refuge from the beast? Once again, producer J.J. Abrams’ mystery-box method of promotion piqued interest.

Posted by: Blake Crane March 12, 2016

LONDON HAS FALLEN Review

It’s hard to decide which of the Gerard Butler films released in the last couple of weeks is more rooted in reality. In Gods of Egypt, the actor plays a towering Egyptian god who bleeds liquid gold (and has a bit of a Scottish accent). In London Has Fallen, he plays a U.S. Secret Service superhero (with a bit of a Scottish accent) operating inside an action movie that’s completely tone deaf, laughably sophomoric, and crafted with a complete lack of finesse. It tries to be escapist bombast and relevant drama simultaneously and fails miserably at both. In my estimation, the battle for authenticity is a dead heat.

Posted by: Blake Crane March 4, 2016

THE WITCH Review

In each of the last few years an indie horror movie has emerged as one of the best films of its release year. On the heels of The Babadook and It Follows, The Witch is poised to be 2016’s breakout. All of these are great for different reasons, though collectively they signal an exciting shift in the thinking on how to unsettle. They all tap into more primitive, raw emotions, using classic tropes and monsters as manifestations of our hang-ups with grief, sex, and, in this case, devout code in the face of evil. It’s not a deconstruction, but an absorption and repurposing of genre that’s worked to great effect.

Posted by: Blake Crane February 20, 2016

DEADPOOL Review

Deadpool announces itself as a different breed of comic book movie from the opening credits, which forego actor names for monikers like “A British Villain” and “A Hot Chick.” The irreverence overload is completed with still frames and slow motion of a graphic action sequence as “Angel of the Morning” blares on the soundtrack. The jarring introduction is good for a chuckle, but the R-rated, one-joke irony, all with the same tone, is annoyingly stretched throughout the entire film. The writers (Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick) are credited as “The Real Heroes Here,” which may be the ultimate absurdity.

Posted by: Blake Crane February 11, 2016

HAIL, CAESAR! Review

There’s something for every brand of Coen brothers fan in Hail, Caesar! Whether you prefer the zany kidnapping antics in Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski, the Hollywood-centric satire of Barton Fink, or the religious themes of A Serious Man, it’s all here. If, like me, you’ve enjoyed nearly every Coen creation, Hail, Caesar! will be a real hoot from beginning to end.

Posted by: Blake Crane February 5, 2016

Slamdance 2016: EXCURSIONS Review

Excursions is excruciating. Ostensibly about two couples congregating at a cabin in the woods to reach some sort of enlightened state of being by way of meditation and other unexplained hokum, the trip is certainly long (even at only 80 minutes) and strange, it’s just missing a point. A dialogue-free, uneventful opening ten minutes sets the stage for the pretension of a grating, eye-glazing existential crisis of a film. Whether we’re supposed to pity these poor folks, take them seriously, or laugh at them is completely immaterial because we’re never made to care at all.

Posted by: Blake Crane January 28, 2016

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI Review

Bayghazi…okay, that reference is out of the way. Truth is that popular, slightly insulting moniker/hashtag isn’t a wholly proper summation of Michael Bay’s take on the 2012 attack of an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi. Based on the book by Mitchell Zuckoff, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi no doubt contains several Bayisms, but the film is certainly more authentic (and entertaining) than the director’s last stab at historical dramatization (Pearl Harbor).

Posted by: Blake Crane January 17, 2016

THE HATEFUL EIGHT Review

Who else but Quentin Tarantino could turn a three-hour-plus movie that takes place primarily in one location and consists largely of long conversations into an event film? But aside from any hullaballoo about film stock, overtures, and intermissions, The Hateful Eight is simply an impeccably written, shot, and performed Western/thriller/mystery that’s always engaging as a gaggle of colorful characters work their way through a labyrinthine plot that hinges on their individual interests.

Posted by: Blake Crane December 27, 2015

JOY Review

David O. Russell is adept at chronicling dysfunction and letting the interpersonal chaos form his characters and inform their motivations. That skill is a good match for quasi-biopic Joy, though the depths of social impairment and conflict here go about as deep as puddle requiring the use of a Miracle Mop, the invention central to this story of its creator.

Posted by: Blake Crane December 22, 2015

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Review

The Force Awakens was going to be a big deal no matter what. Whether anticipated with childlike glee or with trepidation after the middling-to-disappointing prequel trilogy, responses to the film would be strong. Facing these extraordinary expectations, J.J. Abrams and team have delivered an incredible adventure that taps into the magic of the original Star Wars trilogy without blatantly pandering, and also sets the stage for appealing new characters to pick up the mantle. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a technical and world-expanding triumph.

Posted by: Blake Crane December 19, 2015

KRAMPUS Review

Michael Dougherty hit a holiday-themed horror sweet spot with his 2007 anthology Trick ‘r Treat, finding the right balance of wit and chills. With Krampus, the director/co-writer flips the calendar from Halloween to Christmas and attempts to breathe Amblin-esque life into the dark figure from Germanic folklore. There’s so much cinematic potential with the character, described as Saint Nicholas’ dark shadow sent to punish the bad children, but it’s not quite realized here. Basic concepts are spread thin at feature length and there’s a failure to fully capture either the fearsome or farcical aspects of the myth.

Posted by: Blake Crane December 4, 2015

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