Today I saw The Conjuring, starring Lili Taylor and Vera Farmiga.
Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Farmiga) are a real-life married couple, famous for their paranormal investigations. Ed passed in 2006, but Lorraine is still going strong at 86 at corroborates the true story, which this film tells.
In the early 70s, the Perron family moved to a remote farmhouse in the Rhode Island countryside in hopes of beginning an idyllic life. Instead, their beds began levitating and a rancid smell filled their rooms at the same time each morning.
Not affiliated with any church, and fearing for the safety of their five young daughters, they sought the help of the Warrens who lived nearby in Connecticut.
Lorraine, who is clairvoyant, immediately detected the presence of spirits during her first visit and after studying historical records of the property, identified them. I won't spoil it for you, but let's just say they weren't the nicest entities to have around.
Carolyn (Taylor), who was the mother of the family, seemed to be the target of the spirit's angst, and briefly became possessed, causing all kinds of chaos. Taylor is perfect for this role, because she evokes such a nurturing "mom" presence anyway. Here she gets to show that off and go buck wild crazy under the spell of this demon. I enjoyed her performance most of all.
Farmiga plays the legendary Warren very understated, which is true to the real woman's behavior. Wilson is also convincingly "ordinary" as Ed, demonstrating both deep love for his wife and a sincere quest to rid this poor family of the energies that torment them.
As a standard horror film, the story here works on many levels: the narrative is packed with enough logic to pull you in and the surprises are jumpy enough to bolt you out of your seat.
This is a good one folks; and not just for paranormal geeks like me.
~~~
Showing posts with label Lili Taylor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lili Taylor. Show all posts
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Book Review: THE REENACTMENTS
This morning I finished reading The Reenactments, a memoir by Nick Flynn.
There are memories from our lives that we're desperate to re-live every day; then there are those we'd love to bury forever.
Flynn's memoir bravely chronicles the latter, as he recounts the filming of Being Flynn, a movie based on his earlier memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City.
His life was not ordinary: raised by a single mother in a Massachusetts beach town, his taxi-driving, alcoholic father was not around to see him grow up. Once he had grown up, his mother had committed suicide and his father was without a permanent address.
A lost soul in many ways, Flynn ended up with an addiction problem of his own, and was reunited with his father only when he began working in the shelter where his father sometimes slept.
He struggled with the loss of his mother as he tried to navigate his way through his 20s and maintained a complicated relationship with his dad; all the while becoming the brilliant writer that he is today.
This book shares in great detail what he felt like when each part of his existence was played out for the big screen, with Robert De Niro in the role of his father; Julianne Moore acting as his mother and Paul Dano representing him.
What's magical in the way he tells it is how capable he is of communicating surreality.
One can only imagine what it must feel like to watch real people behaving the way that people within your reality once behaved, right down to specific conversations—let alone the most traumatic stages of said life. Flynn somehow captures that, with his unique style of writing that reads more like short bits of poetry than prose, yet remains completely accessible.
Though much of it is painful to read, my hope for the writer is that by putting those words to paper, some therapeutic healing occurred that will allow him to move past those memories.
Flynn's courage in this raw retelling is nothing short of admirable.
~~~
There are memories from our lives that we're desperate to re-live every day; then there are those we'd love to bury forever.
Flynn's memoir bravely chronicles the latter, as he recounts the filming of Being Flynn, a movie based on his earlier memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City.
His life was not ordinary: raised by a single mother in a Massachusetts beach town, his taxi-driving, alcoholic father was not around to see him grow up. Once he had grown up, his mother had committed suicide and his father was without a permanent address.
A lost soul in many ways, Flynn ended up with an addiction problem of his own, and was reunited with his father only when he began working in the shelter where his father sometimes slept.
He struggled with the loss of his mother as he tried to navigate his way through his 20s and maintained a complicated relationship with his dad; all the while becoming the brilliant writer that he is today.
This book shares in great detail what he felt like when each part of his existence was played out for the big screen, with Robert De Niro in the role of his father; Julianne Moore acting as his mother and Paul Dano representing him.
What's magical in the way he tells it is how capable he is of communicating surreality.
One can only imagine what it must feel like to watch real people behaving the way that people within your reality once behaved, right down to specific conversations—let alone the most traumatic stages of said life. Flynn somehow captures that, with his unique style of writing that reads more like short bits of poetry than prose, yet remains completely accessible.
Though much of it is painful to read, my hope for the writer is that by putting those words to paper, some therapeutic healing occurred that will allow him to move past those memories.
Flynn's courage in this raw retelling is nothing short of admirable.
~~~
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Promotion
This morning I screened The Promotion, starring Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly.
Ordinary people are always great subjects for films because nine times out of ten there is nothing 'ordinary' about them. Maybe that's why this movie works.
Doug (Scott) is the assistant manager at a chain grocery store hoping to be named the manager of a new store that is opening nearby. He and his wife (the adorable Jenna Fischer) are scrimping and saving to get out of their noisy apartment, and a manager's salary could afford them a house.
Also hoping for a promotion is Richard (Reilly), who recently moved to the states from Canada with his Scottish wife (the versatile Lili Taylor) and daughter. He is a recovering drug addict who frequently relies on self-help tapes to get him through the day. Unfortunately for Doug, he's also a marvelous worker with a positive attitude.
Their both pretty normal people, but their minor quirks make them interesting enough for us to care. The antics begin early on and carry the film to the very end—which is something you'll clearly see coming. The supporting characters you'd expect (worthless manager, devoted wife, stuffy corporate reps) are all present and predictable, but it's okay in this case because the dialogue is so funny.
It's not the smartest film that's ever been made, and no profound lessons will be learned from viewing it, but you sure will have a good time.
Ordinary people are always great subjects for films because nine times out of ten there is nothing 'ordinary' about them. Maybe that's why this movie works.
Doug (Scott) is the assistant manager at a chain grocery store hoping to be named the manager of a new store that is opening nearby. He and his wife (the adorable Jenna Fischer) are scrimping and saving to get out of their noisy apartment, and a manager's salary could afford them a house.
Also hoping for a promotion is Richard (Reilly), who recently moved to the states from Canada with his Scottish wife (the versatile Lili Taylor) and daughter. He is a recovering drug addict who frequently relies on self-help tapes to get him through the day. Unfortunately for Doug, he's also a marvelous worker with a positive attitude.
Their both pretty normal people, but their minor quirks make them interesting enough for us to care. The antics begin early on and carry the film to the very end—which is something you'll clearly see coming. The supporting characters you'd expect (worthless manager, devoted wife, stuffy corporate reps) are all present and predictable, but it's okay in this case because the dialogue is so funny.
It's not the smartest film that's ever been made, and no profound lessons will be learned from viewing it, but you sure will have a good time.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Starting Out in the Evening
Today I saw Starting Out in the Evening, starring Frank Langella and Lauren Ambrose.
The narrative takes us into the lives of washed-up novelist Leonard Shiller (Langella) and righteous graduate student Heather Wolf (Ambrose). Her mission seems to be resurrecting his career, while his goal is simply to finish his final book before dying. He is a senior citizen with heart problems; she is a twentysomething with a hungry heart.
It's inevitable that in the course of her spending time with him to complete her thesis (based on him) that these two will develop a chemistry. Thankfully, they do. It's what saves this film from being a completely predictable starry-eyed-girl-wants-crotchety-old-man bore.
Although Heather is slightly too righteous to be endearing, there are so many real people like her, I could look past her irritating nature. What's also great is the subplot of Leonard's daughter Ariel (played by the amazing Lili Taylor—Ambrose's former Six Feet Under co-star) and her inability to have a successful relationship.
The thing is, all of these characters seem to be making the choices they need to make for themselves as their lives intersect. Heather is persistent in her quest for information from Leonard (and in her sexual attraction to him), Leonard will only talk about the topics of his choosing and fights to focus on his writing. Ariel wrestles with feelings for two men in her life; neither who share her desire to have children.
These simple, yet interesting situations are all presented in a well-acted, well-written package with believable dialogue and character progression.
I'll confess to being alternately touched and disgusted by Leonard and Heather's love story, but I can't help but admit it felt real.
I also wouldn't be surprised if Langella and/or Taylor were nominated for their performances.
Nor would I be sorry if they won.
The narrative takes us into the lives of washed-up novelist Leonard Shiller (Langella) and righteous graduate student Heather Wolf (Ambrose). Her mission seems to be resurrecting his career, while his goal is simply to finish his final book before dying. He is a senior citizen with heart problems; she is a twentysomething with a hungry heart.
It's inevitable that in the course of her spending time with him to complete her thesis (based on him) that these two will develop a chemistry. Thankfully, they do. It's what saves this film from being a completely predictable starry-eyed-girl-wants-crotchety-old-man bore.
Although Heather is slightly too righteous to be endearing, there are so many real people like her, I could look past her irritating nature. What's also great is the subplot of Leonard's daughter Ariel (played by the amazing Lili Taylor—Ambrose's former Six Feet Under co-star) and her inability to have a successful relationship.
The thing is, all of these characters seem to be making the choices they need to make for themselves as their lives intersect. Heather is persistent in her quest for information from Leonard (and in her sexual attraction to him), Leonard will only talk about the topics of his choosing and fights to focus on his writing. Ariel wrestles with feelings for two men in her life; neither who share her desire to have children.
These simple, yet interesting situations are all presented in a well-acted, well-written package with believable dialogue and character progression.
I'll confess to being alternately touched and disgusted by Leonard and Heather's love story, but I can't help but admit it felt real.
I also wouldn't be surprised if Langella and/or Taylor were nominated for their performances.
Nor would I be sorry if they won.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Factotum
Tonight I saw this movie (free thanks to SIFF) and I won't say any more about it until we decide what the topic of our next podcast will be. If it doesn't end up being this, I'll blog about it later in the week.
UPDATE: We did not choose this movie to be a Cinebanter topic, so my review is as follows:
Matt Dillon portrays Hank...the character that Charles Bukowski created in the image of himself. Hank is a writer who passes the time by taking jobs he has no interest in and failing miserably at each of them. He alternately squats at the houses of his parents, his lovers and a few whores here and there. He's unlikable, directionless and mean-spirited. You never want to root for him, even with a few glimpses of his redeeming quality (a sense of humor).
Overall, the movie was so slow it was boring. Matt was horribly miscast and too good-looking for the role. Lili Taylor was perfectly cast as his part-time love Jan, but she didn't have much to work with by way of the script. Marisa Tomei (who is billed as a supporting player) makes more of a cameo appearance than a lasting impression, not given enough time to develop her character.
Thank goodness it was free.
UPDATE: We did not choose this movie to be a Cinebanter topic, so my review is as follows:
Matt Dillon portrays Hank...the character that Charles Bukowski created in the image of himself. Hank is a writer who passes the time by taking jobs he has no interest in and failing miserably at each of them. He alternately squats at the houses of his parents, his lovers and a few whores here and there. He's unlikable, directionless and mean-spirited. You never want to root for him, even with a few glimpses of his redeeming quality (a sense of humor).
Overall, the movie was so slow it was boring. Matt was horribly miscast and too good-looking for the role. Lili Taylor was perfectly cast as his part-time love Jan, but she didn't have much to work with by way of the script. Marisa Tomei (who is billed as a supporting player) makes more of a cameo appearance than a lasting impression, not given enough time to develop her character.
Thank goodness it was free.
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