A nasty film that makes us sweat SINISTER
Starring Ethan Hawke, James Ransone Directed by Scott Derrickson The most remarkable thing about this latest stab at horror by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) is how incredibly effective it is despite a laundry list of shortcomings. By the end credits, you’ve forgotten all about the familiar premise, suspect supernatural elements, less-than-startling revelations, and predictable “shocks.” All that really counts is that Sinister has passed the palm sweat test. Perhaps more so than any other genre, horror comes down to technical execution. And Derrickson has engineered a nasty little film that achieves the results it was designed for. Ethan Hawke plays Ellison Oswalt, a true-crime writer with a spotty track record and some rather dubious ethics. Trying to replicate the success of his lone hit, he moves his family into the home
where a gruesome mass murder occurred. Stumbling upon a box of home movies cum snuff films, he suspects that he may have uncovered the trail of a serial killer. While a cooperative local cop (James Ransone) chases down conventional leads, Ellison finds himself warding off assaults from an otherworldly puppetmaster who’s orchestrated decades of bloodshed. Oswalt’s desperation to resuscitate his career provides perfect justification for him continuing to press on in his investigation when he really should be running for the hills. Furthermore, his inquisitiveness makes him a notably proactive protagonist, a rarity in a genre stocked with helpless victims. In a role obviously indebted to The Shining’s Jack Torrance, Hawke wisely projects torment rather than terror. And as the horrors escalate, it’s Oswalt’s mounting realization that he’s dug his own grave that makes Sinister all the more haunting. — Curtis Woloschuk
Cronenberg: a skin graft off the old block ANTIVIVIRAL
Starring Caleb Landry Jones, Sarah Gadon Directed by Brandon Cronenberg Given that his father David has reigned as our nation’s most accomplished filmmaker for more than three decades, Brandon Cronenberg’s directorial début seems destined to endure greater scrutiny than any other first feature in Canadian cinema history. And what does all of that examination uncover? A jumble of intriguing ideas that the filmmaker fails to explore with any satisfying results. Somewhat aggravatingly, Cronenberg’s only means of introducing his concepts is by having his characters explain them at length, thus bringing his film to a grinding halt. In the opening scene, clinic technician Syd March (Caleb Landry Jones) explains to an eager patient that he’s about to inject him with a trashy starlet’s strain of herpes. After work, he calls on a butcher shop where the
WINNER 2012
proprietor explains that the slabs of meat being peddled are cloned from the screen icon’s muscle cells. Again, the notion of a near future in which our society’s obsession with celebrities has reached such absurd extremes that we must literally consume our pop culture idols brims with potential. However, Cronenberg’s scattershot approach to satire distances us from his speculative reality rather than drawing us into it. Likewise, while his taste for body horror proves that he’s definitely a skin graft off the old block, his lurid images lack the sexual undercurrent that lend his father’s work both a perverse intimacy and inherent wrongness. Lacking both coherence and narrative thrust, Antiviral ultimately feels as stitched together as Frankenstein’s monster. Furthermore, it seems constantly at risk of coming apart at the seams. — Curtis Woloschuk
PEOPLE’S CHOICE MIDNIGHT MADNESS AWARD
“AN ENERGETICALLY DEMENTED PSYCHO-KILLER COMEDY... CHANNELING QUENTIN TARANTINO.” -- ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, WEEKLY, Lisa Lisa Schwarzbaum Schwarzbaum
“BRASH, BRILLIANT, WICKEDLY FUN, AND THE BEST FILM ABOUT SCREENWRITING SINCE ADAPTATION.” -- COLLIDER.COM, COLLIDER.COM, Matt Matt Goldberg Goldberg
Colin Farrell 4. Sam Rockwell 7. Woody Harrelson 2. Christopher Walken 6. Tom Waits 5. Abbie Cornish 1. Olga Kurylenko 3.
MOVIE REVIEWS
Seven Psychopaths scores bloody laughs Seven Psychopaths
Directed by Martin McDonagh Starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell Snappy dialogue and ruthless violence abound in Martin McDonagh’s black comedy Seven Psychopaths. Marty (Colin Farrell) is a struggling writer trying desperately to finish a screenplay (which incidentally bears the same name as this movie’s title), while his good friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) does his best to help his pal’s case of writer’s block. The only problem is Billy and partner Hans (Christopher Walken) are dog thieves who have just stolen gangster Charlie Costello’s (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. Marty soon becomes entwined in the messy affair which promises the inspiration he needs, as long as he lives to tell about it. The shining light of the flick is the razor-sharp script, penned
by McDonagh who also worked with Farrell on In Bruges. The strengths of the words in the film are backed impressively by an outstanding cast. The major players throw their weight around in fine fashion, never overshadowing one another, in a delicate balance of timing and charisma. Farrell is at his anxious best, Rockwell manages to be even creepier than in previous films, Harrelson exudes sheer malevolence with a dash of heart and Walken Thor Diakow is a breath of fresh air as the veteran makes deadpan look effortless. The graphic violence in the movie is sure to turn some off but it serves the story and never becomes gratuitous. Seven Psychopaths suffers from some uneven pacing and not all the jokes hit the mark but it pops with an exuberance of wit that keeps the structure intact.
“HYPNOTICALLY POWERFUL. SHOCKING AND DELIGHTFUL...
THE MENTAL ORGASM WAS SO STRONG.” - AIN’T IT COOL NEWS
“IT’S A SOLID, WEIRD, FREAKY, INTRIGUING THRILLER.” - FIRSTSHOWING.NET
“FASCINATING IDEAS ABOUT THE CULT OF CELEBRITY.” - NATIONAL POST
F R O M T H E M I N D O F B R A N D O N C R O N E N B E R G
ANTIVIRAL WHAT IF YOU COULD FEEL LIKE THEY DO...
FILMS TF1TF1INTERNATIONAL PRESENT WITH THEOFTHE OFCANADA TELEFILM ANDMEDIA ONTARIO MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AMEDIA RHOMBUS MEDIA PRODUCTION “ANTIVIRAL” CALEB LANDRY JONES SARAH GADON ALLIANCE FILMS ANDINTERNATIONAL TF1INTERNATIONAL PRESENT OF TELEFILM CANADA AND MEDIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION A RHOMBUS MEDIA PRODUCTION “ANTIVIRAL” CALEB LANDRY JONES SARAH GADON DOUGL ALLIANCE AND TF1ANDINTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL WITH THEPARTICIPATION OFCANADA TELEFILM CANADA ANDONTARIO ONTARIO MEDIA DEVELOPMENT A MEDIA RHOMBUS MEDIA PRODUCTION “ANTIVIRAL” CALEB LANDRY JONES SARAH GADON DOUSMS ALLIANCE FILMS ANDFILMS TF1ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL PRESENT WITH THE OFTHETELEFILM CANADA AND MEDIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION A CORPORATION RHOMBUS MEDIA PRODUCTION “ANTIVIRAL” CALEB LANDRY JONES SARAH GADON DOUGLAS SMITH ALLIANCE ANDFILMS PRESENT WITH THEWITH PARTICIPATION TELEFILM CANADA ANDANDCANADA ONTARIO DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION A RHOMBUS PRODUCTION “ANTIVIRAL” CALEB LANDRY JONES SARAH GADON DOUGLAS ANDTF1 PRESENT WITH THE PARTICIPATION OFPARTICIPATION A RHOMBUS PRODUCTION ALLIANCE FILMS TF1 TELEFILM ONTARIO MEDIA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION MEDIA “ANTIVIRAL” CALEB LANDRY JONES SARAH GADON DOUGLAS ANDALLIANCE AND PRESENT WITHPARTICIPATION THEPRESENT PARTICIPATION PRESENT OFPARTICIPATION WITH PARTICIPATION OFONTARIO AND AND ACORPORATION A RHOMBUS PRODUCTION PRODUCTION ALLIANCE FILMS TF1 INTERNATIONAL FILMS INTERNATIONAL TELEFILM TELEFILM ONTARIO CANADA MEDIA DEVELOPMENT ONTARIO MEDIA CORPORATION DEVELOPMENT RHOMBUS CORPORATION “ANTIVIRAL” MEDIA CALEB “ANTIVIRAL” LANDRY JONES CALEB SARAH LANDRY GADON JONES DOUGLAS SARAH GADON SMITH JOE PINGUE NICHOLAS CAMPBELL SHEILA MCCARTHY WITH WENDY CREWSON AND MALCOLM MCDOWELL DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KARIM HUSSAIN PRODUCTION DESIGNER ARVINDER GREWAL EDITOR MATTHEW HANNAM CASTING DIRECTOR JOE PINGUE NICHOLAS CAMPBELL SHEILA MCCARTHY WITH WENDY CREWSON AND MALCOLM MCDOWELL DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KARIM HUSSAIN PRODUCTION DESIGNER ARVINDER GREWAL EDITOR MATTHEW HANNAM CASTING DIRECTOR DEIRD JOE PINGUE NICHOLAS CAMPBELL SHEILA MCCARTHY WITH WENDY CREWSON AND MALCOLM MCDOWELL DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KARIM HUSSAIN PRODUCTION DESIGNER ARVINDER GREWAL EDITOR MATTHEW HANNAM CASTING DIRECTOR DEIRBOB JOE PINGUE NICHOLAS CAMPBELL SHEILA MCCARTHY WITH WENDY CREWSON AND MALCOLM MCDOWELL DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KARIM HUSSAIN PRODUCTION DESIGNER ARVINDER GREWAL EDITOR MATTHEW HANNAM CASTING DIRECTOR DEIRDRE BOWEN JOE PINGUE NICHOLAS CAMPBELL SHEILA MCCARTHY WITH WENDY CREWSON AND MALCOLM MCDOWELL DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KARIM HUSSAIN PRODUCTION DESIGNER ARVINDER GREWAL EDITOR MATTHEW HANNAM CASTING DIRECTOR DEIRDRE JOE PINGUE NICHOLAS CAMPBELL SHEILA MCCARTHY WITH WENDY CREWSON AND MALCOLM MCDOWELL DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY KARIM HUSSAIN PRODUCTION DESIGNER ARVINDER GREWAL EDITOR MATTHEW HANNAM CASTING DIRECTOR DEIRDRE JOE PINGUE NICHOLAS JOE PINGUE CAMPBELL NICHOLAS SHEILACAMPBELL MCCARTHYSHEILA MCCARTHY WITH WENDY CREWSON WITH WENDY AND MALCOLM CREWSON MCDOWELL AND MALCOLM DIRECTORMCDOWELL OF PHOTOGRAPHYDIRECTOR KARIMOFHUSSAIN PHOTOGRAPHYPRODUCTION KARIM HUSSAIN DESIGNER ARVINDER PRODUCTION GREWAL DESIGNER ARVINDER EDITOR MATTHEW GREWALHANNAM EDITOR MATTHEW CASTING DIRECTOR HANNAM DEIRDRE CASTINGBOWE DIRECT MUSIC BYASSISTANT E.C. WOODLEY FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ROB COTTERILL ASSOCIATE PRODUCER KEVIN KRIKST LINE ANDREA RAFFAGHELLO EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MARK SLONE AND VICTOR LOEWY PRODUCED BYWRITTEN NIV FICHMAN WRITTEN DIRECTED BYCRONEN BRAND E.C. FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ROBCOTTERILL ASSOCIATE PRODUCER KEVIN KRIKST LINE ANDREA RAFFAGHELLO EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MARK SLONE ANDSLONE LOEWY PRODUCED BYFICHMAN NIV FICHMAN WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY BRANDON MUSIC BYWOODLEY E.C.WOODLEY WOODLEY FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ROBCOTTERILL COTTERILL ASSOCIATE PRODUCER KEVIN KRIKST LINEPRODUCER PRODUCER ANDREA RAFFAGHELLO EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MARK SLONE ANDVICTOR VICTOR PRODUCED BYFICHMAN NIV FICHMAN AND BYDIRECTED BRANDON MUSIC MUSIC BY E.C. WOODLEY FIRST DIRECTOR ROBDIRECTOR COTTERILL ASSOCIATE PRODUCER KEVIN KRIKST LINE PRODUCER RAFFAGHELLO EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MARK SLONE AND VICTOR PRODUCED BYLOEWY NIV FICHMAN WRITTEN ANDNIV DIRECTED BYANDDIRECTED BRANDON CRONENBERG MUSIC FIRST ASSISTANT ROB ASSOCIATE PRODUCER KEVIN KRIKST LINELINEANDREA PRODUCER ANDREA RAFFAGHELLO EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MARK SLONE AND VICTOR LOEWY PRODUCED BYBYNIV WRITTEN ANDWRITTEN BYDIRECTED BRANDON BYE.C. E.C.BYWOODLEY FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ROBCOTTERILL ASSOCIATE PRODUCER KEVIN KRIKST PRODUCER ANDREA RAFFAGHELLO EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS MARK SLONE ANDLOEWY VICTOR LOEWY PRODUCED NIV WRITTEN DIRECTED BYAND BRANDON CRON BYMUSIC E.C.BYMUSIC WOODLEY MUSIC FIRST BY E.C. ASSISTANT WOODLEY DIRECTOR FIRST ROB ASSISTANT COTTERILL DIRECTOR ASSOCIATE ROB PRODUCER COTTERILL KEVIN ASSOCIATE KRIKST PRODUCER LINE PRODUCER KEVIN KRIKST ANDREA LINEPRODUCER RAFFAGHELLO PRODUCER ANDREA EXECUTIVE RAFFAGHELLO PRODUCERS MARK EXECUTIVE SLONE PRODUCERS AND VICTOR MARK LOEWY AND PRODUCED VICTOR BY LOEWY NIV FICHMAN PRODUCED BY AND FICHMAN DIRECTED BY WRITTEN BRANDON AND CRONENBE BY BRACR WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF THE ONTARIO FILM AND TELEVISION TAX CREDIT AND THE CANADIAN FILM OR VIDEO PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT THE OFANDTHEFILM FILM AND TELEVISION TAXAND AND CANADIAN ORFILM PRODUCTION CREDIT THE OFONTARIO THEAND ONTARIO FILMTHETAX AND TAXVIDEO THEFILM CANADIAN ORCANADIAN VIDEO PRODUCTION TAXPRODUCTION CREDIT TAX CREDIT WITH THE ASSISTANCE OFWITH THETHEONTARIO FILMONTARIO AND TELEVISION TAX CREDIT AND CANADIAN FILM ORCREDIT PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT ASSISTANCE OFASSISTANCE THEOFOFASSISTANCE ONTARIO TELEVISION CREDIT AND THE CANADIAN ORPRODUCTION VIDEO PRODUCTION TAX TAX CREDIT THE THE FILM AND TELEVISION TAX CREDIT THE CANADIAN ORORFILM VIDEO PRODUCTION WITH THEWITH ASSISTANCE OFASSISTANCE THEWITH WITH TELEVISION THE ASSISTANCE TAX CREDIT OFTHE AND ONTARIO THE CANADIAN FILM AND FILM TELEVISION ORTHEANDFILM VIDEO TAX CREDIT AND THE TAXVIDEO CREDIT FILMCREDIT ORTAXVIDEO WITH THEWITH ASSISTANCE THEFILMONTARIO ONTARIO FILM AND TELEVISION TAXTELEVISION CREDIT AND THECREDIT CANADIAN FILM VIDEO PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT
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