Mr. CHURCH Review

While Mr. Church might have initially been looked at as something of a return to quality movie-making for star Eddie Murphy it is more a return to the realm of inoffensive movie making than anything else. Mr. Church is certainly no Pluto Nash or Norbit...hell, it's not even Meet Dave (which I admittedly never finished), but it isn't the high-reaching piece of transcendent cinema that encapsulates all the major themes of one's life that illustrates mistakes made and identities redeemed that it seemed to want so badly to be in its trailers either. Rather, Mr. Church is a pleasant enough distraction about a kind-hearted man that is largely elevated by the credible performances of its two leads. Both Murphy and Britt Robertson (Tomorrowland) deliver the necessary sympathies to draw on audience emotions that keep us invested in the sometimes tedious story that strings us along for decades with large stretches where little to nothing happens or is revealed. Fortunately, it isn't really the narrative that is meant to drive Mr. Church though, but rather the core relationship that forms between Murphy's titular character and Robertson's Charlotte Brody which remains the reason we become and stay as invested as we do throughout the sometimes tepid 100-minute runtime. The film, which comes from TV writing veteran Susan McMartin in her first feature film credit, feels rather episodic as a result with director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Double Jeopardy) doing little to add any filmmaking flairs as, at the age of seventy-six, seems to be on auto pilot. In that way, Mr. Church is very much a competently made and sometimes even emotionally affecting film, but most of the time it feels like a Hallmark movie that is emotionally manipulative for reasons of knowing it has little else to offer by way of connecting with its audience. It is a holiday Hallmark film that escaped the clutches of such a fate by appealing to talent such as Mr. Murphy by being a project not typically offered to the comedian and thus an opportunity after an intentional hiatus to do something different. Murphy, while doing his best to salvage this sappy if not occasionally comforting piece of melodrama can't rescue the project from total mediocrity, but he puts forth a valiant effort and that is duly noted.

THE CONJURING 2 Review

One of the things I really appreciated about The Conjuring was that director James Wan (Saw, Insidious, Furious 7) didn't approach the film as if it were a horror film, but more a serious drama about a family in crisis. With this sequel Wan has created a similarly framed film, but this time with more emphasis on the aspect that allows him to continue this franchise without the majority of the principle characters from the original. In being able to utilize Ed and Lorraine Warren (played once again by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) and their vast catalog of paranormal encounters Wan has basically created a formula for which he can produce numerous sequels based on the most interesting case files of these demonologists. As long as Wilson and Farmiga are willing to return there is no reason as to why we won't be witness to several more Conjuring films. This doesn't seem to be the hidden intent of the filmmaker though as he is clearly fully engulfed in the present and in the responsibility of not only respectfully bringing the Warrens' stories to life, but those of the victims involved in these cases. With The Conjuring 2 Wan tackles what is known as the "Enfield poltergeist". Set in 1977, this sequel is loosely based on when the Warrens traveled to north London to help a single mother and her four children escape their house that was plagued by malicious spirits. In classic Wan fashion, The Conjuring 2 is beauty of a horror film. As breathtaking in its visual grandeur as it is frightening in its moments of horrific ecstasy. At a runtime of nearly two hours and fifteen minutes this is an epic of sorts in the horror genre, a full-on deep dive not only into what makes people afraid of the dark, but into the characters, the people that are believed to have experienced such events and how they deal with such trauma in as human and as logical a fashion as can be hoped for. The Conjuring 2 is a slow burn of character development paired with a surplus of seeming proof and doubt as to what is really going on. Plaguing his film with confusion and integrating the Warrens all the more vitally, Wan has created a horror film that, while not necessarily transcending the genre, is certainly the closest thing we've had to a film redefining the genre since its predecessor.

KEANU Review

When Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key began their sketch comedy series in 2012 I wasn't aware of either comic in any large capacity save for a few supporting roles in random comedies. While I never jumped on the bandwagon that was the huge following their Comedy Central show soon amassed I saw enough clips on YouTube to know these guys were smart, insightful comedians who enjoyed commenting on social expectations by upending them in inventive ways. Most of these having to do with race or gender stereotypes, but nevertheless they were smart enough about their approach that many of their sketches quickly became cultural reference points in the same way Chappelle's show had a decade earlier. When Key and Peele's show ended in the fall of last year it was somewhat surprising given their three year run had yielded them great success, numerous opportunities, and it more or less seemed as if the duo were just beginning to really heat up. Talk about going out on top. It seems that with all the free time ending their show opened up for them the comedic duo decided it was time to take their act to the big screen. With the danger of wearing out their welcome by translating what worked for them in a five minute sketch to feature length as well as taking into account the low success rate of sketches turned into feature films the odds were never in their favor, but alas Key and Peele have made their formula work for them more than it doesn't. Again, coming from a position of having seen only a handful of sketches from what I'm sure is a much larger, more illustrious library than I can even imagine I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from Keanu, but due to the fact I largely enjoy broad comedies with outlandish premises that expose those premises for all they're worth Keanu largely succeeds in the goals it sets for itself. Of course, given I'd seen only what is likely the highest highlights from their show I was hoping for more consistent laughter, but there are enough big laughs here to tide one over when the movie intermittently forgets what it's supposed to be in exchange for the authenticity of what it is supposedly lampooning.

First Red-Band Trailer for Key & Peele's KEANU

The most I've seen of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele's Comedy Central show that has now come to an end were the clips that gained momentum on YouTube. I always found the clips entertaining and naturally pretty funny and Key has been especially prolific in smaller roles recently where he's stolen the the scenes in which he was included (Horrible Bosses 2, Pitch Perfect 2, Vacation-all golden). All of that said, this trailer for their first feature film (written by Peele and Alex Rubens) had me rolling as it quickly becomes apparent how ridiculous the duo is dedicated to being. Directed by Peter Atencio (who directed every episode of Key and Peele) the film revolves around two very suburban fellas, one of which finds solace in a cute kitten after his girlfriend breaks up with him, who get into a gang war when said kitten is stolen. While clearly a riff on 2014's Keanu Reeves movie, John Wick, this seems to be much more than simply a parody of that particular film, but the action genre as a whole and the always funny circumstances of placing two characters outside of their comfort zone. Kicking this promotional campaign off with a red band trailer isn't a bad idea either as it allows for some strong jokes with sensitive material to come through and set the tone for just what Key and Peele are attempting to capture which, to the comfort of their fans I'm sure, seems to be perfectly aligned with the comedy of their sketch show, but on a much bigger platform. Keanu also stars Tiffany Haddish, Method Man, Jason Mitchell, Luis Guzman, Nia Long, Will Forte and opens on April 29th, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for THE CONJURING 2

I never made it around to seeing 2014's Annabelle, the spin-off of director James Wan's successful 2014 horror film, The Conjuring. I heard it wasn't very good and by all accounts it seemed little more than an excuse to exploit the success of Wan's take on the Warren's assisting the Perron family with a haunted house issue. After struggling through the impossibly difficult shoot that was Furious 7 Wan returned to the comfort zone of the horror genre and has crafted a sequel to that 2013 smash. Both Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return for the sequel, subtitled The Enfield Poltergeist, as demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. This time around Wan and his co-writers Chris and Chad Hayes take the story from a true-to-life case file that involved a single mother and her children living in the Enfield borough in London during the seventies. Warner Bros. released the image above last week revealing one of the children (Madison Wolfe) who claimed to have heard knocking sounds in the walls and demonic voices, as well as having seen objects moving on their own. While little more than this basic premise can be gleaned from the teaser trailer the most vital aspect of any horror film is mood and tone and Wan is no stranger to adapting just the right tone for his ghost stories and there seems to be no exception here. While I enjoyed the first Conjuring I wasn't as big on it as most, but hopefully this sequel will surpass the original (it wouldn't be the first time for that to happen with one of Wan's horror franchises). The Conjuring 2 also stars Frances O’Connor, Simon McBurney, and opens on June 10th.