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.

DELIVERY MAN Review

To evaluate a film like Delivery Man it seems one must be in tune with the career trajectory of Vince Vaughn and much like Matthew McConaughey it seems the guy has fallen into the trap of knowing what his speciality is and sticking to that comfort zone for the reason that it has worked in the past, why wouldn't it continue? Of course, if you've been paying attention to the projects McConaughey has been choosing as of late it is clear he has made some kind of decision to not only play characters who aren't the most charming or admirable guy on screen, but instead he can sometimes be the most downright despicable. Vaughn is in a slump, that is clear, but the problem is that he has been and that Delivery Man is the kind of film he thought might begin to turn that around. Hell, he probably secretly hoped that was what The Internship would do this past summer, but in a landscape of comedies where they push the envelope to the end of the world, a buddy comedy with his old friend can't even drum up enough excitement or laughs to be remembered past opening weekend. Both actors burst onto the scene in hip, independent comedies that would help them get into more mainstream projects, each of which chose more serious material and supporting roles in major blockbusters while attempting to reach that one project that would seemingly put them in the place they were destined to be. They were on a similar trajectory in any sense of the word as McConaughey finally found leading man success in 2001 and Vaughn was front and center in the now classic Old School in 2003. They were able to ride those waves of stability for the better part of the first decade of the new millenium until the well began to run dry. No one expected much from McConaughey after 2009's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past seemed to be the nail in the rom-com coffin, but a mere two years later he began to re-build. The problem with Vaughn is that he's had a number of nails, but somehow he manages to keep finding open space. There hasn't been that huge disastrous story (not counting The Watch of course, but the blame didn't fall directly on him). In any case, not since the fast-talking funnyman decided to do a pair of Christmas movies has he been able to re-claim the kind of comic credibility he had in his Dodgeball//Wedding Crasher prime. With Delivery Man he seems to at least be accepting this truth and trying to find new ground to cover while still incorporating what he is best known for. While he succeeds in proving he has the chops and charm to pull this kind of dramedy off, the film itself feels so middle of the road and inconsequential it is hard to take it as any kind of statement.