MOVIE REVIEW: THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER

When his daughter, Angela, and her friend Katherine, show signs of demonic possession, it unleashes a chain of events that forces single father Victor Fielding to confront the nadir of evil. Terrified and desperate, he seeks out Chris MacNeil, the only person alive who's witnessed anything like it before.

Director: David Gordon Green

Cast: Leslie Odom Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Ellen Burstyn

Release Date: October 6, 2023

Genre: Horror

Rated R for some violent content, disturbing images, language and sexual references.

Runtime: 1h 51m

David Gordon Green's The Exorcist: Believer is more than capable of echoing William Friedkin's original, especially during its opening act, but it ultimately proves to be nothing more than hollow mimicry.  Green hits some incredibly familiar beats throughout this legacy sequel with camera shots or visual cues but there's a noticeable disconnect as the film rapidly moves through sequences to get to the possession portion of the film.  Once those moments arrive, we're treated to a series of cheap jump scares and gore that feel more in line with the Insidious films than a direct follow up to the original Exorcist.  The script doesn't help matters much since it throws a series of one dimensional characters at the screen and expects you to care about them.  There's a kernel of a solid idea that expands the idea of evil beyond the Catholic rite but the story has no idea how to take a nuanced, measured approach to the subject matter.  Instead, the film devolves into a series of standard shocks we've seen plenty of times before which highlights the fact that script and director doesn't understand what made the original so effective and unsettling, a sense of grounded humanity.  It’s a missed opportunity on multiple levels especially since the film is blessed with game actors who are looking for something more substantial.  Leslie Odom Jr. turns in a earnest performance as the father of one of the possessed girls.  Odom Jr. does his best with the smallest slivers of depth the script affords but the film simply doesn't have the patience to let any of it germinate organically since it wants to get to the next scare as soon as possible. Norbert Leo and Jennifer Nettles fare even worse as they are given the thankless roles of the parents of the other possessed girl who characterization is little more than broadly written evangelicals.  Ann Dowd, who plays a neighbor/nurse with a past, seems perfectly suited for this type of role but the film also rushes through her backstory which robs the character of any sort of emotional weight.  The biggest misstep is getting Ellen Burstyn back into the fold only to misuse the actress and character to a shocking degree.  That kind of haphazard mishandling of the material just shows that while The Exorcist: Believer might be able to create a facsimile it clearly never understood the material of the original.   

C-

Movie Reviews: W.

Sunday, October 19, 2008
Movie Reviews: W.
IN THEATERS

W.








The life and controversial presidency of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin).

Cast: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Thandie

Newton, Richard Dreyfuss

Director: Oliver Stone

Opened October 17, 2008

Runtime: 2 hr. 11 min.

Rated PG-13 for language including sexual references, some alcohol abuse,

smoking and brief disturbing war images

Genres: Political Drama, Biopic [feature], Drama

Review:

W. is not what you'd expect from Oliver Stone, it lacks his usual edge to be honest if I didn't know Stone directed it I'd never assume he did. Does that mean W. is a bad movie, no not really. It's a somewhat flawed if straight forward film that never delves too deep into most of the political issues outside of a few. Instead we are given broad melodrama dealing mostly with Dubya's daddy issues. It's intriguing and engrossing to watch but it feels lacking. Stone does do a good job of painting a fairly well balanced picture of a man that polarizes just about anyone. Josh Brolin does a fantastic job in the lead role and avoids the easy pitfall of falling into caricature. Brolin performance is excellent, nailing the mannerism and tenor of speech. He holds this film together as he make Dubya an almost sympathetic character as we see, the film's told with intermingled flash backs to his younger days while coming back to his presidency, his rise to power. The rest of cast is filled with excellent actors and actresses, some of whom are frightening close to the real thing. Elizabeth Banks brings sincerity to her portrayal of Laura Bush and she has some good chemisty with Brolin. Richard Dreyfuss is spot on as Dick Cheney and gives a solid supporting turn here. Also excellent in a supporting turn is Jeffrey Wright, who lacks the physical likeness of Colin Powell, who gives character a surprising amount of depth. Ellen Burstyn and James Cromwell both do very well and the momma and "poppy" Bush with both getting some great lines to deliver. Thandie Newton doesn't fair as well as her Condi Rice is nearly mute through most of the film and portrayed as nothing more than a "yes" woman. Toby Jones plays it a little to devious as Karl Rove but he's still gives an interesting performance. Solid performances make for a solid film but Stone makes a few miscues. Some of the musical choices are pretty amateur and his bookend scenes of Dubya in the outfield doesn't achieve the intended effect. W. feels like a film that might have benefited from a bit more distance from the actual events, the film was shot quickly so it could be released before the upcoming election, so it'd have more perspective on the decisions made during Dubya's presidency.

B-