Posted by Jared Mobarak on August 7, 2017 · Leave a Comment
“Dear diary. Today I came home.” You can’t blame audiences for being skeptical about a prequel to a prequel to James Wan‘s acclaimed The Conjuring when the first proved a huge step down in quality. There was no way Annabelle would equal the level of contemporary horror classic that Wan’s look into the paranormal via […]
Category film reviews, horror · Tags Annabelle, Annabelle: Creation, Anthony LaPaglia, David F. Sandberg, Gary Dauberman, Grace Fulton, James Wan, John R. Leonetti, Lulu Wilson, Miranda Otto, Philippa Coulthard, Samara Lee, Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, The Conjuring
Posted by Jared Mobarak on August 3, 2017 · Leave a Comment
“Crazy people do crazy things, ma’am” The story of Annabelle—a possessed Raggedy Ann doll from the 1970s—is a part of Lorraine and Ed Warren’s lore as experts in the occult. It along with the Amityville house are what the couple are most known for “combating” and thus easy fodder to provide audiences an entry point […]
Category film reviews, horror, suspense/thriller · Tags Alfre Woodard, Annabelle, Annabelle Wallis, Eric Ladin, Gary Dauberman, James Wan, John R. Leonetti, Johnny Gruelle, The Conjuring, Tony Amendola, Ward Horton
Posted by Jared Mobarak on July 18, 2016 · Leave a Comment
“Are you doing this to help him or hurt her?” The story behind Lights Out is one many YouTubers aspire towards because it sees Swedish filmmaker David F. Sandberg evolve from three years of super short online scares to a seat beside contemporary Hollywood horror king James Wan. You could call his three-minute original from […]
Category film reviews, horror · Tags Alexander DiPersia, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Billy Burke, David F. Sandberg, Eric Heisserer, Gabriel Bateman, James Wan, Lights Out, Lotta Losten, Maria Bello, Teresa Palmer
Posted by Jared Mobarak on June 6, 2016 · Leave a Comment
“This is the closest to Hell I ever want to go” When a formula succeeds as well as that of James Wan‘s The Conjuring and its real life subjects have as extensive a Rolodex of haunting investigations as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the prospect of a sequel arrives as both inevitability and an initial pause. […]
Category film reviews, horror, z.slideshow · Tags Benjamin Haigh, Bob Adrian, Bonnie Aarons, Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, David Leslie Johnson, Frances O'Connor, Franka Potente, Furious 7, Insidious: Chapter 2, James Wan, Lauren Esposito, Madison Wolfe, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Patrick McAuley, Patrick Wilson, Saw, Simon Delaney, Simon McBurney, The Conjuring, The Conjuring 2, Vera Farmiga
Posted by Jared Mobarak on March 31, 2015 · Leave a Comment
“You never could take a punch” There’s something about this series that’s transcended any intellectual discussion about cinema. How else does a lamely derivative version of Point Break substituting waves with cars spawn six sequels in fifteen years? Think about that. 2 Fast 2 Furious was so bad that star Vin Diesel turned down a […]
Category action/adventure, film reviews, suspense/thriller · Tags 2 Fast 2 Furious, Casey Affleck, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Chris Morgan, Djimon Hounsou, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Fast & Furious, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, Gal Gadot, Gina Carano, Helen Mirren, James Wan, Jason Statham, Joe Taslim, Jordana Brewster, Justin Lin, Kurt Russell, Nathalie Emmanuel, Ocean's Eleven, Paul Walker, Person of Interest, Point Break, Ronda Rousey, Scott Caan, Sung Kang, The Bourne Identity, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, Tony Jaa, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel
Posted by Jared Mobarak on March 10, 2014 · Leave a Comment
(short and sweet and to the point; culled from watching 220+ releases. constantly updated as i catch up to those i missed. click poster for review if applicable) #25: Mud directed by Jeff Nichols #24: Pacific Rim directed by Guillermo del Toro #23: The Conjuring directed by James Wan #22: Satellite of Love directed by […]
Category top 10 films by year, top 10 lists · Tags 12 Years a Slave, Abdellatif Kechiche, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Al-Midan, American Hustle, Asghar Farhadi, Baz Luhrmann, Before Midnight, Blue Is the Warmest Color, Blue Jasmine, Dallas Buyers Club, David Lowery, David O. Russell, Destin Daniel Cretton, Frances Ha, Fruitvale Station, Guillermo del Toro, Harmony Korine, Her, Jagten, James Ponsoldt, James Wan, Jason Reitman, Jean-Marc Vallée, Jeff Nichols, Jehane Noujaim, La vie d'Adèle, Labor Day, Le passé, Lucy Mulloy, Martin Scorsese, Mud, Noah Baumbach, One Night, Pacific Rim, Richard Linklater, Ryan Coogler, Satellite of Love, Shane Carruth, Short Term 12, Spike Jonze, Spring Breakers, Steve McQueen, The Conjuring, The Great Gatsby, The Hunt, The Past, The Spectacular Now, The Square, The Wolf of Wall Street, Thomas Vinterberg, Una noche, Upstream Color, Will James Moore, Woody Allen
Posted by Jared Mobarak on July 26, 2013 · 2 Comments
“There’s usually always some rational explanation” After watching the cinematic account of the Perron family’s plight in 1971 during James Wan‘s The Conjuring—alongside a brief view at Annabelle, the creepiest little possessed doll ever—it’s hard to believe paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren’s most infamous case of demonic insanity was Amityville. Described as the story […]
Category film reviews, horror, suspense/thriller · Tags Carey Hayes, Chad Hayes, Hayley McFarland, James Wan, Joey King, John Brotherton, Kyla Deaver, Leigh Whannell, Lili Taylor, Mackenzie Foy, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Saw, Shanley Caswell, Shannon Kook, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror, The Conjuring, The Haunted, The Haunting in Connecticut, Tony DeRosa-Grund, Vera Farmiga
Posted by Jared Mobarak on July 1, 2013 · Leave a Comment
“Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” is a proverb whose simple existence proves the fact impressionable souls will do so without fail. This monthly column focuses on the film industry’s willingness to capitalize on this truth, releasing one-sheets to serve as not representations of what audiences are to expect, but as propaganda to fill […]
Category film features, posterized propaganda · Tags ARSONAL, Art Machine A Trailer Park Company, Aurélie Huet, Bemis Balkind, Blackfish, BLT Communications LLC, Cold Open, Computer Chess, Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus, Despicable Me 2, Fruitvale Station, Gravillis Inc., Grown Ups 2, Guillermo del Toro, Hugh Jackman, Hunter S. Thompson, Ignition Print, James Wan, John Travolta, Johnny Depp, Killing Season, Kristin Scott Thomas, Lili Taylor, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Cera, Only God Forgives, Pacific Rim, Pulse Advertising, Radiohead, RED 2, Rob Schneider, Robert De Niro, Ryan Gosling, Sergio Grisanti, Smurfs 2, The Act of Killing, The Beach Boys, The Cimarron Group, The Conjuring, The Killers, The Lone Ranger, The Wolverine, V/H/S, V/H/S/2, Violet & Daisy, Werner Herzog
Posted by Jared Mobarak on July 5, 2011 · Leave a Comment
“Last night I watched myself sleep … then I flew away” Ever since James Wan and Leigh Whannell collaborated on what became a franchised sensation in Saw, expectations for the two were high. I haven’t seen their second film, Dead Silence, but I do remember press being positive and the creepiness of dolls—a motif the […]
Category film reviews, horror · Tags Andrew Astor, Angus Sampson, Barbara Hershey, Dead Silence, Ghostbusters, Insidious, James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Lin Shaye, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Saw, Ty Simpkins
Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 5, 2010 · Leave a Comment
“If I’m lying, take me to the quarries” Could it be the final installment in the increasingly convoluted saga that is Saw? I’ll admit that I checked out somewhat after episode four, to me the last really strong story formed from the surprisingly intelligent and creative Jigsaw mythology. After that it all rapidly devolved to […]
Category film reviews, horror · Tags Betsy Russell, Cary Elwes, Chad Donella, Chester Bennington, Costas Mandylor, James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Linkin Park, Marcus Dunstan, Patrick Melton, Saw, Saw 3D, Saw IV, Sean Patrick Flanery, Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell
Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 13, 2007 · Leave a Comment
“Cherish your life” Besides a misstep with episode II, I have to admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed the Saw saga. From the get-go, I was intrigued by what these young upstarts, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, were bringing to the horror genre. While the original had its moments of bad acting and campiness—sorry Cary […]
Category film reviews, horror · Tags Cary Elwes, Darren Lynn Bousman, James Wan, Leigh Whannell, Lyriq Bent, Marcus Dunstan, Patrick Melton, Saw, Saw II, Saw III, Saw IV, Tobin Bell
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