A Pitt Stop

With Jack Reacher: Never Go Back opening today, I thought this would be the perfect time to reflect on the original 2012 film. I am sure that most of you have heard the controversy revolving around it, with ardent fans of Lee Child’s ‘Jack Reacher’ novels being discouraged by the casting of Tom Cruise in the leading role. Much like an overzealous carny following the stringent rules and regulations of height restrictions on rides, book lovers were uninspired by the selection of the action superstar, as his five foot seven inch frame did not fit with the character’s description – at a gargantuan six foot five inches tall.

It is rare that a sequel can match the quality of the first motion picture. Whether it is an effort to outdo the original, or simply an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the primary offering, it usually comes off as less original, with the story feeling lackluster – often blandly regurgitated. Yet, one film that is able to match its predecessor is James Wan’s 2016 horror flick The Conjuring 2. Written once again by Carey and Chad Hayes, along with director Wan and David Leslie Johnson, the story picks up with the spectre-hunting married couple, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) dealing with their most famous case, the Amityville house. Lorraine sensed a horrible presence in that home, with the ominous figure resembling some sort of demonic nun. During this vision, she witnesses the death of her husband at the hands of the spook.

Set within the decaying, abandoned neighbourhoods of Detroit, Fede Alvarez’s Don’t Breathe goes deeper by examining the decline of both family values and traditional American ideals. Following a gang of young hoodlums, at first glance they seem to be nothing but lowlife thugs. Yet, Alvarez provides enough of a back story for us to know that the female of the group, Rocky (Jane Levy – Frank and Cindy), is trapped in a single parent home with a mother (and her boyfriend) that is less than motherly. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she is more of a mom to her little sister Diddy (the wide eyed Emma Bercovici) than the drug-addled, slovenly matriarch of the ‘family’.

As of this past week, I have officially finished viewing all of last years Oscar Best Picture nominees. The sole one that slipped through my grasp prior to the Academy Awards was Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s epic The Revenant. Snagging Best Achievement in Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Best Director (for Iñárritu), the filmmaker transports us to the year 1823, placing us in the heart of the wilderness – more specifically, a piece of pre-government structured territory in the United States located close to the Dakotas.

I recently met up with actor Steve Coulter at CAPE Cornwall; he is perhaps best known for his turn as Reg Monroe in the television series The Walking Dead. Coulter has also worked an impressive five times with horror maestro James Wan (he has been directed by him four times as well as being in one of his productions). He plays the role of Father Gordon in Wan’s The Conjuring and its sequel The Conjuring 2. I reached out to him to get a quote on the filmmaker. Coulter had nothing but praise for the man, stating "James’s skill in directing horror is, first of all, based on his ability as a storyteller. He knows how smart the audience is, particularly the horror film audience. As such a fan of the horror genre, he knows the usual shortcuts that are made, and he doesn’t take them. He knows what REALLY scares people. And he is such a masterful filmmaker that he knows how to craft those scares so that they are truly frightening, not just the usual Hollywood jump scares. He’s also a master at building suspense." Keep an eye open for an upcoming Star Pick with the actor in the very near future.