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Deliver Us from Evil (R) BUY THE:Poster!
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Horror fans drawn in by the supernatural-heavy ad campaign may be disappointed by Scott Derrickson's thriller, but like his 2005 sleeper hit The Exorcism of Emily Rose, this is a mash-up of demonic chiller with another genre, in this case, police procedural. Unlike that underwhelming film, however, this film inspired by the true life accounts of NYPD sergeant Ralph Sarchie proves to be a far more organic and therefore effective mix than that with courtroom drama. Certainly helping matters is that the crime drama element is already fairly compelling on its own, with Eric Bana seamlessly disappearing into the part of Sarchie, a workaholic Bronx cop whose routine investigations into some mysterious crimes bring him face to face with some even more mysterious and far from routine causes. The gritty milieu and atmosphere Derrickson effectively establishes from the get-go are ones from which even more shadowy forces can convincingly materializes, and the naturalistic performances of Bana, Édgar Ramírez (as the priest with whom he eventually allies), Olivia Munn (as Bana's wife), and a nicely against-type Joel McHale (as Bana's tattooed, backwards ballcap-wearing partner) provide realistic grounding for when the story is gradually turns toward, and then is ultimately is taken over by, the fantastic--which, unlike in that aforementioned earlier effort, delivers the genuinely disturbing, if not exactly groundbreaking, head-spinning horror goods.
Tammy (R) BUY THE:Poster!
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Contrary to expectations created by its key marketing images of star Melissa McCarthy appearing her most boorish and slovenly, Tammy, which McCarthy herself co-wrote with her husband and director Ben Falcone, isn't nearly as obnoxious as its advertising. In fact, the ad campaign more or less conceals the surprising and rather genuine heart embedded in the story of the title character, who after losing both her job and her husband in a matter of hours, embarks on a road trip from Illinois to Niagara Falls with her brash, hard-drinking grandmother (Susan Sarandon) in her reluctant tow. The beats that are expectedly hit from such a scenario indeed are: lost and directionless Tammy finds liberation and a new direction; her grandmother sees the error of her numbing, destructive ways; the pair learn to deal with their turbulent shared past and grow closer. What isn't so expected is how convincing this gentle side is, with McCarthy proving to be just as engaging while emoting as she is cutting it up. But just as unexpected is how scattershot the comedy ultimately is. With a cast peppered with pros such as McCarthy, Sarandon, Allison Janney (as Tammy's mom), and Kathy Bates (as Sarandon's cousin), a certain amount of jokes are bound to land, but they never do so consistently, with some would-be bigger gags coming off as strained or even desperate; witness an extended running bit about fast food apple pies that never takes off much from the jump to even sputter along. With the laughs being fairly sporadic, Falcone's generally slack pacing is laid bare and the movie as a whole feels all the more meandering, try though McCarthy might to enliven the proceedings.