Robert Brady

A horror movie truly fulfills its potential when the depth of its horror turns out to be our very real fears. The Deliverance captures so much of our existence — the American dream/nightmare; the human condition, our struggles in economics, race, health and family; the state of religion vs faith, disappointment, betrayal and loss. The “intrusion” into this relatable tragedy play could have been anything and still made a good movie; having Lucifer’s minions show up, however, was a brilliant choice. Some of the criticism I’ve read is the predictability of the whole possession angle, but I actually found a) if you have pure genius in the form of The Exorcist in your memory banks, it’s silly not to acknowledge it and play upon it, and that doesn’t diminish anything for me; b) in The Exorcist, the fear was of losing your child; here, there are whole lifetimes of fear present long before the devil shows up; c) there are some nice twists with the “lead” possession acting as a proxy for the simultaneous desecration of the children; and d) shhhh…this isn’t really a possession movie. I found the acting top notch. Andra Day exudes indifference and boredom (but palpable fear behind her eyes) when she’s beat down, but is my new favorite Mother Scorned. I loved the casting from top to bottom. Not a weak spot. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor was excellent lurking in the background until she had a couple of pivotal and shocking scenes near the climax. My scalp is still tingling. Mo’Nique is a treasure and I don’t think I’ve un-hated a movie character quite so fast, and Miss Lawrence stole her whole scene shooting dice while Omar Epps sang karaoke and kissed an old white woman!! (Sometimes I needed a seatbelt to watch this movie and it usually wasn’t during fights with the devil. LOL.) And Glenn Close. Holy moly. I’m speechless. As I said, the homage to The Exorcist is welcome IMO, but a great writer and director figure out how to also embellish or improve or perhaps cast a slightly different light. Linda Blair’s crucifix scene finally has worthy company with Glenn Close’s, ahem, olfactory skills. And the unexpected Pentecostalism here outshines the Catholic priest’s sacrifice at the top of those iconic stairs. But one thing this movie does that the 1973 masterpiece did not: I’m yearning for more of these fantastic women characters. I want to know more of what came before. I could watch Close and Day and Mo’Nique and Ellis-Taylor for hours. Not because their characters are pleasant necessarily. But because they are the horror story. And they (and the absent men) are us. And the real redemption for all of us is reachable just off screen, down that road she’s driving at the end.

A fresh take on the American Western, capturing a much deeper view of the frontier than usual, and all that entails — from religion and war, to love and hate, to bravery, savagery, and crushing heartache. Cinematography is spectacular, score is excellent, and acting is top notch…Wever, Daniels, Dockery, O’Connell, Brodie-Sangster, McNairy….my goodness, if you’re not a fan of any of these artists yet, you will be after this. Ms Cardinal continues to make everything she’s in better. Ms Sula...just wow. The final episode ended a half hour ago, and my screen is still paused on Roy Goode’s final view, and my chest is still hurting.

Brilliantly done. Just odd enough to keep you confused, but subtle enough to hide its secret. Spot-on acting by Gosling, McGregor, Watts, Hoskins, and all of the supporting cast. What strikes you as quirky acting or clunky dialogue or unnecessarily jarring sound and light all make perfect sense in the final moments of the film when your brain finally gets it all sorted, but your heart breaks into a thousand pieces.