Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 05:02:43

Roman Chtholic propaganda.

This review is from: The Rite (Amazon Instant Video) This is a movie to keep your mind off of our Lord Jesus the Christ and on the fact that the Devil exists. It shows nothing more... and I feel sorry that Anthony Hopkins opted to play a role in it.Christianity is all "Spiritual" that why Jesus built His Church in the hearts and minds of all the worlds people who will willingly open up their hearts to Jesus and let Jesus be their personal guide back to our heavenly Father who is patently waiting for us to get His most loved Son's valuable message. The rest of the earthly religious institutions do nothing more than promote "Simony" of one type or another... the Church that our Lord Jesus built cannot be duplicated by mankind.

2012-05-24 21:31:13

Original Sources

Somewhere in the distant past is a creative voice for the first Zombie movie; the first Werewolf movie; the first Vampire movie and, of course, the first Possessed movie. How boring it is to not only get cheap production sets and props but bland stereotypic acting from actors capable of more. I've seen it too many times, as they age they get stuck in a rut. The creative juices have dried up. Anyway, from the original Possessed movie source we now show every Possession as a Demon with the capabilities of a God always seeming to just do one thing right e.g. find some young female; cause her to say unintelligible things; cause her to contort her bodies with a few added bizarre expressions; toss in a little levitation every so often; all of which finally gives "The Church" something useful to do with it's Priests and their mucho spare time. Well, maybe losing a clergy or two to the cause reduces payroll.Demons! You need to find a new line of work. This one isn't working; it's run it's course. Try knitting.

ylopez4-1 2012-05-22 06:02:53

Good movie

This movie, i have never really heard of it til my mom told me, lets goand see this movie, the rite. I hadn't even see the previews of it, Isaid well why not. I am always up for a good exorcist movie, this movieexceeded The exorcist with Linda Blair that I myself always thoughtthat was the best movie to ever be made. As usual anthony hopkins doesa terrific role, but the character that got my eye was the young guyplaying the role of Michael Kovak(colin o'donoghue) i thought he wasgreat for a newcomer a lot of presence, and super cute may I addthat!!!!! but honestly this movie was very eery, disturbing, intense,and very powerful. I highly recommend it without giving any info!!!!!because its that good!!!!!!!

scrapmetal7 2012-05-21 11:43:56

This movie needed to take more risks.

This movie needed to take more risks. The makers played it way toosafe. The result is a 2 hour film that has an hour and a half ofclichés and predictability, and a final half hour that starts to findit's own voice way too late.The protagonist didn't need to be an arrogant, argumentative unbelieverto be interesting. This in fact made him dull, and an impediment to thestory. He also didn't need to have these family problems, because theylift from Father Karras's mother problems in THE EXORCIST. He didn'tneed to have a romantic interest, because out of place clichés likethat take viewers out of the movie and encourage them to turn off theirbrains as they watch tropes which have been done a million times over.The last half hour kicks off with a particularly unpleasant encounterin a park, and from there the unpleasantness kicks up a notch and themovie finds some momentum, but it is too late to save things.The desire to be less gratuitous and more intellectual is commendable.However, the tired tropes are no better, and should have been avoided.Had Michael, the protagonist, been an earnest student who wanted tolearn, the movie would have been allowed to be more intellectuallyengaging, especially in the classroom scenes. I don't object to AliceBraga's character being in the movie, but she is reduced to being anice looking bit of filler, motivated by an unlikely attraction to asnotty, bratty man-child.Hopkins is playing a mixture of characters we've seen before, kind amixture of his Van Helsing and his Sir John Talbot. Doesn't matter,because he is as mesmerizing as always, adding a riveting performanceto an otherwise cold, thin mix.This film would make a nice companion piece to The Exorcism of EmilyRose, another well-meaning but for the most part wrong-headed exorcismflick.

2012-05-21 04:54:11

Much better than expected

I am still not sure if excorcisms really need to be done, but I cannot fault Hopkins for his performance as the priest who exorcises demons in Italy and then is himself possessed and in need of help from his young protege.Apparently this story is based on two real priests, and I am going to find out more about them since this film piqued my interest.

2012-05-20 14:39:03

The Wrong

This review is from: The Rite (Amazon Instant Video) Subtitles too small to read, weak plot (stolen theme),little to no special effects, excuse me while I yawn.........ah, thats better, when is Jurassic Park V coming out? Oh yeah God wins in the end, who woulda thunk it. Enjoy this movie with some fava bean and a fine Kiante'.

2012-05-19 01:38:59

Not a Bad Movie at All

This review is from: The Rite [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Playing like a chilling short story, an intriguing central relationship between the leads makes up for what it lacks in pace or impact. Could be better, but could've been MUCH worse.

2012-05-18 12:25:40

The rite.

I thought that this movie would be good, and it was not horrible. I liked that there was a change up for who had to have the exorcism. That was great. But I would not watch it again.

2012-05-17 22:34:12

Could be better

Anthony Hopkins is a good actor, but he has remained the same for quite a few movies, including this one. Story-line was weak. The supporting actor was actually good; I expect to see him in more movies. In general, you won't miss much if you pass this one.

CanadianViewer 2012-05-17 10:22:41

The Rite May Called The Right Exorcism In Its Presentation

I must say "drea_me_3000" has made an excellent review but hiscomparison with the "black Swan lesbian sex scene" make me feel like hedefinitely missed the rhythm that this scene has created while savingto break that loop because she "the white swan" absorbed the passionthat was created by her trainer to deliver in her presentation and itwas the point where a hidden evil finds a physical way to get into hermind to unlock her depressed timely demands related to her mental andphysical needs. Anyway, The Rite is one of an excellent horror moviethat helps me more to satisfy my inner self that was stuck intojuggling type of horror movies. However, the film casting was good andthey did a good job, the script was fairly written, the cinematographywas good, but The Rite delivers The Right exorcism film that is indeeda worth seeing.

michelle-kerns 2012-05-16 03:35:56

Rite on!

Loved this movie. I've been on a life long mission to find a movie that"scared" me, and this came closer than any movie ever has. It was soawesome because this movie does not fall into the whole HollywoodHorror genre where it's so fake that it's just unbelievable. None ofthe "normal" characters or plot, so outside the same ole crap that itwas a uniquely amazing experience. Not set out to be a horror moviethat we've all become accustomed to, they did not rely on nudity, vilelanguage, or gore to make this movie probably the greatest exorcismmovie ever. Just enough comedy to break the tension and it never slowsdown. Loved it and can't wait for it to hit DVD..have to add this toyour library if you like exorcism movies. Mad props to Anthony Hopkins.Love everything he's ever done, and he does not fail to deliver in thismovie. MUST SEE!!!

PWNYCNY 2012-05-15 07:44:13

Strong performance by Anthony Hopkins.

After watching this movie, one can leave the theater feeling assuredknowing that there are clergy specially trained to perform exorcisms.The question is: how is one to know if there is a need for exorcism?This movie answers that question too. A trembling hand, popping veins,rolled up eyes, troubling dreams, they are sure signs that it may betime to call the priest, but if you do call one, he better know whathe's doing. A botched up exorcism is worse then no exorcism at all.And, as this movie shows, things can only get worse if the exorcisthimself becomes possessed. Anthony Hopkins gives an over-the-topperformance as the exorcist. Far from being campy, his character isvulnerable and fallible, but also driven by faith which gives thecharacter credibility and dignity. Thus the movie avoids becoming acaricature of other demonic possession movies and offers a story thatis engaging and plausible. After all, we do live in a world where allkinds of behavior go unexplained, so why should a spiritual explanationnot be considered?

IMDB_Vits 2012-05-12 16:33:40

Id' rather be possessed by PAZUZU than be saved by HANNIBAL(**/*****).

Starring:Colin O'Donoghue and Anthony Hopkins as THE RITE performers.So what is the problem with this movie?Not to sound anti-catholic,but Ihad problems with the idea.So a guy's who's about to become a priest issend to the other side of the world to risk his life only to basicallybe forced to believe in God?And in the Devil?Director Mikael Hafstrom fails to create the right atmosphere,makingthis movie as scary as the cats in the movie...which aren't scary.I dogive it points for not being laughable as many expected.I actuallylaughed more with THE EXORCIST(don't get me wrong,I liked that onebecause it was 90% scary and 10% funny).Speaking of the Devil(no pun intended)...Despite how bad this movieis,it's really unfair how it's been called a rip-off of THE EXORCISTjust because the story is about an exorcist.Despite the slow pacing,thestory is somewhat interesting because they don't try to clone thatclassic.At one point,FATHER LUCAS actually jokes saying "What did youexpect?A turning head vomiting pea soup?".Yes,both movies havesimilarities but when a premise has been used so many times it startsto become another genre.A lot of alien invasion movies are similar,butis MONSTERS a rip-off of THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL,CLOSEENCOUNTERS,E.T. or INDEPENDENCE DAY?No,it actually rip-offs DISTRICT9,CLOVERFIELD and STALKER.I've heard people say INDEPENDENCE DAY isripped-off in SKYLINE which is ripped-off in BATTLE L.A.,when in factSKYLINE rips-off WAR OF THE WORLDS and BATTLE L.A. rips-off BLACK HAWKDOWN and THE THING RED LINE.Wait...what was I talkingabout?Oh,yeah.Anyway,how can a movie about an exorcism be made in anyother way than a priest reading the bible at a possessed person in anon-scary way?And how can a movie about an alien invasion be made inany other way than aliens going to Earth and fight against humans?Among the many bad things with people,there's one everyone admits withno problem,probably because it's not so serious.I'm talking about thecelebrity fixation.If celebrities suffer a tragedy,we usually accompanythem.If something simply bad happens to them,we enjoy it.A good exampleis watching a legendary actor like Hopkins agreeing to be in movieslike this.His performance,while disappointing,wasn't that bad.It's verystrange though.He at least tried,even though he clearly signed onknowing it was going to be bad.And earlier this year,he chose YOU WILLMEET A TALL DARK STRANGER thinking it was going to be good,but hedidn't try at all in that movie.However,if you're an official voter for the Razzies,you should focus onO'Donoghue.He reminded me of 2 performances from this year:AlexPettyfer in I AM "NUMBER 4" and Adam Sandler in JUST GO WITH IT.Yousee,he's a pretty boy that makes you wonder where are they all comingfrom(probably from a modeling agency instead of an acting school)thatkeeps the same face the whole movie except when the script literallytells him to emote,but all we get is a change of face.So yeah,he's acombination of those 2 actors...he's worse than them together!Alice Braga is very interesting in how she acts.Her sad puppyeyes(which I don't think are intentional)may prevent you fromconnecting with her.While she improved from her weak performance inREPO MEN months ago,she needs to be more careful when choosing amovie.Another person I have to mention is Marta Gastini,who I felt wason the same level as Hopkins(remember that' not a good thing).Grades:D- in the U.S. and 3,0 in Chile.

2012-05-12 09:14:11

See this movie for Anthony Hopkins' performance alone!

This review is from: The Rite (Amazon Instant Video) I started watching this movie with much trepidation. I am not Catholic and many movies of this type tend to be preachy. This one does not. It does not really touch much on the Catholic faith at all except in that the only true exorcists are Catholic priests, at least to my knowledge. This is a movie about faith, plain and simple. Sure, the subject is exorcism but when you peel away those layers it touches at the heart of every person who has faith or who has doubted, or like me, who has faith and doubts. This movie is not for children - even given its PG-13 rating - I believe that a less mature early teen may find it disturbing. Children today are so complacent about violence because they have been so overexposed to it, but a movie such as this they may find truly terrifying. This is a thriller in the truest mold - one that frightens deeply without the gratuitous gore in the horror genre today. Do not misread me, however, this is not a horror movie. A psychological thriller is more of a description. Anthony Hopkins is at his best here. Honestly, I was far more chilled by his portrayal here than by his award-winning performance as Dr. Lecter. Colin McDonoghue more than carries his weight as well as a young man who has lost his way. (I'd like to say more, but it would give away too much and I am not one for spoilers. Just let me say that this movie is more than worth your time and I really can't imagine why it did not get more attention. It has a stellar cast with many well-known character actors appearing in small roles.

2012-05-11 14:19:25

Hannibal Lecter + Satan!!! Creepy!!!

I saw this movie the other night and was surprised by how good the story and acting were. Most possession movies are just cheap ripoffs of the Exorcist which is the best one ever but this somehow seemed to me a lot more believable. Also the acting was top notch and the whole movie did contain a very creepy atmosphere. Some parts were boring but overall a very good and believable story.

Kenny_Tha_Killa 2012-05-11 01:11:51

One Of Hopkins' Best

I just love it when a film starts off with the words "The following isbased on true events" plastered across the screen. It's suppose to lendan ominous tone to the movie, but buy now we all know it's really codeword for "We took bits and pieces of something that may or may not havehappened and then mixed it in with a bunch of made up BS that didn'thappen at all". Now, I'm not saying that what happened in the movieisn't true, I'm just saying you have to take these kinds of things witha grain of salt. Anyhoo....For thirty eight years Hollywood has been trying to make an exorcismmovie to scare the hell out of us (pun intended) like The Exorcist did.Many have tried and failed, though there were some good attempts likeStigmata and The Exorcism Of Emily Rose, but they still couldn't manageto rise to the level of what might be the scariest horror movie ever.The Rite is no exception. While it's a good movie, The Exorcist it'snot.The Rite has a solid cast and Anthony Hopkins gives a great performanceas the old seasoned priest that has performed thousands of exorcismsand that everyone regards as the authority on the subject. There's aslight plot twist that you don't ordinarily see in possession movies,but other than that, it's much of the same. There's a possessed girland a priest that questions his faith, yadda, yadda, yadda, you knowthe rest.It really isn't anyone's fault that these movies don't live up to TheExorcist. By now we all pretty much know what the beginning stages ofdemonic possession entail, speaking in a language not previously knowto the victim of the possession (usually Latin), knowing theunknowable, strange marks appearing on the body (usually scratches orletters forming words), superhuman strength, levitation, etc. But backin 1973, these types of things weren't common knowledge and youraverage moviegoer had no idea what being possessed was really like, sowhen The Exorcist hit the screens, it was a horror phenomenon like noother.Fast forward thirty eight years later - we're all pretty educated onthe matter and there's really nothing in a movie about possession thatis going to surprise us. Having said that, I think The Rite may havecome the closest to providing us with that "creepiness" factor that TheExorcist perfected all those years ago. It's a little slow in parts,but that adds to the mood and suspense, so I can't really complainabout that. So now that a quality exorcism movie has finally been made,I think it's time they stick a fork in this genre. We've seen it allbefore, it's time to move on.There's no pea soup or heads spinning around in this movie, but it'sdefinitely worth watching if you love the genre and love AnthonyHopkins.

2012-05-10 15:08:49

Pitiful exorcist story

Pitiful exorcist story with a big budget, think of all the little movies that could have used any part of this budget to make there movies better and you see this bloated whale of a movie just sucking down the bucks for the actors, sets and location not to mention the ton's of dough they blew to advertise this waste of cash. I should have went with my gut when I saw the first trailer, I thought now this is another one of those non-scary catholic mumbo jumbo hocus pocus movies to take my mind off of the real scary things about the catholic church.Anthony Hopkins can be a great actor when the man has something to work with but not here, ol Tony is just collecting a pay check as he mumbles his way through this mess. Do not support this movie, instead watch the original Exorcist movie.

insomniac_rod 2012-05-09 19:15:51

The Devil and Anthony Hopkins.

I just wanted to clear that "The Rite" is not a bad movie. I think thatthe plot is interesting although it's potential is not fully"exploted". The acting save the movie from being just regular.God and the devil. Two polemic topics in culture and religion. It's upto you making hyphotesis respect their existence and their influence inyour life. The poster looks terrible and cheesy in my opinion becauseit gives away the most important scene.My main beef with the movie is that I'm a huge "The Exorcist" buff andI couldn't stop comparing this one with "Exorcist III Legion" or even"The Last Exorcism".It's no mystery that exorcisms have been performed in past movies, butthat's the main attraction of "The Rite". The story didn't generate enough emotions in order to get me digging itnor believing it. It's supposed that we have to believe that Michaelwill have flashbacks, nightmares, and encounters with evil as signalsthat will help him re-affirm his beliefs. The relationship between the Priest and the young man was veryinteresting but I didn't fully buy it because they didn't "LIve" enoughexperiences together. The scary scenes are the result of perfectly crafted tension and asurprisingly cold atmosphere. I really liked the scenes that refer to the demon. For example, thepregnant girl who spits nails. And when the "main guest" tells hisname. Yay!. Very powerful moment. The Catholic point of view that the Vatican's position towardsexorcisms is not fully explored and that's a shame. It was veryinteresting. You could feel frustrated. I wanted more of theexplanation of demonic hierarchies.I didn't buy Alice Braga's character. It was not necessary. The girl ishot and I love her smile but I didn't care a rat's ass about her.Also I didn't like how we are meant to believe that Father Lucas isless Orthodox. OK, it was enough with the reference about it but Ididn't buy his black humor. It made me feel like I was watching"Repossessed". The cell phone ringing scene is the main example aboutit.Anthony Hopkins delivers a fine solid performance. The man steals theshow every time he's on screen. He looks cool even when beating a younggirl. I always love Rutger Hauer when he plays dark and coldcharacters.María Grazia Cucinotta who is best known for her role in "El Día de laBestia" doesn't show her glorious cleavage. I still love you girl.Director Mikael Håfström knows his job and crafts good mystery andchilling as winter moments. The flashback sequences were creepy and Ienjoyed the nightmarish moments."The Rite" Is entertaining and should please fans of demonic possessionmovies.

Alvin A 2012-05-09 22:04:38

Good Movie & Story

I enjoyed the story and I'm glad to see movies using special effect to tell a story rather than movies made to use special effects. Most of the negative reviewers went to see a special effects movie and obviously were not into things like multi-layered characters or story telling. It is a real spookey, horror story that doesn't move as fast as the movie The Exorcist but that does not slight either film. Anthony Hopkins was fasanating and had so many levels to his character and his role went from being a heartbroken priest to, well, Satan with an intensity that was truly frightening. And the other Priest presented a truly deep insight into human feelings and questions re the church, the supernatural vs. mental illness. This movies is a good horror film, suspenceful and edge of your seat. If they had thrown in a big handful Spielberg/Lucas type effects we'd be talking blockbuster. I'm glad they didn't. I rated this movie a little high to help counter the usual foolish reviewers who are writing reviews without seeing the movie based on their personal prejudices. Please think about doing what I do do and report such reviews as "abuse". I really care about the honest opinions of the public much more than most professional critics.

2012-05-09 05:35:33

Very poor quality

This review is from: The Rite (DVD) This was perhaps one of the worst movies we have purchased. Not the content! It was impossible to see anything. We thought the filming was done in the complete dark. The audio was great, but the rest was nasty. We even returned the first cd thinking it had a flaw. Well, the second was not any better. Complete waste of money for a movie that was so hyped!The Rite