Since I was away on Monday and missed the press screening of Race, the Jesse Owens films, I cannot give my opinion on it, but rest assure I will check it out. Reviews have been mixed so far, but I hope I expected it to be conventional and by-the-books. Sort of in the same way as the Jackie Robinson biopic that came out a few years ago 42. I really don't mind that, a film trying to be good in a rousing, conventional way, just as long as we get something entertaining out of it. I was one of the few people that actually loved Angelina Jolie's Unbroken, me and Peter Travers, that film did it's job quite well actually. Yes, it looked like a hallmark movie, but it was gritty enough to get my hopes up for By The Sea, which we all know ended up being one of the worst films to come out last year.
The Witch was seen by me at Sundance 2015 and then at TIFF that very same year. It's a spine tingler. I wrote back in September: "One of the best of the bunch is The Witch, which sadly is only slated for release next year! A real shame if you ask me. Robert Eggers’ haunting and spooky film was far and away the best movie I saw from Sundance 2015 and the one with the most potential to be a critical darling." Yeah that sounds about right. It's not your typical horror movie. It's more arty than that. It's more interested in building up dread in its spooky atmosphere and I couldn't have liked it more because of that. Watch out for Eggers, I can't believe this is his first film. He directs in such an assured, effective, veteran-like way. Go see this right away, it's meant to be seen in a darkened movie theater.