Sinister

Sinister...2012...110 minutes...rated R...starring Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'onofrio, Juliet Ryalnce, and James Ransone...written by C. Robert Cargill and Scott Derrickson...directed by Scott Derrickson

Ellison is a "true crime" writer who has just moved his family into their new home. Ellison has lots of bills piling up, and is understandably concerned about the state of finances. Ellison really needs to write a best selling novel. And Ellison is about to find some research material that will give him more than he or his family ever expected.

Since this movie hasn't even been released yet, I'm going to do my best to be even more conscious about spoiling things. So I will be talking about things in general, and the best way I can sum up this movie is by using my homemade spaghetti as a metaphor. Follow along with me if you can. Really, it won't be that hard.

For our meals, I occasionally do spaghetti. It's a simple meal that my skills can handle, and even do well at making. Every time I do spaghetti, I generally follow one particular recipe that has served quite well. Some days, I hit it right...and we have a tasty meal. Some days, I do everything like I should...but it's just not as good. Maybe it's a tad overdone, or a tad undercooked, or maybe it's something in the air. I'm not exactly sure where things went wrong, but it just wasn't the right combination.

Now, all reviews are at some level subjective writings...so for me, Sinister was my spaghetti on an off night. There's lots of good stuff in this movie...decent writing with some snappy dialogue, great use in creating a suspenseful and creepy mood, and for me the right ratio of on-screen to off-screen violence. The actors are good, if perhaps not inspired, and the pacing keeps up. And yet.

Maybe it was a tad too predictable for me. Maybe there were a couple of cheap thrills too many for my liking. I've got no problem in saying that maybe it's because I'm a picky bastard, and it just didn't hit me right. I'm not saying the movie is bad...it certainly is not. I'm not saying you shouldn't see it...I'd put it at matinee level myself, but again that's me. I -am- saying that I didn't walk out of the movie going "Whoa, man, I'm not sleeping for a week!" Make of this rambling what you will.

My rating: 3.5 "extended endings" out of 5.