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In The Conjuring 2 a family of a single mother and four children, living in London, find themselves being haunted by an evil spirit. Because of their increasingly dire situation they decide to contact Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren who answer their aid call. So, James Wan! More like James Win, know what I'm saying? Because he directed this awesome movie? No? OK, sorry. In all seriousness I may have found my favorite horror movie with The Conjuring 2. That's not saying much, as I am not that educated in horror movies but this film showed me that in order to create horror there must be no shortage in creativity and practicality. I've heard people saying that crafting a horror movie must be easier than other genres but this movie proves the opposite. Director James Wan injects his film with horror through some of the most elaborate visual techniques I have witnessed in a movie from this genre. From the simple use of shadows to the use of decoys in the shot that only want to trick our focus, Wan plays with our senses in almost every sequence. You are always left examining every aspect of the environment where the characters are in order to guess where the next horrifying thing will jump from next; and at times it is so obvious that you are left squinting your eyes and cringing waiting for the jump scare to take the color out of your skin. From POV shots to elaborate tracking shots, the variety of filming techniques is also astonishing. Wan's excellent directing also tackles the sound category. Every knock and every squeak serves a purpose and enhances the atmosphere.

In the following I am going to do a very spoilery commentary about to sequences which raised all of my body hair and turned me into a chicken-skinned porcupine, but at the same time made me admire James Wan as a horror director. The first sequence I want to mention is the one where Ed Warren contacts the spirit of Bill Wilkins (Bob Adrian) through Janet (Madison Wolfe). Ed is facing the camera and his back is facing Janet, who is sitting on a couch. The camera very cleverly maintains focus on Ed and through the use of depth of field distorts the image of Janet. As Ed begins to interview the spirit and this entity starts to answer in a very crooked voice, Janet begins to shift very subtly into an old man. This isn't implemented as a jump scare but as a "Holy crap! Look look look!" moment. As you maintain your focus in Ed Warren and Patrick Wilsons great performance the oddity slowly and almost unnoticeably starts to manifest. What's incredible is that the scene lasts about 4 minutes. Wan's complete trust in Wilson's performance and in our attention as an audience is baffling. He has no need of hammering in the fear factor; he trusts that our attention and perception will do the job for him. The other sequence I will delve in switches subtlety for the most horrifying character that will haunt my dreams until I drown it with many sessions of watching colorful cartoons and sitcoms that will dry my tears and keep me from reluctantly waiting for that face to pop out of a window at night. Trust me it really is that scary. And if you've watched it you know what I am talking about. Yes, that nun (Bonnie Aarons) is the stuff of nightmares. The makeup and character design is one of the best I have seen in a horror film, probably on par with The Exorcist. It is much simpler but damn that crap brings the crap. But back to the sequence, man was it bone-chilling. Lorraine following the nun into that room and then the way in which the film plays with us through shadows and the shape of the nun's face, damn damn damn. I really wanted to look away as the nun's face just sat there in the dark, and I think I used all of my cringe faces in that single sequence alone. That is true mastery in film design. The film also included some amazing musical choices. All of those Christmas carols that played as the nun's background music were chilly but also pretty epic. But music wasn't always used to enhance the chills but also to bring some heart into the film. "Can't help falling in love" was used to gather our characters in moments of tranquility which made the pace much more tolerable.

The characters were also quite tolerable for a horror movie. They obviously included the kid who wandered out into the darkness alone in spite of all the spookiness that had happened and made us question why he didn't have at least 7 people accompanying him with all the lights on. But all of the characters in general where entertaining to watch and the family and the Warrens had enough character development for us to care about their survival. The awesome performances, especially from Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga and Madison Wolfe also helped the movie become very digestible.

Although I truly admire this film I do have a few negatives to point out. Firstly, there is a tall and silly monster called the Crooked Man that makes sudden appearances and it just feels very out of place given his very over the top and colorful design.

All things considered, The Conjuring 2 is a true masterwork in horror. It is very uncommon for a sequel to be as good as the original, but in my case this movie surpassed the first one because of some extremely clever filming and storytelling techniques. I am thrilled to experience all of James Wan's upcoming projects and I am confident that he has the ability inflict some very intelligent thrills into us audience members. I am rating The Conjuring 2 with a 9 out of 10.

Arrow: Unchained Review

The old school "Team Arrow" is back in business and they certainly haven't lost their touch. Neither has the stunt team apparently! Unchained"deals with the return of a familiar face in the form of Roy Harper (Colton Haynes) while Oliver's campaign runs into some difficulties and a major villain threatens the safety of every Starling City inhabitant.

As a starting opinion I will ask for a round of applause for the men behind those amazingly choreographed fight and chase sequences which truly immerses the viewer in the eye popping action. From the exciting Nanda Parbat Break sequence to those roof and physics defying chases, Arrow still holds the crown in regards to choreographies in TV shows while also showing the film industry how it is done. CGI is used extremely sparingly and that has also helped Arrow differentiate itself in tone and grittiness from other superhero themed shows. Many of the actor's performances in the face of action sequences are also astounding, as many do involve themselves in their own battles.

But with great action comes great responsibility for the characters to be any good. This doesn't seem to be a problem because of the awesome banter and dynamic between our heroes. As a team they all complement each other greatly. That point goes to the current ensemble, but today's episode showed us that the old group can still hold their own when it comes to fist fights and on-screen chemistry.

By "old group" I simply mean switching Thea for Roy, who made a welcomed fan-pleasing appearance with a sort of twist at the beginning. As for his scene with Thea, like with his fighting sequences, it didn't need any introduction because of their memorable rapport.

Aside from the points mentioned above, what impressed me the most from this episode was how it managed to tell separate plots and deal with different conflicts without feeling uneven or cramped. It delved further into Felicity's personal struggles; it posed a new obstacle for Oliver's campaign; it connected Thea to the main villain in an enticing manner and all of that while introducing a new villain who threatened the entire city. It even interconnected Oliver's issue in accepting Thea's decision-making with Roy's need to deliver justice in the face of unpredictable danger. A well- crafted vision in one of the flash-backs was also filled with more heart than expected. These multiple but solid layers of conflict were one of the huge problems with the previous season. Season 3 felt unfinished and very disjointed, as it juggled with plots and villains in a very messy and icky way. An example can be found in the way they totally wasted a possibly incredible gear switch when they almost turned Quentin Lance into a villain for the finale. Season 4, in the other hand, has kept a single main villain as a structural basis, and it has proved to be a very solid decision, as it avoids sudden switches in focus and themes.

There were some flaws with the episode, like Amell's believability while being electrocuted. This stood out just because of Amell's great overall performance as Oliver Queen, especially in this season with many stand-out scenes. A specially funny "whahahat?!" moment was when, after being handed his own ass in the beat down of his life, Curtis appeared snapping nonchalant jokes with Felicity in his next scene. Speaking about jokes, not all of them achieve a good landing, mainly when the team is apart and not involve in their accumulative chemistry.

Arrow, nonetheless, kept us hanging in a major twist ending which revealed the identity of "The Calculator" and wrapped the episode with a warm blanket and a good night kiss. That's right, Unchained was not only a good time (like almost all Arrow episodes) but an experience of quality which gave us solid drama and even better sequences of people hitting each other as hard as they can in the face. I just hope that the newly introduced villain established an awesome subplot without stealing that much focus from Damien Darhk. Arrow: Unchained gets and 8.5 out of 10.

Ant-Man Review!

With Ant-Man Marvel Studios solidifies its position as a flexible cinematic universe that has proved its ability to make even the weirdest of weirdos into blockbusting characters. In other words, doing the impossible!

The plot follows Scott Lang as he becomes the Ant-Man with the help of Hank Pym and Hope van Dyke in order to perform a high security heist so that a very controversial tech doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Pretty straight forward right? That's the impressive with Ant-Man; it is very contained in its scale, it never grows into a city wide conflict and it still manages to have incredible action and smart entertainment. I won't spoil anything but there is a crossover with another Marvel storyline that perfectly establishes a comparison between our emerging hero and the titans out there.

So, aside from a slow paced and disjointed start, this movie picks up to leave us laughing and gasping at an incredibly creative heist sequence and climax (especially one climactic sequence that got a big surprise out of me).

From maquettes to a helicopter, the action makes stellar use of the environment by cleverly integrating it into the shrinking down sequences. I never thought a bug could be involved in so much action, and with the implemented camera work and the clever use of focus it is now believable! The Ant-Man thankfully takes part in some damn good action sequences sporting some damn cool superpowers.

And what would the Ant-Man be without his alter ego Scott Lang played by the notorious comedian Paul Rudd? Nuttin'. Nuttin' because Paul Rudd is quite good as the main character. He brings a high level of wit and quickness in humour that few others can match and his charisma helps him handle his role as a protagonist.

Secondary players like Evangeline Lily and Michael Douglas also sell their comic counterparts with believability, especially Douglas whose dramatic and comedic queues work perfectly. Michael Peña is also a standout as the comedic relief, as he gets a lot of jokes right aside from some minor flat ones.

My biggest complaint with the film is the villain who has no real relevance aside from putting on the villainous suit and being really evil with some sheep. The actor fit in well in his scenes but there was just not enough material to work with. He only shows up in some random moments that almost give us the impression that the writers where too focuses on the other characters which turned out awesome. This makes his appearance in the climax very meaningless, as he is just some evil guy jumping around.

Ant-Man sports the "Guardians of the Galaxy Syndrome". Characters who are so unimaginable in a movie context get a lot of controversy and in the end it turns out to be a really good time and a really big surprise at the same time. The director change got a lot of hopes down too but Peyton Reed may have been the actual best choice. Though we will always wonder what kind of project Edgar Wright would have pulled out of that creative and Cornetto filled brain of his.

Bug-sized in scale but big laughs and action, Ant-Man is another landmark in blockbuster originality and risk taking and it is getting an 8 out of 10! Oh Marvel, please keep pleasing us with your extravagant universes (and if you might consider it, give us an extended Age of Ultron cut)!