THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2012
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MOVIES
EXCESS HOLLYWOOD
movie reviews with Landon McDonald
'The Possession' won't turn heads
y now we're all familiar with the well-worn tropes of the exorcist movie. A child, usually a pubescent girl, suddenly begins speaking in tongues, contorting her limbs or playing leapfrog on the ceiling. Her desperate parents turn to a holy man, usually a grim old veteran or a handsome young skeptic, who endeavors to cast out the malignant demon, thus saving the soul of its intended victim. In the end, the monster flees and faith is restored through devotion, sacrifice and a modest pea soup budget.
There have been variations, of course. The original "The Exorcist" turned the rite into a violent metaphor for puberty and the rise of feminism. "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" used a demonic takeover as the McGuffin for a riveting courtroom drama.
Ole Bornedal's new film "The Possession" lifts the sub-genre out of the mothballs of Catholicism and into the older, richer realm of Jewish folklore. It's a welcome change, although the results end up feeling disappointingly familiar.
The film starts off as a low-key domestic drama. Clyde (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a recently divorced college basketball coach, has been struggling to reconnect with his daughters Em (Natasha Calis) and Hannah (Madison Davenport) ever since his wife (Kyra Sedgwick) kicked him out. Desperate for something to do during one of their weekend visits, he takes the girls
to a neighborhood yard sale where Em happens upon an old wooden box carved with Hebrew scripture. Clyde, being a good father but a piss-poor student of horror movies, buys the thing and lets his daughters take it home with them.
Unfortunately the box contains a dybbuk, a parasitic spirit bent on using Em as its latest host body. Realizing his child is in mortal danger, Clyde contacts Taadock (Matisyahu), a Hassidic rabbi who definitely falls under the handsome young skeptic variety. From there, "The Possession" plays out like any number of recent exorcist movies, from "The Rite" to last January's exceptionally bad "The Devil Inside," complete with an intrusive soundtrack and a rushed, hackneyed ending.
It's a shame "The Possession" surrenders to contrivance in its third act, because the rest of the film is surprisingly engaging. The characters are well-drawn and some of the scares are at least visually inventive, especially during a memorable scene where a possessed Em appears to inhale a swarm of live moths.
Morgan's Clyde character is a genuinely sympathetic creation, a good-hearted clod who just wants to do right by his daughters.
Edited by Ryan McCarthy
In this undated publicity photo released by Lionsgate, Natasha Calis stars as Em in the film, "The Possession."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Wealth trumps reason in 'Queen of Versailles'
Lauren Greenfield's new documentary, "The Queen of Versailles," is an engrossing caricature of the American Dream, personified by the obscene wealth of timeshare mogul David Siegel and his extended family. The film, currently in limited release, could at first be mistaken for a feature-length "Real Housewives" episode in which the low-hanging excesses of the ignorant rich are held up for easy ridicule.
Yet Greenfield, who directed the eating disorder expose "Thin" in 2006, is not content to simply rattle gilled cages or settle for the cut-rate voyeurism of reality TV. Instead she delves into the lives of these spray-tanned aristocrats with equal parts empathy and morbid fascination, inviting the audience to decide for itself what would compel someone to build the largest house in America, in this case a 90,000-square-foot monstrosity inspired, apparently sans irony, by Marie Antoinette's Versailles and built across from Disney World.
Our guide through this opulent circus is the Queen herself, Jacqueline Siegel, David's current wife and the mother of eight of his children. A former Mrs. Florida winner supported mainly by Botox and silicon, Jacqueline enjoys replenishing her full-touring wardrobe, commissioning outrageous Greco-Roman frescoes of her family and adopting enough little white dogs to start a hunting reserve for Cruella de Vil.
One of the film's central pleasures is how it allows the viewer to identify with this garish but strangely likeable woman. Appearances aside, Jacqueline clearly loves her kids but struggles to express that love, buying them things they never ask for, hoarding their childhood keepsakes in warehouses and fearing they might actually have to go to college after the financial crisis puts the future of David's real estate empire in jeopardy. Greenfield's level of access at times stretches the limits of credulity. Would David Siegel, a notorious shrew businessman, really allow her to document the implosion of Westgate, the company he spent decades building? Jacqueline, for her part, seems to view the camera as a one-way therapist, pouring out her doubts and worries with garrulous honesty. The children, meanwhile, seem so desensitized to spectacle that a film crew in their house only warrants the occasional raised eyebrow or paused Playstation.
Shortly after the real estate bubble burst, construction on the Siegel's modern-day Xanadu was postponed indefinitely. The mansion's open-air skeleton, now too costly to sell, is perhaps the film's most potent image, symbolizing the careless lending and spending that nearly brought our nation to its knees. In many ways, it's also a metaphor for the Queen of Versailles herself: a lavish construct with an uncertain future.
Edited by Stéphane Roque
MILITARY
New book reveals details of Osama raid
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — A former Navy SEAI's insider account of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden contains classified information, the Pentagon said Tuesday, and the admiral who heads the Naval Special Warfare Command said details in the book may provide enemies with dangerous insight into secretive U.S. operations.
Rear Adm. Sean Pybus told his force Tuesday that "hawking details about a mission" and selling other information about SEAI training and operations puts the force and their families at risk.
"For an elite force that should be humble and disciplined for life, we are certainly not appearing to be so." Pybus wrote in a letter to the roughly 8,000 troops under his command. "We owe our chain of command much better than this".
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The letter was obtained by The Associated Press.
This book cover image shows "No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden," by Mark Wenner with Kevin Maurer. A former Navy SEAL's insider account of the raid that killed Osma bin Laden contains information about
At the Pentagon, press secretary George Little said that an official review of the book, "No Easy Day," determined that it reveals what he called "sensitive and classified" information. He was not more specific but said the author was required to submit the book to the Pentagon before publication for a formal review of potential disclosures of such information.
"When you have special operations units that perform these missions, there are tactics, techniques, and procedures, not to mention human life, that are in play." Little said. "And it is the height of irresponsibility not to have this kind of material checked for the possible disclosure of classified information."
He told reporters during a briefing that the Pentagon is still reviewing what legal options should be taken against the author.
If the Pentagon determines the bin Laden book does disclose classified secrets, the government could
consider bringing federal criminal charges against Bissonnette. The potential charges and penalties would depend largely on what type of secrets were disclosed.
Pybus, in his letter, was more direct, saying that. "We must immediately reconsider how we properly influence our people in and out of uniform NOT to seek inappropriate monetary, political, or celebrity profit from their service" with the SEALS.
"We all have much to gain or lose," he said. "In the weeks ahead, we will be taking actions to meet this challenge, and I appreciate your leadership and support of our community in this effort."
Last week, Adm. William McRaven, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, warned his troops that he would take legal action against anyone found to have exposed sensitive information that could cause fellow forces harm. The Naval Special Warfare Command is a unit within U.S. Special Operations Command.
A lawyer for author Matt Bissonnette, who wrote under the pseudonym Mark Owen, has disputed that he was legally obliged to have the book screened before publication.
Bissonnette's co-author Kevin Maurer said in a statement Tuesday that Bissonnette "was meticulous about adhering to his desire to never do anything to undermine the SEALs' mission or put his former colleagues in harm's way"
CELEBRITY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Actress Sela Genzome poses at the photo call for the film 'Spring Breakers' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012.
Gomez steps outside of comfort zone in new role
VENICE, Italy — Selena Gomez's younger fans may not fully appreciate her latest role.
Gomez stars in Harmony Kornie's film "Spring Breakers" about four female college students who rob a fast food shack to pay for spring break. They get into trouble when they get arrested on drug charges, and after being bailed out by a local thug, played by James Franco, they
embark on a wild soring break trip.
Gomez — who is best known as Alex Russo on Disney's "Wizards of Waverly Place" — acknowledges the role is "a little shocking" for her younger audiences. But, she said, "I think this was right for me."
Gomez stars with Vanessa Hudgens,
Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine, the director's wife. The film made its world premiere Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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