Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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FEBRUARY 4-10, 2015 UCW 19 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Midway through the first The Woman in Black remake I got a nose- bleed. It seemed like a good scene, so I sent my husband out to get me tissues. See, he doesn't have to write a review so he can miss some stuff. About thirt y minutes into Women in Black 2: Angel of Death (98 minutes) I tried as hard as I could to get another nose- bleed so I would have an excuse to leave. I wouldn't even have disturbed my sleeping husband, though maybe I would have sat in the lobby chat ting with the theater folk. I really don't think I would have missed much, and I could have writ ten a scathing review of the first thirt y, poorly writ ten, minutes, without needing to actually watch the entire snoozefest. The film is set about fort y years ahead of the first, during the London Blitz. History buffs and Doctor Who fans (that might be redundant) will recognize the Balloon Barrage as the camera swoops over a destroyed section of the cit y. Just like in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, some of the children are being evacuated to the country to live in a big house. A group of them takes the train to an abandoned village, accompanied by one of their teachers, Eve (Phoebe Fox), and the British equivalent of a principal, Jean (Helen McCrory). On the train they meet a former pilot, Harry ( Jeremy Irvine). W hen they get to the village they are taken across the desolate marshes to the Eel Marsh House from the first film. On the way, they hear from a random scary guy who breaks windows with his hands and repeats the standard horror fare warning of "Turn Back, Don't Go in the House, etc." The only other living person in the village, Dr. Rhodes (Adrian Rawlins), is appar- ently also stationed at the air field, and keeps repeating that there is no place else to take the children. Well, I'm glad that's been cleared up. Eve and Jean have no further suggestions either, so they set tle into the murder house surrounded by cemeteries with the dangerous holes in the f loor. During their first night in the murder house Eve sees scary stuff. The next morning, Newly Orphaned Edward (Oaklee Pendergast) sees the Woman in Black (Leanne Best). She takes a shine to him and decides to murder some of his frenemies. Eve continues to see things. It becomes clear that her nightmares reference something terrible that occurred in her past, but I am finding it really hard to care. Eve and Harry end up searching the house ("Let's split up, we can cover more ground..."). The dashing duo helpfully summarizes the story told in the first film. Harry then drives Eve across the marsh road, during which we find out more about him. It would be really cool if he had been a ghost the whole time. Cooler than what actually happens, any way. Some kids die, because when your movie sucks you can kill off children and pretend it's a plot. Jean finally buys into Eve's ghost story and every- one evacuates to the airfield. Dr. Rhodes is ready to f ly them out now, so apparently his refrain of "there's nowhere else to go" was slightly inaccu- rate. More dead kids, ineffective women saved by manly men, the end. Calling it a snoozefest based only on my husband falling asleep is per- haps not fair. The filmmakers successfully manipulated their audience into jumping several times via well-timed musical cues. If you like movies with no actual horror beyond that generated by dead children and loud music, by all means, help yourself. Personally, I prefer genuine atmo- sphere generated by good actors projecting feelings of overwhelming dread and subliminal visual cues. Now showing at Wynnsong 7, Carmike 12, Market Fair 15 and Patriot 14. Official State Murder House The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (Rated PG-13) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200. Tax-Free Retirement Social Security Strategies College Planning 910.551.1046 • iflretirement.com/Alan-Porter Fayetteville I-95 1944 Cedar Creek Rd. Special Valentine Getaway! Make this a very special occasion. Celebrate in luxury. • Dinner for two in Baron's Restaurant Glass of House Wine House or Caesar Salad Crab Bisque or French Onion Soup Choice of: 12 oz Ribeye with mushroom marsala Grilled Salmon with lemon butter Chicken Piccata with lemon caper sauce Served with: Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus Raspberry Napoleon or Chocolate Covered Strawberries • King room and breakfast for two $149.00 per couple Dinner only: $49.00 per couple Call for reservations 910.323.1600 www.holidayinn.com/fayettevill-95