Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/702141
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 JULY 2016 38 This Week IN CINEMAS TODAY EMBASSY CINEMAS The Legend of Tarzan (12A) 10:15, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 20:55 Me Before You (12A) 10:30, 13:45, 16:15, 18:40, 21:10 Independence Day (12A) 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 The Secret Life Of Pets (PG) 10:00, 12:15, 14:30, 16:45, 19:00, 21:15 Central Intelligence (12A) 10:25, 13:30, 16:00, 18:30, 21:00 The Conjuring 2 (15) 10:15, 14:15, 18:00, 20:50 Valletta Living History (U) 10:00, 10:45, 11:30, 12:15, 13:00, 13:45, 14:30, 15:15 EDEN CINEMAS Love & Friendship (U) 14:00, 18:40, 23:30 Independence Day: Resurgence (12A) 14:00, 18:50, 21:15 Absolutely Fabulous (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:45 The Legend of Tarzan (12A) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15, 23:40 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (12A) 14:05, 16:30, 18:50, 21:10, 23:35 Central Intelligence (12A) 14:05, 16:30, 18:50, 21:10, 23:35 Angry Birds (U) 14:10, 16:20, 18:35, 20:50 Money Monster (15) 14:15, 16:25, 18:45, 21:05, 23:15 The Secret Life of Pets (PG) 14:15, 16:30, 18:40, 20:45 X-Men: Apocalypse (12A) 14:20, 18:00, 21:05 Alice Through the Looking Glass (PG) 14:30, 18:15, 21:00, 23:25 The Conjuring 2 (15) 14:30, 17:55, 20:45, 23:35 Warcraft (12A) 14:30, 18:10, 20:50, 23:30 Tale of Tales (15) 16:00, 20:45 Independence Day: Resurgence (12A) 16:25, 23:10 The Secret Life of Pets (PG) 23:00 EMPIRE CINEMAS The Conjuring (15) 11:10, 14:00, 18:00, 21:05 Independence Day: Resurgence (12A) 10:45, 13:20, 15:55, 18:30, 21:05 The Secret Life of Pets (PG) 11:00, 13:45, 15:55, 18:00, 20:30 The Legend of Tarzan (12A) 10:45, 13:20, 16:00, 18:30, 21:05 Central Intelligence (12A) 11:00, 13:35, 16:05, 18:30, 20:55 Me Before You (12A) 10:45, 13:35, 16:05, 18:30, 20:50 Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (15) 10:55, 13:40, 16:00, 18:35, 21:00 THOUGH something of a lov- ing pastiche of a long-running and ever-fecund subgenre of horror, James Wan's The Con- juring franchise – which also incorporates the 2014 spin-off Annabelle and which stars Pat- rick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as 'real life' paranormal investigator couple Ed and Lorraine Warren – is something of a comfortable anomaly in a field that supposed to be all about disturbance. Impeccably photographed and with a careful eye towards cre- ating a detailed and immersive fictional world, the series suffers by dint of... well, being more of a series than a movie. A shoe- horned sub-plot involving the ominous Annabelle doll derailed the original 2013 entry – siphon- ing off a crucial degree of tension from the main plot in the inter- est of setting up a spinoff so as to rake in more cash. Its sequel takes on a similarly digressive approach, never quite succeeding in injecting some freshness to the narrative, even if the action jumps from the US to the UK this time. As we're re-introduced to the Warrens, we discover that after the events of the first film, the couple were involved in the in- famous Amityville case from the 1970s – a confirmed hoax that inspired 'The Amityville Hor- ror' book and film phenomenon. With the fallout of the case at- tracting further stigma – also through the prying eyes of the media – the couple begin to feel the strain of their unconven- tional career path. What's even worse, however, is that Lorraine starts to sense an imminent dan- ger to their lives, in the form of a powerful spirit that appears to foretell Ed's death. Convincing her husband that they should quit their ghost- hunting and focus solely on the academic side of the job, Lor- raine is frustrated to discover that the Church has called them in for 'one last job' – at least in a consultative capacity. It turns out that an impoverished family an England needs their urgent help, as a distraught single moth- er Peggy (Frances O'Conner) is at the end of her tether after her daughter Janet (Madison Wolfe) begins to show signs of demonic activity. It should come as a surprise to nobody that the couple are very quickly compelled to go beyond the call of duty, and end up sur- passing their passive 'consulta- tive' role to take a more active stance, aided by native super- natural expert Maurice Grosse (Simon McBurney), whose ef- forts are counter-balanced by the skeptical Anita Gregory (Franka Potente). But while that's a trope easily forgiven, what's less easy is to let James Wan off without a warning on how he basically repeats the same haunted house/ family structure of the previous film. While, again, the cosmetic el- ements of the tale are certainly in place, the entire experience lacks the specificity required to make the horror truly compel- ling. Once again blunting the edge of what the genre does best, Wan takes the easy way out with the couple and its adven- ture, ensuring that the damage is ultimately minimal and that the force they're fighting is lit- tle more than a dimestore comic book villain. And in many ways, the War- rens belong more to that genre – they are superheroes first and foremost, and feel almost entire- ly out of place in a genre that's supposed to unsettle, not coddle. Milquetoast horror on repeat ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ CONJURING ★ ★ ★ ★ PROSPERING ★ ★ ★ PONDERING ★ ★ POSTURING ★ SQUANDERING FILM By Teodor Reljic THE CONJURING 2 (15) ★ ★ Clockwise from left: Vera Farmiga, Simon McBurney, Patrick Wilson and Frances O'Connor Madison Wolfe plays the beleaguered Janet