Hopkins makes "The Rite" worthwhile

Travis McKnight
|The State Press| 
3/5

A demonic possession would be preferable to sitting through “The Rite,” if it weren’t for the sadistically marvelous performance of Sir Anthony Hopkins.

The inspired-by-true-events film, directed by Mikael Håfström, explores the story of Michael Kovak, admirably played by Colin O’Donoghue, and his harrowing struggle with faith while attending the Vatican’s exorcism training in 2007.

The film begins at a snail’s pace watching an at-home mortician beautify a suicide victim and progresses even slower; out of the two hours, it’s only captivating for about the last 40 minutes.

Although the dialogue is excellent, injecting clever comic relief appropriately, “The Rite” is too drawn out and struggles to maintain your full interest. A few cheap scares will momentarily speed up the story, but the stale soundtrack and mostly uninteresting plotline make it painfully obvious how many grains of sand have drained from the hourglass.

Luckily, the movie’s two stars provide several enjoyable moments during the first humdrum hour.

In his second silver-screen appearance, O’Donoghue depicts Kovak as dubious about religion, and unsure where he wants life to take him. As Kovak says, everyone in his family is either a mortician or a priest, so he may as well stick with tradition.

At first Kovak plans on attending seminary school for a free university education – anticipating resigning from the program after his courses are over, due to a conflicting absence of faith. But his plans soon change when Father Matthew, played by Toby Jones, informs Kovak that if he were to resign from seminary school, the Catholic Church might bill him for the education. As a compromise, Matthew recommends Kovak enlist in the Vatican’s new exorcist program; informing him if he hasn’t found faith after the course he may withdraw without cost.

The film’s connection with the audience begins to dissipate as Kovak arrives at the Vatican, and questions the Church’s religious teachings, skeptical of their value over psychiatrists and medicine. Thankfully, Hopkins’ introduction is at hand, and immediately his wit and charm command attention, purging “The Rite” from boredom.

What truly makes “The Rite” a watchable film, instead of a two-hour snooze, is Sir Anthony Hopkins, who portrays Father Lucas Trevant, an exorcist with more than 2,000 exorcism rituals completed. From the subtle twinkle in Hopkins’ eyes to sly facial expressions and perfectly toned witty comments, your interest in the otherwise underwhelming tale is permanently established.

Convincingly proving his mastery of acting, Hopkins’ incredibly powerful performance, of both savior and possessed, will immerse you to the point where the idea of demonic enslavement doesn’t sound farfetched.

Initially Hopkins represents Trevant as a clever priest who has experienced the life of a saint and a skeptic. However, after the loss of a patient the priest appears exhausted, demoralized and spiritually defeated.

Hopkins’ performance is so vigorously reminiscent of the actor’s Academy Award-winning role as Hannibal Lecter, at times it’s difficult to tell the difference. However, he does noticeably separate from his prior cannibalistic role, and exquisitely embraces the character of Trevant; his immersion into the priest is so compelling, when backhanding a child into a state of unconsciousness you truly believe Trevant thoroughly enjoyed the devious act.

Horror and thriller films open almost weekly, and while “The Rite” doesn’t stray far from normalcy, it’s a rare occurrence for such a motion picture to feature an exquisite actor such as Sir Anthony Hopkins. Simply to witness the masterful Hopkins at his best is certainly worth surviving through the movie’s underwhelming first half.

Original 'The State Press' article

Microsoft: Rumored Kinect update already happened

Travis McKnight

|The State Press|

(Photo courtesy of Microsoft)

Kinect, Microsoft’s motion-controlled Xbox 360 video game accessory, has already received an update that is currently making the rumor rounds, according to Microsoft.

Microsoft Representative Chris Newton said the quiet Kinect update quadrupled the sensor’s accuracy and allowed Kinect to recognize finger movements and wrist angles with games that incorporate the new patch.

He said the update, which was rumored to be released in the next few weeks, was actually integrated right before Christmas.

“It was prior to Christmas, and it’s already gone through,” Newton said.

Newton said the increase in accuracy will occur by modifying Kinect’s intake of frames per second and by changing the resolution between the sensor’s two cameras.

The depth sensor used by Kinect is currently established at a limit of 30 frames per second, and its maximum resolution is 320-by-240 pixels. The update has effectively altered the peak resolution to 640-by-480 pixels, which allows Kinect to detect diminutive details concerning hand positioning, successfully quadrupling its accuracy.

He said the update affects currently released Kinect games by “making them  better and more accurate.”

The update will also allow video game developers to be more precise with their games.

“[Developers] will make their upcoming games better,” he said.

Kinect’s technical qualities are created by firmware, and thus can be added to and upgraded frequently and automatically without having to physically modify the sensor itself — which is why no one noticed when the rumored update became real.

At the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft announced the company will incorporate the Xbox 360 Avatar feature with Kinect.

The Xbox 360 Avatar feature will make a player’s avatar more realistic by allowing Kinect to recognize facial expressions and follow the player’s eyes, and will include the recently released finger and hand rotation update.

At CES it was also announced that Kinect would be receiving integration with Netflix, allowing users to command the program by voice and hand gestures alone.

The updates will be free for Xbox LIVE gold subscribers and is expected to be released in the spring.

Microsoft was unable to give an exact date of the upcoming Kinect updates in development announced at CES.

“We’re constantly working to expand and improve on experiences for Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE,” said Xbox 360 Representative Alyssa Odle in an e-mail.

Original 'The State Press' Article

In Review: "Dead Space 2"

Travis McKnight

|The State Press|

9/10

(Photo courtesy of Electronic Arts 


“Dead Space 2” is the unnerving sequel to an abominably violent escapade that will leave you flabbergasted and screaming with delightful terror.

Once again you play as Isaac Clarke, a deep-space engineer caught in a daunting fight for survival against gruesome parasitic corpse-reanimations called Necromorphs.

After narrowly escaping from the USG Ishimura, Isaac awakens from a coma in the hospital of a gargantuan space station called “The Sprawl,” a civilian-colony on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan.

Unfortunately for Isaac, chaos has followed him to his new home.

Previously, Titan was a bustling colony. The new station features dangling ceiling lights dripping entrails onto convulsing bodies and the incessant wails of ravished survivors who litter the crumbling complex.

These transfixing sequences of awe-inspiring repugnance are a change of pace from the spaceship found in the first game. The “Dead Space 2” development studio, Visceral Games, traded in the Ishimura’s cramped atmosphere for an array of less enclosed apartment complexes, Laundromats, churches, shopping malls and an elementary school.

Although the change of pace is welcoming, much of the best game play still takes place in very claustrophobic hallways and air ducts.

Throughout the well-paced adventure, Isaac searches for a solution to the infestation, twiddles away time hacking computer consoles and tries to survive with the assistance from two mentors — each with his and her own goals.

Isaac is also haunted by the recent suicide of his girlfriend Nicole Brennan. Without warning, unplayable flashes of baleful hallucinations featuring his deceased lover flitter across the screen, alluding to the impression that Isaac is teetering over the line of insanity.

In the original game, Isaac felt far too slow and clunky; however, the protagonist has received a noticeable speed boost that allows for a nimbler character and a smoother gaming experience.

Moreover, the curb-stomp action in “Dead Space” was a painfully useless tactic; in “Dead Space 2,” curb-stomping an enemy is much more efficient and in many cases a necessity.

The previously showcased stasis ability was another rarely used tool in Isaac’s corpse-rendering arsenal. The sequel’s addition of constantly recharging Isaac’s stasis fuel allows the player to actually make use of the time-slowing tactic, employing it from a more strategic angle.

Stasis is especially useful against becoming a gooey pile of remains when confronting misleadingly cute infants — who just happen to explode on contact.

The days of Necromorphs lumbering after Isaac in single-file with limbs exposed are all but gone. An impressive and immediately obvious improvement is the way in which a Necromorph attacks Isaac.

Often following shrill taunts, Isaac is lured into a shadowy claustrophobic trap where a battle against one insidious monster will transform into a seven-on-one survival game, with every creature more vicious and bloodthirsty than the last.

Initially, excitement was abounding when Visceral Games announced that “Dead Space 2” includes competitive multi-player. However, the hopeful anticipation for a unique experience swiftly dissipated. Horror-survival junkies will immediately recognize the creature versus human survival scenario from “Left 4 Dead 2.”

A team of four humans is assigned the objective of activating a series of computer consoles, gathering a data pack and returning it to base. These tasks would be simple, if not for the four varieties of opposing Necromorphs who are unwaveringly intent on devouring a still-beating human heart.

Even though the multi-player experience is essentially a remake with a few modifications, the experience is still fantastic. The objective-based multi-player system alongside a traditional survival atmosphere leaves the multiplayer game memorable, unbelievably unsettling and quite enjoyable.

Commencing with its story-driven paralytic scenes of anxiety that lead you into a truly unique realm of sleep-depriving exhilaration, to the nostalgic but addicting multiplayer, “Dead Space 2” is a wonderfully twisted masterpiece executed in such a glorious way that it will revolt mothers worldwide, and snare any horror fan for years to come.

Original 'The State Press' Review