Film Review: 'Insidious: Chapter 2′

With his last helping of old-fashioned ooga booga, The Conjuring, still scaring up business in a few hundred theaters, James Wan returns with two more hours of seat-clenching scares in Insidious: Chapter 2, a modestly scaled and highly pleasurable sequel to Wans low-budget ($1.5 million) 2011 smash that should have genre fans begging for thirds. Indeed, with a clever coda that suggests how this franchise might easily continue even without the involvement of stars Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, theres no reason to doubt that Insidious could rival Wans own Saw series for sheer longevity. In the short term, opening in a relatively low-wattage early fall market, the PG-13 pic should easily meet or exceed its predecessors $54 million domestic gross, without conjuring up Conjuring-sized biz.

If weve learned anything from Wans two previous films, its that evil spirits haunt people, not houses. In the first Insidious, that imperiled party appeared to be young Dalton Lambert (Ty Simpkins), son of Josh (Wilson) and Renai (Byrne), who landed in a coma after being entreated into a spirit world known as the further by a demonic old hag intent on possessing his soul. Only, as a last-minute twist revealed, it was actually Josh himself who had been pursued by said demon for decades and there was no guarantee she was gone just yet.

Fittingly, Chapter 2 (again scripted by longtime Wan collaborator Leigh Whannell) begins with an extended flashback to Joshs own childhood and his first encounter with the hypnotist and medium Elise (Lin Shaye), who appeared to die at Joshs strangling hands in the first films final moments. With this new piece of the puzzle in place, we jump back to the present, picking up (a la Halloween II) exactly where the previous pic left off.

Looking to make a fresh start, the Lamberts have packed their bags and moved in with Joshs mom, Lorraine (Barbara Hershey, getting a welcome expanded role this time), who lives in just the sort of draughty Victorian fixer-upper that allows Wan and Whannells imaginations to run wild. It quickly becomes apparent that the Lamberts have not arrived unaccompanied.

If the first Insidious often felt like an affectionate hat-tip to The Shining, with its gifted child able to commune with the undead (via the nocturnal art of astral projection), Chapter 2 continues the homage by having Wilson go full Jack Torrance on us, as the seemingly upstanding Josh starts to seem less and less himself, and possibly turning into something quite dangerous. That plus the appearance of some very unwanted house guests like a ghoulish bride who gives Renai a good thrashing about the living room prompt Lorraine to enlist some backup in the form of Elises erstwhile sidekicks, Specks (Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson). Eventually joined by another blast from the past the paranormal investigator Carl (a very good Steve Coulter), who first investigated the Lambert case with Elise all those years ago further into the further they go.

Wan and Whannell once again spin a ripping good ghost story here, populated by lots of restless spirits who ended their time among the living badly, a mother only Norman Bates could love, and a lyrical bit of time travel borrowed from Proust. Theyre terrific pastiche artists, freely raiding our collective storehouse of horror-movie memories and arranging them in fresh, unexpected ways. Even their own work is up for grabs, since The Conjuring in many ways resembled a period inversion of Insidious, with Wilson as ghost hunter rather than hunted. But where so many sequels seem like mere remakes of their predecessors, with bigger budgets and less imagination, Insidious Chapter 2 feels like a genuine continuation of characters we enjoyed getting to know the first time around, and wouldnt at all mind returning to again.

If Wan is better than most genre directors when it comes to actors, hes even better with mysteriously possessed inanimate objects, bringing the audiences neck hair to attention with each creaking doorjamb, swaying chandelier and squawking transistor radio. He understands the innately creepy value of antiques objects that we know were quite literally touched by the dead and anything associated with childhood, that other irrecoverable past. Here, that simplest feat of sandbox engineering, a tin-can telephone, becomes perhaps the movies most accursed object and something of a metaphor for Wans joyously analog thrill-making in the digital era.

Working again with cinematographer John Leonetti (who shot both Insidious and The Conjuring), Wan makes artfully eerie business out of a Steadicam slowly prowling its way 270 or 360 degrees around a subject. Sound designer and editor Joe Dzuban also deserves kudos for his invaluable contribution to the pics pervasively unsettling atmosphere.

Reviewed at Wilshire screening room, Beverly Hills, Sept. 4, 2013. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 105 MIN.

Production

A FilmDistrict release presented in association with Stage 6 Films and Entertainment One of a Blumhouse Prods./Oren Peli production. Produced by Jason Blum, Oren Peli. Executive producers, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Steven Schneider, Charles Layton, Peter Schlessel, Lia Buman, Xavier Marchand.

Crew

Directed by James Wan. Screenplay, Leigh Whannell; story, Wan, Whannell. Camera (Fotokem color, Arri Alexa digital, widescreen), John Leonetti; editor, Kirk M. Morri; music, Joseph Bishara; production designer, Jennifer Spence; art director, Jason Garner; set decorator, Lori Mazuer; costume designer, Kristin M. Burke; sound (Datasat/Dolby Atmos/Dolby Digital), Buck Robinson; sound designer/supervising sound editor, Joe Dzuban; re-recording mixers, Craig Mann, Joe Dzuban; visual effects supervisor, Ray McIntyre Jr.; visual effects, Pixel Magic FX; special makeup effects designer, Justin Raleigh; special makeup effects, Fractured FX; associate producers, Jessica Hall, Couper Samuelson, Phillip Dawe, Bailey Conway; assistant director, Albert Cho; casting, Anne McCarthy, Kellie Roy.

With

Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins, Steve Coulter, Barbara Hershey, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson, Andrew Astor, Danielle Bisutti, Hank Harris, Jocelin Donahue, Tom Fitzpatrick.

Source: http://variety.com/2013/film/reviews/film-review-insidious-chapter-2-1200607706/

Emily Blunt, John Krasinski are expecting

172

Share This Story!

Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about

FacebookEmailGoogle+LinkedInEmily Blunt, John Krasinski are expecting

Post to Facebook

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

Sent!

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY 9:48 a.m. EDT September 11, 2013

Emily Blunt waved to the Comic-Con crowd in San Diego on July 20.(Photo: Kevin Winter, Getty Images)

SHARE 172 CONNECTEMAILMORE

Some happy news coming from Emily Blunt and husband John Krasinski: The two are expecting a baby.

Blunt's rep confirmed the news to USA TODAY. No due date was announced.

The Office star, 33, and his British actress wife, who wed in 2010, have talked about wanting a family.

In an interview with Manhattan magazine last year, Blunt, 30, said, "We want to have children; I just don't know when yet." She added, "I'm just not sure about the timing of all of that. We're both from big families, so I think it's something we want."

USA NOWWeiner's worst primary moments | USA NOW videoSep 11, 2013

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/09/11/emily-blunt-pregnant-john-krasinski-expecting-baby/2797629/

The real reasons Apple's 64-bit A7 chip makes sense

Don't swallow Apple's marketing lines that 64-bit chips magically run software faster than 32-bit relics. What the A7 in the iPhone 5S does do, though, is pave the way for Apple's long-term future.

Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller touts the advantages of the A7 processor used in the iPhone 5S.

(Credit: Josh Lowensohn/CNET)

Apple injected a lot of marketing hyperbole into its claims about the wonders of 64-bit computing when it showed off the A7 processor at the heart of the new iPhone 5S. But there are real long-term reasons that Apple is smart to move beyond the 32-bit era in mobile computing.

The iPhone maker did indeed beat its smartphone rivals to the 64-bit era with the A7, and the processor may indeed vault over its predecessor's performance. The hyperbole came when Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, speaking at Apple's iPhone 5S and 5C launch event on Tuesday, linked those two accomplishments.

Related stories

• What Apple needs to offer with the iPhone 6
• Apple's new iPhone 5S and 5C ads are colorful (and not)
• Apple, it's time to drop the whole 'S' routine
• Apple stock tumbles following debut of new iPhones
• Apple stoops to selling bar soap, birdhouses, suggests Conan

"Why go through all this?" Schiller asked, referring to the new chip and 64-bit versions of iOS 7 and Apple's iOS apps. "The benefits are huge. The A7 is up to twice as fast as the previous-generation system at CPU tasks," Schiller said, and up to twice as fast at graphics tasks, too.

There's a reason the computer industry is shifting to 64-bit computing; the main benefit is memory capacity that can exceed 4GB. But just as we saw with 64-bit personal computers arriving over the last decade, 64-bit designs don't automatically improve performance for most tasks. In fact, there can be drawbacks: it's likely that 64-bit versions of programs will be bulkier than their 32-bit equivalents.

But Apple is smart to lay the foundations for 64-bit mobile computing now, for three reasons. First, large memory capacity is an academic issue in the mobile market today, but it won't always be. Second, the 64-bit transition happens to come along with other chip changes that are useful immediately. And third, it gives Apple more flexibility to build ARM-based PCs if it chooses to embrace an alternative to Intel chips.

What is 64-bit computing?A 64-bit chip can handle memory addresses described with 64-bit numbers rather than 32-bit ones, which means that a computer can accommodate more than 4GB of memory and that chips can do math with integers that are a lot bigger. The 64-bit transition doesn't have any effect on a lot of computing performance at all.

With servers, 64-bit chips are crucial, because those machines often need gobs of memory for running many tasks simultaneously and keeping as much of it as possible in fast-response RAM. With PCs, 64-bit chips are useful to avoid bumping up against 4GB memory limits, which is about where the mainstream market is today.

On mobile devices, though, the 4GB limit has yet to arrive. Even though having more RAM is really useful, it's got big drawbacks in the mobile market: it's expensive, it takes up room -- and most problematic -- it draws a lot of electrical power and therefore shortens battery life. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3, an Android phone, has an unusually large 3GB of RAM, but it's also got an unusually large size to handle a bigger-than-average 3,200mAh battery.

Better 64-bit math is helpful for tasks like scientific simulations, but it's not a big deal on mobile.

At Apple's event, Epic Games executives were gleeful about the A7 performance playing Infinity Blade 3, and there's no reason to doubt their statements that they could draw a dragon with four times the detail. But that performance improvement is likely to come more from the new graphics abilities in the A7 and from its support for the richer OpenGL ES 3.0 graphics-acceleration interface, not from its 64-bit design.

Schiller pointed to processor performance improvements in the iPhone 5S, which uses Apple's new A7 chip, but didn't detail which speed tests he was using.

(Credit: screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Why bother with 64-bit mobile chips?Even if 64-bit computing isn't some across-the-board speedup technology, there's a very good reason to adopt it: the future.

But here again, we have to splash a little cold water on Schiller's enthusiasm.

"The PC world went through the transition from 32-bit to 64-bit, and it took years," Schiller said. "Today you're going to see that Apple is going to move the mobile computing system forward from 32-bit to 64-bit in one day."

Sure, it only took a couple hours for Apple to announce the iPhone 5S and the A7 processor. But the full 64-bit transition will take years in mobile, just as it did in the PC market.

Indeed, the transition already has been going on for a couple years. In 2011, after four years of behind-closed-doors work, ARM Holdings announced its 64-bit ARMv8 instruction set for the chip designs it licenses to Apple, Qualcomm, Samsung, and many other makers of mobile chips. Apple's A7 uses the ARMv8 architecture.

Hands-on with Apple's high-end iPhone 5S (pictures)

1-2 of 14

Scroll Left Scroll Right

The hardware change is only the first part. After that comes software. Apple has retooled iOS 7 -- the kernel at the heart of the software, the libraries of prewritten code that it and other software draw upon, and the device drivers the kernel uses to talk to hardware like the network and touch screen -- so that it's 64-bit software. And it's got a version of its Xcode developer tools so that programmers can build 64-bit versions of their iOS products.

But it'll be years before the whole software ecosystem makes the move. Old software likely will never make the change, which is why it's good ARMv8 chips can run older 32-bit software seamlessly. And programmers will still need to build 32-bit versions of their software for older iPhones -- as well as brand-new 32-bit models like the iPhone 5C.

Given how long it takes to make the transition, it's important to lay the hardware foundation early enough that the software market can move gracefully. Even though adding more RAM is hard in mobile devices, it'll happen. It might well happen sooner on iPads, too, which can handle faster processors, bigger batteries, and more elaborate software. And it's possible that computing engineers will successfully commercialize some other form of memory that's not as power-hungry.

ARMv8 benefitsA nearer-term reason the Apple A7 might appeal to programmers has nothing to do with its 64-bit nature: the ARMv8 architecture itself brings some real advantages.

One of them is a larger number of registers -- tiny on-chip storage areas where the processor stores data for very fast access. ARMv8 roughly doubles general-purpose registers from 16 to 31, which means the chip needn't fritter away as many cycles swapping things into and out of memory.

The ARMv8 architecture used in the Apple A7 chip brings several improvements in addition to a 64-bit design, including more registers to store data, better double-precision math, and built-in cryptography features.

(Credit: ARM Holdings)

When AMD pioneered 64-bit computing on x86 -- a transition it pushed while Intel was distracted with its Itanium designs -- it got a big speed boost from increasing the number of registers. But 32-bit x86 chips were hobbled by having only four registers, while 32-bit ARM chips have a relatively abundant 16; that could mean the performance boost won't be as good with the ARM transition.

ARMv8 also has some other significant changes. It's got much better mathematical abilities, especially when performing the same operation on a lot of data. And it's got built-in encryption processing abilities, which should speed a lot of secure communications and cut battery usage.

New Apple optionsApple surprised the world when it moved its Mac line from PowerPC processors to Intel processors, and there have been rumblings it might move to or at least embrace ARM chips for Macs, too.

The A7 processor or its rumored higher-end A7X sibling might not have enough oomph for a full-fledged personal computer, but it was hard to miss Schiller boasting that the A7 has a "desktop-class architecture." And even if there's never any ARM-based Mac, it's still possible Apple could take iOS into something more laptop-like. The company, which made iWork free with new iOS devices and threw iPhoto and iMovie into the bargain, clearly likes the idea of customers creating content on iOS devices, not just consuming it.

If Apple chose to build ARM-based PCs, having more than 4GB of memory could be very useful. Thus, it would be a big asset to have a mature 64-bit ARM chip design with an accompanying operating system and app collection.

ARM-based Apple PCs would be a dramatic shift indeed. Intel is working furiously on lowering the power consumption of its x86 chips to compete better against ARM, and an ARM-based Apple PC would have serious difficulties running Mac software for x86-based machines.

We need not invent reasons for Schiller's 64-bit A7 enthusiasm besides that it makes a good marketing line, something that sounds like progress and that's easy to see missing from Android competition.

But even if it's mostly just an iPhone marketing line for now, Apple's change to 64-bit ARMv8 designs does make sense in the long run.

Apple takes the wraps off the iPhone 5S

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57602372-94/the-real-reasons-apples-64-bit-a7-chip-makes-sense/

Despite Injuries, Reggie Bush Debuts With Stellar Performance

DETROIT, MI SEPTEMBER 08: Reggie Bush #21 of the Detroit Lions celebrates with Matthew Stafford #9 after running 77 yards for a third quarter touchdown during the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field on September 8, 2013 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

By Ashley Dunkak@AshleyDunkak

FORD FIELD (CBS DETROIT) The Calvin Johnson-Reggie Bush duality worked exactly as the Detroit Lions dreamed it would in the teams regular season opener Sunday.

Johnson only got 37 yards, stymied somewhat by the Minnesota Vikings defense but fully by the video replay that erased two almost-touchdowns. With the Vikings fixated on Johnson, though, Bush picked apart the defense for 101 receiving yards including one lengthy touchdown jaunt of 77 yards and 90 rushing yards.

just his ability to run after the catch was huge for us today, quarterback Matthew Stafford said. Whether its second and long getting back to third and short or converting a third down, the guy did it all.

To boot, Bush did it all after dislocating his thumb and pulling his groin in the first quarter.

It was facing the wrong direction. They just popped it back in. Thankfully I was able just to tape it up and carry the ball in my right hand, Bush explained. I pulled my groin early on. I think it was maybe a series after I dislocated my thumb, so everything was going against me early on.

The bad luck did not last.

The Minnesota defenses concentration on Johnson and the way the Vikings had game-planned around him worked out perfectly for Bush. He said the last time he saw six men at the line of scrimmage across from him was in New Orleans. That was in 2010.

When he was being recruited by the Lions this off-season, Bush saw just the type of schemes he saw Sunday, and that tape convinced him to come to Detroit.

All they had to do was turn on a few plays and show me that theyre doubling Calvin, rolling the coverage over to him, six-man boxes, five-man boxes sometimes in there, and thats a running backs dream any time you get that, Bush said. I was facing eight, nine-man boxes in Miami, so this is very refreshing.

All in all, having Johnson and Bush together worked out just as the Lions had envisioned.

Its definitely what we talked about, Bush said. We talked about just getting me in space and just constantly being in situations where Im mismatched on a linebacker or safety or cornerback or somebody in man coverage and while theyre worried about Calvin and some other guys, just taking advantage of it. And I think we were able to do that today, and I think you saw a little bit of whats to come in the future.

Despite the injuries, Bush said that physically he felt good throughout the game, though he joked that his thumb will probably start killing him once the pain medication wears off.

I took a few [shots] here and there, but really I feel good, Bush said. Even throughout that game I was just saying how good I feel. I wasnt tired, I didnt feel worn out, I felt good throughout the game, and I think that was because we were able to spread the ball around to a lot of different people. It wasnt just focused on one guy, so the fact we were able to spread the ball around, I think it kept everybody fresh.

Stafford targeted nine different receivers during the game, and six different players Bush, Johnson, Nate Burleson, Joique Bell, Patrick Edwards and Joe Fauria caught three or more passes each. With more weapons offensively all of which are more open when defenses have to worry about Johnson and Bush Johnson will no longer have to carry the team up and down the field all by himself. That, of course, was the whole idea of bringing in Bush.

That was the dynamic that he brought, head coach Jim Schwartz said. We like Reggies talent, but what we really liked was the way his talent complemented Calvins and the way Calvins complements him. Lots of first downs, big plays, things like that.

Fantasy owners might not be happy, Schwartz added, but were sure happy.

Source: http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/09/08/despite-injuries-reggie-bush-debuts-with-stellar-performance/

Serena vs. Azarenka: Bragging rights up for grabs

Serena Williams serves against Li Na.(Photo: Jerry Lai USA TODAY Sports)

Story Highlights

• Serena Williams faces off against Victoria Azarenka for the title on Sunday
• Williams hasn't dropped a set on her way to the final
• She leads the series 12-3, but Azarenka won twice this year in hardcourt finals

NEW YORK Off court, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka are chummy if not best friends. They have an easy air around each other, unlike some chillier relationships near the top of the sport that have spilled over into the public domain this season.

That goes out the window Sunday when No. 1 Williams and No. 2 Azarenka clash in the U.S. Open women's final with year-end bragging rights up for grabs.

Only one of them French Open champion Williams of the USA or Australian Open winner Azarenka of Belarus will emerge with two Grand Slam titles in 2013.

MEN'S SEMIS: Trying to break in on the Big 4

"We're experienced enough, especially Serena, to know that on court is business," Azarenka said after Friday's semifinals, where she and Williams set up a rematch of last year's dramatic final that the American won after trailing 3-5 in the decisive set.

Both Williams, 31, and Azarenka, 24, are having perhaps their finest seasons.

Williams is 66-4 this year and has reached the final in 10 of 12 events, winning eight. Since Wimbledon last year, she is 97-5 with 13 titles.

Azarenka is 42-4 and a tour-best 31-1 (.968) on hardcourts this season while winning her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

Williams, a 16-time major champion, has discovered a revived motivation following her nearly yearlong absence in 2010-11 due to a series of accidents and illnesses.

Sensing her age and history, she has dedicated herself with renewed vigor. Under French coaching adviser Patrick Mouratoglou, she has taken her game to a new level, playing well at nearly every tournament instead of saving her best for the biggest stages and improving her fitness, court coverage and variety.

Li Na's coach Carlos Rodriguez, who worked with former No. 1 Justine Henin during her many battles with Williams, said Williams is no longer simply a power player after she dispatched Li 6-3, 6-0 in Friday's semifinals.

"Today she can do other things," he said.

Never has that been so apparent than in New York, where she has romped to the final dropping a career-low 16 games in six matches, the lowest at a major in 25 years.

Victoria Azarenka celebrates after defeating Flavia Pennetta.(Photo: Robert Deutsch USA TODAY Sports)

Once prone to anger-infused meltdowns, Azarenka also has ratcheted up her game both physically and between the ears under French coach Sam Sumyk.

"Mentally I felt like it was a great turning point for me on some level for my career," she said of her last 12 months.

In this season of Williams' revitalized dominance, Azarenka has come closest to staking a claim as a true rival.

She is responsible for two of Williams' four losses and has emerged as the one player that does not look beaten before she walks on the court.

"I think she feels that she can beat Serena, which not all the players feel," Mouratoglou said.

But she remains a heavy underdog with defending U.S. Open champion Williams so far obliterating the competition.

"You've got to fight," said the 24-year-old native of Minsk. "You've got to run, you've got to grind, and you've got to bite with your teeth for whatever opportunity you have. She's obviously an amazing player. She's the greatest of all time."

There will be no secrets between them.

They have squared off four times this year and 15 times overall.

Williams holds a commanding 12-3 head-to-head record, but Azarenka took two of their last three meetings on hardcourts (not including a walkover in January), including a tight three-set tiebreak victory in the Cincinnati finals two weeks ago.

"Well, I know her game as well as she knows mine," Williams said following her defeat of No. 5 seed Li. "She knows what I do great, what I do bad, and what I can do better. I know the same thing. At this point, it's just all about just playing some tennis now."

The match will come down to nerves and execution, but it will also hinge on serving.

The steady and aggressive Belarusian can hold her own at the baseline with Williams and keep herself in service games with her top-flight returns. But if her serving struggles persist, she could be in for a long afternoon.

Williams has had her service broken just twice in the tournament. Azarenka dropped it five times in her semifinal defeat of Italy's Flavia Pennetta.

In six matches Azarenka has hit 10 aces but also a costly 31 double faults. Williams, by contrast, has unleashed 25 aces with just 10 double faults.

Azarenka knows she has had some scratchy matches in New York.

Despite the easiest draw on paper her opponents averaged a ranking of No. 103 she spent more time on court than any of the other semifinalists (8:19) and twice battled through three-set matches.

After her 6-4, 6-2 defeat of 83rd-ranked Pennetta, Azarenka admitted in her on-court interview that "It's been a long road to the final."

But Sumyk said that was a testament to her improving maturity and means there are extra gears waiting to kick in.

"She's not playing her best," Sumyk said. "She's in the final. Why shouldn't I be happy about that?"

The key for Williams is staying mentally fresh, imposing her game on Azarenka and controlling her nerves, which can flare up at times.

"I got tight, which happens sometimes," Williams said of her difficult final few games against Li. "I just needed to relax, and then when I did relax she played some good points."

Mouratoglou said the real danger is underestimation.

"I agree that she's playing really good tennis but we have to be really careful not to be overconfident especially before playing Victoria," he said. "I've said it before: She's always able to play her best tennis in the big matches and especially against the best players and Serena.

He added: "Serena knows that Victoria is dangerous and that she will have to play her best tennis to beat her."

While Williams won a coveted second French Open, she will view 2013 as a disappointment if she does not emerge with a second Grand Slam trophy after devastating losses in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and fourth round at Wimbledon.

"Even if she wins she will tell me it was a disaster to lose so early at Wimbledon," Mouratoglou said with a smile of Williams' perfection-driving professionalism.

Martina Navratilova said expectations are firmly in the American's corner, but so far she has shown no signs of cracking.

"Hats off to Serena," said Navratilova, who comments for Tennis Channel. "You know that she's feeling more pressure anybody out there but she handles it so well."

GALLERY: U.S. OPEN DAY 12

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Last SlideNext Slide

Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/tennis/2013/09/07/us-open-2013-womens-final-serena-williams-victoria-azarenka/2779511/