Talking Pictures

Rich Bonaduce reviews “Season of the Witch”

Rich’s Quickie: Not a great movie, but I’ve certainly seen worse this year – and it’s only January!

A Witch! Nicolas Cage plays a Behman, a wandering ex-crusader with a conscience (which only develops after killing one too-many innocents), with his trusty cohort Felson (played by Hellboy Ron Pearlman) in tow. They turn their backs on the Church and its crusades and wander aimlessly, until they get a chance to Set Things Right by delivering a suspected witch to a Monastary where she can be properly judged as the possible source of the Black Plauge. Ever the erstwhile do-gooder – or at least he is NOW – Behman wishes to make sure the girl is dealt with justly, and reluctantly agrees to deliver her. What follows is a bit of a throwaway movie, but it certainly delivers a good time; with plenty of action (after a bit of a slow middle), special effects and an ending that wraps things up neatly.

A Newt? What hampers Season of the Witch is mostly its tone; at times decidedly violent and creepy, and other times it’s a buddy-knight tale, with one-liners being bandied about during life-or-death experiences. Some movies balance the two, but this one doesn’t. It just feels like it wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be, and mixes the two genres in unequal and confusing ways. It’s also edited a bit strangely in spots, not showing us some action that would have been satisfying (like the suspected witch rescuing a captor is a tight spot), while showing others that seemed to undermine the threat (dead monks brought to life are shown using an effect taken straight from The Grudge or The Ring that makes them anything BUT scary or threatening). Even some of the actual language used is questionable, and I wondered if people really spoke that way in the 1300’s. But still, as an adventure film, I’ve certainly had worse times in the theater.

Movie Grade: C

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, violence and disturbing content.
Director: Dominic Sena
Writer: Bragi F. Schut

Tags: abc4, CW30, review, Rich Bonaduce, season of the witch, talking pictures
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