"Winchester" Review by Tim Hellman

'WINCHESTER': Three Stars (Out of Five)

A supernatural horror film based on the true story of Sarah Winchester, the widow of the notorious gun manufacturer William Winchester. Mrs. Winchester famously had an enormous mansion built, known as the Winchester Mystery House, to imprison spirits that she felt wanted revenge for deaths caused by Winchester firearms. The movie stars Helen Mirren as Winchester, and it costars Jason Clarke and Sarah Snook. It was directed by Michael and Peter Spierig (the duo also helmed such other popular horror flicks as 'DAYBREAKERS', 'JIGSAW'and 'UNDEAD'), and it was scripted by the Spierig brothers and Tom Vaughn. I found it to be decently made, but not anything especially memorable.

50 miles outside of San Francisco, Sarah Winchester (Mirren) was having a seven story house built; 24-hours a day, seven days a week, for decades. She believed that the house was haunted by vengeful ghosts killed by Winchester firearms (manufactured by her late husband). The widow was having the mansion built to imprison them. A doctor, by the name of Eric Price (Clarke), is called to the house to evaluate her mental stability. Eric surprisingly sees the haunted spirits too.

I've enjoyed the Spierig brothers other films (especially 'DAYBREAKERS'). This one has a great true story premise to it, and you couldn't ask for a better cast (for a B horror flick like this). Still, ultimately the movie is kind of boring, and forgettable. It's interesting at times though, and it does have a cool old horror flick feel to it. It's not one I'll remember for long though (at least I don't think I will).

Chilling Stills for the Upcoming Gothic Thriller "Winchester"

CBS Films recently released stills for the upcoming Gothic thriller "Winchester". The film stars Helen Mirren (The Queen, Woman in Gold), Jason Clarke (Mudbound, Zero Dark Thirty), Sarah Snook (Steve Jobs, Jessabelle), Angus Sampson (Insidious, Mad Max: Fury Road) and Finn Scicluna-O’Prey (True Story with Hamish & Andy, The Secret River).

"Winchester" hits theaters on February 2nd.

Plot Synopsis:

Inspired by true events. On an isolated stretch of land 50 miles outside of San Francisco sits the most haunted house in the world. Built by Sarah Winchester, (Academy Award®-winner Helen Mirren) heiress to the Winchester fortune, it is a house that knows no end. Constructed in an incessant twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week mania for decades, it stands seven stories tall and contains hundreds of rooms. To the outsider it looks like a monstrous monument to a disturbed woman’s madness. But Sarah is not building for herself, for her niece (Sarah Snook) or for the brilliant Doctor Eric Price (Jason Clarke) whom she has summoned to the house. She is building a prison, an asylum for hundreds of vengeful ghosts, and the most terrifying among them have a score to settle with the Winchesters…

"Woman in Gold" Review - Written by Jim Herling

Woman in Gold is a movie that manages to glorify art and its inherent value while simultaneously telling two stories: one about how an old woman lost her family and her history and her struggle to reclaim them both; the other about how a young lawyer finds his heart and his passion through helping her. And the best part about it is that it's a true story.


Directed by Simon Curtis and written by Alexi Kaye Campbell, Woman in Gold is the story of a Jewish woman in her eighties, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren, whose performance is absolutely sparkling as the mischievous, feisty senior in question), whose family lost everything to the Nazis in World War II, and her fight with the Austrian government over a painting. The painting in question is a work by Gustav Klimt, entitled Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, who was Maria's aunt. The Nazis took the painting when they seized the Altmann home, and Austria wound up with it after the war. At Maria's side in her quest to regain her family's greatest treasure is a young lawyer named Randol Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds, in his best performance in years), who at first is hesitant to help because he sees it as a waste of time, but is soon drawn in by Maria and her story, becoming just as passionate about recovering the painting as Maria.

I found the way the story was told to be flawed, as it spent too much time flashing back to the events that led up to Altmann fleeing her home and not enough time in the present exploring the nuances of her and Randol's struggle (although the flashbacks did give Tatiana Maslany a chance to shine as young Maria). The passage of time during the legal battle wasn't marked well for me either, with years passing by in unacknowledged blinks. But the acting performances are the heart of this movie. From the undeniable and surprising chemistry Mirren and Reynolds have to the strong supporting performances from the aforementioned Maslany, as well as Katie Holmes as Randol's wife Pam and Daniel Brühl as Hubertus Czernin, the crusaders' guide in modern Austria, right down to Charles Dance in his small role as Sherman, Randol's skeptical boss, every actor involved is fantastic.

Woman in Gold is a flawed movie that survives on impassioned and talented acting, and is with watching for that alone. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Official Stills for the Upcoming Drama "Woman in Gold"

The Weinstein Company recently released stills for their upcoming film "Woman in Gold". The upcoming film stars  Helen Mirren (The Queen), Ryan Reynolds (Green Lantern), Daniel Brühl (Rush) Katie Holmes (The Giver) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black).

"Woman in Gold" hits theaters on April 3rd.

Plot Synopsis:

WOMAN IN GOLD is the remarkable true story of one woman's journey to reclaim her heritage and seek justice for what happened to her family. Sixty years after she fled Vienna during World War II, an elderly Jewish woman, Maria Altmann (Helen Mirren), starts her journey to retrieve family possessions seized by the Nazis, among them Klimt's famous painting Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. Together with her inexperienced but plucky young lawyer Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds), she embarks upon a major battle which takes them all the way to the heart of the Austrian establishment and the U.S. Supreme Court, and forces her to confront difficult truths about the past along the way.