Rating: 
Summary: The sin eater
Review: I personally think this movie had an excellent plot; I have to admit that when I saw the previews it seems like a wonderful film, despite that, the movie was not very good, it seems at times that there were characters without a real purpose in it, like the two children, days after seeing the movie I still could not understand their meaning.The acting was not all that great, it was ok. I will say that this movie had all the potential of being a good one. The plot about the SIN EATER was so creative that left me craving for more. I truly believe that "The order" could have being much better if they just had treated it in a different way.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good movie
Review: This was a movie that lived up to its summary on the back of the box (dispite what some will have you believe). I understand some may have lost interest in it, but only if you have a short attention span. It had its fast paced scenes and slow paced scenes and that was tied into a extreamly well written plot. I found it extremly entertaining and to anyone that like some goth or likes to view religion from different angles, this is a must have. I give it 4 to 4 1/2 stars
Rating: 
Summary: Uh, I don't think so. No...I really don't...
Review: I pretty much hated this movie. The beginning of it was very promising, thus the one star that this review has earned, but the rest of the movie was an utter mess. The acting was the kind that you would find on a soap opera, or in a film like THE OMEGA CODE. Plus, a movie like this should not have an open ended climax where the credits just pop out of nowhere, much like the equally awful LOST SOULS. They need to send a "sin eater" after the writer of this script. Atleast the director tried, but lets send one after him also, you know, just for fun... SKIP IT.
Rating: 
Summary: beware the whiny sin eaters
Review: Heath Ledger(10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale) plays a preist who with Mark Addy( A Knight's Tale and A Full Monty) and a bunch of other priests back in the day formed The Order ( a group of ass kicking priests who rid the world from the sin eaters).when Dominic, one of their members, dies, Ledger, Addy and Shaynnen Sossoman (A Knights Tale and 40 Days and 40 Nights). Ledger preformed an exorcism on Sossoman in the past and she tried to kill him and she went to jail. She got out and is hiding from the police. So these wisecraking team go of to try to stop Eden (a man whos name I or you cany pronounce) hes this almighty sin eater. So he plays tricks with Ledger, like mind humping him and killing Sossoman. Ledger with boozed Addy got to a church and Ledger kills Eden, Eden dies and passes the trait onto Ledger, blah, blah, blah. This is what you'd expect from the Director of Payback and A Knight's Tale (Brian Helgeland). This is one that Ledger shouldnt of done. some good acting though from Ledger in some spots but theres really no edge to care about him or the others. also starring Peter Weller (Screamers and RoboCop)
Rating:
Summary: Like Watching the Slow Death; See "The Exorcist" Instead
Review: Three stars of Brian Helgeland-directed "A Knight's Tale" come back -- Heath Ledger, Mark Addy, and Shannyn Sossamon -- in this religious thriller. I wanted to see again the lovely Ms. Sossamon (whose role is not big here), but what I saw turned out a (literally) painfully bad film that could have killed her career so easily. The alternate title of the film was "The Sin Eater" which would be more appropriate for the occasion. Heath Ledger's character, Alex, investigates the mysterious death of the master of his order, and he comes to realise there is a man hiding behind -- Eden, or "the Sin Eater" played by German Benno Furmann ("The Princess and the Warrior"). As Alex and his trusted friend Thomas (Mark Addy) delves the murky case, we know there is a conspiracy behind the thick curtain of the church. You see also Ms. Sossamon as Alex's love interest, and Peter Weller as one of the possible successor to the Pope. It is clear that director Helgeland researched several things about the Catholic church, to make the basis of the film. However, everything is too slow and tedious to grab our attention -- the initial death of the mentor, which should be more grisly or shocking, happens behind the closed door so we are not scared nor interested in it at all. Moreover, the film's script is not effective. Though Shannyn Sossamon and Mark Addy in particlar have no substantial function in the film, they continue showing up over and over again, only to confuse everything. Worse is the bland acting, and all the actors are guilty of making the film insipid, especially Heath Ledger whose emotionally detached portrayal of Alex is too off-putting for us. And the photography by Nicola Pecorini (famous for Dario Argento films) is also too dark when at night, which does not help, except inducing us to sleep (which I did). But the worst is the idea of using CGIs in this kind of occult films, in which delicately expressed character and carefully handled atmosphere play the vital part in creating the scares. When special effects appear in this film, we know that this is money-enhanced effctes, and that idea on our side instantly kills the potentials of the film. Send them a copy of "The Exorcist" and have them watch 100 times.
Rating:
Summary: Forgiving the Unforgivable
Review: Organized religion - the flawed, artificial, man-made obstacle between God and the individual forces the soul to find an alternative means to heaven. It's the central theme in The Order, a gothic horror mystery directed by Brian Helgeland, where Fr. Bernier, a Catholic priest of the Carolingian Order (Heath Ledger) wrestles with moral corruption in his church. In the shadows of the Vatican, Bernier investigates the death of his mentor who had been excommunicated by the Church for heresy. The death site suggests that a "Sin Eater" (William Eden), a youthful looking man several hundred years old, had granted the deceased priest absolution. "Christ gave forgiveness to a dying thief next to him," the Sin Eater tells Bernier, "the Church would have never allowed it." He grants forgiveness in all cases. The Sin Eater considers himself an "insult, an embarrassment to the Church," but not evil. He adds, "Finding the truth makes you unwelcome at parties." The viewer is offered several substantive challenges about faith. A minor character warns Bernier at one point, "Sometimes it's better not for a priest to know certain things. Knowledge is the enemy of faith." This insight reminded me of the diverse approaches that Eastern and Western theologians have used in balancing faith and science. It touches on Eve's wish to have knowledge and the chain of events that followed. Is ignorance bliss? The cinematography is excellent (a tinge of darkness for effect) and the characters offer a strong performance. Although the plot is original and the story moves rapidly, there are gaps in the transition. I don't subscribe, however, to the harsh criticism this movie often received by film pundits. The investigation of the Sin Eater's role with the assistance of a portly, joyous priest with a thick Irish brogue, Fr. Garrett (Mark Addy) and Bernier's artist friend, Mara Sinclair (Shannyn Sossamon), find themselves in the dark world of Vatican politics. The Carolingian Order known for its almost heretical love of knowledge in place of faith brings these three friends into conflict with a cunning Cardinal (Mattia Sbragia), with a gift for Vatican politics, who plans to become the "Black Pope." The Cardinal has created an underworld of followers where power, brutality, and an embrace, if not a willingness to work with demonic forces, will be part of the agenda of the next Bishop of Rome. The Cardinal's plot is eventually exposed and he is disgraced. He calls for the Sin Eater. To his surprise, an angry, distraught Bernier shows up. The manic depressive Mara, whom Bernier had fallen in love with, committed suicide with the encouragement of the Sin Eater. A despondent Bernier kills the Sin Easter with an ancient dagger and in so doing releases his spirit. Without realizing the consequences for this violent act, Bernier must now live for centuries as the one who grants absolution when the Church refuses. Oddly, Bernier, in a ritual before the Cardinal, inverts the ceremony which denies the dying man, who has slit his writs, absolution. Bernier has played God which seems to contradict the film's original premise - the Church is crushed by its own weight of hubris in judging others and granting forgiveness. As Dostoevsky teaches, "there is no love that God cannot forgive because God's love is infinite." The closing scene of the film shows a self-righteous Bernier determined to grant absolution to only those he deems worthy. He has replaced the will of God, forgiveness for all those who ask, for his own. Despite the difficulties of following the plot the movie maintained my interest and offered several provocative theological themes.
Rating: 
Summary: A Dream of Demons
Review: This film has been thoroughly trashed by most of the critics. Yet the majority of the audience polls were shown to be positive. Brian Helgeland wrote it, produced it, and directed it. As a director, he has a short track record rife with innovation; as in his film A KNIGHT'S TALE. I feel that he is a promising artist who is still searching for his cinematic groove. His writing has been criticized as muddled and sophomoric. Yet this man wrote the screenplays for MYSTIC RIVER and L.A.CONFIDENTIAL. The fact that he had cast three of his principal actors, Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossaman, & Mark Addy from A KNIGHT'S TALE has been panned. Yet this methodology of artistic trust was never questioned when it was practiced by John Ford, Clint Eastwood, or Akira Kurosawa. The cinematography by Nicola Pecorini is drenched in shadow and shafts of sunlight peeking through slits in crumbling mortar. It is a dark vision, but it never feels claustophobic. Pecorini, a camera operator for over twenty years, helped to pioneer the steadicam. This may be the first time he functioned as the head lenser. Oddly, I feel that I am standing almost alone on a hilltop, when I declare that I liked this movie. Heath Ledger, as Alex Bernier, the young rogue priest, does a fine job of blending a tenacious faith with a rebellious spirit. He is treated by the Catholic Church as an eccentric pariah. After all he preached in Latin, and always had his back to the congregation; part of his consciousness securily rooted in medieval mysticism. His mentor, father/brother Dominic, played by Francesco Carnecutt, had died mysteriously in Rome, and the Church had labeled it a suicide. Ledger was recruited by powerful American Cardinal ( Peter Weller, as Driscoll, who specializes in off-beat roles ), to travel to Rome and to seek out the truth of Dominic's death. Ledger gathers his team together. He is joined first by Shannyn Sossaman, as the gorgous tragic painter Mara Sinclair. Her role as Magdalene to his rogue rabbi is sometimes hard to comprehend. Perhaps part of the exposition had to be edited out. She loves a man who "can not love me back.". She apparently fell in love with him after she tried to kill him. Alex had performed an exorcism on her brother, and in a chaotic frenzy, she lost control and attacked him. This cost her a year's incarceration in a mental institution. She emerged clear-eyed, and ready to martyr herself for love. She seemed to be a bit psychic as well. She felt that something "terrible" was going to happen to Alex, and she wanted to be with him. It must have been interesting for this actress to construct a backstory for this character. In the film, she became available for Alex's seduction and carnal transcendence into actual manhood; and then she was sacrificed like a beautiful dove, forcing Alex to accept his fate. Soon, Ledger is joined by his sole compeer, Mark Addy as father Thomas Garrett. They are the last remnants of their Caroligian Order. They have been trained as demon hunters and exorcists. We see a few lame encounters with demons. The effects are unspectacular, and the conflicts remain muddled and peripheral. Addy attacks his role with verve, energy, and Irish charm; but his character is never fully developed. In the prologue we were introduced to Benno Furmann as the Sin Eater, the "Other". This plot twist is clever. The Sin Eater is a renegade entity that can offer, for a price, last moment absolution and forgiveness, a guaranteed path to paradise, outside of the Church's jurisdiction. The metaphysical task of devouring sins seems to create immortality. Benno, as William Eden, had existed for more than 500 years, and now it was time for him to pass on the mantle. Alex Bernier had been chosen as his successor from infancy. Every person, every circumstance in Alex's life was placed in his path by Eden. Benno's piercing calmness and intellect belie his dark powers. Was he good or evil, or trapped between them ? Is what he performed a service, a farce, or a sacrifice ? There is a manic subplot regarding a murderous religious coven that operated in the catacombs. They murdered priests, and they infleunced papal politics. Our discovery that the natty Cardinal Driscoll, a candidate for Pope, was the grand wizer of this band of zealous thugs, was yet another loose thread in the fabric of the patchwork plot. But Weller, too, had to accept the responsibility of his actions. When he was betrayed, exiled, disgraced, excommunicated, and facing death, he summoned Bernier. Alex, who had accepted his role as the latest "Other", came to him. There was a Marat Sade suicide scene, and we witnessed the Sin Eater refusing to accommodate the Cardinal; thus damning him, and forcing him to embrace the demons waiting for him in the darkness. I was left, in the final flickers of this film, angry at the behemoth bureacracy that appeared to be the Catholic Church ( a symbol of all the secret societies and mammoth corporations that wield the power of this world ), and a vague sensation that I had experienced a unique vision of man's journey.
Rating:
Summary: Send this Order Back!
Review: I've always been fascinated with films dealing with catholic mythology and demonology and the like so I gave this one a try. Heath Ledger is a priest who is a member of a rare order of priests who "battle demons and the undead" Unfortunately, they do basically none of that in this movie. Ledger is told by his cardinal (played by Peter Weller) that his mentor, Father Dominick has died in Rome and Ledger immediately flies there. There he finds that Dominick is not to have a Catholic burial because he committed suicide which Alex (ledger) doubts. Doesn't matter...he was excommunicated. Thank's for telling us that in the first place. Alex finds evidence that Dominick was killed by a "sin-eater" a priest that can suck out a person's sins and allow them passage to Heaven. Of course this also kills the person. They are told by Weller that they need to find the sin-eater and kill him and Weller gives them an ancient dagger to do the job that looks like it was bought at the local dollar store. OK so far but then it just disinigrates into a morass of undeveloped plot lines. For the first 1/2 of the movie there are a pair of demonic children who turn up to provide the movie's only creepy segments. They attack Alex when he is burying father Dominick. But then they kind of disappear and nothing is explained as to what they are or why they attack. Alex and Tom go to some strange nightclub and are led by a bald woman in an evening dress to see a mysterious figure in black robes who apparently leads some sort of religuous cult. No..it too is never explained who they are. Upon leaving, Tom is attacked by demonic forces seemingly for no other reason than to get him out of the way so Alex can now interract with the sin-eater. By this time, if you are still awake from this monumental snore-fest, you are praying that it will be over soon. The ending, with the revealing of the leader of that mysterious cult is in no way shocking as there were very few candidates to choose from. In the end you're asking yourself, okay, is that it? What just happened? Beats me...a boring confusing mess.
Rating:
Summary: The Order
Review: An ancient order of priests, the last of their kind who are known for exorcisms and other ancient Catholic rites, encounter a mystery known as the Sin Eater. I really enjoy movies with Catholic mysticism, like Stigmata, etc., so this one is right up my alley.
Rating:
Summary: Ouch. So much promise here, but it doesn't deliver.
Review: I love dark, atmospheric, Romantic films with a gothic flair. So when I heard the reviews of this film being so cruel when it first came out, I was thinking, "Who cares, I'll probably like it just fine." But unfortunately, I don't. The premise of the order sounds fine. A mystery being called the Sin Eater goes around absolving people of their sins, but also killing people while it does so. So the Vatican Church has to send in its tactical strike squad (sounds like it could be something out of a Dan Brown book), aka Heath Ledger playing a young priest, to go destroy this Sin Eater; after all, the Sin Eater is horning in on church business here facilitating the relationship between Jesus and man in redemption. They can't have that. I have always been fascinated with the idea of priests as something like holy warriors fighting the forces of darkness, be it "The Exorcist" or comic books. This film unfortunately doesn't do much with the idea. First, let me say that the atmosphere set is very dark and Romantic (capital R), and I was pleased with it. You have every thing you'd expect from a movie like this - solemn priests, graveyards, ancient churches, demons, ravens, candle-light, a hushed air of mysterious menace - very fine stuff. The lighting is wonderfully evocative, and the sets and the costumes are all well done in my opinion. But little else is good. The acting... this is just my opinion, but it feels like little effort was put into the acting. The lines are delivered perfunctorily, with competence, yet I'm not really buying into it. Which was a shame, because I did want to. Heath Ledger in particularly was a big disappointment because generally I like his work. I thought Shannyn Sossamon was very fetching (She'd make me re-think my priestly vows) in an interesting role where she plays Ledger's "love interest" so to speak, an artist who was possessed in the past and even now may very well be quite disturbed. The pacing of the plot is bad. The movie stumbles and lurches, and doesn't ever really pick up. When you get right down to it, the story is threadbare and doesn't have a lot to work with it. Finally, I won't give anything away, but the last third or so of the movie is pretty terrible. Even halfway through the movie I was still optimistic, but I just thought toward the end it got really boring, contrived, and even ridiculous. The DVD extras aren't anything to write home about. Trailers, commentary, and some deleted scenes that actually really did add nothing and deserved to be cut. The commentary at least shows the director was enthusiastic about this project, which is commendable, but overall, this movie really was a letdown.
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