TIFF ’10: Vicious early reviews for Clint Eastwood’s ‘Hereafter’

By Sean O’Connell Hollywoodnews.com: Clint Eastwood’s supernatural “Hereafter” had its world premiere in Toronto tonight at a jam-packed Elgin Theatre, but reaction from the masses so far has not been kind. One hour after the film began, noted film scribe James Rocchi reported via his Twitter feed, “Walked out; Shabby, cliche, manipulative Stuff White Oscar Voters Like. MILLION DOLLAR BABY-level trash.” Hey, James, some of us liked “Million Dollar Baby.” In response to Rocchi, Erik Childress of eFilmCritic tweeted, “Hereafter might be the worst thing Eastwood has ever directed.” Oof. Erik must not have seen “Blood Work,” “Changeling,” or “The Rookie.” These unfavorable reactions come on the heels to lukewarm responses from a small, press-only screening held Saturday afternoon at Scotiabank. Mike D’Angelo gave “HereAfter” a 25/100 rating, tweeting, “3 useless narratives go nowhere for 100 mins, then pointlessly converge in a way that’d make G. Arriaga crack up.” And then there was Slash Film’s Peter Sciretta, who reported (via In Contention) that Eastwood’s film “was compelling but ultimately unsatisfying and rather pointless.” There should be plenty more feedback on the film as the premiere draws to a close, and Eastwood no doubt will find supporters. This might just be younger critics not connecting to Clint’s material, which seems – from the trailer – to be a rumination on death and the afterlife. I’ll post more reactions tomorrow. Follow Hollywood News on Twitter for up-to-date news information. Hollywood News, Hollywood Awards, Awards, Movies, News, Award News, Breaking News, Entertainment News, Movie News, Music News,