Do Movie details matter? Maybe an inaccuracy yanks you clean out of the fantasy of a movie while it doesn't bother someone else. The train wreck in Super 8 ruined it for a friend with a physics background, for example. Feeling the wreck ignored all physics laws (and logic), he couldn't jump back in. While Super 8 was a bit too wholesome-Hollywood for my personal tastes, how believable the train wreck was didn't influence my ride with the coming-of-age story. I believed the reactions of the kids, which was what counted. The train wreck looked good, which was good enough for me.

Any movie, especially a period piece, can disappoint somebody if details are missed; a car enthusiast when a 1967 Dodge Coronet rolls by in a movie set in 1964, an archaeologist when a dig of an ancient tomb is done without proper procedure. I'm ashamed to admit it, but that kind of sloppiness doesn't bother me if the story is good. It isn't that I don't see errors, but generally don't care. My pet peeve is bad dialogue, especially when I notice the script behind the words or sense the dialogue reflects the perspective and style of a writer rather than character. That drives me nuts.

So what happens when a horror movie obsessives about virtually every detail? That's the case with The Witch, a horror film set in the 1600's world of Puritanical Massachusetts.

I watched The Witch at home on DVD, and immediately was disappointed that I hadn't caught it at a theater. The cinematography is stunning and I knew my home screen didn't do it justice (although a theater would not have allowed me to drink my porter while watching, so there's that). I'm not kidding. This is a great looking movie.

I love movie extras and will re-watch an entire movie with the director commentary on if I have time. One extra on the DVD for The Witch features a panel discussion with writer and director Robert Eggers, the amazing lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy, and a few historical experts nerded out on the realities of Puritanical New England. The experts raved about the details Eggers captured, from the hand-hewn wood of the cottage to the clothing, and Eggers explained how even the supernatural aspects of the story were based on the actual fears of the time, researched by reading accounts and diaries of the period.

According to Eggers, he wanted the scare to be based on ideas legitimately embedded in that culture. To truly represent that fear he felt he needed to make the sets, behaviors and language ridiculously accurate for the time. While his pickiness was appreciated by the historians, the question to me was: did it really matter? Really?

I think it did matter. While I'd be lying if I said the period language didn't at times frustrate me as it could be difficult to understand,  the acting was so solid that even if I missed the meaning of a phrase, I knew what was happening. Beyond that very insignificant irritation, though, was the thrill of felling like I was actually watching a family from 1630. While I'm not overly bothered by inaccuracies, as I mentioned before, the lack of them creates a powerful experience, even if I didn't know what the hell an authentic cabin should look like anyway. I didn't think about the details, but on a deeper levelthey enriched the immersive, unsettling world of The Witch.  Passion and care went into this movie, I could tell. For me, that elevated The Witch from being just another horror movie to something exceptionally special, even though the "special" manifested itself in a horrifying, dark way. I suspect this movie would not have been the soul-shaking experience I found it to be had such careful attention to detail been neglected. And yes, it is genuinely unsettling.

Zywiec Porter Beer (Poland)

For the beer, I wanted dark and powerful, like movie trailers suggested The Witch would be (and was). I wasn't going to find a Puritanical beer, so decided to try Zywiec Porter Beer, a stout brewed in Poland. Pouring black, darkness descended into my glass. At 9.5%, it had power, although I'm not convinced it was actually that high in alcohol content. It certainly didn't lose flavor or have that alcohol taste that sometimes happens with dark beers that sneak into the 9-10% range.

At first I worried, given it traveled from Poland to Ohio yet was only about $1.75 for a 16.9 ounce bottle while other beers in its class were running $4-$14. Still, $1.75. I tried it. Wow. Pretty good. No, exceptionally good. No, really, really good.

Sure, I had concerns knowing that Heineken has a majority interest in the Zywiec Brewery, but I had no worries after the first sip (and  there is a some comfort knowing it was produced in a modernized clean facility). This was a very drinkable, smooth, tasty beer, and being a fan of stouts anyway, it was nice to try something different. Truth is, while I love domestic microbrews, for the most part I haven't been thrilled with many of the domestic stouts I've tried (of course there are exceptions. There are ALWAYS exceptions!). I'll definitely return to this one again. And again.

While I know the Puritans wouldn't approve, I have a feeling, Black Thomas, the evil looking goat from The Witch, would.