It was miraculous, really.
Imagine it – a 10:30 a.m. screening on an overcast Wednesday, charcoal-colored clouds dappling the sky. A handful of film journalists had been summoned to an Imax-equipped multiplex in the valley to watch Ryan Coogler’s new period vampire movie “Sinners.” And throughout the movie, which runs more than two hours (including a pair of post-credits scenes), there were multiple applause breaks. It was like being at a new “Avengers” movie, only it was an R-rated, blood-splattered original thriller set in the Jim Crow-era South and featuring a pair of performances by Coogler regular Michael B.