"THE PURGE: ANARCHY" (2014) FILM REVIEW

“THE PURGE: ANARCHY” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

In 2013 JAMES DeMONACO wrote and directed “THE PURGE”.

It was a commercial hit. It was also a sleeper success, much to the chagrin of competitors who pronounced it as a wacky low budget movie.

The scares were genuinely good, and good things are never left alone.

So all over the world, copycats of this futuristic drama started to jump onto the lucrative bandwagon .

Which is why writer/director JAMES DeMONACO  returns with a vengeance to hit out at critics hard, those who tried to pin  him down in the previous chapter.

His new offering now harbors a new cast treading on his same safe formula on how to “purge for your soul”.

“The Purge: Anarchy”, the sequel to summer 2013’s sleeper hit that opened to No. 1 at the box-office, sees the return of writer/director James DeMonaco to craft the next terrifying chapter of dutiful citizens preparing for their country’s yearly 12 hours of anarchy”.

Storyline

A couple are quickly trying to get to their home before The Purge starts but as their car runs out of gas, the radio announces the beginning of The Purge. The exasperated couple have no choice but to leave their car.

A couple of meters away stand a group of Purgers on motorcycles. The couple escape from the clutches of the purgers. This is how the story begins.

You espy people scurrying  frantically to buy supplies to stock up their homes.

We are introduced to the ensemble cast such as a down-and-out waitress Eva (Ejogo), her daughter Cali (Zoe Soul), their elderly father, an estranged couple Shane (Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez) who are racing to Shane’s sister house before the official lock-down and finally, Leo (Grillo), a police officer who is wants to kill the man responsible for his son’ s death.

The government educates that the purge was created to help curb crimes.

However an anti-purge resistance group claims that the exercise is  a conspiracy to “knock” off  impoverished citizens who are the main victims during the annual purge.

The plot is chilling, clever and undeniably suspenseful. Sure.

You keep telling yourself that it is only just a game, but reality truly bites.

“THE PURGE: ANARCHY: is action packed and super gory that makes you want to scream as you watch the hapless innocents being butchered.

Above it all, there’s one incredulous question you would ask yourself:

Why are the people so darn stupid?

Why are they not staying in the sanctuary of their home?

Why are they still working or why are they roaming the streets endangering their lives during an emergency like this one?

Really. Just let the fools keep marching in.

RATING: 4 out of 5

Local Distributor: UIP MALAYSIA

(UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES)

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Friday, September 26, 2014

MOVIE REVIEW: A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES (2014)

“TOMBSTONES” POSTER.

One HELL of a GLOOM and DOOM sadistic THRILLER.

“A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

One of my colleagues used to be a die-hard fan of LIAM NEESON.

He’s still very much is.

For chills and thrills galore, this middle-aged actor never fails to deliver the pow-wow, my comrade gushes.

That is, until 2 years ago, TAKEN 2 was certified a critical flop, yet still maintaining the commercial success status.  It confirms that one bad bite does not speak for the entire apple.  

In  “A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES”, NEESON returns in top form, armed with his famous scowl and menacing glare. It is yet another of those “girl kidnapped, now go bash up the baddies”.

. Based on a 1992 novel, the film’s expounds a private detective who’s hired by a drug dealer to hunt his slain wife’s murderers.

Midway through his investigations, he learns that it is not the first time that these lawless men are commiting such hideous crimes and yet are uncaught by the police. Why?

Our story begins before the year 2000.

“A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES” offers nothing new in terms of characterization for NEESON.

He is still looking gaunt and depressed, tackling his cases calmly and effectively, shocking the balls off the bad guys, even relentless ransom demands over the phone with his daredevil attitude.

In “TOMBSTONES” he plays a self-employed private detective named Matthew Scudder, who’s a former cop trying to conceal his dark alcoholic past.

Viewers will have the pleasure to see him bursting into the crime scene, trying to solve crimes with his unorthodox  methods. NEESON is still in his usual element role as an action hero.

And it won’t be his last role.

LIAM NEESON is a brand that spells box office success!

 LOGLINE:

Set in 1990s New York, A Walk Among The Tombstones is a gritty noir that uncovers a violent city where corruption and violence fester.

 Scutter (NEESON) is roped in by an acquaintance to assist his elder brother, a yuppie drug trafficker Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens). His wife has been abducted.

Kenny pays the ransom, but the kidnappers still butchers her to death.

Now he vows revenge.

The disturbing case grows more complicated as Scutter learns that the murderers ( David Harbour and Adam David Thompson) are specifically targeting the loved ones of drug dealers, knowing that these drug merchants would not want to get the Police involved. 

Using traditional investigative skills rather than muscle, he trains an Internet-savvy, homeless black teen named TJ (Brian “Astro” Bradley) to monitor his calls.

NO SPOILERS from here.

Go to watch this pow-wow movie if you wanna know the creepy answers.

“TOMBSTONES” directed by SCOTT FRANK is harrowing , bloody and will give you nightmares.

The tone-of-voice is chilling and somber.

It is an edge of your seat horror thriller that invites you over for a quiet evening of murder.

Cool.

RATING: 4 out of 5 (for sadism, brutality and mayhem).

LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR: GSC MOVIES