THE PURGE: ANARCHY (2014)

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Like an eighties B movie this film posits some interesting ideas much like the first film but it would have worked better as a graphic novel rather than a film. The characters feel like they are straight out of a comic book and somehow the imagined translation onto film loses power.

It is entertaining in an eighties style with a modern slant.

The plot is simple enough, one day a year, all crime, including murder is legal. A way for the government to allow the population to purge their dark urges, so the crime rate throughout the rest of the year is kept at a minimum. James De Monaco directs the second part in this series coming off the back of the first and IMDB tells us that he is busy directing the 3rd one at the moment.

A couple, Shane and Liz, played by Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez break down on their way home, merely hours before the Purge begins.
A lone man, Sergeant, Frank Grillo (Captain America-The Winter Soldier), fills his car with guns and weapons and heads out into the night. Two sisters, Eva and Cali Sanchez, Carmen Ejogo and Zoe Soul head out into the night to try and find their father, who has ‘sold’ himself as a victim in order to provide for his daughters.

These are our protagonists and their job is to stay alive during this dangerous, deadly time.

If you’re a fan of great thrillers of the eighties, Escape From New York, The Warriors, Assault on Precinct 13, etc, you will enjoy this. It draws inspiration from a lot of these films and does it reasonably well. It is probably equally as good as The Purge and while neither of them are what anyone would call a classic, there is enough in each of them to keep the audience entertained.

The idea is prescient in this day and age, holding a mirror up to society in a sci-fi stylee.

If you’re in the mood for a thriller that requires little brain-work this is for you.

It does, however, ask questions about the state of the nation and dissatisfaction of the people who live there. It is far from mindless and is a definite step up from the usual studio fare.

Violent and suspenseful, for those who like their thrillers a little bit twisted.

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3/5

STARBUCK (2011)

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This French/Canadian comedy about a man who has unwittingly fathered over 500 kids through a sperm donation mix-up has its moments but suffers by laying it on a little too thick. As it’s in French one can almost forgive the over-sentimentalising. Almost. It skates by on its charm. Ken Scott directs this with just a little too much sugar. He was hired to direct the American remake, using his screenplay, The Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughan.

The majority of the charm is down to the leading man, Patrick Huard, here playing David Wozniak, the receiver of the overwhelming news. Wozniak is a man-child who has yet to let go of the shackles of early of adulthood.

Also worth mentioning is Wozniak’s friend and lawyer, Avocat played by Antoine Bertrand. His approach to comedy is subtle for a part that is a gift for any actor. Interestingly, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Starlord, Chris Pratt played the part in the Vince Vaughan version.

It felt like the 109 minute running time wasn’t enough to play out this potentially very funny and at times touching tale. It was too ambitious and what it lost due to this was evident in the film.

The film is, at times, charming, gentle and fun, but never manages to stray into pure quality territory.

A shame.

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2.5/5