Review: "The Purge" is Thrilling and Accusing

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 76 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Purge (2013)
Running time:  85 minutes (1 hour, 25 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong disturbing violence and some language
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  James DeMonaco
PRODUCERS:  Michael Bay, Jason Blum, Andrew Form, Bradley Fuller, and Sebastien Lemercier
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jacques Jouffret
EDITOR:  Peter Gvozdas
COMPOSER:  Nathan Whitehead

SCI-FI/CRIME/THRILLER

Starring:  Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane, Edwin Hodge, Rhys Wakefield, Tony Oller, Arija Bareikis, Chris Mulkey, and Tisha French

The Purge is a 2013 science fiction film and crime-thriller from writer-director James DeMonaco.  Set in the near-future, The Purge focuses on a wealthy family whose home is under siege on a night when violent crimes like murder and rape are legal and sanctioned by the American government.

The Purge is set in the United States of America in the year 2022.  Unemployment is at one percent.  Crime is at an all-time low, and violence barely exists.  How did this come to pass?  There is an event called “The Annual Purge,” when practically all criminal activity is legal.  Over a 12-hour period, Americans can rob, assault, rape, and murder each other and they will not face legal consequences.  This event, started by what the film calls America’s “New Founding Fathers,” allows Americans to purge or vent negative emotions and repressed/violent urges.

The Purge opens on March 21, 2022.  At 7 p.m. (Eastern, I presume), the Purge begins.  James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a wealthy home security salesman who lives in an exclusive suburb of San Francisco, California.  After adding new security features to his house, James believes that he and his family:  wife, Mary (Lena Headey); daughter, Zoey (Adelaide Kane); and son, Charlie (Max Burkholder), can sit out this year’s edition of the Purge in the safety of their heavily fortified home.  However, a complication arises, and the Sandins end up receiving uninvited guests, and some want to kill them.

Several years ago, I happened to be watching CNN during one of those sadly rare moments when a guest says something thoughtful or thought-provoking about which we should all spend time considering.  That someone (“conservative film critic,” Michael Medved, I believe) talked about how he went from being a supporter of Robert F. Kennedy to becoming a political and social conservative.  These are not his exact words, but he basically said that sometimes we (the country as a whole) has to go to war.

My question to that statement and others like it is, “But who goes to war; who is going to do the fighting?”  Over the years, I’ve run into many people who consider or call themselves Republican, conservative, libertarian, etc., who are always demanding U.S. military action/intervention, yet they themselves never volunteer for the armed services so that they can do the fighting they so vociferously demand.  During last year’s U.S. Presidential campaign, a photograph of historical footnote Mitt Romney emerged which showed a young Mitt marching in favor of the Vietnam War.  He was even carrying a sign with a pro-war slogan.  This should have been embarrassing to Romney as he had successfully used a religious exemption as a Mormon to avoid military service.  I feel safe in assuming that Mitt was not embarrassed by the revelation of the photo.

The Purge, one of the most politically astute and socially relevant science fiction films to come around in years, delves into these notions and ideals of what it means to sacrifice for one’s country and also who or what is the sacrifice.  Writer-director James DeMonaco directly and bluntly asks why the people who benefit the most from what America offers feel that they should sacrifice the least for that same country.  Why are some people expendable merely because the elites believe that they have no value?  If sacrifice is so noble and valuable, then, would a destitute nobody really be a worthy sacrifice?

I like The Purge because it can be described as the attack the wealthy, the 1 percent, the old guard families, and the moneyed elites film.  I think this film is a commentary on American warfare, both class and military.  This is science fiction that is not escapist entertainment meant to generate merchandising revenue.  This is science fiction as pertinent speculative fiction, screaming out to the cattle and herders alike.  The Purge screams out that not everyone is willing to take one for the team unless everyone is willing to take one for the team.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, November 10, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

2013 British Independent Film Award Nominations Are Announced

Prison drama "Starred Up" leads with 8 nominations.

by Amos Semien

[I must admit that I am unfamiliar with all of those nominees - editor's note]

The British Independent Film Awards were created in 1998.  This film award celebrates merit and achievement in independently funded British filmmaking, honors new film talent, and promotes British films and filmmaking to a wider public.  The awards are currently sponsored by Moët & Chandon Champagne.

The winners will be announced at the 16th awards ceremony on Sunday, December 8, 2013 at the impressive Old Billingsgate in London.

The 16th Annual Moët British Independent Film Awards nominations:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
Metro Manila
Philomena
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up
Le Week-end

BEST DIRECTOR
Jon S Baird – Filth
Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
Sean Ellis – Metro Manila
Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
David Mackenzie – Starred Up

THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
Charlie Cattrall – Titus
Tina Gharavi – I Am Nasrine
Jeremy Lovering – In Fear
Omid Nooshin – Last Passenger
Paul Wright – For Those in Peril

BEST SCREENPLAY
Jonathan Asser – Starred Up
Clio Barnard – The Selfish Giant
Steven Knight – Locke
Hanif Kureishi – Le Week-end
Jeff Pope, Steve Coogan – Philomena

BEST ACTRESS
Judi Dench – Philomena
Lindsay Duncan – Le Week-end
Scarlett Johansson – Under the Skin
Felicity Jones – The Invisible Woman
Saoirse Ronan – How I Live Now

BEST ACTOR
Jim Broadbent – Le Week-end
Steve Coogan – Philomena
Tom Hardy – Locke
Jack O'Connell – Starred Up
James McAvoy – Filth

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Siobhan Finneran – The Selfish Giant
Shirley Henderson – Filth
Imogen Poots – The Look Of Love
Kristin Scott Thomas – The Invisible Woman
Mia Wasikowska – The Double

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
John Arcilla – Metro Manila
Rupert Friend – Starred Up
Jeff Goldblum – Le Week-end
Eddie Marsan – Filth
Ben Mendelsohn – Starred Up

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Harley Bird – How I Live Now
Conner Chapman / Shaun Thomas – The Selfish Giant
Caity Lotz – The Machine
Jake Macapagal – Metro Manila
Chloe Pirrie – Shell

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Sponsored by Company3
A Field in England
Filth
Metro Manila
The Selfish Giant
Starred Up

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Shaheen Baig – Casting – Starred Up
Johnnie Burn – Sound Design – Under the Skin
Amy Hubbard – Casting – The Selfish Giant
Mica Levi – Music – Under the Skin
Justine Wright – Editing – Locke

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer
The Great Hip Hop Hoax
The Moo Man
The Spirit of '45
The Stone Roses: Made of Stone

BEST BRITISH SHORT
L'Assenza
Dr Easy
Dylan's Room
Jonah
Z1

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
Blue is the Warmest Colour
Blue Jasmine
Frances Ha
The Great Beauty
Wadjda

THE RAINDANCE AWARD
Everyone’s Going to Die
The Machine
The Patrol
Sleeping Dogs
Titus


http://www.bifa.org.uk/

Review: "Flags of Our Fathers" a Haunting Look Back

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 44 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Running time:  132 minutes (2 hours, 12 minutes)
MPAA – R for sequences of graphic war violence and carnage and for language
COMPOSER/DIRECTOR:  Clint Eastwood
WRITERS:  William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis (based upon the book by James Bradley with Ron Powers)
PRODUCERS:  Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg, and Robert Lorenz
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Tom Stern (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Joel Cox, A.C.E.
Academy Award nominee

WAR/HISTORY/DRAMA

Starring:  Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Paul Walker, Jamie Bell, Barry Pepper, John Benjamin Hickey, Robert Patrick, Neal McDonough, and Tom McCarthy

The subject of this movie review is Flags of Our Fathers, a 2006 war film from director Clint Eastwood.  The film examines the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II and its aftermath from the point of view of American servicemen.  The film is based upon the non-fiction book, Flags of Our Fathers, from authors James Bradley and Ron Powers and first published in 2000.  Eastwood also composed the film’s score with assistance from his son, Kyle Eastwood, and Michael Stevens.

In Clint Eastwood’s film, Flags of Our Fathers, a son attempts to learn of his father’s World War II experiences by talking to the men who served with him and discovers that friendship and brotherhood meant more to the men than the war itself.

The son, James Bradley (Tom McCarthy), knows that his father, John “Doc” Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), was in the famous photograph, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” which was taken by photographer Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945 and which became the most memorable photograph taking during WWII (as well as winning the Pulitzer Price for photography).  The photograph depicted five Marines and one Navy Corpsman raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi on the tiny island of Iwo Jima, and “Doc” Bradley was that corpsman (medical personnel).  The battle for that tiny speck of black sand, which was barely eight square miles, would prove to be the tipping point in the Pacific campaign against the Japanese during the war.

Through the recollections of the WWII vets, the son hears harrowing tales of Iwo Jima, and for the first time learns what his father went through there.  The military later returns “Doc” Bradley and the two other surviving flag-raisers, Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) to the U.S. and where they trio becomes props in the governments’ Seventh War Bond Drive.  This particular bond drive is an attempt to raise desperately needed cash to finish fighting the war.  However, Bradley, Gagnon, and Hayes are uncomfortable with their celebrity and find themselves at odds with being America’s new heroes.

Flags of Our Fathers is the first of Clint Eastwood’s unique two-film take on the war movie.  The second film, Letters from Iwo Jima, depicts the Japanese side of the war.  Flags runs hot and cool – hot when Eastwood keeps the film on Iwo Jima and cool when the flag-raisers are back in America and dealing with public situations that make them uncomfortable.  The narrative, like Billy Pilgrim, the hero of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five, becomes unstuck in time, dancing back in forth in the wartime and post-war past, with an occasional foray into the present.

Flags of Our Fathers is at its best when Eastwood focuses on Iwo Jima and the veterans nightmarish flashbacks, in particularly “Doc” Bradley’s flashbacks while he’s on the bond drive tour.  He transforms the horrors of war into a taut thriller, in which the monster of violent death stalks the Marines on the battlefield.  Eastwood also makes his point at certain times with beautiful subtlety.  In one scene, Ira Hayes (played by Adam Beach who is, like Hayes, a Native American) is refused service at a restaurant because the owner “doesn’t serve Indians.”  After all of Hayes’ dedication, the routine bigotry he faces is stinging and heart-rending, and Eastwood captures that moment (and so many others where bigotry is as common as air) in an understated fashion that turns that quiet scene into a blunt object he slams into the viewer.

Flags is by no means perfect.  It lacks any great performances, and Jesse Bradford and Beach can only deliver soft performances since their characters are so thin.  “Doc” Bradley isn’t a stronger character, but Ryan Phillippe jumps between that haunted look or playing stoic, which gives Bradley more traction in the narrative.  Still, Flags of Our Fathers proves that Clint Eastwood is truly a great movie director, and that even his missteps here can’t hide this engaging look at brotherhood on the battlefield and surviving after war.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
2007 Academy Awards:  2 nominations: “Best achievement in sound editing” (Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman) and “Best achievement in sound mixing” (John T. Reitz, David E. Campbell, Gregg Rudloff, and Walt Martin)

2007 Golden Globes:  1 nomination: “Best Director-Motion Picture” (Clint Eastwood)

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Updated:  Monday, November 11, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Veterans Day 2013

Negromancer says "Thank you!"

Also, thinking about the Red Tails and the men and women of color who fought and need to hear our praise.

New "Anchorman 2" Poster Revealed

With the 70's behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) - All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy…while taking the country's first 24-hour news channel by storm.

Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdGI5-z_hg&feature=share&list=PLVjwdZylAT2nJXngIdTOyyg-Kvm41fime

In theaters December 20th:
Official site: http://www.anchormanmovie.com/
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronburgundy
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anchormanmovie

Review: "The Croods" Like a Full-Length Looney Tunes Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 75 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Croods (2013)
Running time:  98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some scary images action
DIRECTORS:  Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders
WRITERS:  Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders; from a story by John Cleese and Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders
PRODUCERS:  Kristine Belson and Jane Hartwell
EDITOR:  Darren T. Holmes
COMPOSER:  Alan Silvestri
PRODUCTION DESIGNER:  Christophe Lautrette
ART DIRECTORS:  Paul Duncan and Dominique R. Louis

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/COMEDY with elements of action and drama

Starring:  (voices) Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman, Clark Duke, Chris Sanders, and Randy Thom

The Croods is a 2013 computer-animated adventure and comedy film that was theatrically presented in 3D.  It was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox.  The Croods focuses on a caveman family trekking through an unfamiliar, fantastical world with the help of an inventive boy.

The Croods is set in a fictional version of the prehistoric Pliocene era (apparently called “The Croodaceous”).  The Croods are a six-member family living in a cave.  The father is Grug Crood (Nicolas Cage), who is doggedly protective of his family:  wife, Ugga (Catherine Keener); teenage daughter, Eep (Emma Stone); nine-year-old son, Thunk (Clark Duke); ferocious toddler daughter, Sandy (Randy Thom); and Gran (Cloris Leachman), Grug’s mother-in-law and Ugga’s mother.

Grug wants his family to stay in the cave at all times, except when they hunt for food, which is getting harder to find.  Grug is also against his family trying new things or making discoveries; “new things” are a threat to survival, he declares.  This causes problems between Grug and his rebellious teen daughter, Eep, whose curious nature clashes with her conservative father.  Then, Eep meets Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a nomadic cave boy, who is both clever and inventive.  Eep is immediately attracted to the boy.  Grug hates Guy, but after their cave is destroyed, The Croods find they need Guy, as they travel through an exotic land in search of a new home.

Since the original Madagascar (2005) and Kung Fu Panda (2008), DreamWorks Animation has improved on the technology of computer animation in terms of motion (characters and objects), depiction and creation of environments, picture definition, texture, and range of color.  The Croods proves that this animation production company is determined to keep pushing the envelope.

As for the story and characters, The Croods is best when it’s being fast and funny.  I have found that some of DreamWorks Animation’s films (and even television episodes) have the zest and style of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes animated shorts.  In a way, much of The Croods is an extended series of gags that recall Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Road Runner cartoons.

Pretty much every member of The Croods’ cast seems to be a looney toon, except for the mother, Ugga.  For some reason Ugga is practically non-existent; she is like a voice of wisdom, reason, and caution that is repressed and only heard when the film needs to squeeze in a poignant moment between chuckles and yucks.  And then, Ugga’s voice seems barely able to be heard above the fray of manic comedy.  In fact, Catherine Keener, who gives voice to Ugga, is unable to distinguish herself from the standard female voice.  I actually thought that Maya Rudolph was Ugga’s voice.  That is shocking when one considers how distinctive a performer Keener is.

But I guess it comes down to this.  DreamWorks Animation has mastered the technology of computer animation.  They have refined a brand of comedy that ranges from broad to slapstick and from satire to parody.  They embrace the crazy concepts they turn into films that are often inventive concerts of explosive visuals.  Still, DreamWorks Animation’s films lack the emotional resonance frequently found in movies from Pixar (except for Cars 2, which is straight crap).

The Croods can be viewed as a love triangle involving Grug, Eep, and Guy – mostly with Eep in love with Guy and with Grug hating Guy, mainly for that reason.  The performances by the three actors playing these characters are good, but the script really does not delve into this conflict.  It is easier to be surface and let comic moments rather than dramatic moments sell this three-way conflict.

That said, going by what is on the screen, The Croods is an exceptional movie, although stronger drama could have made it a truly great film.  I love the physicality the filmmakers give the characters.  Their wildness and animal-like tendencies (especially the way they move) make them attractive; the way they move, their facial ticks and expressions, and their reactions may it hard to ignore them.  The animation has a sense of depth that makes even its fantastic backdrops seem real – such as the cave and surrounding landscape where the Croods live at the beginning of the film.  I can use this old standby:  The Croods is a visual feast.  It falls short of greatness and perfection, but there is nothing like it, and it is quite good, indeed.

8 of 10
A

Thursday, November 07, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

"Horrible Bosses 2" Begins Production

New Line Cinema’s “Horrible Bosses 2” Now in Production

Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz Join Returning Stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey for this Sequel to the Hit Comedy “Horrible Bosses”

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Filming has begun in Los Angeles on New Line Cinema’s “Horrible Bosses 2,” directed by Sean Anders (“Sex Drive”). The follow-up to the 2011 hit comedy “Horrible Bosses” reunites stars Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as everyone’s favorite working stiffs Nick, Dale and Kurt. Jennifer Aniston, Jamie Foxx and Kevin Spacey also reprise their starring roles, while Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz star as new adversaries standing between the guys and their dreams of success.

Fed up with answering to higher-ups, Nick, Dale and Kurt decide to become their own bosses by launching their own business in “Horrible Bosses 2.” But a slick investor soon pulls the rug out from under them. Outplayed and desperate, and with no legal recourse, the three would-be entrepreneurs hatch a misguided plan to kidnap the investor’s adult son and ransom him to regain control of their company.

Sean Anders directs from a screenplay by Anders & John Morris (“We’re the Millers”), and by John Francis Daley & Jonathan Goldstein (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2”), who also served as writers on the first film. “Horrible Bosses 2” is being produced by Brett Ratner, Jay Stern, John Morris, John Rickard and Chris Bender, with Diana Pokorny and John Cheng serving as executive producers.

The behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Julio Macat (“Pitch Perfect”), production designer Clayton Hartley (“We’re the Millers”), editor Eric Kissack (“The Dictator”) and costume designer Carol Ramsey (“Identity Thief”).

“Horrible Bosses 2” is a New Line Cinema presentation of a RatPac Entertainment/Benderspink production. The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.