04 Jul 16 - The Purge: Election Year

***this review contains no spoilers***

"Purge and purify ...purge and purify..."

The Purge - pits you deep within the terrifying, nail-biting action as a family unexpectedly experiences the annual event due to their neighbors' jealous rage against them. 

The Purge Anarchy - three separate stories rolled into one plot as you experience the annual night of crime, murder and mayhem on the streets of Los Angeles while seeds of revolution sprout. There was SO much realism of what's happening to the poor and working-poor in this movie.

Both highly recommended viewing by SouthSide, blogspot readers.

Now, we have come to the third chapter of this series - The Purge: Election Year ...and once again, you're in for another nail-biting, "edge on your seat" ride of your life within this movie set in Washington D.C. And this time the subject of purging is on the forefront as a major election issue between two candidates - Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), a lone survivor of a purging in which murdered her family protected by Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo - the only returning character from Anarchy) and Minister Edwidge Owens (Kyle Secor), the creepiest political candidate ever seen on the movie screen (The Donald has nothing on this guy!) who wholeheartedly supports the NFAA (New Founding Fathers of America) annual event. 

The nation as a whole is torn between supporting and not supporting the purge, blogspot readers. Anti-purge movements and protests appear to be dominating the news on a regular basis and this has the NFAA sorely pissed off. And they're prepared to do whatever it takes (i.e. clean house) to make sure the annual night of purging remains in tact. Perhaps ...forever.

Meanwhile we meet other characters indirectly caught up within the election debate in this movie. Meet Joe Dixon - a deli shop owner who at the last minute has his purge insurance rates jacked up, Marcos - a Mexican immigrant who knows the key to winning the election for Senator Roan, Laney - who drives a makeshift ambulance to help purge victims reach an underground triage center and Bishop Dante - the organizer and leader of the anti-Purge movement. Though the stories are not somewhat connected, they do intertwined together by misfortune when the Purge finally begins.

It's a crazed scene, blogspot readers. 

It's race against race ...gender versus gender ...young versus old ...political candidate versus political candidate...

Yet, who really benefits from this night of mayhem, crime and murder? Well, definitely not those who are poor, unemployed, drug addicts, illegal immigrants, etc because it's was intentionally designed to "purge and purify" the nation, if you connect the subtle hints left throughout this movie. There's profit to be made if you're into the tourism aspect, blogspot readers. The Purge: Election Year introduces a creepy notion that this type of event would attract thrill-seeking Euros hopping across the pond to experience what most Americans have been doing for years now. As America, this where we hit a new low but in reality - it could happen. The United States has hand its share of being a bad influence on our European friends. 

SouthSide appreciates how director and writer James DeMonaco skillfully tapped into what's currently occurring in today's political scene, blogspot readers. It may be a movie but with SO much realistic tones and subject matter, it's downright frightening how our two-party political system can be. It's truly a "dog eat dog" type of duel to the death between a Hillary Clinton-like candidate and Donald Trump-like candidate being prominently featured on the big screen. SouthSide had chills when the scene of Lincoln Memorial was written in blood with the letters spelling P U R G E across the columns and dead bodies draped on the steps. Yet, you also witness how this annual event truly effects those helplessly as well as innocently caught in the middle at the underground triage center. The fact James picked T-Rex's "Twenty Century Boy" and Parliament's "Give Up The Funk) as well as David Bowie's "I'm Afraid of Americans" (a fitting homage to Ziggy's love-hate relationship with Americans) to instill some lighthearted fear and fun into this movie. SouthSide wasn't expecting to hear those three songs currently rotating on her playlist yet it was nice shocking surprise.

The Purge: Election Year does have its moments when you want to cheer and root for the good guys ...rejoice at the moment when the members of the NFAA get their comeuppance towards the end ...but it's still a horrifying, gory (at times) movies in which the actions of violence can touch a nerve. Definitely not recommended for kids under 14 even though SouthSide and her daughter saw moviegoers bringing their children as young as 5 to 9 to this movie. 

She highly recommends seeing The Purge: Election Year. 

Until next time, support your local scene,

SouthSide

15 Jul 14 - The Purge:Anarchy

****CONTAINS NO SPOILERS****

It's 2023 ...and crime, poverty and unemployment are at an all time low in this country thanks to the New Founding Fathers and their implement of "The Purge" - that designated one night (on March 21) of the year were all crime (including murder) is completely legal. Yes, you can finally hunt, maim and/or kill that "special" someone or anyone you've been wanting to x out of your life without any feat of being arrested, tried and convicted because even emergency services (fire, police and hospital) will be suspended for twelve hours from 7p to 7a.

 

"Blessed be our New Founding Fathers for letting us Purge and cleanse our souls. Blessed be, America, a nation reborn..."

 

That was the premise for the original The Purge (2013) which starred Ethan Hawke, Lena Headley, Adeliade Kane, and Max Burkholder and was directed by James DeMonaco. Well, blogspot readers, director/writer DeMonaco is back with a sequel - The Purge: Anarchy in which he takes the audience out of the "comforts" of the suburban life during the night of the annual Purge as the terror unfolds around one particular family. Now, he gives us a sequel that features three unseemingly separate storylines (at first) but all merging (unexpectedly) together as five (5) people try to survive the night on the streets of Los Angeles during the annual Purge. And, believe SouthSide, it's not going to be easy either. Not with armed people on the hunt ...prowling the streets looking for people to shoot and kill and with no safe place to hide from them. Will these unlikely group of people survive the long night of dodging bullets?

 

Hm ...good question.

 

The Purge: Anarchy features a new set of faces such as Frank Grillo as Sergeant who's the only real participant of The Purge to seek revenge on one particular person who murdered his son the year prior and then was acquitted due to a minor prosecution technicality. There's husband and wife Shane and Liz (played by Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez) who, on their way home, find themselves in a bit of car trouble and then subsequently chased by a gang of Purgers throughout the streets of Los Angeles. Meanwhile there's Papa Rico (veteran actor John Beasley), his daughter Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and granddaughter Cali (Zoe Soul) who are indirectly as well as directly effected by The Purge especially when the destruction of their home forces both mother and daughter to face and try to survive the horror of the annual melee. Yet, what director James DeMonaco does with the three separate storylines, blogspot readers, he tries to establish how each group is effect by this annual event whether they want to or not. In this movie, the audience gets a terrifying peek of how the rich and wealthy "purge" from within the safety net of their own homes - by paying the elderly and/or dying a large sum (which is paid into their surviving family members' accounts). It seems there's money to be made during The Purge as well as a hidden government agenda behind The Purge which has sparked an anti-Purge movement by activist Carmelo (Michael K. Williams) who uses the social media/internet to spread his message on what The Purge is truly all about, blogspot readers. It may ...or not surprise you in the end.

 

SouthSide would tell you however she won't. Yet she can tell you this ...it's (The Purge) not really benefitting the majority of an economic/social class of people as you might have expected it would, blogspot readers.

 

This reviewer highly recommends checking out The Purge: Anarchy when it opens in theatres tomorrow. She found the sequel way better than the first because it gave you more of an in depth look at what happens on the streets during the annual event rather than bottling you inside a house with a single family trying to evade teenage intruders and their neighbors. You as the audience are placed right smack in the middle of the action ...dodging the onslaught of armor piercing bullets, heavily suited and armed men in black government-issued protective gear and/or crazed masked gangs scouring the streets to nab you for some wealthy Purge hunt club. Yes, blogspot readers, there's more to this Purge than the original because there was so much revealed about the true nature and reason for The Purge this time. Can something like this actually happen? Of course, as this nation gradually moves towards being "one nation under a gun" (please note SouthSide is all for the 2nd Amendment and your right to bear arms but do it with responsibility). Just as Carmelo stated during the movie "...we have become a nation that prays to their gun ...not to God, Allah, etc..." (paraphrased) And as morbid as it sounds, you just might find yourself cheering and/or laughing during this movie like SouthSide did when attending the recent screening. She supposes that she may have been desensitized to the acts of violence seen throughout the movie even though some scenes were intensely brutal at times as well as thrilling. Perhaps ...just perhaps, she has her own "purge" agenda in mind. Still, she does have to caution parents on thinking about bringing kids younger than 12 or 13 to this movie - DON'T!  Don't be like those parents who brought their 10 ...even 6 or 7 years old kids with them to the screening. Though they see violence and acts of violence on the streets and/or television and video games, The Purge: Anarchy is way too intense for them to handle though SouthSide did bring her 12 year old daughter with her to the screening ...let's just say, she wants to see it again.  So does SouthSide, blogspot readers.

 

The Purge: Anarchy is one the better sequels recently seen by this reviewer ...which she has a feeling director James DeMonaco has another up his sleeve...

 

 

Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide