Tag Archives: Carmen Ejogo

The Purge: Anarchy-2014

The Purge: Anarchy-2014

Director James DeMonaco

Starring Frank Grillo

Scott’s Review #466

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Reviewed August 16, 2016

Grade: B

As a fan of the original The Purge (2013), a creative, fresh modern horror film with a distinct message, I did not expect the sequel to match expectations nor to be as powerful as the original.

I was right on both counts.

As a stand-alone film, though, it is a decent flick, having almost nothing to do with the original, save for the same premise.

I hesitate to call The Purge: Anarchy a horror film as it contains little blood, gore, or true horror elements- it is much more of a thriller.

The premise is simple- the Government sanctioned holiday of March 21st has come around again, meaning twelve hours of sanctioned mayhem, where murder, rape, and assault are all allowed without punishment to the criminals, and no police or rescue teams are available.

The period is 2023, though I am unsure why this is relevant since nothing distinguishes the year from the current year, 2016, in the story.

Several protagonists fearfully hunker down for a night of safety in their dwellings, but circumstances force them onto the streets.

A mother and her teen daughter, a young couple, and a vigilante are the characters. The backstories of these folks are not all that important or relevant to the film. They form a group and bond with each other.

Whereas the original kept the audience in one house, The Purge: Anarchy does anything but. As the group commences, the streets of Los Angeles serve as the backdrop for the action as they endlessly traverse the dark and mainly deserted streets, hiding in garbage dumpsters, tunnels, and other sources of protection.

The vigilante, who is revealed to be an off-duty police officer, has the motivation, as his son was killed one year ago today, not as a result of the Purge, but by a drunk driver. The police officer seeks revenge via the freedom the annual Purge allows him.

The film is purely plot-driven and little character development exists, however, the group is mostly likable, especially the mother and daughter.

Interestingly, the filmmakers feature multiple races and ethnic groups, giving it a dose of diversity, which gets big kudos from me.

I could not help but draw comparisons to the popular television series The Walking Dead (2010-2022), at several points of the film, as the group, brandishing weapons, continuously encounters thugs and enemies of every kind as they wander the streets.

A creative twist to The Purge: Anarchy involves a group of Anti-Purgers, all black, who have a following of people supporting them against the government’s protocol of allowing an annual purging.

It is made clear that the main victims of the purge holiday are the poor and the sick.

Correlating with this, our group finds themselves kidnapped and taken to a lavish party where wealthy folks arrange a night of champagne and hunting as the victims are lured to their deaths as the onlookers cheer and feast in celebration.

Think of an Oscar party with gruesome results.

The Purge: Anarchy (2014) is a fun, Saturday night popcorn film worth pondering. Would society succumb to a fetish such as the annual purge if the government condoned it?

Undoubtedly the film must have been influenced by the popularity of The Hunger Games (2012-2023) in tone and theme.

It is a decent film, no more no less.

Selma-2014

Selma-2014

Director Ava DuVernay

Starring David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo

Scott’s Review #248

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Reviewed June 19, 2015

Grade: A-

An Oscar-nominated factual feast, set in the mid-1960s during the Civil Rights movement, Selma (2014) is a re-telling of the life and times of Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggles that black Americans endured during a tumultuous period in history.

The film includes dealings with then-President Lyndon B. Johnson and the famous and important 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights march, which led to the signing of the pivotal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

This film reminded me quite a bit of 2013’s The Butler in subject matter and style-ironic since Lee Daniels was slated to direct and instead signed on for The Butler.

Both feature a charismatic and intelligent black man struggling with racial matters.

Despite being an independent undertaking, it is glossy, polished, and reflective of the time. Both The Butler and Selma boast a huge cast, and historical political figures, in a tumultuous era in history.

Selma features a bevy of real-life figures from George Wallis to President Johnson to the obvious leader of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King, and the casting is very well thought out.

Tim Roth, David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, and Carmen Ejogo portray their roles professionally and passionately. None of the above received Oscar nominations and I am okay with that.

I did not feel that any were definite standouts from a crowded field of talent, though perhaps Ejogo could have been in the running with her understated though compelling performance.

The drama surrounding the lack of expected Oscar nominations is not shared by me. The truth is, the film was included in the Best Picture category and won Best Song.

While an emotional and compelling film, neither is it a masterpiece nor will change the art of cinema, though I must stress it is good.

I find Selma to be an important film- a look back on history and the shame and humiliation placed on blacks who attempted to obtain voting rights. A heartbreaking scene depicts a determined woman (played by Oprah Winfrey) being denied this right by a cold and racist authority figure as she is asked impossible and tricky questions to prove her patriotism, which of course, she cannot possibly answer correctly.

Yes, the film is directed by a black, female director (Ava DuVernay) and yes, one might argue that it has a black point of view. However, the film successfully sympathetically portrays several white characters and avoids the assumption that all white people were racist in this period.

Let’s face it- racism still exists, especially in the South, and in the 1960s even more so. I did not find the message in black people vs. white people’s terms, but rather as a humanistic struggle for rights.

And the struggles continue as the film makes abundantly clear in the message of the film.

While King was a life changer to the black people of the United States, his life was abruptly cut short in his prime. One wonders how much more good this man could have achieved.

The song “Glory” is an emotional, powerful number, especially during the marching and subsequent slaughter scenes highly emotional and effective.

And who will not become teary-eyed as the innocent marchers are beaten and treated like cattle, simply for taking a stand? One will gasp at the senseless bombing scene that rocks a building and takes four innocent little girls’ lives away with it.

Selma successfully transplanted me to a time before my time and made me appreciate and capture the positive and negative experiences of a race of people not long ago.

This film inspires and moves me and teaches me what a movement occurred in 1965.

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-Best Picture, Best Original Song-“Glory” (won)

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best Feature, Best Director-Ava DuVernay, Best Male Lead-David Oyelowo, Best Supporting Female-Carmen Ejogo, Best Cinematography