The Purge

Being a film buff, I try to read the current reviews.  A new film is getting lots of buzz: it is about a sequel to an earlier film.  The original was The Purge, which came out in 2013.  The new one is The Purge: Anarchy.

Funny thing.  I started reading the review and had to stop, because they were giving away the entire plot!  Oh dear!  As you know, movie fans, I NEVER give away plot details.  Today's discussion will adhere to my strict NO SPOILER ethic.

Another funny thing:  Turns out I saw the original not long ago on late night TV.  OK, I admit it:  I watched a futuristic thriller with a far-fetched premise.  But hey, I'm a sucker for the old Twilight Zones and I love many of the sci-fi themes.

The basic story:  Since mankind is by nature violent, folks need to "purge" their need for blood.  So, once a year, the law allows everyone to kill for just one day.  In other words, people can legally murder others to get the innate violence out of their system.  The result?  For 24 hours, you had better stay inside your home!

That is exactly what a couple, played by Ethan Hawke and Lena Heady, do.  They reinforce their house in steel, lock the doors, keep their kids nearby, and watch the mayhem unfold on TV.  What a great way to spend a day!  Haha!

The actors:  Ethan is always brilliant.  In real life he was married to Uma Thurman.  He was excellent as the wandering romantic in Before Midnight and even better as a cop in Brooklyn's Finest. Lena Heady was wonderful in the TV version of The Terminator.

Well, no spoiler, as I said, so I won't say much more.  But suffice it say that the baddies come knockin' on the door and try their best to penetrate the fortress the couple has built.  Will the couple survive?  The kids too?  And what do you do when some poor victim is being chased by the blood-thirsty hoard and knocks at your door?

Oh my, what great entertainment!  Of course you need to be a bit of a sci-fi nut, like me, to enjoy this kind of fare.  My favorite sci-fi themes are those that make us think.  Sure, the film is out there.  But is mankind by nature that violent?  Is a "purge" needed?

Try to catch the original on Netflix.  Then, await the new film with a-bated breath, as I am.

FUN!

Fargo (The TV Series)

Hi Movie Fans!  Valerie and I have been busy, so it has been a while since our last posts.  A great TV series brings me back to our film reviews!

Hopefully, all of you saw the movie Fargo.  It came out in 1966 and garnered a whopping seven Academy Awards.  If you missed it, run out and see it before viewing the TV series.  I loved the movie.  It was one of the most original crime stories ever, with lots of tongue-in-cheek humor and fantastic acting.  I would rate the movie as one of the top ten of all time.

So, with such a wonderful feeling about the movie, I was very cautious about watching a TV series based on it.  How could a TV series even vaguely capture the charm and wit of the movie?  Don't most TV series based on movies bomb out?   Not always true, I guess:  Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a good movie but an excellent TV series.   Fargo follows in the same vein.

What's it about?  Like the movie, it takes place in the snow drifts of the upper states.  Like the movie, it involves murder and mayhem.  Like the movie, it focuses on a pregnant police woman.

But the TV series is different.  Perhaps more gritty.  Perhaps less comic.  But no less gripping.

Yet it is all Coen Brothers, from start to finish.  Witness the fools, both police and criminals, who make us smile at their amoral, often bungling ways.  Witness Billy Bob Thornton who creates a bad guy who will haunt you for a long time to come!  Witness a story that grabs you and holds on with each of the ten episodes that comprise the first season.

Never the spoiler, I won't provide details.  The story is basically about a loser, a poor fellow who has been bullied all his life, who finally loses it and decides he will be mistreated no more!   He just happens to meet up with an assassin.  Can you imagine the result?  Haha!

Want some real viewing fun?  Go to Netflix or wherever and rent the first season of Fargo.

You'll be back in the snow.  Back in the weird universe of dull, plodding folks.  Back in the tense setting of cops chasing bad guys.  Back in the funny world of well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning idiots.

I can't wait for Season Two.