MOVIE REVIEW: THE FOREVER PURGE

 

Adela and her husband, Juan, live in Texas, where he works as a ranch hand for the wealthy Tucker family. On the morning after the Purge, a masked gang of killers attacks the Tuckers, forcing both families to band together and fight back.

Director: Everardo Valerio Gout

Cast: Ana de la Reguera, Tenoch Huerta, Josh Lucas, Cassidy Freeman, Leven Rambin, Alejandro Edda, Will Patton

Release Date: July 2, 2021

Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated R for strong/bloody violence, and language throughout

Runtime: 1 h 43 min

Review:

The Purge films have always bore the hallmarks of being decedents of 70’s exploitation films like Soylent Green or Logan’s Run.  High concept sci-fi films with politically timely ideas addressed in less than subtle means.  The Purge series has always been one of the bluntest objects since it hit the scene with each film capturing a moment in time.  Each film has had solid conceits but none of them have been able to nail the execution with the latest and likely final film, The Forever Purge, continuing that trend.  The Forever Purge delivers its social political commentary with the subtly of a sledgehammer.  This entry somehow manages to be even less subtle than previous entries, which is saying something.  Amid all the bloodshed and mayhem the most frightening thing about the film is that some of insanity on display veers incredibly close to real life events.  A better script could have made some incredibly nascent points about our current environment but this film just isn’t up to the task.  It makes its points in the most obvious and overt ways possible even spelling it in case it wasn’t abundantly clear.  They do manage to keep things fresh by refocusing the story on a Mexican couple in Texas after focusing on various other classes or races.   Ana de la Reguera and Tenoch Huerta turn in capable performances as the leads.  Both are able to handle action and emotional moments with ease making the film more watchable than it deserves to be.  Josh Lucas and Leven Rambin round out the main cast and turn in solid supporting roles even if the film doesn’t ask much of them.  The Forever Purge isn’t close to being the best in the series but the cast ultimately makes it watchable in spite of its shortcomings.  

C

MOVIE REVIEW: ARMY OF THE DEAD

 

After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble by venturing into the quarantine zone for the greatest heist ever.

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast:  Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi, Garret Dillahunt

Release Date: May 21, 2021

Genre: Action, Crime, Horror 

Rated R for strong bloody violence, gore and language throughout, some sexual content and brief nudity/graphic nudity

Runtime: 2h 28min

Review:

Army of the Dead represents a return to the genre that made Zack Snyder a name in the movie business.  His remake of Dawn of the Dead is a film that shouldn’t have worked on multiple levels but ended up becoming something special.  It was enough to make him a marketable director so his return, after his somewhat grueling trek through the DC Extended Universe, to genre is intriguing enough.  Freed of having to navigate established character, you can feel Snyder clear his palette on screen.  In doing so, he channels a slew of sources like Michael Bay’s Armageddon, James Cameron’s Aliens, Romero’s Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead with a splash of Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive for good measure.  It is all draped in a heist film with larger splatter effects and for a large chunk of its runtime works even with some readily apparent pacing issues.  The characters are sufficiently fleshed out, so they don’t feel like fodder for meat grinder.  Dave Bautista leads his motley crew effectively even if he’s given one too many dramatic sequences which he can’t quite nail.  He does have a specific sort of quiet, pensive intensity that gives him a level of authenticity which works well for his character.  He has solid chemistry with his on-screen daughter, Ella Purnell, and love interest, Ana de la Reguera.  Each storyline is given enough time to play out even with some unexpected surprises.   Omari Hardwick and Matthias Schweighöfer also make a fun onscreen duo of lethal philosopher and safecracker who have some of the best comedic moments.  Theo Rossi and Garret Dillahunt both turn in mustache twirling levels of villainy which is fine, but you’re left feeling that the film could have used them to better effect.  The large ensemble keeps the whole thing moving even during some of its slower moments but there some obvious fat that could have been cut.  Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead feels refreshing but it also displays some of his directorial excesses in this love letter to genre filmmaking.

B-