Avoiding Danger On Deadly Streets

I guess what makes the horror-movie genre so appealing to studio executives is that if you have a film that is cheap, easy to make, and becomes a hit, you can follow it up with a sequel as quickly as possible to capitalize on the original’s success.  It worked for “Paranormal Activity” (three sequels and a spinoff since its 2009 release, and another sequel is set for 2016), 2011’s “Insidious” (a sequel was released last year, and a third installment is scheduled for May 2015), 2004’s “Saw” (six yearly sequels from 2005 to 2010), and even the creepy Annabelle doll from last year’s “The Conjuring” is getting her own movie, which will be released this October.

Last year, the genre found a hit with James DeMonaco’s home-invasion horror film, “The Purge.”  The story focused on a family defending themselves against a group of killers during a one-night-a-year murder spree that’s sanctioned by the New Founding Fathers of America.  It made a decent amount of money, which led to this second installment, “The Purge: Anarchy,” coming out a little over a year later.

DeMonaco returns to direct, and while it’s not at all as scary as it should be, the use of different characters and a new location make it an occasionally passable sequel.  

In 2023, one year after the events of the first film, the annual Purge is about to commence.  In the city of Los Angeles, Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez), a couple, have to abandon their car when it breaks down on a deserted street, all the while being followed by a gang of purgers.  

Meanwhile, Sergeant Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) is determined to find and kill the man who’s responsible for his son’s death.  While on the road, he saves a mother, Eva (Carmen Ejogo), and her daughter, Cali (Zoë Soul), from a group of armed purgers.  After the three come across Shane and Liz, Leo promises to protect the four individuals as he navigates them through the city as they attempt to survive the deadliest night of the year.

Some of the characters in the original film were irritating in their behavior and actions, but those in this sequel are far less annoying.  Although the characters are predictably underwritten for this kind of film, they are at least given a tad more depth than those in the first installment.  Frank Grillo, however, gives the only performance that has some degree of memorability.

James DeMonaco wrote the screenplays for both films, and while the first suffered from the setting being limited to the main character’s house, this film benefits from an expanded location that allows you to see what’s happening on the streets.  This provides you with a better sense of the danger that goes on during Purge night.  The story, however, tends to get bogged down by the repetitive nature of the cat-and-mouse scenarios that play out during the film.

By focusing more on the outside world, the film also gives more detail of the sociopolitical factors behind the Purge, such as the richer citizens using this event to weed out the poorer citizens.  While this is interesting for a while, it gets rather overdone as the story goes on.

Unlike the original film, the sequel is structured more like an action-thriller than a horror-thriller, and because of that, there really aren't many scares to be had, but DeMonaco is able to establish a sense of dread in the film’s more tense moments.  If he ever gets a hold of stronger horror material, I’m sure he could make something better and scarier.

Right before the end credits, some screen text notifies the audience that there are 364 days until the next annual Purge.  In terms of this film series, I’m hoping “The Purge: Anarchy” is the last one.

Final grade: C

Once Trapped In Cages, the Apes Are Now In Control

In 2011, the “Planet of the Apes” franchise was given another chance to live on the big screen after Tim Burton’s forgettable 2001 remake of the original.  “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” directed by Rupert Wyatt, was a prequel that set up a sequence of new stories that would chronicle how Earth became overrun by apes.  Equipped with a fascinating story and striking visual effects, the film provided hope in the direction where this prequel series was going.

The story of the apes’ rise to supremacy continues in Matt Reeves’ breathlessly exciting prequel-sequel, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.”  He not only improves on the visuals and furthers the story into a bigger scope, but manages to make a film that’s even better than “Rise,” which was already great to begin with.

In the 10 years since the events of the previous movie, a viral drug that began as a cure for Alzheimer’s disease has caused a global pandemic and killed most of the world’s population, but has given advanced intelligence to apes who have been exposed to it.  As the remaining humans try to live on, apes have become the ruling species.  

In the devastated city of San Francisco, a large group of survivors (who are immune to the virus) are led by Dreyfus (Gary Oldman).  They are coming up on the last of their power, and their city will soon be in darkness.  Malcolm (Jason Clarke) convinces Dreyfus to let him lead a group, including his son Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and his partner Ellie (Keri Russell), into the forest outside the city, where they will convince the apes, led by Caesar (Andy Serkis), to let them stay for a few days while they attempt to fix a hydroelectric dam in their territory, which has the potential to be a long-lasting power source for the city.  The humans and the apes get along with each other, but that relationship is at a risk when the second-in-command ape named Koba (Toby Kebbell) begins to question Caesar’s compassion for the humans, and a power struggle soon puts everyone, both human and ape, in danger.  

Andy Serkis, a virtuoso of motion-capture performances, makes a kingly return as Caesar.  It’s a true cinematic wonder how he’s able to inject so much emotion into his character, despite the fact that it’s a MC role, and not his actual self onscreen.  Just as he has done with roles such as Gollum and King Kong, his success with interpreting these characters is more than a product of impressive visuals, but is also a new way to act for film.  With the way he’s committed to embracing this moviemaking technology to deliver excellent work, he gives one of the best performances in a summer tentpole this year.

Toby Kebbell provides the film’s other masterful motion-capture performance as the violent and war-hungry Koba.  Kebbell maintains an aggressive attitude throughout the movie, and really triumphs in presenting himself as the anti-Caesar.

Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Kerri Russell and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s characters are rather underdeveloped, but we still learn a little bit about them concerning what they lost in the 10 years since the virus outbreak, and they’re able to work their abilities, despite the somewhat limited material they’re given.

Michael Seresin’s cinematography has an abundance of bleak, yet gorgeous imagery, both in the ruined San Francisco and the forest home of the apes.  Although it’s all post-apocalyptic landscapes, they’re undeniably beautiful to look at.  
There are two shots in particular that are very memorable.  One comes in the sequence where the apes raid the city, which includes a long take where an ape overtakes a tank and rides on top as it hits a building.  I know I’m not doing justice in describing the scene, but you’ll understand its impressiveness when you see it.  

The other shot comes when Malcolm has to go into the city to find medical supplies, and must dodge a horde of apes in a thrilling long-take through one of the city’s buildings.

The screenplay by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver provides extensive detail on the societal structure of the apes and how they live as the dominant species, and adds to the characterization of the apes that was presented in “Rise.”  The apes have a set of rules to live by, continue using sign language (which is always neat to watch), are more accomplished at talking, and are skilled hunters, as exemplified in the opening scene.  This gives you an idea of how far they have come since the events of “Rise,” and it all leads to some very interesting viewing.  There are some holes in the narrative, as well as a few plot points to be continued, but those story threads will surely be further established in the next film.

Jaffa and Silver also wrote the script to “Rise,” and are accomplished in creating these stories detailing with how humans interact with intelligent beasts.  Seeing as they’re also two of the screenwriters for next summer’s “Jurassic World,” I’m very much looking forward to seeing them switch out apes for dinosaurs.  Even naming the main human character “Malcolm” could be a nod to Dr. Ian Malcolm, who is Jeff Goldblum’s character in the first two “Jurassic Park” films. 

Director Matt Reeves is someone with experience in telling stories that involve human characters coexisting in a world with strange creatures.  His first major film, “Cloverfield,” had a group of friends dodging a rampaging monster in New York City, and his second film, “Let Me In” (an American remake of the Swedish horror film, “Let the Right One In”), had a child befriending a young vampire girl.  He continues this storytelling trend by expanding the “Planet of the Apes” mythology in a narrative that places humans and intelligent apes in close proximity to one another.

The action sequences he creates have an abundance of sci-fi thrills, just like the Golden Gate Bridge scene from “Rise.”  The apes’ attack on the city is especially well-done and has some highly memorable visuals, especially those of the apes riding on horseback while wielding machine guns, which is something that must be scene on the big screen. 

Reeves is already signed on to direct the third installment, which is set for a July 2016 release.  Having created a sequel that exceeds the film that came before it, I’m looking forward to finding out how he plans to move the story forward, seeing as “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” crafts its ending to prepare you for a continuation of the narrative.

Caesar is a devoted leader, and I can’t wait to see where he brings his apes next.

Final grade: A-

Around the World for 17 Years, and Counting

As much as I enjoy sci-fi summer blockbusters, there’s something special about seeing a smaller, different kind of movie from that genre, even more so if it’s a piece of international cinema.  This allows you to see how directors from other countries approach a certain type of film.

When watching the indie sci-fi drama, “Snowpiercer,” I was able to get a taste of how South Korean director Bong Joon-ho works behind the camera in his English-language debut.  With an ability to meld stunning visuals with an inventive and stimulating post-apocalyptic story, Joon-ho gives us a gift of a movie that’s one of the finest contributions of the decade to the sci-fi genre.

In 2014, an experiment to help lessen the effects global warming throws the world into an ice age  that kills nearly all life on Earth.  As a result, the last of humanity is rounded up and placed on a train to live.  This train is powered by a perpetual-motion engine, and travels a railway that spans across the globe.  A class system is put into place, with the more affluent individuals being placed in the front cars, while the downtrodden are relegated to the cars towards the back.

Seventeen years later, Curtis Everett (Chris Evans), one of the back passengers, puts his plans into effect for a revolt, where he intends to lead a group of rebels to the front of the train to gain control of the engine and confront the train’s designer, Wilford (Ed Harris).  As Curtis and his group get closer to the engine room, the obstacles become more dangerous from car to car, and it becomes unlikely that many of the rebels will make it to their destination alive.

Seeing as Chris Evans is widely known for his role as Captain America, it was fun to see him break out of that mold and partake in a sci-fi story as artistic as this.  Although most of his performance just calls for him to be gruff and angry, it’s justified for the film because of what is character has been through after having spent half of his life in the back of the train.  After seeing this hardened side of him for a majority of the film, we’re given a scene in the last half hour where Evans’ character reveals a very dark segment of his past on the train, and you can tell that this piece of his life shatters him as he reveals it.

There are also some distinctive supporting performances throughout the film.  Tilda Swinton practically melts into her role as the stern and occasionally quirky Minister Mason, and her introductory scene is one of the film’s finest.  Alison Pill makes the most of her short screen time as a teacher in the school car who spouts her train-history lessons to her students in a manner similar to a crazed cult leader to a group of devoted followers.  There is also John Hurt as the sage-like Gillian, Octavia Spencer as Tanya, a brave and kind-hearted mother who joins the rebel group, and Ed Harris as the disarming and friendly Wilford.

Hong Kyung-pyo’s cinematography is something to be commended here.  The film has many impressive shots, but there are some that truly stand out, few of which occur in a brutally choreographed fight scene with Curtis and his troops going up against the train’s security forces.  One is a slow-motion long-take tracking shot where Curtis moves through the car, hitting away at different targets, and the way this is staged calls to mind the famous hallway fight of Park Chan-wook’s “Oldboy” (Chan-wook served as one of the film’s producers).

There are also some shots during the fight where, once the train is passing through a tunnel, the armed guards put on night-vision goggles to kill some rebels in the dark.  Of course, you worry for the protagonists in this scene, but that doesn’t make the POV shots any less praiseworthy.

Although the train serves as the film’s sole location, the cars are very different from one another, with all of them representing parts of a world that doesn’t exist anymore.  There’s everything from a greenhouse to a seafood bar to a classroom to a sauna to a dance club, but the one that is most memorable is the beautifully rendered aquarium car.

The screenplay by Bong Joon-ho and Kelly Masterson, which is based on the French graphic novel, “Le Transperceneige,” by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, scorches with its interesting characters, strange setting and the questions the story asks you.  I can’t go into much detail about what those questions are for fear of spoilers, but I can say that the big revelation at the end turns into an ethical conundrum that will have you ponder what you would do in that given situation.  Although the story does have a couple of plot holes concerning the logistics behind living in a perpetual-motion train, you're able to let your suspension of disbelief take over because of how inventive the movie is.

This is the first film of director Joon-ho’s that I’ve experienced, and I was able to see that he possesses an adept hand at creating stylish action scenes that are as gripping as anything you would catch in mainstream sci-fi.  He effortlessly sweeps you into this futuristic world that engages you in the characters’ journey, and establishes a mood of untiring tension as the narrative brings you closer to the engine room.

Much like last month’s “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Snowpiercer” is a non-sequel film that deserves to be given a chance because of how divergent it is from popular franchises.  I suggest you take two hours of your time to ride these rails.

Final grade: A-