MOVIE REVIEW: THE PURGE : ANARCHY (2014).

“THE PURGE: ANARCHY” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

In 2013 JAMES DeMONACO wrote and directed “THE PURGE”.

It was a commercial hit. It was also a sleeper success, much to the chagrin of competitors who pronounced it as a wacky low budget movie.

The scares were genuinely good, and good things are never left alone.

So all over the world, copycats of this futuristic drama started to jump onto the lucrative bandwagon .

Which is why writer/director JAMES DeMONACO  returns with a vengeance to hit out at critics hard, those who tried to pin  him down in the previous chapter.

His new offering now harbors a new cast treading on his same safe formula on how to “purge for your soul”.

“The Purge: Anarchy”, the sequel to summer 2013’s sleeper hit that opened to No. 1 at the box-office, sees the return of writer/director James DeMonaco to craft the next terrifying chapter of dutiful citizens preparing for their country’s yearly 12 hours of anarchy”.

Storyline

A couple are quickly trying to get to their home before The Purge starts but as their car runs out of gas, the radio announces the beginning of The Purge. The exasperated couple have no choice but to leave their car.

A couple of meters away stand a group of Purgers on motorcycles. The couple escape from the clutches of the purgers. This is how the story begins.

You espy people scurrying  frantically to buy supplies to stock up their homes.

We are introduced to the ensemble cast such as a down-and-out waitress Eva (Ejogo), her daughter Cali (Zoe Soul), their elderly father, an estranged couple Shane (Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez) who are racing to Shane’s sister house before the official lock-down and finally, Leo (Grillo), a police officer who is wants to kill the man responsible for his son’ s death.

The government educates that the purge was created to help curb crimes.

However an anti-purge resistance group claims that the exercise is  a conspiracy to “knock” off  impoverished citizens who are the main victims during the annual purge.

The plot is chilling, clever and undeniably suspenseful. Sure.

You keep telling yourself that it is only just a game, but reality truly bites.

“THE PURGE: ANARCHY: is action packed and super gory that makes you want to scream as you watch the hapless innocents being butchered.

Above it all, there’s one incredulous question you would ask yourself:

Why are the people so darn stupid?

Why are they not staying in the sanctuary of their home?

Why are they still working or why are they roaming the streets endangering their lives during an emergency like this one?

Really. Just let the fools keep marching in.

RATING: 4 out of 5

Local Distributor: UIP MALAYSIA

(UNITED INTERNATIONAL PICTURES)

MOVIE REVIEW: A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES (2014)

“TOMBSTONES” POSTER.

One HELL of a GLOOM and DOOM sadistic THRILLER.

“A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

One of my colleagues used to be a die-hard fan of LIAM NEESON.

He’s still very much is.

For chills and thrills galore, this middle-aged actor never fails to deliver the pow-wow, my comrade gushes.

That is, until 2 years ago, TAKEN 2 was certified a critical flop, yet still maintaining the commercial success status.  It confirms that one bad bite does not speak for the entire apple.  

In  “A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES”, NEESON returns in top form, armed with his famous scowl and menacing glare. It is yet another of those “girl kidnapped, now go bash up the baddies”.

. Based on a 1992 novel, the film’s expounds a private detective who’s hired by a drug dealer to hunt his slain wife’s murderers.

Midway through his investigations, he learns that it is not the first time that these lawless men are commiting such hideous crimes and yet are uncaught by the police. Why?

Our story begins before the year 2000.

“A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES” offers nothing new in terms of characterization for NEESON.

He is still looking gaunt and depressed, tackling his cases calmly and effectively, shocking the balls off the bad guys, even relentless ransom demands over the phone with his daredevil attitude.

In “TOMBSTONES” he plays a self-employed private detective named Matthew Scudder, who’s a former cop trying to conceal his dark alcoholic past.

Viewers will have the pleasure to see him bursting into the crime scene, trying to solve crimes with his unorthodox  methods. NEESON is still in his usual element role as an action hero.

And it won’t be his last role.

LIAM NEESON is a brand that spells box office success!

 LOGLINE:

Set in 1990s New York, A Walk Among The Tombstones is a gritty noir that uncovers a violent city where corruption and violence fester.

 Scutter (NEESON) is roped in by an acquaintance to assist his elder brother, a yuppie drug trafficker Kenny Kristo (Dan Stevens). His wife has been abducted.

Kenny pays the ransom, but the kidnappers still butchers her to death.

Now he vows revenge.

The disturbing case grows more complicated as Scutter learns that the murderers ( David Harbour and Adam David Thompson) are specifically targeting the loved ones of drug dealers, knowing that these drug merchants would not want to get the Police involved. 

Using traditional investigative skills rather than muscle, he trains an Internet-savvy, homeless black teen named TJ (Brian “Astro” Bradley) to monitor his calls.

NO SPOILERS from here.

Go to watch this pow-wow movie if you wanna know the creepy answers.

“TOMBSTONES” directed by SCOTT FRANK is harrowing , bloody and will give you nightmares.

The tone-of-voice is chilling and somber.

It is an edge of your seat horror thriller that invites you over for a quiet evening of murder.

Cool.

RATING: 4 out of 5 (for sadism, brutality and mayhem).

LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR: GSC MOVIES

MOVIE REVIEW: THE SWIMMERS (Fak Wai Nai Kai Ther) THAI, 2014

THREE-SOME?

Oh No … We are the BEST of FRIENDS. (IF you BELIEVE).

I LOVE  HER, YOU LOVE HER, WE CANNOT SHARE.

SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE!

There’s NOTHING like a MOONLIGHT SWIM …

Far away from the madding crowd.

I feel my LOIN stirring.  I feel good. Shall WE …?

GOD HELP ME!

I am TRAPPED in my own

 vicious delusional WORLD!

I have a SEXY BOD, I know.

To CHOOSE between TWO SEXY HUNKS can pose a DILEMMA …

I can hear her SPIRIT crying for help.

 The DEEP BLUE is where I can FORGET ALL my WOES!

” THE SWIMMERS ” ( 2014) THAI Movie Review.

Hey, if you are the type who love to ogle at pretty boys and sunshine girls, then don’t miss out on this pretty movie.

It’s crafted for the bold, brazen and arty, packaged with a wisp of raw sexuality to affix your eyes onto the cinema screen for 2 hours.

“THE SWIMMERS” is stacked with all kinds of horrors.

It is also a taut psychological thriller with twisted revelations to keep you guessing from start to finish.

The titular swimmers are two best buddies competing in the varsity swim team. They are Perth (Juthawut Pattarakamphon) and Tan (Thonphop  Lirattanakhachon) .

 Perth fantasizes about sex with Tan’s girlfriend called Ice (Supatsara Thanachart).

Having successfully wooed Ice, both of them set out to enjoy one torrid night of sex.

No, they did not use the rubber (condom).

Ice eventually becomes pregnant and she commits suicide by plunging down from the highest floor diving board onto the empty varsity pool below.

If not suicide, then is it murder most foul?

Because it is touted as a  horror film, the female apparition eventually comes a-haunting.

The morale here is:

Please refrain from unprotected sex without using a rubber.

Should there be a leakage of sperm, you might get more trouble coming your way than you ever imagine.

The leads are not the star of this film.

Nope, the real stars of this movie are the tiny sperm, the tweeny-bit swimmers who deposit themselves inside a teenage girl creating an unwanted baby and generating consternation for everyone.

Ice’s mode of death is macabre, her body is splattered precariously at the bottom of the school’s empty swimming pool.

Suicide or murder? You guess.

 For all that is worth, Perth is now guilt-and-grief stricken, despite a couple of red herrings signifying that there’s more than meet the eye, and that are other culprits .

He is haunted by the girl’s spirit nevertheless.

His buddy Tan,who is also grieving and angry, is determined to uncover the culprit who’s gotten his girlfriend pregnant. Ironically, he asks for Perth’s help.

Directed by Sophon Sakdapisit the film rocks with spooky hauntings, gore and is a nail-biter of a terrifying whodunit.

So you think the bad will be punished for his misdeed?

THE SWIMMERS will provide this answer.

And the end result will shatter your senses and leave you breathless!

It is superbly scripted with fine acting from the movie’s young trio.

Don’t miss this great movie that ends with a diabolical twist.

 RATING: 4 out of 5

Local Distributor: GSC MOVIES

MOVIE REVIEW: ” FANTASIA – 愛瘋狂 ” (2014, MALAYSIA)

 An Erotic Aesthetic Movie that challenges your Mindset.

“I have to be NAKED in order to romp in the Nude.”

STORY 1

(LOVE in the BUFF)

Here … You can take your revenge on the sissy now.

I have this MAGIC POTION. It really works!

“SHE” (TEDDY CHIN) LOVES TO WIGGLE”. Ayoh!

YISE LOO plays dour-faced aerobic instructor FIT and she flies into a rage whenever she sees super sissy instructor MAN (TEDDY CHIN) around.

Yet they are destined to fall in love, thanks to a magical potion.

STORY 2

(A carbon-copy  SNITCH a la CINDERELLA style).

“Am I the GAL you DESIRE?”

SHE OOZES  SEX APPEAL, the type that gets you wet between your legs, in your wildest dreams.

You roll into bed with one …

and you WARM UP in the arms of ANOTHER.

This is crazy love, isn’t it?

This one is a complicated case. An Ad Man YI FEI (BILLY NG) falls for the attractive model he uses to promote his product. Sexual favors in return? Then go and watch the movie.

Little does he realize that this female mannequin called KATE BABY is a computertransformation of an innocent intern KATE (KOE YEET).

STORY 3

(a lukewarm spoof a la PHANTOM OF THE OPERA)

HELL knows no fury like a woman scorned is this last story.

NINE CATS played by AENIE WONG is an author enjoying rustic serenity to write her next novel. There, at a holiday resort, she bumps into her former school day bullies. She vengefully usesher magical fountain pen to “write them off”.

OLD FLAMES collide …

but FLAMES do not always IGNITE as you can see the pic below.

Murder most foul? Go examine your mindset.

PRESS CONFERENCE

(Event Photos courtesy of JUITA VIDEN).

“I am Film Director JASON KOK … (addressing the Press, pointing to the plaque on table). Thanks for Coming …. Now allow me to ROAR!”

The enthusiastic ENSEMBLE CAST striking a Pose with FILM DIRECTOR.

EVERYONE is READY to tackle the PRESS.

Fire Away, Folks!

Cutie beauty KOE YEET and her screen hunk BILLY NG.

(From left) YISE LOO, KOE YEET, AENIE WONG.

 TEDDY CHIN (Picture below RIGHT in red jacket) plays the “NAKED” Gym Instructor.

Question: Is it Possible for a super girlish man to love a female?

Just tickle the realm of your senses for your answer.

You will NOTICE that come rain or shine, KOE YEET is always beaming.

SWEET!

The comely ACTORS from the last Story (AENIE WONG, JEFFREY CHENG and DENNIS LAU) ribbing one another.

A jolly THREESOME?

Not on your Life!

Film Director JASON KOK promises us a jolly great time should we purchase a cinema ticket to watch his latest screen offering called FANTASIA.

This Malaysian movie is all about mind-over-matter.

Sure, you might laugh and cry simultaneously while you watch, he assures.

JASON KOK is a prolific director mostly on TV, whose recent ventures comprise of the award-winning AGE of Glory and THE IRON LADY to cite a few. His directing career hit off in 1996 and he has since not look back.

Lucky guy!

Let’s usher in the logline of FANTASIA:

Three extremely lovelorn damsels are seeking affection.

They are all attractive pussy cats in their 20’s to 30’s with such ridiculous names as  FIT, NINE CATS and KATE.

All of them come from different upbringing and pursue differing career goals. But you can’t really tell, as great minds think alike.

Nothing is going to get in their ways in their quest for true love, each aided by  magical objects such as a magical potion that can transfer you to be invisible, an image editing machine that can enhance your appearance and a fountain pen that can churn fantastic ideas into reality.

JASON the film director is looking into the avant garde genre, so he invites us to venture into his imaginary realm of sensual fantasies. He demonstrates to us that anything can happen in the mind. You just got to fantasize!

FANTASIA will bring you a breath of fresh comic air as a funny romantic comedy derailing love, sex and having to say  you are sorry.

The script is as powerful as it is understated.

GO WATCH IT FOR PURE LAUGHS!

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

LOCAL DISTRIBUTOR: GSC MOVIES