Thinking beyond the stabbings, and shootings, The Purge, induces thought about the question of purported innate human agreession. Is our essential nature, Mother Theresa or Jeffrey Dahmer? Or is human nature complex? And is the solution to this problem of human aggression simply allowing an uninhibited expression of it. Would there be a significant decrease in crime if such a legislation were promulgated? The Purge says yes, but provides a caveat about the motives for purging. Class prejudice is the main caveat. The wealthy class sociopaths hunt the "swine" or the poor, to purge their hateful feelings of the impoverished class. The poor, too impecunious to buy protection are more vulnerable during the 12hour purge than the wealthy. From this perspective, the purge in its truthful objective, is an initiave to exterminate the impoverished class through legislation, and some argue that war in part, is such an effort, to recruit the poor to die in battle.
Universal Pictures
The Purge is not a horror film. It's a thriller with tons of suspense, that has you cheering when a bad guy goes down, but there is one supposed bad guy that becomes the hero. The writer makes an awesome point, that challenges a very common stereotype, clarifying, sometimes our economic class, is something that happens to us, and not something that we choose, and people should not be judged based on their economic status.
This was a good thriller that had all the teenage girls in my theater screaming. Great concept film with an awesome surprise toward the end of the film. I liked it. I'll give it a 79. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.
After Earth is essentially a creature feature film with depth, involving the basic human emotion of fear. Fear is powerful, and can be debilitating, and when facing a monster, fear can prevent you from slaying that monster, whether that monster be drug addiction, weight loss, depression, or confessing feelings to the object of one's affection. But in Kitai Raige's (Jaden Smith) case, he had to eventually fight an actual giant monster, that can literally smell his fear. These types of films ordinarily feature plenty action, and while there was action in this film, it was not over the top. I would describe After Earth as calm, suspenseful, and engaging, but with a production budget of $130 million, there could have been a little more action, but in now way was this film a disappointment. Shyamalan's trademark of steady suspense gave the film an ineffable distinct texture, minus the plot twist. Will smith plays, a stoic, and emotionally managed father, and I must say, quite convincingly, alongside his son, who skillfully acted a realistic expression of fear. There was a role reversal,where the son was a hero to the father, something possibly every father hopes for.
Columbia Pictures
Overall, the film was entertaining, well directed and produced, and the utility of the film, is worthy of mention, as it can be interpreted as motivational, to inspire people to elevate above fear, and overcome obstacles to achieve their goals. Solid. I'll give it an 80.
This latest release was just as good as the previous release. Dom's crew had a very formidable adversary that was well organized, and had far reaching connections, including the FBI. Despite their adversary's commendable organization, Dom's crew had the upper hand through strong familial ties, and improvisation. Letty's re-introduction was well crafted, and plausible, but still heart breaking somewhat because of her condition, but Dom's strong commitment to family made Letty's re-introduction worthwhile. Action, there was plenty of it. This time it was nice to Diesel and Rock team up against a rather large man that occupied the space of three people. The scene on the highway was very well directed, and the pace of the film was just right, no lag.
Universal Pictures
Although the highway scene made my heart race, I really liked the final scene of the movie with the cargo plane. There was so much going on in that scene. There was about three fights happening at the same time on the plane. Outside of the plane, the rest of the crew was trying to prevent it from taking off, all while Dom and Hobbs and everyone else was inside the plane. This was a great blockbuster, that definitely did not dissapoint. I can't wait to see what Jason Statham is going to bring to the next one. I'll give it an 89. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com .
How much of our human bonds are based on the goods and services that we have in common? Do some people become friends because they enjoy Pizza Hut instead of Papa John's? Or do we befriend certain people because they are trendy and fashionable? The items that we purchase are not simply goods that are necessities for subsistence; the goods that we purchase are indicators of lifestyle. The opulent class buy goods that indicate their stratum in the economic hierarchy, and the same applies for the not so opulent class. Regardless of class, what we buy sends signals to the rest of society, as to what our hobbies are, our favorite sports team, and whether we are punk rock or hip-hop. The Joneses makes the point how the fascination with material items can compromise the integrity of the bonds people form, and jeopardize the formation new bonds.
Perhaps it is part of our evolutionary penchant to witness hero archetypes contend for supremacy in strength, for strength means advantage for a species to claim resources for survival. The human instinct, or drive to see boxers, wrestlers, and super heroes in this case, fight, ostensibly satisfies the yearning to witness a skillful display of strength on a basal primitive level that acknowledges ruthlessness as fundamental for advantage. In a tribal setting, if Batman was a leader of a tribe marching into battle, and if Wolverine was the leader of the opposing tribe, who would be the better leader or the likely victor ?
BatInTheSun
Comic book fans will recognize Batman's ability to stratergize, fight, and think critically, which indeed are great leadership qualities. Batman's achellie's heal is that he is absolutely human. Wolverine istemperamental, near indestructible,and also knows how to fight. Bothheroes seem to havesuitable qualities for survival, but which hero would have the advantage in securing resources for his tribe to survive and thrive?
