Movies: The Purge Anarchy

Movies: The Purge Anarchy

Hi all! its been awhile but I was just settling into my new job and there wasn't really any nice movie to review about. The drought has ended however with the latest movie being the 2nd in the series! Yep. For those who don't know, the Purge Anarchy is actually a follow up to a previous movie called The purge. For those who don't know, here are the posters!

This is the previous one, simply called the purge
The next in the list is the one we are reviewing today which is

So i will excuse you if you cannot see the link! Its a drastic change in the poster design, from a real literal poster form to one with the traditional actors bad/good guys standing there in the front.

Which is apt because unlike the first movie, which actually focused on the event itself and how a single family kept themselves protected, now this movie focuses on something else. Is this new focus better for the movie? Well read on to find out!

Storyline 4.5/5

This movie is all about this! And honestly, i would say that it is done in a very good way. Basically there are two stories that are going on, one is about the main character in this movie, while the other is about the purge in general. The movie goes about this in a very good and clear way and it is never messy and keeps moving forward.

The movie has sufficient twists where it introduces more about this new world that they are in and keeps the entire show exciting all the way till the end.

It also does a fine job of keeping everything underwraps till its time to reveal it and honestly all the happenings in the movie are pretty believable in what you would expect the world to be logically should such a occurrence really come into play.

Character 4/5

There is some particular focus on character and their background and explaining why they do the things the way they do... in fact this movie also explains quite a bit on the background of certain groups of people and what they decide to carry out during the purge itself. This adds a lot of good entertainment content to the audience as they are able to identify which kind of persons they will be like should the purge really happen and its really engaging in that sense

All the possible types of characters that were introduced is also highly probable to exist in the real world should something like this happens and this adds to the immersion value.

Of course many groups were just introduced for a very short bit of time and they could very well have some little teaser or entertainment value but i guess that would be a time constraint for the movie. Nonetheless it also leaves the possibility of expanding further into a 3rd movie.

Cinematography 4/5

There are really some good shots taken in this movie. High up shots to highlight how empty the streets are and even some close up perspective shots that are expected of an action movie. Only this movie actually did incorporate these shots into the movie that really added a lot to the immersion and entertainment value.

Music 3.5/5

I might have gotten lost in the storyline of the movie that I did not really notice whether the music was there. But I guess it should have been or else I would have noticed the lack. Sound effects were really strong in this movie though and it lend quite a bit to the impact.

Spectacle 4.5/5

This movie did really well in the spectacle department. It introduced a new world properly and combined the storyline focus with good action and it was above all, very believable. This movie has good source content to work with and the movie did a good job of telling the audience everything in the time constraint given.

It did a good job of being a thriller also keeping the audience intrigued and glued to the seat. This is probably a good example of a way a movie should be made.

Overall

Story 4.5 (Very intriguing story even for those who saw the first one due to the different story telling angle. It's a interesting new world to introduce)
Character 4 (Good background for those who were very important, a few groups could have used a bit more elaboration)
Cinematography 4 (For a movie that didn't actually have action as its utmost focus, it did well in putting in quite a few exciting bits.)
Music 3.5 (Had good effects, didn't really notice the music)
Spectacle 4.5 (Very good way to do two genres namely the action as well as storyline genre. Kept the movie exciting all the way)

Overall 4.1 (It's a good movie, and will appeal well to the general audience. Only one it won't appeal to is those who are super easily frightened. None the less you should be able to appreciate everything this movie has done and even at the end, it keeps you thinking.. what if one day this is our reality?)

I would honestly recommend this for those who want something to do. You probably cannot really go wrong with a movie like this.

Movies: The Maze Runner

Movies: The Maze Runner

It's sometimes quite interesting how they transfer some games that we played such as games like battleship and convert them to the big screen. Mazes are nothing new to us, we probably played this when we were young and had a pencil. So did the producer manage to make full use of this ever so familiar maze concept that we have in our minds and boost it into the big screen? Read on to find out!

Storyline 3.5/5

These movies with a fixed focus such as the maze in this case, will also have the free reign of how to go about fleshing out the background as well as the reason for having this maze.

The movie starts with the introduction to this new world but doesn't give any reason for its existence and what is really happening. It intentionally keep things vague and the first chunk of the movie just explains what is life inside the maze like. Then it moves into the maze itself and what happens inside before finally using the end part to explain the origin and future of the maze.

To prevent spoilers which is important because this movie is all about storyline, I have to be vague in my description and yet still be able to convey to you whether this movie has a good storyline.

All in all, in my opinion, this movie has a solid story in the beginning as it moves from situation to situation but towards the end, everything comes crashing down especially at the explanation of the maze itself as it hardly makes sense. Maybe book readers will find it easier to understand but for me at the end, the reason for this maze existence is strange.

Yet this movie still gets a 3.5/5 because of the fact that they have many different focuses through out the movie and there are various twists here and there that keeps the story engaging although not always logical.

It's a show with a lot of links that you might need to draw yourself however, and as such you may need to think a bit more then your traditional movie. As such also, the pace might be slower then the usual action flicks out there because remember, this is not an action film.

Characters 3.5/5

This movie mostly focuses on the main character as he tries to understand his past and what the maze is for and how to get out of it. This would mean that one character is also the maze itself and hence there is less time used for all the other people in the movie.

Nonetheless, important characters are somewhat fleshed out and if you see the movie itself, these characters are like the girl and the mazerunner guy which could have had more background or support for why they act the way they are. There's only like 2 characters with a bit more back story but at least all the rest of the characters in the movie are distinct in some small way which is good.

All in all, there are some characters that you will end up somewhat sympathizing which works well for this movie but they could have made it even more heart wrenching.

Cinematography 3/5

Its not an action movie but there are some good epic shots here and there. One issue however is that some scenes are particularly dark and also too close up that you don't really know what is happening which is detrimental to the enjoyment of the movie.

In terms of the thriller effect, its quite well done and will keep you strapped to the seat if the scene wasn't too dark in some occasion.

Music 3/5

Didn't really notice this particularly in this movie and have no recollection of whether it was used to build up suspense or anything like that.


Spectacle 3.5/5

In the aspect of storyline and introduction of a new world situation to the audience, as well as the usage of the maze which is the critical part of the movie, this movie did MOSTLY the right thing all the way until they tried to explain the presence of the maze. Fortunately this part is far into the movie which meant that it would be bugging your mind throughout the movie so it works in the movie's favor. Had enough twists also and is generally believable.

Did a good job of being a thriller with a lot of exciting and suspenseful scenes overall to keep the audience glued to the seat although there are sections which are somewhat slower and slightly too draggy..


Overall

Storyline: 3.5 (Was fine, believable and coherent with sufficient twists till the end when suddenly they tried to explain the maze in a very strange way)
Character: 3.5 (Focus was on the Maze as a character as well as the main character, side characters were somewhat fleshed out and you might empathize slightly but there is many room for improvement)
Cinematography: 3 (Thrilling scenes were generally well taken until the dark night scenes where you might actually lose track of what was happening which is sad and a waste)
Music: 3 (Didn't really notice this at any point of the movie but was not a detriment to enjoyment)
Spectacle: 3.5 (Movie focus was probably storyline but it somewhat crashed at the end. Still a above average thriller)

Overall: 3.3 (I guess it would be a fair score for this movie. Action lovers might not fully enjoy this movie unless you also like thrillers. Try not to expect too much with regards to a proper explanation of why was all these happening. You will never really know why even all the way to the end. Instead just try to keep your focus on the escape of the main character and how it is done. Try not to be too critical and you probably can enjoy this movie. It's pretty long too which is good in terms of money efficiency. You won't dislike this movie but it might just fall slightly short of being a fully satisfying experience.)