Captain America: The Winter Solider

 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Starring Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Redford, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emily VanCamp, and Toby Jones

Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B+

Click here for my prior RyMickey Rating review

Movie Review - The Purge: Anarchy

The Purge: Anarchy (2014)

Starring Frank Grillo, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, Kiele Sanchez, and Zoë Soul

Directed by James DeMonaco

The Purge: Anarchy picks up one year after the original Purge storyline, although the two films share no connection other than the overarching theme of "The Purge" -- a once-a-year twelve-hour period in which American citizens can commit any crime without worry of legal ramifications.  I found the first film to contain an interesting concept but the execution in the story and direction were huge disappointments.  Needless to say, seeing as how the director-screenwriter James DeMonaco returned for a second go around here, I had no hopes for this one -- particularly considering that 2013's The Purge landed on my Worst of 2013 list.

In Anarchy, DeMonaco fleshes out the overarching governmental aspects of The Purge while at the same time nicely balancing a story about a quintet of people who are forced to face the 2023 Purge head-on on the streets of Los Angeles.  We've got a father (Frank Grillo) bent on revenge towards someone who wronged his family, an economically struggling mother and daughter (Carmen Ejogo and Zoë Soul) who want nothing to do with The Purge but are drawn into it by a seemingly random act that perhaps wasn't so random, and a bickering couple (Zach Gilford and Kiele Sanchez) whose car breaks down mere minutes before the start of this year's Purge.  Rather surprisingly, all of these characters' storylines work and although they certainly aren't deep or particularly fascinating, they are a significant step up from the original The Purge which I faulted for some ridiculous plot holes that ruined that initial experience.  In addition, as I previously mentioned, DeMonaco begins to detail the governmental push behind the Purge, hinting at the fact that the government is utilizing this horrid event to cleanse the country of its poor since the underprivileged are the ones taking part in the event the most.

While The Purge: Anarchy is definitely an upgrade from the last film, DeMonaco's script still feels a little bland considering the intriguing concept.  Despite the twists concerning the US government, the story involving the quintet of characters is really just a ninety minute-long cat-and-mouse chase as they try and outrun those Purgers who are hunting them down.  Fortunately, the actors bring a surprising amount of heart and believability to the flick with nary a one of the main five being disappointing.  They certainly elevate their characters beyond the token roles they've been given.  Overall, color me surprised that this franchise improved in its second go-around and has me interested in the third installment.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Disconnect

Disconnect (2013)

Starring Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Scarsgård, Max Thieriot, Colin Ford, Jonah Bobo, Norbert Leo Butz, Haley Ramm, Kasi Lemmons, and Aviad Bernstein

Directed by Henry-Alex Rubin

Disconnect is one of those movies where a bunch of apparently unrelated storylines have tenuous connections that allow the players from one tale to have interactions with players from another tale.  I typically really like these kinds of films and while Disconnect generally works, it's not nearly as deep and profound as it aspires to be.  Taking on the internet, Disconnect attempts to tell us that we enter this (not so) newfound technological breakthrough at our own risk -- but is that really new information for us?  Aren't we all aware that bad folks are ready to prey on us online?

Still, despite the obvious, we are treated to some good stories here.  The best involves a young high school kid named Ben (Jonah Bobo) who just so happens to look at two of his classmates Jason and Frye (Colin Ford and Aviad Bernstein) in a disdainful way as they play a trick on someone in a mall.  Jason and Frye get ticked off and decide to get back at the shy introvert Ben by befriending him on Facebook with a fake female profile.  Ben finds himself falling for this fake profile as Jason and Frye continue escalating the relationship until Ben is eventually humiliated at school.  Needless to say, the humiliation ends in tragedy, changing forever the lives of Ben, his parents (Jason Bateman and Hope Davis), and Jason and Frye.

Another major story revolves around a news reporter (Andrea Riseborough) who investigates and befriends a young man (Max Thieriot) who was willingly hired to work on an internet porn site catering to those wanting to video chat with young men and women.  The final tale focuses on Cindy and Derek Hull (Paula Patton and Alexander Scarsgård), a couple who recently lost their only child.  While Derek tries to suppress his grief by online gambling, Cindy has taken up visiting grief community websites where she befriends a guy who says he recently lost his wife.  When the Hulls find their credit cards maxed out and their savings depleted, they begin to investigate whether Cindy's online "friend" is the culprit.

While all of these stories are perfectly acceptable and never teeter into "boring" territory, they also fail to be fresh.  I couldn't help but feel that I'd seen all of these tales told before on daytime television.  Thankfully, the acting ensemble is all pretty great from the youngest actors to the oldest ones and they elevate the material beyond the obvious.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+