It's a busy time for new movies this time out for the weekend movie preview. There are five films opening in theaters and they run the gamut.
We've got horror-thriller with the sequel to The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy, comedy with Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz making a Sex Tape, Disney returns to the world of Planes with Planes: Fire & Rescue, Zach Braff finally releases a follow-up to Garden State with his Wish I Was Here and Brit Marling investigates the secret to our eyes, in I Origins.
Let's break it down.
The Purge Anarchy: The Purge was a surprise success in 2013 and the fantastic idea is truly represented in the sequel. The idea that all crime is legal for one night a year was limited by its locked-in-a-house premise in the first film. Now, with the action on the streets of Los Angeles, this fantastic story idea can breathe, as we reported in our The Purge: Anarchy review.
Frank Grillo stars as a man who is on a mission of vengeance. Someone killed his son and got away with it, so he is armed to the "T" and ready to kill. Then, he comes across some people who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, lucky for them, Grillo's character has a lot of heart. And our adventure of survival begins.
Sex Tape: Diaz and Segel reunite in a comedy that is not quite as good as their first pairing, Bad Teacher. They play a couple whose sex life has gone down the drain so they decide to tape themselves having sex to spice things up. When the tape gets uploaded to iPads that they have given friends and family, their journey to get them back begins.
As our Sex Tape review points out, there is a lot of comic talent here that is not utilized fully, including supporting players Ellie Kemper, Rob Corddry and Rob Lowe.
Planes Fire & Rescue: Dusty (Dane Cook) had a dream of moving beyond his crop-dusting world and becoming a world class air racer. He achieved that dream in Planes,and now he and Disney are back in a film that is even better than the first.
Dusty has to train to become an airplane firefighter to help his home airport, and the message of self sacrifice is one that should resonate so well with kids. And parents won't mind taking their kiddies to this one because of the onscreen thrills, humor and heart. As stated in our Planes: Fire & Rescue review, the addition of voice actors Ed Harris and Julie Bowen only further raises the game of this budding franchise.
Wish I Was Here: Braff took 10 years to do his follow-up to Garden State,and we wish we could say it was worth the wait. What he has given us is a story about a father and a son, but the son is too self-involved to see his world crumbling around him. Braff also doesn't use his players as well as he did in his first effort, most notably Kate Hudson as his wife. For more, check out our Wish I Was Here review.
I Origins: What a premise and what a movie. A scientist (Michael Pitt) is searching for an evolutionary connection in the human eye that could prove that there is no way that religion played any part in our creation. Brit Marling stars as his lab partner and the two embark on a journey that is explosive on so many levels. As reported in our I Origins review, this is one of the most thought-provoking movies of the entire summer.
Feel like staying in this weekend? Several titles have landed on digital download recently that can be seen when you watch Rio 2 online or watch The Raid 2 online..