Step 7: Envision a "Better" America

Quick Points

Original vs. Sequel
You're lost on the streets versus being lost in your house on the night of the Purge. Yeah, it's gonna be better.

Favorite Character
IMDb has him listed as Sergeant, played by Frank Grillo. I don't think they ever said his name in the movie. I called him Batman.

Soundtrack/Score
Creepy, like you'd expect it to be.

Fright Factor
It's terrifying in the idea that people would actually come up with this as a solution to the problems in America, not so much in the "don't go down that way, the monster's going to jump out and get you!"

Once a year, for an entire night, the American people are allowed to just go crazy without any sort of consequences. Everything is legal, including murder. This is the Purge.

James DeMonaco's follow-up to the 2013 dystopian thriller The Purge dives just a little bit deeper into the America that could allow such chaos to plague its cities, while still providing plenty of action. The Purge: Anarchy follows five characters who, for one reason or another, have found themselves outside on this terrible night and must work together in order to survive until dawn (and by working together I mean following whatever Sergeant tells them to do). Along the way, they discover that the wealthy and government officials can be just as cruel (if not more so) than the thugs roaming the streets.

This movie really gets you thinking about the problems America's going through right now--high crime rates, overpopulation, poverty, ect. Though it's just plain creepy that someone can come up with a solution such as the Purge, I'm not above praising the movie. In a way, it is a lot of senseless violence (which horror movie fans have come to expect), but at the same time, it's justified senseless violence. So if you're looking for a horror film that will actually make you use your brain, this is a good one to see.

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Step 6: Remember the Classics

Quick Points

Happy Birthday!
Today marks the 30th anniversary of The Neverending Story's theater debut.

Soundtrack/Score
Who doesn't love The Neverending Story's theme song? It's got such a catchy beat! And the rest of the music is just so emotional.

Movie vs. Book
Yes, the movie about a book is based off of a book. And though I own the book, I've actually never read it, so I can't actually tell you.

Animatronic Puppets
Better than some of the CGI we now have.


Wolfgang Petersen’s movie adaptation of Michael Ende’s book, The NeverEnding Story, has continued to entrance me since the age of five. With its unique style of storytelling, interesting characters, and deep social issues that a young child could never truly comprehend, the viewer becomes so engulfed in the movie that they actually become Bastian Bux (played by the adorable Barret Oliver). 

The story takes place in a school's old storage room. Yup. Bastian teaches kids the value of skipping class to read a book that he stole from bookstore owner Coreander (played by Thomas Hill, who, by the way, died here in Indiana in 2009 ohmygodIcouldhavemethim!). But Bastian has a good reason for doing all this--he's had confidence issues ever since his mother died and he started being bullied, so he latches onto the confidence of the heroes in his favorite books. The latest page-turner Bastian's found in his possession is a book called, you guessed it, The Neverending Story, which follows the young hero Atreyu (wonderfully performed by Noah Hathaway despite him being a white boy playing an Indian) as he travels across the magical world of Fantasia in search of the one thing that can stop an invisible yet powerful entity called The Nothing from ripping apart his home.

While I won't give away the ending, I will say that this movie shows us all, regardless of our age, how powerful our imaginations can be and how important it is to just believe in your own hopes and dreams. Everyone should have watched this film as a child, but if you were unfortunate enough to miss out, I highly recommend you watch the movie with someone who grew up with Bastian and Atreyu and the Childlike Empress and Mr. Coreander and Falcor and the Rockbiter and all the other crazy and amazing characters in The Neverending Story. Since the film is 30 years old today, the lack of special affects and old-movie-feel of the film may detract from a new viewer's enjoyment of the show, but if you're watching it along with someone who's never let their imagination leave Fantasia, you can't help but let your own mind wander into this mystical, inspiring land. 

On a side note, never ever bother watching either of the two sequels! :)

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Step 5: Go See a Kick-Ass, Action-Packed Sci-Fi

Quick Points

Soundtrack/Score
This movie had a soundtrack? I couldn't hear it over all the explosions! Listening to it separately--I give it a "Meh." The song on the trailer is the only memorable one.

The Aliens
Totally bad ass, and how they function together is very unique.

Special Effects
Also bad ass. Gotta love the suits.

Time Traveling
Executed very well, and surprisingly doesn't get boring after repeating the same day over a hundred times.


When watching the trailer for this movie, one might reflect back on the 2011 sci-fi thriller Source Code. While Doug Limen's Edge of Tomorrow features aliens on a European battlefield instead of terrorists on a train, the idea of a US military man having the ability to repeat the same day over and over again until he can stop the bad guy is the same. Viewers will be happy to know that despite this glaringly obvious similarity, this latest time loop film is completely it's own unique movie.

In lieu of spoiling just how Tom Cruise's Major Cage comes to posses the ability to restart the day, I'll just say that Cage is a pretty terrible soldier at the beginning of the movie. With the help of love interest Rita Vrataski (an awesome "Woman Power" character portrayed by Emily Blunt), and, of course, plenty of time to practice, Cage's character develops into a strong, determined hero who's not afraid to crack a joke here and there despite the severity of the situation (a nice bonus for an action science-fiction movie).

And the situation is pretty dire. It's your traditional "aliens land and try to take over Earth" story, and while they never really get into why the extraterrestrials are there, the writers did a great job of creating a unique way for the aliens to work together and fight, making it all the more difficult for Cage and Rita to save the day. The best stories are those where you think to yourself "There's no possible way for them to win this," and (spoiler alert) while there's just a touch of Disney-happy-ending-magic in this film, Edge of Tomorrow still packs a powerful kick-ass, bodies flying everywhere ending. Definitely worth a viewing.

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Step 4: Watch Channing Tatum *Fangirl Sigh*

Quick Points

Original vs. Sequel
I don't remember laughing that much during the first one (in fact, I don't remember much of 21). 22 had me cracking up, though, so I'm going to go with sequel!
  
Soundtrack/Score
Comedy movies rarely have good soundtracks--this movie is no exception.

Favorite Scene
When Tatum runs around the Jump Street headquarters after a hilarious plot twist is revealed (you'll know the scene).

Is Channing Tatum hot?
Yes. Yes he is.

I wasn't going into this movie with high expectations. Yes, I think Channing Tatum is cute and performs well in these kinds of roles. Yes, Jonah Hill can be pretty funny. And yes, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are awesome because they made The Lego Movie. But the first Jump Street just didn't grab me when I watched it back in 2012, so I wasn't expecting the follow up to be much better.

Every once in a while, though, you get a sequel that's better than the original, and the fact that 22 Jump Street acknowledges that it's a sequel that, by all intents and purposes, probably shouldn't exist helps initiate this movie into the elite frat house whose members include Shrek 2, Terminator 2 and frat president The Dark Knight. The characters, especially Ice Cube's Captain Dickson, are constantly ripping on how much money they've spent on this new case that's supposed to be the exact same as the first one, which creates a lot of laughs.

Unfortunately, they're not joking too much when they say it's the same case. The basic plot's very similar to the first movie, so most of the show is your typical "try to find clues while making clowns out of ourselves" routine. And while there is a twist to the end, it's not a very unique twist. So go ahead and gather a bunch of your comedy-enjoying, Tatum-loving friends, but don't spend a whole lot of money on this movie.

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