Yes/No Detroit

Every Purge movie I have seen gets creepier and creepier, and The Purge: Election Year is no exception. The first Purge , in 2013, surprised us all by being a massive box office success, and its follow-up, 2014's The Purge: Anarchy , was just as creepy as the first one. In Election Year, we do get one recurring character (Frank Grillo) but otherwise, per tradition, we get an entirely new cast in this film. Senator Charlie (Charlene) Roan is against the Purge, and always has been - the film opens with a clip of her younger self being held hostage on Purge night along with her parents and brother, and she was the only one to survive that night. She's now running for President, and is doing well in the polls; however, this year on Purge night, the rule that "level 10" political people cannot be murdered has now been revoked, so she's going to have to find a safe place to spend the night. Her head of security, Barnes (Grillo) is in charge of making sure her house...

The original Purge movie came out last summer, and it was an interesting concept: crime rates have actually gone down in America because of this one annual night, where any and all crime, including murder, is legal for 12 hours. I love dystopian movies and lit, and I liked the film as well, though I wanted more answers about the Purge's backstory. We don't really get any more answers in The Purge: Anarchy , but we do get a deeper look into the Purge and how terrifying it is for those who just want to stay home and stay safe. On Purge night, we start off with three stories that slowly convene into one. A mysterious man (Frank Grillo) is headed out in an armored car to kill the man that accidentally killed his son. A mother and daughter, Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and Cali (Zoe Soul) are going to stay home with their Papa (John Beasley). And Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez) have the misfortune of their car breaking down right in the middle of downtown, a few hours before ...

The Purge: Anarchy  is in theaters this Friday (July 18th ) and you can check back then for my review {or catch up on the first one here   and here }. Until then, though, I have a prize pack for one lucky reader  to win! Prepare for Anarchy by checking out the “5 Things To Know Before You Watch The Purge: Anarchy” Interactive GIFs. Move your mouse across the GIFs to control the scene! The New Founders of America invite you to celebrate your annual right to Purge. The Purge: Anarchy follows an unlikely group of five citizens who, over the course of the night, are hunted across the city in a kill-or-be-killed series of survival scenarios during the annual Purge.

I was intrigued by the premise of The Purge , which states that for one night - twelve hours - any and all crime is legal, and emergency services as well as police will not be active. It brings to mind many questions: would you participate in the purge? If you did, would it be something simple, like stealing, or something more serious, like murder? And would you be nicer to your friends and neighbors during the year, knowing that they could get revenge on you that one night if you were not? The movie attempts to answer some of these questions, but unfortunately doesn't give as much back story as I would have liked. James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) is a security systems salesman, and sales leading up to March 2022, another yearly purge, have been great. He and his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), recently added an addition onto their home, and their two kids, Charlie and Zoey (Max Burkholder, Adelaide Kane) are happy and healthy. They prepare to go into lockdown mode as they do every year for...

Universal Pictures presents The Purge in theaters everywhere on June 7! Would You #SurviveTheNight? The Purge is coming! The Purge follows one family over the course of a single night... From sundown to sunrise, for 12 hours, all crime is legal. Four people will be tested to see how far they will go to protect themselves when the danger of the outside world invades their home. I saw the trailer for this film a while back, and it has a unique premise: for one night, 12 hours only, you can do whatever you want. All emergency services shut down and I believe the government does as well. What would you choose to do? Would you commit a crime, or even watch while others do? Would you steal? Maim? Even murder? Official synopsis: If, on one night every year, you could commit any crime without facing consequences, what would you do? In an America wracked with crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activit...

I saw two movies in the theater this week, and I'm seeing Black Widow  in Dolby today, at the AMC Forum! I still wear a mask in the theater, just to be cautious, but I am enjoying getting back to seeing movies in theaters.  Island Lake Recreation Area, Brighton What I've been up to this week: Seeing movies in the theater.  As previously mentioned—last Friday I took the day off work and my parents and I saw the new Fast and the Furious  movie, at the EMAX theater at Emagine Novi (pretty much IMAX, they just called it EMAX for the Emagine "E" name). I would give that a 4 out of 5; some of the stunts they did were pretty crazy. On Monday, most people weren't working but I worked a bit and then saw The Forever Purge , which I would give 3.5/5. And today, I am meeting a friend and her family to see Black Widow  later at the AMC Forum, and we are also going to do UNOs for dinner—if you go to their website and sign up for their new e-club right now, they are giving awa...

2014 was a big year for movies, and both the Golden Globes (Jan. 11, NBC) and SAG Awards (Jan. 25, TBS/TNT) are coming up this month. Take a look back through my movie reviews from 2014 to see which you should definitely see, which you should save for a rainy day, and which you should avoid at all costs. Guide: * = Golden Globe award nominations (movie or actors/actresses) ** = SAG award nominations (movie or actors/actresses) (*/** = both) Movies with a + at the beginning = some of my favorites from the year. (link) next to a movie means you can purchase it on Amazon using my affiliate link, if interested. TOTAL MOVIES REVIEWED IN 2014: 95. (total movies seen, between DVD/etc, might be a bit more) YES movies The Imitation Game */** ( link ) Into the Woods */** ( link ) + Wild */** + Whiplash */** ( link ) Penguins of Madagascar  ( link ) + The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1  ( link ) Rosewater  ( link ) + Interstella...

I was in Rhode Island until Tuesday this week, and then I've been working the rest of the week. I have some fun plans tonight and this weekend though, and I'm hoping to get a bit more sleep, as well. South Kingstown (Matunuck) Town Beach, RI What I've been up to this week: Seeing a musical.  On Saturday, my aunt and I went and saw Mamma Mia!  at Theatre-by-the-Sea, in Wakefield, RI. The musical was great and the venue was super unique, too: it's an old barn that they've converted into a theater.  Seeing movies.  Last week, I saw Gotti , which was about average but pretty interesting since I didn't know much about John Gotti - I'd give it 3/5 stars. Last night I saw The First Purge , which I would give 3.5/5 stars - I'm a big fan of all of the Purge  movies, since I love dystopian movies (and could-be-real-life dystopian is also fascinating). Check out my previous Purge  reviews here . Cooking.  I ordered a Hello Fresh box for my aunt and I ...

I figured that  Kingsman: The Secret Service would be James Bond-esque, but it actually ended up being James Bond Jr. meets Kill Bill , and it was a highly entertaining ride throughout. Gary (Taron Egerton), who goes by "Eggsy," is a bit of a hooligan; when we meet him at the start of the film, he has just stolen a car, and is being chased by the police - while he drives the car backwards through the streets of London. When he ends up in jail, Eggsy calls the number on the back of a necklace he wears; he's released from jail, and met by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), who wants to give him a job. "Give" is a bit of an understatement, though: Harry wants Eggsy to "interview" for a job in Kingsman, a super secret CIA-esque group that is highly selective of its recruits. Eggsy will be competing against higher-educated peers for the job, as well, but it turns out Eggsy has a knack for the secret service life; which isn't surprising, considering his now-d...

I love movies that take modern technology and run with it, and  Nerve  is that, at its core - I'd describe it as  Gossip Girl meets Hunger Games meets The Purge , minus all of the killing - and as a millennial who uses social media a little bit too much, I really enjoyed it. Vee (Emma Roberts, TV's Scream Queens) is tired of living a sheltered life. Her best friend, Sydney (Emily Meade) just signed up for Nerve, a game that's described as "truth or dare, without the truth" - the game sends her dares to do, and if she does them, she gets money, as well as the chance to compete in the finals. Sydney wants Vee to sign up as a Watcher - part of what makes the game so popular, in that people record all of these dares in real time, and the person with the most Watchers advances - and Vee says she will, until an incident one day makes her rethink her life, and she signs up as a Player instead. Soon, the game pairs her with Ian (Dave Franco), and the two of them emb...

The Visit  is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on January 5th, as well as Digital HD on December 15th, and I have a copy for one of my lucky readers to win! I don't usually watch horror movies, but I saw the film back in September and liked it. More info: A family visit takes a terrifying turn when two siblings learn who Grandma and Grandpa really are in The Visit, a found documentary-style suspense thriller coming to Digital HD on December 15, 2015, and Blu-ray™ and DVD as well as On Demand on January 5, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The first collaboration from Academy Award®-nominated writer-director M. Night Shyamalan and Academy Award-nominated producer Jason Blum, The Visit Blu-ray and DVD are packed with exclusive bonus features including deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurette, and a suspenseful alternate ending. When Becca and Tyler are sent to their grandparents’ secluded Pennsylvania farmhouse for a weeklong stay, they quickly discover something is...

I'm not going to lie, it's been a LONG week. I started working from home on Monday, to self-quarantine—I took my laptop home on Friday, luckily, thinking I might need it—and I live by myself, so I haven't seen many people this week. I'm really hoping that I will only have to work at home for 2-3 weeks, but I have a feeling it might be longer than that. :( Ice cream flight from Browndog Barlor, Farmington, MI What I've been up to this week: Eating out, kinda.  I think it was Monday or Tuesday when Governor Whitmer decided that all restaurants will be carryout or delivery only, but on Saturday I had a last hurrah of sorts; I met a friend at Anna's House, in Farmington Hills, for lunch, and my parents I went to Basement Burger Bar and then Browndog Barlor, in downtown Farmington. I'm glad we did that because it's probably the last time we will get a proper sit-down meal at a restaurant in a while. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I did City BBQ takeout, t...

If you're a horror movie fan, you'll be pleased with this new post: I have a Blu-ray copy of Sinister 2  for one of my lucky readers to win. Both the Blu-ray and DVD are out today (1/12) in stores, as well. Movie info: Mysterious found footage reveals a series of gruesome murders in Sinister 2, the chilling sequel to the sleeper horror hit available on Digital HD on December 22, 2015, and on Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on January 12, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. The latest heart-stopping  tale from series co-creators and screenwriters C. Robert Cargill & Scott Derrickson (who directed the first installment), producer Jason Blum of Blumhouse (Insidious, The Purge) and director Ciarán Foy (Citadel), Sinister 2 on Blu-ray™ and DVD is packed with bonus features including filmmaker commentary, a peek behind the camera and deleted scenes that raise the fear factor to unprecedented heights. In the aftermath of the shocking events of Sinister, a pr...