Review: Ava DuVernay's 'Selma' starring David Oyelowo

There's a scene in Ava DuVernay's stirring, remarkably resonant Selma that reflects perfectly its relevance. Its 1965 and unarmed activist Jimmie Lee Jackson (Keith Stanfield of Short Term 12) is shot and killed at close range while peacefully protesting in support of voting rights. Those who know the story know the cop wasn't charged for more than forty years, denying Jacksons' family the justice it deserved. Sound familiar? Selma is already an amazing film, a vitally important film that never falls into standard biopic clichés. But coming out now as racial tension seems to be at a new high, Selma shows the true power of grassroots activism to affect real change when a cause is just.

There's a good reason why the film refers to the titular Alabama city and not Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) himself. Set in the months leading up to the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965, Selma is about the movement more so than the man. It shows the push for equality from the streets to the dining houses, from the church pew to the White House itself.  When the film begins King is just receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for his civil rights efforts, but that peace is contrasted by the deaths of four black girls in a 1963 bombing. The heinous attack brings startling focus to the reality of life for African-Americans, when their lives could be snuffed out at a moment's notice for no reason.

Violence is one thing, but King's real focus is the political and legal infrastructure that allows such actions to occur. Without the right to vote nothing else matters. Oprah Winfrey, in a small but pivotal role as Annie Lee Cooper, tries unsuccessfully to register to vote in Alabama only to face rejection by a racist putting her through an impossible impromptu quiz. But just because King and his supporters, which include Andre Holland as Andrew Young, Common as James Bevel, Tessa Thompson as Diane Nash, and Stephan James as a young John Lewis, can agree on the end result does not mean they agree on an approach. Help from President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) is slow going, despite their frequently combative conversations on the matter. King is shown to be a shrewd strategist, knowing when to step back and when to force the issue. A move to Alabama for a series of televised marches, which he knows will be met with violent resistance by racist governor George Wallace (Tim Roth), is the most effective way to bring global attention to the cause and force Johnson into action.

While the protest scenes are captured with urgency and energy by cinematographer Bradford Young, King's home life with wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo) is depicted in subtle, tense strokes. There's a tenuous dynamic of loyalty, love, acceptance that plays out between the two. She loves her husband, supports the fight he champions, but endures death threats that put their kids in jeopardy. Through the machinations of the FBI she's also keenly aware of King's infidelities, and at times we can see her weighing whether all the fear and heartache is worth it.

It's that personal touch DuVernay brings that makes Selma so special. She's perfected her craft through a pair of well-regarded dramas, I will Follow and Middle of Nowhere, but you'd never know this was her first time working on such a large canvas. She digs into the details that make King great without idolizing the man, making him more human than we've ever seen him in a film like this. One can't help but wish we could have spent more time with others crucial to the movement. This is one film that could have used an extra hour. It would have meant more time spent watching Oyelowo's commanding performance, one that he's been working up to for years. Attached to the role since back when Lee Daniels was on board to direct (thank goodness how that turned out), we've seen Oyelowo's profile and confidence build until it seemed nobody else could be more perfect for the role. He lives up to the heavy burden, giving the rare performance that more than meets King's stature. The soaring, iconic speeches will leave you breathless and inspired.


Most important is that Selma is truly worthy of Dr. King's legacy. So many biopics this time of year have great performances with stories that feel diminished, inconsequential. Selma is a true triumph; a vitally important film with a legacy destined to endure. What can't be ignored is the sad truth that much of the work King and others fought for was undone recently when the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. The greatest message Selma sends is that it doesn't matter how many years have passed, there is still reason to get out there and march.

 Rating: 4.5 out of 5

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First Images from Ava Duvernay's MLK Biopic 'Selma'

Despite two stirring, acclaimed dramas in I will Follow and Middle of Nowhere, Ava Duvernay has largely been overlooked as a major directing force. Her films have generally been smaller character pieces that don't make it beyond the art house, but her next film is poised to make some serious waves this year. We're talking Oscar-level waves. She's currently hard at work on the star-studded Martin Luther King biopic, Selma, and now the first images from it have arrived.

Once a project to be spearheaded by Lee Daniels, the Brad Pitt-produced film took over last year and assembled a cast that rivals (and kind of resembles) Daniels' The Butler. David Oyelowo stars as Martin Luther King, Jr., with Oprah Winfrey, Cuba Gooding, Tessa Thompson, Tom Wilkinson, Common, Andre Holland, Jeremy Strong, Carmen Ejogo, Keith Stanfield, Giovanni Ribisi, Alessandro Nivola, and many more joining him. The story will focus on King's efforts to secure voting rights for all, leading to the historic 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.

Selma opens in limited release on Christmas Day, then goes wide January 9th 2015. [EW]

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Review: 'The Purge: Anarchy' Starring Frank Grillo

When The Purge hit theaters last year it wasn't immediately identifiable as a Blumhouse production. There weren't any demonic spirits or evil poltergeists like in their small-budget smashes like Paranormal Activity and Insidious. But the film's ingenious, deviously brilliant premise and hefty profit margin were all the clues one needed to know the horror kings could have their next great franchise, but only if The Purge: Anarchy had the balls to confront its combative political themes head on. Fortunately for us, it does.

They say politics is a bloodsport and The Purge: Anarchy takes that idea to a whole new level of extreme. Limiting itself to a home invasion thriller kept writer/director James DeMonaco in check and away from the socio-political themes merely hinted at. But now he goes full rabble-rouser in a film that indulges in the excesses of violence while serving as an allegory for today's destructive economic climate. The basic premise is the same only now we finally get to see it played out in all its terrible glory. Thanks to a hyper-conservative government led by the New Founders of America, a single night of the year known as the Annual Purge allows for people to commit wanton acts of violence without fear of legal retribution. Basically, murder is legal and on that night roving packs of masked, armed thugs wander the streets looking for victims. The result is lower unemployment, lower crime rate....oh, and fewer of those worthless poor people who can't afford top notch security systems to protect themselves. Surely that couldn't be the point of all this, right? To wipe out the lower-class citizens to favor the wealthy?

In what quickly begins to resemble a new age version of The Running Man, we follow the enigmatic and vengeful Sergeant (Frank Grillo) as he dares to head out into the streets during the Purge. So right away you know he's a badass to brave that kind of madness, but his quest for revenge is sidetracked by saving waitress Eva (Carmen Ejogo) and her daughter Cali (Zoe Soul) after they are kidnapped by mysterious government agents. They've just seen their terminally ill father sacrifice himself to a wealthy family for a large sum of money, proving that the rich really do like to get their hands dirty....but only when it's to take advantage of the less fortunate. Also getting in his way are Shane (Zach Gilford) and Liz (Kiele Sanchez), a couple on the verge of separating who get stuck on the side of the road with nowhere else to go. The five must navigate the city streets and survive until the Purge ends in the morning, avoiding masked goons with enough firepower to take over a small country.

But DeMonaco throws more than just run 'n gun thrills into the mix, spinning a couple of compelling mysteries that pay dividends in the long run. The real cause for Sergeant's actions are left in shadow and color his every decision, especially when his companions start to become too much of a distraction. He's constantly at odds with the feisty Cali, who believes in the fiery rhetoric of an anti-Purge rebel group (led by Michael K. Williams) that resembles a faction of the Black Panther Party. While there are plenty of bullet-riddled bodies the physical violence is secondary to the nastiness of a system where the wealthy auction off poor people to be hunted down like prey. But DeMonaco, recognizing the parallels to the vast wealth disparity in our country today, makes it clear that it need not be this way, putting the weapons to fight back in the hands of the downtrodden. In one pertinent image, a wealthy white collar criminal is murdered and strung up as a warning to the upper class to watch their asses. As the lily-white power players and redneck gun nuts are made to look like dangerous clowns, DeMonaco perhaps goes a little overboard with his anti-establishment, anti-gun rhetoric. But the power of the message and the seamless way it is woven into an effectively rugged survival genre can't be ignored. Nor can it be understated just how much it means to have a genuine tough guy like Grillo in the lead role. He's been great in other movies before (like Captain America: The Winter Soldier) and it's about time he had a chance to shine on his own.

The Purge: Anarchy draws you in with promises of gore but hooks you with surprisingly insightful, uniquely American political activism.

 Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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New Trailer for 'The Purge: Anarchy' Starring Frank Grillo

When we talked to producer Jason Blum last year before The Purge hit theaters on the way to an impressive $89M run, he spoke a little about the mandate for a sequel. And basically it amounted to making things bigger, taking the violent concept outside of the "home invasion" arena and broadening it, and that's exactly what they may have accomplished with The Purge: Anarchy, which sees perennial tough guy Frank Grillo in the lead role.

James DeMonaco is back to direct this one, with Kiele Sanchez, Keith Stanfield, Carmen Ejogo, Zach Gilford, and Michael K. Williams co-starring. The central idea is pretty much the same with the government allowing one 24-hour period annually when all violent crime is legal. As we saw in the first film (which starred Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey) even hiding indoors can prove dangerous, but Grillo plays a character who braves the outside in a quest for revenge and the results are predictably bloody. Sadly, the political undercurrent that worked so well before seems to be missing but maybe it's part of the finished version we'll see in theaters.

The Purge: Anarchy opens July 18th.


The Purge- Anarchy EXCLUSIVE Trailer #2 (2014) - Horror Movie - Trailer Addict by Trailer-Addict

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It's a War Out There In New Trailer for 'The Purge: Anarchy'

It was less than a year ago when the horror geniuses at Blumhouse Productions found another small-budget success story in The Purge, banking $89M on a budget close to $3M. With that kind of money a sequel was quickly given the go ahead, and already we've got the second trailer for The Purge: Anarchy.

Starring Frank Grillo (who will be seen next week in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) rather than the departed Ethan Hawke, the film is again set against the backdrop of a national holiday in which all violent crime is legal. The last movie used the premise for a home invasion thriller, but Grillo isn't really the cower behind closed doors type. He's an action guy and it looks like his character is out for a little revenge. It makes for a different sort of movie than before, but the canvas has been expanded and that should be fascinating to see play out.

The Purge: Anarchy opens July 18th and co-stars Carmen Ejogo, Keith Stanfield, Michael K. Williams, Kiele Sanchez, and Zach Gilford.


The Purge: Anarchy - Theatrical Trailer (Official - HD) by Dread Central

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Michael K. Williams, Carmen Ejogo, and More Join 'The Purge 2'

Last summer's horror smash The Purge had a brilliant central idea that seemed ready made for further exploration. Basically one day a year all laws against violent crime are lifted, so that people can get all of the anger and hatred out of their system. The $3M-budgeted flick cranked out $90M, another low budget smash for Blumhouse Productions, and a sequel was quickly ordered with returning writer/director James DeMonaco. Now the cast continues to come together with four new additions, joining the previously cast Frank Grillo.

THR reports Michael K. Williams, Zach Gilford, Carmen Ejogo, and Kiele Sanchez have joined the film, which will take place in a similar setting as the prior film, although as Jason Blum told us some months ago it will be on a much larger canvas and go deeper into some of the political themes hinted at.  Williams is of course best known for HBO's Boardwalk Empire and The Wire, also landing a small part in 12 Years a Slave. Ejogo turned heads in last year's Sparkle remake, while Gilford is probably recognized from his years on Friday Night Lights. Sanchez starred in the deceptively brilliant A Perfect Getaway but she'll always just be the one who got buried alive on Lost because fans hated her character.  She currently stars in The Glades, a show that always seems interesting but not enough to actually follow.

The Purge 2 opens next year on June 20th 2014.

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