Jun 7 2013

The Internship

Finding themselves obsolete in today’s world of digital devices, two salesmen Billy and Nick (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson) are in the difficult position of rebooting their career in their mid-forties. Laughing in the face of adversity the two decide to grab the bull by its proverbial horns and become interns at tech giant Google. Luddites to their new peers, proving their worth and value will not come easy; on the other hand, perhaps their life skills and years of mistakes can come in handy. The end goal is jobs for their team, but will these two tech noobs find themselves too late too old and too slow at the game?theinternship Partially written by Vaughn, The Internship continues on the familiar trajectory of every other Vaughn/Wilson film, average guy/buddies are challenged but must rise to the occasion to beat their short comings, all the while winning with the ladies, sort of. So yeah, fresh story? No. But, that hardly matters as the familiar chemistry continues to play out with entertaining snarky fast humor. 70’s and 80’s references a plenty the two strike the undeniable chord of charm, these are the guys you’d like to have a few beers with, the stories you could all tell right? And, unlike many of today’s new humorists, despite the potential to go dark and be mean spirited with their comedy, at every turn Vaughn and Wilson pull up on the yoke to keep their wings aloft and above the muck, well done gentlemen. A bit part from Rose Byrne doesn’t hurt either, just saying. Entertaining and fun. The Internship is rated PG-13.


Jun 7 2013

The Purge

The great United States of America has been reborn and the year is 2022. Crime, unemployment, and homelessness are at all time record lows thanks to the new founding fathers. The catch? Once a year all citizens are allowed to release their hatred, criminal instincts, and violence for a 12 hour period known as “The Purge”– no laws, no aid, just pure animal rage, releasing the beast within. The working theory being that The Purge allows for a necessary release and allows us to remain civil with each other throughout the rest of the year. But crime can be big business too, and for James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) crime has been very profitable, you see James sells security systems designed to protect the wealthy from the madness of The Purge. Protected in their fortress like home on the night of the purge James, his wife Mary (Lena Heady), and kids Charlie and Zoey (Max Burkholder and Adelaide Kane) are set for the night. But, when an expected turn of events brings a bloody stranger (Edwin Hodge) begging for help and mercy to their doorstep the Sandin’s have no idea of what they’re getting involved with. What was supposed to be an easy night just got infinitely more difficult, how to survive?thepurge A satirical and pointed mirror of our current society shines throughout Director/Writer James DeMonaco’s latest offering adding up to an effective suspense/thriller/action crossover; a message to illustrate that our biggest enemy may in fact be ourselves. Conceptually the story may not be the freshest idea on the block, but good old scares, including things that go bump in the night and lumps that lurk in the dark still prove to be effective plot devices. Acting from the ensemble feels about right, add in a few extra little twists and you’ve got a pulse changing ride. Clocking in at a brief 85 minutes of runtime this flick doesn’t overstay its welcome either. Fun for the thrill seekers, The Purge is rated R.