As someone who has been a fan of The Purge series for the most part, I was rather interested to see where screenwriter James DeMonaco and director Everardo Gout were going to take this concept for The Forever Purge, and for the most part, they’ve succeeded in creating a horrific vision that taps into the division that is currently rippling through the sociopolitical landscape of the United States. There are definitely aspects of The Forever Purge that feel a bit heavy-handed at times, and it doesn’t quite have the same pulse-racing action set pieces we’ve seen in other entries, but, as a whole, The Forever Purge does an admirable job of continuing the franchise’s legacy of holding up a mirror to the issues that are currently plaguing society in America.
The Forever Purge introduces us to Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta), who...
The Forever Purge introduces us to Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta), who...
- 6/30/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
There aren’t many moments of levity in Everardo Gout’s “The Forever Purge,” but you’ll probably have a hearty chuckle when — at the end of this dystopian thriller about America devouring itself over political, economic and racial divides — the credits claim that “Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.”
Yeah, right.
The “Purge” franchise imagines a very near future in which rage is openly stoked by American politicians, the populace is heavily armed, and just enough people think that violence is the solution to their problems that it threatens the safety of the entire populace. The idea, as laid out by political party The New Founding Fathers, is to accept America’s violent nature and give citizens carte blanche to let off steam one night a year.
The reality of “Purge Night,” as revealed over the course of the franchise, is that it’s...
Yeah, right.
The “Purge” franchise imagines a very near future in which rage is openly stoked by American politicians, the populace is heavily armed, and just enough people think that violence is the solution to their problems that it threatens the safety of the entire populace. The idea, as laid out by political party The New Founding Fathers, is to accept America’s violent nature and give citizens carte blanche to let off steam one night a year.
The reality of “Purge Night,” as revealed over the course of the franchise, is that it’s...
- 6/30/2021
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
Drug War Diaries: Di Stefano’s Peripheral Take on Famed Drug Lord’s Activities
For those wishing to learn much of anything about famed Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, the logical place to start is not with Andrea Di Stefano’s feature directorial debut, Escobar: Paradise Lost, a starry depiction relegating its titular drug titan to the sidelines. True, there are aspects worthy of admiration, thanks mostly to moments with a paunchy Benicio Del Toro as the notorious “King of Cocaine.” But Di Stefano chooses to focus on the perspective of a token white outsider, presented in a formula used to design mainstream comedies—idealistic young man meets sexy young woman, inadvertently leading to his involvement with her ‘kooky’ familial environment.
In 1991, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Del Toro) has resigned himself to the fact he must turn himself into authorities. He rallies a small crew together, including nephew-in-law Nick...
For those wishing to learn much of anything about famed Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar, the logical place to start is not with Andrea Di Stefano’s feature directorial debut, Escobar: Paradise Lost, a starry depiction relegating its titular drug titan to the sidelines. True, there are aspects worthy of admiration, thanks mostly to moments with a paunchy Benicio Del Toro as the notorious “King of Cocaine.” But Di Stefano chooses to focus on the perspective of a token white outsider, presented in a formula used to design mainstream comedies—idealistic young man meets sexy young woman, inadvertently leading to his involvement with her ‘kooky’ familial environment.
In 1991, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Del Toro) has resigned himself to the fact he must turn himself into authorities. He rallies a small crew together, including nephew-in-law Nick...
- 6/25/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Grace is Gone: Gout’s Aggressive Debut Charts Patterns of Criminality
Don’t let the poetic title fool you, as Everardo Gout’s directorial debut Days of Grace does not document an iota of such virtue. As one character points out, “To live in Mexico is to gamble with your life every day.” Belonging to a growing class of Mexican filmmakers determined to recreate the visceral, dangerous realities of everyday existence, Gout’s work is comparable to names like Gerardo Naranjo and Amat Escalante. Drawing upon three thematically related incidents to filter his exploration of violence, Gout chooses a significant waning period, that of the World Cup. The televised event sees crime rates drop by thirty percent as both sides of the law take a break from the usual rampage. While Gout may not reveal anything surprising, his intention to unnerve and agitate is apparent from the first frame,...
Don’t let the poetic title fool you, as Everardo Gout’s directorial debut Days of Grace does not document an iota of such virtue. As one character points out, “To live in Mexico is to gamble with your life every day.” Belonging to a growing class of Mexican filmmakers determined to recreate the visceral, dangerous realities of everyday existence, Gout’s work is comparable to names like Gerardo Naranjo and Amat Escalante. Drawing upon three thematically related incidents to filter his exploration of violence, Gout chooses a significant waning period, that of the World Cup. The televised event sees crime rates drop by thirty percent as both sides of the law take a break from the usual rampage. While Gout may not reveal anything surprising, his intention to unnerve and agitate is apparent from the first frame,...
- 4/29/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Escobar: Paradise Lost is a fine thriller that cannot live up to its title’s pretensions. Both parts before and after the colon promise a dramatic heft the film does not quite achieve. It is neither a probing, complex character study of Colombia’s most notorious drug kingpin nor is it a rich drama of sordid themes that its Milton-alluding subtitle suggests. Instead, the debut from Italian actor Andrea Di Stefano is an exciting cat-and-mouse thriller between a monstrous villain and his niece’s aloof, Canadian husband, the man who gets caught up in a whirlwind of Colombian corruption.
The young man on the run is Nick Brady (Josh Hutcherson), a Canadian surfer who we first see with his older brother (Brady Corbet) on the idyllic Colombian coastline. Boarding and working at equal measure, Nick finds his deepest salvation in the form of Maria (Claudia Traisac), a beautiful native who quickly falls for him.
The young man on the run is Nick Brady (Josh Hutcherson), a Canadian surfer who we first see with his older brother (Brady Corbet) on the idyllic Colombian coastline. Boarding and working at equal measure, Nick finds his deepest salvation in the form of Maria (Claudia Traisac), a beautiful native who quickly falls for him.
- 1/15/2015
- by Jordan Adler
- We Got This Covered
Other winners included Chinese crime drama 12 Citizens and an Indian adaptation of Hamlet.Scroll down for full list of winners
The 9th Rome Film Festival (Oct 15-25) drew to a close tonight with an awards ceremony that saw Stephen Daldry’s Trash take home the Bnl People’s Choice Gala Award.
Set in Brazil, the film centres on three youngsters who make a discovery in a trash dump that puts them on the run from the police. Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen star in the film from Oscar-nominated Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours).
It beat competition from 14 other titles including David Fincher’s Gone Girl, Steven Soderbergh’s TV series The Knick and Andrea Di Stefano’s Escobar: Paradise Lost.
This year for the first time the award-winners in each section of the programme were decided by the audience on the basis of votes cast after the screenings.
Click here for red carpet pictures from Rome[p...
The 9th Rome Film Festival (Oct 15-25) drew to a close tonight with an awards ceremony that saw Stephen Daldry’s Trash take home the Bnl People’s Choice Gala Award.
Set in Brazil, the film centres on three youngsters who make a discovery in a trash dump that puts them on the run from the police. Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen star in the film from Oscar-nominated Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours).
It beat competition from 14 other titles including David Fincher’s Gone Girl, Steven Soderbergh’s TV series The Knick and Andrea Di Stefano’s Escobar: Paradise Lost.
This year for the first time the award-winners in each section of the programme were decided by the audience on the basis of votes cast after the screenings.
Click here for red carpet pictures from Rome[p...
- 10/25/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Review Andrew Blair 21 Jun 2013 - 07:22
A kinetic, stylish film that might have too many ideas for its own good, Andrew checks out Days Of Grace at the Edinburgh Film Festival...
Coming from Everardo Valerai Gout - an assistant director on Romeo + Juliet - this Mexican crime drama features dizzying visuals, kinetic action sequences and the shakiest of shaky-cams, but obfuscates its narrative simplicity until it becomes over-long and anti-climactic.
The plots are familiar – a kidnapping, a ransom, a city in the grip of gangs and corruption with one cop launching himself into the task of bringing it to rights. The difference here is the setting. Mexico City is stunning, both in terms of visuals and its population. The film opens with a voice-over, followed by zooming, vertigo-inducing helicopter shots of the city. It's like Peter Jackson decided to remake End of Watch while addicted to carnitas.
We are then...
A kinetic, stylish film that might have too many ideas for its own good, Andrew checks out Days Of Grace at the Edinburgh Film Festival...
Coming from Everardo Valerai Gout - an assistant director on Romeo + Juliet - this Mexican crime drama features dizzying visuals, kinetic action sequences and the shakiest of shaky-cams, but obfuscates its narrative simplicity until it becomes over-long and anti-climactic.
The plots are familiar – a kidnapping, a ransom, a city in the grip of gangs and corruption with one cop launching himself into the task of bringing it to rights. The difference here is the setting. Mexico City is stunning, both in terms of visuals and its population. The film opens with a voice-over, followed by zooming, vertigo-inducing helicopter shots of the city. It's like Peter Jackson decided to remake End of Watch while addicted to carnitas.
We are then...
- 6/20/2013
- by louisamellor
- Den of Geek
Director: Arturo Pons
Festival Entry: The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man
Narrative Competition
A young man and a dead man journey north through a subtly surreal desert landscape, picking up a wagonful of odd characters as they go in this darkly humorous satire of contemporary Mexico.
Directed By: Arturo Pons
Producer: Ozcar Ramírez González
Screenwriter: Arturo Pons
Cinematographer: Luis David Sansans
Editors: Artuto Pons, Paloma Lopez
Music: Edgar Barroso
Cast: Gael Sanchez Valle, Pedro Gamez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Eligio Melendez, Luis Bayardo, Marco Perez
We asked director Arturo Pons about his filmmaking inspirations and the challenges in making The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man. Here’s what he had to say:
Who are you and what do you do?
I just quit my job as a waiter in Barcelona last Saturday. This week I am moving back to Mexico, where I am from and I will...
Festival Entry: The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man
Narrative Competition
A young man and a dead man journey north through a subtly surreal desert landscape, picking up a wagonful of odd characters as they go in this darkly humorous satire of contemporary Mexico.
Directed By: Arturo Pons
Producer: Ozcar Ramírez González
Screenwriter: Arturo Pons
Cinematographer: Luis David Sansans
Editors: Artuto Pons, Paloma Lopez
Music: Edgar Barroso
Cast: Gael Sanchez Valle, Pedro Gamez, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Eligio Melendez, Luis Bayardo, Marco Perez
We asked director Arturo Pons about his filmmaking inspirations and the challenges in making The Compass is Carried by the Dead Man. Here’s what he had to say:
Who are you and what do you do?
I just quit my job as a waiter in Barcelona last Saturday. This week I am moving back to Mexico, where I am from and I will...
- 6/15/2012
- by Film Independent
- Film Independent
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