The Purge: Anarchy:

This sequel to 2011’s low-budget hit movie about a time in America where crime rates are at all-time lows, and the economy is at all-time highs, attributes this to the annual Purge – one night each year when anything goes – murder, robbery, rape, mayhem, you name it.  With the good citizens either hunkering down in armor-protected homes, or wandering the streets in search of death and debauchery, everyone gets all the aggression out of their respective systems, and can settle in for a very productive year.  A police sergeant (Frank Grillo) goes out to seek revenge for the life of his son, taken by a drunk driver … in the process, he encounters a couple whose car has stalled, and is being pursued by a vicious gang.  I liked this better than the first one, which was also very good. Rated 18A.

Earth to Echo:   

"ET, phone home." There are many similarities between the quintessential kids-meet-an-alien movie from 1982 and this new entry which updates the concept – still kids and their bikes who find the extraterrestrial, but this time it’s all footage taken from their mobile devices as they search for what they believe is the occupant of a landed space ship.  The adults of course, have no clue what’s going on.  The kids receive strange messages which they immediately assume come from a space traveller in distress … and they are right about that.  Cute movie, although the ET roots are very obvious. Rated G.   

Sex Tape: 

Some movies are so bad that they are good … others, like this Cameron Diaz – Jason Segal vehicle, are just bad, period.  The premise is technically unlikely – a married couple who record their love making, learn that their mobile device has uploaded the recording to the cloud, where it then downloads to the devices of everyone they know – bosses, parents, neighbours, you name it.  Didn’t work for me at any level.  Rated 18A.

Murder on the Home Front (2013):  

Here’s an interesting combination – The Blitz in London during WWII … and the search for a serial killer.  Turns out that a fiendish murderer is using the blackouts and the empty streets to commit murder after murder.  His first victims, of course, are prostitutes, but then he begins to go farther afield.  Made-for-TV in the UK, this is a very serviceable crime procedural with an interestingly different sping. Rated 14A.

Stop-Loss (2008): 

Ryan Phillippe stars as Brandon King, a soldier returned from the Middle East, only to learn, once home, that he has been “stop-lossed.”  That’s the practice of the military’s being able to recall for active duty, anyone it chooses should the need arise. Even though Brandon struggles is PTSD and has served two tours, the Army wants him back … and he decides to fight for what he believes is right.  The resulting conflict between duty, country, family, and his own mental health offers up an interesting conflict with a surprising resolution.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum also star. Rated 14A.