Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer is a post-apocalyptic science fiction movie starring Chris Evans and Ed Harris. It’s set in the future where an attack has frozen the planet and a small group of survivors are stuck on a train that has been traveling in a large loop for the past 17 years.

A caste system exists on the train where the people in the back live like prisoners of war while those toward the front live in veritable luxury. Evans lives in the rear of the train and raises up a resistance movement to fight their way to the front and take over. As you might imagine, the people in power take measures to stop them.

There’s a good bit of action in this one since the group has to punch, kick, and shoot their way from train car to car. Each one is decorated differently and serves a different purpose, since the whole train is one ecosystem designed to sustain life for a prolonged period.

This is the kind of movie that you can take at face value and enjoy the weirdness of it, or you can look at all the symbolism and underlying themes to really get something more from watching. I liked this one quite a lot.

Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin is a slow burn kind of thriller about a young man who takes it upon himself to avenge his murdered family after the killers get out of prison. The title of the movie comes from the old blue car that the guy lives in.

What I liked most about this story is that the main character is just an average guy. He’s not some ex special forces, retired cop/hitman, trained killer. Instead, he’s just some poor kid whose life was ruined by crime who then is forced to take up arms in order to protect the rest of his family.

Macon Blair gives a great performance as the hapless lead character. He pulls off revenge killings with the awkwardness of a teenager boy’s first time with a girl, and his obvious vulnerability works on many levels. You feel bad for the guy and want him to succeed.

As an added bonus, one of the villains is played by Eve Plumb. You’ll recognize her face and then realize it’s the same actress who played the original Jan Brady on The Brady Bunch.