Shakefire.com - The Purge

By the year 2022 American morality has fallen off a cliff. Due to extremely high rates of both crime and poverty, the powers that be have created The Purge - a 12 hour period taking place once a year where citizens can unleash their pent up anger however they see fit. Although the film highlights many interesting themes, The Purge fails to explore any of them thoroughly and winds up as a pretty basic home invasion story disguised as a science fiction alternate reality.

James (Ethan Hawke, Training Day) is a rather wealthy salesman living in a ritzy, gated San Francisco community with his family. Most of his fortune is from selling high-priced security systems to all of his neighbors protecting themselves from the annual Purge. James arrives home before the event begins and has a normal dinner with his wife Mary (Lena Headey, Game of Thrones) and their two children. Minutes before the Purge begins, James conducts his normal routine of activating the advanced home security system.

Not long into the night, son Charlie (Max Burkholder, Parenthood) notices a mysterious stranger (Edwin Hodge, Cougar Town) running through the neighborhood begging for a place to hide. To the dismay of his family, Charlie allows the man enter into their fortified residence. Soon a group of hunters with a charismatic leader (Rhys Wakefield, Home and Away) show up demanding James and his family turn over the stranger.

Director James DeMonaco brings many subjects to the table with The Purge including the haves vs. the have nots, government hypocrisy, our reliance on technology, and several others. Unfortunately, DeMonaco only scratches the surface and fails to adequately explore any of these themes. We are left with an empty shell and it's a shame since the idea of the film is fairly interesting. Demonaco's writing doesn't help matters as viewers will find themselves getting upset at some of the ludicrous decisions made by several characters. I'm not even going to mention a small portion of the story involving the daughter's boyfriend that viewers will see coming a mile away.

The special features are extremely disappointing and only include a short "making of" featurette that's under 10 minutes in length. Perhaps the studio wanted to rush this out before Halloween or has a plan for a special edition release in the future, but either way this version is underwhelming. Regardless, fans who can't get enough of Ethan Hawke or home invasion films in general should be mildly entertained by The Purge. Rental recommended.

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The Purge Surges At The US Box Office

Peter Oberth — Sun, 09 Jun 2013 17:13:13 +0000

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Like Ethan Hawke and his family defending their home against criminal invaders, low-budget Blumhouse Productions horror The Purge fought off competition from former US box office champ Fast & Furious 6 and new Vince Vaughn / Owen Wilson comedy The Internship to score the top spot in the charts this weekend. With a thrifty budget of $3 million covered by the first night’s takings, The Purge now stands at $36.6 million. Despite seemingly low interest before its release in the States, the surprise hit now seems more likely than ever to spawn that planned sequel.

The Fast & Furious crew are still doing decent business, with Furious 6 adding $19.7 million this weekend, just ahead of heist pic Now You See Me, which slipped to third but still made $19.5 million. As for The Internship, the big reunion for Wedding Crashers stars Vaughn and Wilson didn't quite click with audiences, as the Shawn Levy film could only manage $18.1 million on its first weekend for a fourth place launch. They'll be hoping it has legs thanks to a PG-13 rating. Blue Sky 'toon Epic clung to fifth place with $12.1 million.

Star Trek Into Darkness fell to sixth, making $11.7 million and pushing its US total over $200 million. After Earth began what promises to be a rapid descent, landing in seventh with $11.2 million. The Hangover Part III was eighth, earning $7.3 million, while Iron Man 3 slipped to ninth with $5.7 million Rounding out the top ten was The Great Gatsby, which took in $4.2 million this weekend.

The Purge (Stranger Threatens To Enter)

Pandora — Wed, 29 May 2013 16:22:29 +0000

The Purge (Stranger Threatens To Enter)

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The Purge (You Are Going To Fight)

Pandora — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:29:35 +0000

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The Purge (Charlie Asks His Parents)

Pandora — Wed, 29 May 2013 13:24:22 +0000

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The Purge

Pandora — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:09:30 +0000

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Peter Oberth — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:33:07 +0000

In an America ravaged by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government sanctions an annual 12-hour period during which all criminal activity -- including murder -- is legal. James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) and his family face the ultimate test when an intruder drags the vicious outside world into their home. James, Mary (Lena Headey) and their two children struggle to survive the night while trying not to turn into monsters like the ones they are striving to avoid.

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