Indiewire Browse the indiewire network

The Playlist

The obsessives' guide to contemporary cinema via film discussion, news, reviews, features, nostalgia, movie music, soundtracks, DVDs and more.

Interviews

Actors

Directors

Archives

The Playlist

Review: 'The Purge' Starring Ethan Hawke & Lena Headey

  • By Drew Taylor
  • |
  • June 4, 2013 10:57 AM
  • |
  • 10 Comments
Reviews
Rarely do horror films these days luxuriate in big ideas. Instead, they are usually a simple formula, based on a rudimentary conceptual framework (cameras capture supernatural activity, madman devises ingenious torture traps), stretched painfully thin over 90 minutes or so. One of the things that makes "The Purge," a new high-concept horror movie about a utopian society with a very dark secret, so refreshing, is that it actually takes the time to engage in some truly provocative and subversive ideas, and what's more -- these thematic interests never come at the expense of the thrills. "The Purge" manages to be smart, scary, and subversive. In the current horror landscape, this is much rarer than a demonic possession or capturing a ghost on videotape.
Read More »
More: The Purge, Reviews, Review, Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey

Review & Recap: 'Game of Thrones' Episode 3 'Walk of Punishment' Lends A Hand In Kickstarting The Action Of Season 3

  • By Katie Walsh
  • |
  • April 14, 2013 9:00 PM
  • |
  • 17 Comments
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in Game of Thrones, Season 3, Jamie Lannister
Television
What up Gamers! Things are finally starting to get funny/sexy/crazy on ye olde "Games of Thrones." Blood 'n boobs, that's why we're here, that's what we were promised, and that's what we're going to get. This episode finally hits the gas on this season, and off we go. Thankfully, we get a bit of humor and levity to offset the gore and blood, which always helps.
Read More »
More: HBO's Game of Thrones, HBO , Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Kit Harington

Watch: Crime Gets A Holiday In Trailer For Thriller 'The Purge' With Ethan Hawke

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • April 3, 2013 1:55 PM
  • |
  • 5 Comments
News
Wait, what is this movie? We have to admit either this flew entirely under our radar, we forgot about it or just plain didn't care. And maybe that's how Universal felt as well considering "The Purge" comes out next month and they're only starting to market the thing now, but, since it's coming from Team Blumhouse, the budget was probably about a million bucks and they'll make money on this if just five people show up. Considering it's a violent thriller with a "clever" premise from guys behind "Paranormal Activity" and "Sinister," people will probably line up in droves.
Read More »
More: The Purge, Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Film Trailers

Joss Whedon's 'Much Ado About Nothing' & Ethan Hawke's 'Purge' Get Summer Release Dates

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • November 29, 2012 5:24 PM
  • |
  • 2 Comments
News
With the unbelievable success of "The Avengers," Joss Whedon is the new king of summer. Want proof? His arty, I-made-it-in-my-backyard-for-real Shakespeare adaptation is going to go in the deep end with the blockbusters in 2013.
Read More »
More: Much Ado About Nothing, The Purge, Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey

Jared Harris & Lena Headey Join 'The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • July 19, 2012 4:54 PM
  • |
  • 1 Comment
News
Before we begin, can we just have a moment of silence of Lane Pryce?...........Okay, with that out of the way, there's no need to weep for former "Mad Men" star Jared Harris as he's joining an upcoming and hotly touted young adult novel adaptation, along with another actress who is currently experiencing some small screen heat of her own.
Read More »
More: Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones, Jared Harris, Lena Headey

'Dredd' Delivers Justice In New Batch Of Pics Featuring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby & Lena Headey

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • July 19, 2012 10:35 AM
  • |
  • 1 Comment
News
It was a roll of the dice to be sure, but it mostly turned out well for Lionsgate, who kicked off Comic-Con last week by screening "Dredd" for enthusiastic geeks. And while we thought the film was mostly empty spectacle, many other folks disagreed, with much of the initial wariness of the film lifting as a result of the screening (though perhaps replaced after that ridiculous slow motion clip landed online).
Read More »
More: Dredd, Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey

Comic-Con '12 Review: 'Dredd' A Visually Strong, Engaging But Ultimately Empty Cinematic Experience

  • By Todd Gilchrist
  • |
  • July 12, 2012 8:27 AM
  • |
  • 18 Comments
Reviews
Remakes and reboots always seem to demand comparisons to their predecessors, but “Dredd” evokes a slightly different relationship: What Zack Snyder’s “Dawn of the Dead” is to George Romero’s original, Pete Travis’ film is to, no, not Danny Cannon’s 1995 film “Judge Dredd,” but Paul Verhoeven’s “Robocop.” In both cases, gifted visual stylists took fertile, socially-conscious subject matter, pared out the cultural commentary, and left behind an engaging, if empty, cinematic experience.
Read More »
More: Comic-Con, Review, Dredd, Pete Travis, Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey

10 TV Stars Who Deserve Emmy Nominations (But Probably Won't Get Them)

  • By Oliver Lyttelton
  • |
  • July 5, 2012 12:02 PM
  • |
  • 26 Comments
Television
We're still months and months away from the Oscars, but the other awards ceremony of the moving image is starting to sneak up; two weeks from today, the nominations for the Primetime Emmys, the biggest awards honoring television comedies, dramas, miniseries and movies, will be announced, ahead of the ceremony itself in September. Given the stars that the small screen attracts these days, it's just as glitzy as the Academy Awards, and given that we're living in what's generally deemed to be something of a golden age of television, there are more good shows on the air than could possibly be honored in a single ceremony. Someone's going to miss out.
Read More »
More: Television, Idris Elba, Jared Harris, Lena Headey, Kerry Washington, Features, Madeleine Stowe, Danny McBride, Danny Pudi, Jason Isaacs, Anna Chlumsky, The Amazing Race, Emmy Awards, TV News

Watch: First Full Trailer For 'Dredd' Reveals It's Basically A Futuristic Version Of 'The Raid'

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • June 21, 2012 7:59 AM
  • |
  • 9 Comments
News
In the future, drugs are still a problem, everything looks like "Blade Runner," and dudes in helmets with consta-growl voices are the only measure of justice. Welcome to the world of "Dredd," the remake of the "The Raid" you didn't know you wanted.
Read More »
More: Dredd, Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Film Trailers, Lena Headey

First Look At Lena Headey In 'Dredd' Plus More Images From The Film

  • By Kevin Jagernauth
  • |
  • May 7, 2012 5:55 PM
  • |
  • 2 Comments
News
The last time we heard anything about "Dredd"  it was about the supposed scuttlebutt between director Pete Travis and writer Alex Garland, who were apparently feuding, with the latter said to be angling to nab a director's credit on the movie, while the former was apparently kicked out of the editing bay. A few days later, assurances were profferred that everything is fine, but little had been heard of since, but with the movie gearing up to hit theaters this fall, it looks like the marketing campaign is beginning to roll out.
Read More »
More: Dredd, Lena Headey, Karl Urban

Follow Us

Email Updates

What's Poppin'

Recent Comments

Blog Roll

Around The Network

the network

indiewire

categories