Lawless

Director John Hillcoat must have pulled some serious strings to reel in what appears to be a phenomenal cast representing what we hoped would be a fantastic film.

Set in Virginia, County Franklin is home to the richest and poorest minorities. While parts of New Orleans is struggling within an era of the great depression, the Bondurant family run a bootlegging operation; a profitable alcohol business which proves to be the backbone to the family's financial survival and an income of reputation from the locals. Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy) is the eldest of three brothers who not only keeps the operation running, but the discipline of his screwball brother Howard (Jason Clarke) and Jack (Shia LaBeouf).

While Forrest is the "silent but deadly" type and Howard a demented alcoholic, Jack is singled out as one with an emotionally detached personality and a liability to their operation. But it is when the town is greeted with a new face that the folks associated with the Bondurant family are put under scrutiny to spill the beans on the operation. Introducing Deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce), the devil of Virginia, who sees an opportunity in the Bondurant's alcohol business revealing a corruptness to his dark personality.


With one eye on Charlie's demands, Forrest is caught up with new barmaid Maggie (Jessica Chastain) who is set on proving her loyalty to Forrest, and something more. As Deputy Charlie is hell bound on destroying the towns alcohol advantage, apprentice Jack is trying to balance an ambition of two sides; to prove his own worth for out of town gangster Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman), and to convince his love to upper class lady, Bertha (Mia Wasikowska).

So as things quickly escalate, it is when Charlie and his cohorts of the law begin to use physicality in order to send a message to Forrest and co who remain stubborn under the pressure of the task force, leading to unnecessary violence and a clash of emotions. Jack, who metamorphose into a cocky somewhat brave new character following his association with Frankie, the result of his mind frame can either help rid Charlie's devious activities, or jeopardise everything the family have worked for.

Based on factual events, the screenplay is well represented while the director had a variety of actors to nit-pick and blend with the right scene and their credentials. Unfortunately, besides from the quality within the cast, the only actor who stood out in this was Guy Pearce, who gave a haunting performance and took the portrayal of sadistic drama to another level. What is introduced and eventually closed as a fairy tale book, the seriousness of Pearce's on screen ambiance makes this flick seem more serious than I think the director had intended. Besides from a complete focus of darkness, Tom Hardy has still yet to disappoint as his grunting be-wildered character is fun to watch and yet again scripted to add that touch of comedy to the story, something he does quite well.

Lawless shys from straight up gun-slinging at times offering a refreshing element when it dies down. It reveals the balance of two potential relationships; with Forrest appearing sceptical of Barmaid Maggie and Jack dangling from the legs of a girl that would be classed out of his league.

Shia Lebeouf is quite convincing as the rookie within the troubled family and although I am a fan of some of his work (Transformers only, not 2, defo not 3), he offers nothing other than a mediocre performance that could have been the result of having very little to represent. His character was left unexplored. However the biggest let down of Lawless was the cameo appearance from Gary Oldman. Whether that was down to actors choice I don't know, but you embrace his onscreen presence at the littlest chance the film offers.

Lawless gets a pass for portraying an emotional story that will always be memorable in terms of it being factual based, even if you do wonder how factual the telling actually is. The fact it is based on some sort of event does convince us to sit and watch it, but for other reasons such as a fictional element, the plot would still appear weak. Like many movies of this genre, the premise will try to win you over by re-tracing its steps with violent scenes. The violence does come every so often and when it does it hits hard, avoiding Quentin Tarantino's slapstick red sauce and more realistic gore, all at the hands of Pearce's character.

I expected much more in terms of a better plot and smarter dialogue. It appeared every time a dull moment was upon us, the film felt the need to dive in with over the top violence. Guy Pearce is the vigilante and is suspect to the result of the scenes you will most likely remember; the violent ones. He sticks out for that reason because his dialogue and on screen portrayal alone will be the only motive behind anyone classing this movie one of the best of 2012. But is that fair? on the bases of one actors performance? maybe not, but the proof is on the screen.

Overall; Entertaining to say the least with a back-forward love story, but without Guy Pearce, the plot and over all characters would have no impact when it comes to the award cabinet...Factual or not!

7/10

My Top 5 movies of 2011

Well it is nearly that time a year again. The time when an over weighted, old pensioner with a white beard shows his strange love for kids by delivering them everything they ever wanted! People celebrate Christmas by getting drunk and fat as we make our way into the year that will be 2012. I have decided to celebrate this years movie releases by reflecting back on what I felt were most enjoyable.
It is fair to say most will not agree with me, although most I know have called 2011 a horrific year for movies. I fail to agree. It has been tough choosing on what I believe was a great year for our cinemas.
(In no particular order)

X -Men: first class: An extraordinary return to the X - Men series. A return that led us back in time if you like. 1962 was the birth of the first hybrid of mutants. Besides from the plot, which was brilliantly based around the brink of world war 3, the addition of James Mc Avoy as the young Charles and Eric Fassbender as Magneto turned out to be the back bone of the movie. We got an amazing insight into the friendship that once was, and how a clash of personalities led to Charles Xavier and Magneto creating the X-Men saga, as archenemies. The movie also gave us an exquisite insight into the characters of teenage mutants, such as storm, mystique, and Beast. My favourite addition to X-Men origins was Kevin Bacon, who plays a Sebastian Shaw. Sebastian was your typical bad guy. Who better could you have chosen to round of what turned out to be a fantastic movie!  

Rise of the planet of the Apes: Judging from the breathtaking release of the first official trailer, this was a movie that could have went horribly wrong...or surprisingly good. My verdict? was certainly better than good, Rise of the apes was an amazing creation of a saga that critics were waiting so eagerly to slate. Honestly I never did have much knowledge of the original trilogy. An to be honest again, they look terrible. My first introduction to planet of the apes was when Mark Wahlberg found himself unwanted by a bunch a angry apes back in 2001. I discovered even that version failed to get the best of reviews. I enjoyed it. I mean Tim Burton made the huge step up from what was clearly monkey clothes to full on costumes and make up. In fact, my opinion? he made the apes look ten times as real! So without going off subject, like I kind of did already, Rise of the Apes starred James Franco and John Lithgow and Andy Sekis (Caesar the Ape). A fantastic movie which gave us mind blowing CGI. It was brilliant and original to have the star of a movie be an Ape. We got a class insight into the mind of Caesar and the intelligence that comes with it after he learns of the experimental drug supplied by owner Will. The drug, intended to cure alzheimers', finds the hands of some mistreated apes, that leads to serious, yet entertaining consequences.

Crazy Stupid Love: Without being hugely convinced of Steve Carell's talent on screen? a movie that involved himself and Ryan Gosling was a genius creation. Cal, played by Carell is suddenly heartbroken after his wife (Julian Moore) confesses to cheating. Cal eventually gives himself no option but to leave the home, with the possibility of divorce. Obviously heart broken, he is discovered down in the dumps by Jacob (Gosling). Jacob is a hotshot. A ladies man who knows nothing other than playboy language and offers to teach Cal how to talk the talk, and the walk. The movies genius comedy arouses when it is clear Cal knows absolutely nothing about women after being married for a whopping 20 years. Crazy stupid love avoided full on slapstick comedy which made the movie ever more brilliant. It's touch of drama and every day incidents gave it that feel good factor, with some heartbreaking scenes. The comedy was never full on and succeeded in bringing out the true talents in Steve Carell. A cast of Kevin Bacon and Emma stone gave the movie a fantastic touch.

Warrior: A movie, based on the fasted growing sport we have today, MMA. Tom Hardy plays Tommy, the younger brother of Brendan played by Joel Edgerton.The two brothers, both struggling in different ways, see the light when an MMA tournament is advertised, offering the biggest purse in the history of the sport. The father, played by Nick Nolte arrives on the scene to discover both brothers have manged to avoid each other since Tommy's return from the army. Warrior just might be my favourite movie this year. This was a fantastic movie that blew previous fighting movies out of the water. The acting from Tom Hardy and Joel was amazing, not forgetting a brilliant performance from Nick Nolte. A movie based on broken family's, dream chances, and extraordinary events, makes Warrior a peach of a movie. The plot, besides from the obvious, feeds us with real in dept stories to the lives of the fortunate, and the not so. Director Gavin O' Connor made a wise decision in developing a fighting movie away from boxing. I believe with the UFC growing every year, it has finally taken over what once was the home of the great Muhammed Ali, that was boxing.

Drive: Every once in a while an actor comes along with great ambition and imagination, one who clearly has that wise choice of movie. He knows the trick to successful acting and wouldn't hesitate to spit in the face of someones idea of a poor movie. Ryan Gosling, possibly the greatest actor of our generation stars in Drive.  To be honest, Drive had as much a plot as Bambi did. That was the genius concept we were greeted with. Gosling plays a hired driver, taking on any kind of job ( illegal of course) an he is sure to get you outta there before the cops arrive. If not, " He is all yours". Driver (Gosling) is a quiet, tense character. His driving at night is a secondary job to his stuntman work during the day. Things do get nasty after the introduction to Nino (Ron Pearlman) and Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), as well as the accidental involvement of Irene (Carey Mulligan). A strange movie that can't be described in words. The trailer on it's release was quality. It gave away a different movie that viewers initially intended to see. The violence came as a suprise but the viewer will leave afterwards relising it blended well with the tension in the storyline. Drive is accompanied by a nice 80's retro soundtrack that made it all the more enjoyable as we watched Driver do his work. Ryan Gosling is by far my favourite actor today, who starred in two of my favourite movies this year. Brilliant.

(I wanted to add a plus 1. The simple reason being the lack of great horror movies over the years made this one an instant classic I just couldn't avoid adding to my favourites of 2011)

Insidious: Insidious is a a gripping horror based around the family of a young boy who suddenly falls into a mysterious coma. Patrick Wilson plays the father Josh, and wife Renai is played by Rose Byrne. The young boy Dalton is led into the coma after exploring the attic of their new home only to find himself struck by what seems to be a paranormal demon. The terrifying story begins from there as a demon seems to stalk the boy seeking to capture him from the coma he lies in. Without saying too much on the events, this was, by far my favourite horror of the past few years. The last great horror that made me jump from my skin was "Drag me to hell", a remake by Sam Raimi. Those who love the old school style of the horror genre would adore that movie, released in 2009. Insidious was successful in touching off that old school, spine-tingling experience. Honestly? I was shook for a good two nights. The fact that I failed to stop thinking about Insidious clearly told me that this was a quality horror movie. The future of horror movies does not seem to hold anything like Insidious. My advice to you is see this, embrace it with enjoyment and chills as it will be a long time before anything will scare you like Insidious!