'Lawless' Review

John Hillcoat's previous directing duties include: The Proposition, which - from what I remember - was a really good movie. And: The Road, a depressing and unimpressive film of a great and unadaptable Cormac McCarthy novel. His latest movie, Lawless (not a Lucy Lawless biopic), shows a little more spirit than his previous work, but lacks the sparkle of a great film.

Lawless takes place in the most ridiculous time in American history - Prohibition.  The one thing the prohibition era gave us were great gangster/outlaw characters like Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly. Lawless is about the moonshine bootlegging brothers of Franklin County, Virginia - the Bondurant brothers (no, they don't drive a '69 Charger).

There are excellent performances out of absolutely everyone in the cast, but, unfortunately, the characters don't really go anywhere. Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) is the focus of the film, and the other characters - more importantly their relationship with Jack - go underdeveloped.

Guy Pierce makes a horrifying antagonist as the special deputy from Chicago looking to lay down the law. He looks ridiculous with shaved eyebrows, a wide parting of his hair, and funky sideburns. He's maniacal - which is great - though at times it's too comical and over-the-top.
Gary Oldman plays gangster Floyd Banner and is awesome for the few minutes you see him; he's so great, in fact, that you wish the whole movie was just about him.
Tom Hardy seems a little lost in this movie with his awkward mumbles and groans. You expect more from his performance due to his current resume, but a lot of the blame is surely due to the lack of definition in his character; there definitely could have a been more fleshing-out of his relationship with younger brother Jack, a key part of the film.

Hillcoat's great at setting a somber tone, then surprising you with action and violence - a signature he uses tactfully in Lawless. The characters are established well, there's lots of great drama built - in turn building momentum - but ultimately culminates with no payoff. The final act of the movie has a lot of build-up but leaves you without closure. 

A story is only as good as it's ending, and Lawless has one of the most hilariously dumb endings, ever. It not only leaves you without satisfaction, but is utterly laughable (the moral: don't succumb to the urge of dancing).

The Bottom Line: Great acting, though underdeveloped characters, and rich drama with no resolve. A bold undertaking, and although it comes close, lack of direction prevents Lawless from being a great movie.

Tony Scott (1944-2012)

I am shocked and saddened to hear the news of Tony Scott’s death.

He was a visionary director who had made so many great movies in his amazing career. Top Gun, a dazzling action film with true character. He displayed his talents in orchestrating an Action Comedy in Beverly Hills Cop II, a faithful sequel to a trailblazing classic. True Romance is one of my favorites and I will always cherish it for showing the incredible range of Gary Oldman. And, Man on Fire, a gritty revenge movie with a tragic ending that gives you an emotional tug no matter how tough you think you are.

Tony Scott had such a recognizable, signature style; that vibrant, colorful, sweaty, fast-paced, visceral style that defined the look of the modern blockbuster.

This is not just a loss of what was, but a loss of what was to come. It’s a shame we won’t get to see his future works, but he has certainly given us some great movies to enjoy for years to come.

You will be missed, sir.

'The Dark Knight Rises' Review

Well, I have watched it for a second time after a month since it's release and I feel like I’m warranted a review. (Am I late to the party? Is anyone reading this?).

“Why do we fall? ...” It’s amazing that the theme from the first movie, with no plans for sequels, is a theme that resonates throughout the entire series and the final film. Gotham has become a city with a wide segregation between the rich and the poor. A mercenary leader named Bane plans to fulfill Ra’s al Ghul’s work to “restore balance” in the necessary rise and fall of civilizations established in Batman Begins, and a retired Batman is recalled to life in order to stop him.

Due to the outright immensity of this movie, the script is very economical. The story moves at a break-neck pace, maintains momentum, and you see only what you need to see. You never realize the runtime is almost three hours long.

I was most impressed with the characterization. Everyone has a motive. And you know you have good character development when you maintain the audience’s attention when Batman’s not even in half the movie. John Blake, for example, is an excellent character. He’s a composite of all of the Robins. He’s an orphan, he’s strong willed, a police officer like Dick Grayson, and like Tim Drake he deduced Batman’s identity. He is a well-developed character and has a great story arc within the film. Anne Hathaway was impressive as “the catburglar” and the chemistry she shares with Christian Bale is fantastic, who also (as always) gives a great performance. Tom Hardy. Is. The. Man. And - I’m going to say it - I thought Bane’s voice was perfect. It bears a semblance to the Batman: The Animated Series Bane and it manages to make the character even more menacing (“You think this gives you power over me?”). There seems to be nothing in his way and Hardy plays him with a terrifying confidence. The performance is brilliant and I think Bane will go down as one of the greatest masked villains in cinema (or else he’ll choke you with one hand). This is definitely something the character deserved after the god-awful Batman and Robin mess.

Rises makes small (and large) references to the comics that can be appreciated. Gotham’s East End is modeled right from the panels of Batman:Year One. Batman's line to himself, “So that’s what that feels like…” is a line from Kingdom Come - He also wears on a brace on his knee, a precursor to the exoskeleton he wears in Kingdom Come. And although a lot of the inspiration certainly came from Knightfall, the film’s best use of source material goes to The Dark Knight Returns - where Batman comes out of retirement to stop a gang led by a hulking mutant leader.

Both Christopher and Jonathan Nolan have done a fine job in writing a satisfying conclusion to an excellent trilogy. I can undoubtedly tell you that we won’t see a film of this scale for long, long time. 

And, for anyone who hasn’t seen this movie in IMAX … I’m sorry, but you have missed out. The IMAX scenes in this movie are incredible. The opening scene is astounding. It truly adds to the cinematic experience and I hope this paves the way for more mainstream movies to be shot in the 70mm format.

The Bottom Line: This is a great time at the movies. Christopher Nolan introduced us to a realistic Batman in 2005, gave us a spectacularly massive, bar-raising sequel, and has now javelined that bar into the stratosphere with an epic conclusion to his trilogy. This is the pinnacle of the superhero movie.