Lawless

Lawless
80% viewable
Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity
Run time: 1 hour 56 minutes

"Prohibition Film with a Surprising Amount of Grit"

The film is based upon the book, “The Wettest County in the World,” by Matt Bondurant and is the story of the Bondurant brothers played by Shia LaBeouf (Transformers), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception, Warrior) and Jason Clarke (Public Enemies and the upcoming Great Gatsby) who live in Franklin County, Virginia and run the most profitable bootlegging business in the county. Since the film is set during prohibition and selling moonshine is illegal the local district attorney decides to try and intervene and offers to allow the brothers to continue to sell if they give him a portion of their profits. He sends Special Agent Charlie Rakes, played by Guy Pearce (Memento, Prometheus) to try and enforce the agreement. Rakes can only be described as shockingly, brutal and portrays a character completely evil to the core, with a complete lack of remorse or moral standard. You can't help but despise his character with every ounce of your soul, but Pearce's performance is nothing short of Oscar worthy. The film centers around the graphic and violent feud between the brothers and Rakes for which Forrest Bondurant is quoted as saying, "I'm a Bondurant. We don't lay down for nobody."

The film also revolves around a double love story. As LaBeouf tries to win the heart of a local preachers daughter, whose father thinks the Bondurant "boys are the worst thing ever to hit Franklin" and Hardy gets swooned by a city girl who moves to town to work at the brothers' bar. Aside from Pearce's performance, Hardy's performance steals the screen even more than the seemingly expected performance by LaBeouf. Hardy is quickly becoming one of the hardest working men in show business, putting out one incredible film after another.

Although the performances were vastly better than expected and worthy of an appreciative audience, I gave the film a lower viewable rating, as it has a lot more "grit", as they say in the movie, than I anticipated. There are points in the film so dark and brutally violent that it brings a significant level of uneasiness in viewing. Overall, this movie does better than almost any other mob/prohibition movie has done in the past and is well worth a viewing if can handle the grit.

Michael

Looper

Title: Looper
Viewable Rating: 93% viewable
Theater/Rental/Netflix/Never: Borderline Theater or Rental, leaning towards Theater
Rating: R for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug content
Run time: 1 hour 58 minutes

"Futuristic film with Time Travel that grabs your attention and never lets go"

Looper is probably the biggest action film of the past few months. It was highly anticipated, although it seemed to come out of nowhere and was well worth the wait. The film was directed by Rian Johnson, who has recently directed some episodes of the critically acclaimed Breaking Bad, but his movie directing has been limited. However, this film has great vision and is visually captivating.

The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is basically the biggest movie star on the planet right now. In my opinion, he has the same knack as Leonardo DiCaprio in picking the best roles in the best movies to be a part of. Recently, he's been in The Dark Night Rises, 50/50 and Inception. The rumor is there is indeed another Batman in the works in which JGL will play Dick Grayson (aka The Boy Wonder, aka Robin). Anyways, enough of on that, I think its apparent the man crush here.

The film also stars Bruce Willis as the supporting actor. Recently seen in Moonrise Kingdom and Expendables 2. What can I say about Bruce Willis, he is Bruce Willis in this film, but he's a little more raw and abrasive. He's a little more Die Hard-esque than some recent films. If you like Willis, you will like him in this movie. He almost never disappoints and certainly doesn't here. Lastly, be on the look out for "A Good Day to Die Hard", yes, a new Die Hard movie which is currently in post-production.

But let's get to the movie. The film is set in 2042 (current) and followers the character Joe, who works as a Looper. Basically, 30 years from that point, time travel has been invented and the mob of 2072 (future) controls time travel since it is outlawed in the future. When the mob needs to get rid of someone, they send them back to the current and the Loopers kill them for a fee. The mob of the future begins to close the loop on its Loopers by sending back the future versions of themselves to the current, so the Loopers essentially kill themselves to close the loop.

Without giving any more of the film away than can be determined from the trailer, Bruce Willis plays the future Joe for which JGL plays the current Joe. Willis is sent back to be killed by JGL to close the loop. And the story ensues. One character that I cannot dive into without giving more of the story away is that of Sara, played by Emily Blunt (The Five-Year Engagement and The Adjustment Bureau). Her role in the movie, although not heavily publicized was really spectacular. I feel like she is owed a little more credit for her acting abilities than she has received. JGL also shows his range as an actor with his performance.

All in all, the movie is a little edgy, as most movies are about painting the future. There is drug use and nudity which seems to be common in futuristic movies. Also, the violence is a little stronger than anticipated. However, the storyline is so well thought out and decisive, that it negates those negative factors. The film is extremely gripping and will hold your attention throughout without fail until the final minutes. If you are fans of these actors or futuristic action movies, I highly recommend. Enjoy!

Michael