Lawless is the latest star-studded picture from John Hillcoat, director of the gritty film The Road. Lawless follows a band of bootleggers, the Bondurant Brothers, as they make their moonshine in peace and sell it to the cops, who in turn look the other way. But once Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) steps into the picture, the boys have to hide their criminal actions from the sniveling eyebrow-less jerk. This film has some redeeming qualities, but was completely bland and wasted the talents of a magnificent cast. Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Guy Pearce, even Shia LeBeouf added what little depth they could to their paper-thin characters. The sets and costumes were really great, the Prohibition-era was captured perfectly, and I liked that they didn't hold back on the violence - if only a solid, intriguing story surrounded it.
Rating: C
This quirkly little indie drama really took me by surprise. I had only found out about it moments before heading to the theater, so I had no idea what kind of flick I was about to see. Basically Frank Langella plays an old guy who is getting to that age where he needs assistance and it's taking a toll on his son to take care of him. So one day, Frank's son gets him a robot to help around the house. At first Frank despises his new companion, but learns to get along once he finds out he will do whatever he asks it to do. I don't want to give away what happens, but I just want to say that this film was really heartfelt and genuine. Langella is so good in this gem of a movie that blends drama, comedy, and sci-fi perfectly. The only problem I had was that the budget was easy to see through sometimes. You could tell on occasion that the robot was really a person in a suit, and although there are some hints of the new technology used in this not-too-distant future, I think there was room for maybe some more cool gadgets. Overall though, it's great, see it if you can!
Rating: B+
The tired genre of exorcism films just got sleepier with The Possession, the latest from Sam Raimi's production company Ghost House Pictures. Jeffrey Dean Morgan plays a divorced dad whose daughter buys an old box at a garage sale. Unfortunately for her, the box is possessed by a demon, who happens to possess children. This flick is so by-the-numbers it's sad. There's not a shred of originality in here. The direction and acting is all 'fine,' but there's no reason for this film to exist other than an exorcise in the exorcism genre.
PS, there's no way this is based on a true story. False advertising.
Rating: C
No comments:
Post a Comment