Reviews from the Dark Side presents
Lawless
Released
8/29/12, now in theaters
Outlaws rule in the gangster-style film, Lawless. Directed by John Hillcoat (The Road), the film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wassikowska, and Guy Pearce. It is based on the true life events of the Bondurant brothers from Franklin County, Virginia. The movie is adapted from author and Bondurant descendent, Matt Bondurant's, novel The Wettest County in the World.
The Bondurants (Howard (Clarke), Forrest (Hardy), and Jack (LaBeouf)) run a successful moonshine and bootlegging business in the hills of Prohibition era Virginia. They are assisted by their strange, but, inventive friend Cricket. The brother trio runs a bar as a front for their illegal activities. The Bondurants are feared by most and respected by all, including mobster, Floyd Banner (Oldman), who becomes a regular client later in the movie. People have good reason to fear Howard and Forrest as both are tough as nails. Jack, however, is not, as evidenced when Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Pearce) shakes down the brothers’ operation and brutally beats Jack caught alone without his siblings. Two of his agents also gravely injure Forrest in an ambush and rape bar waitress, Maggie (Chastain). Jack, however, has more business savvy and style and, along with Cricket’s assistance, really begins to make the business pay off and begins courting preacher’s daughter, Bertha Minnix (Wassikowska). But Agent Rakes is determined to shut the brothers’ down completely. When he perpetrates one last indignity on Cricket, the Bondurants are out to get final retribution in the bloody finale.
As I was watching Lawless, I couldn’t help but think that Howard and Forrest would have been much better off without Jack. Oh sure, Jack always meant well but he really wasn’t that good at taking care of himself. That said, Lawless, is an entertaining film that does have gory violence at times. Pay particular attention to the scene where Forrest and Howard hunt down the men that ambushed Forrest. Pay more attention to what they send Rakes as a souvenir.
There are strong performances from Tom Hardy and Guy Pearce. Hardy speaks in a soft, simple manner that disguises that he is quite adept at brutish violence. He has caved more than one enemy’s face with brass knuckles in his life. And let’s not leave out that Forrest’s toughness is off the charts and reaches legendary, tall tale status amongst the locals. Pearce is sardonically evil. He’s one of those villains you want to see die horribly. And I’ll give this much away. He doesn’t disappoint.
Lawless is a moderately paced gangster movie that will never be confused with classics the likes of Godfather and Goodfellas, but it is very entertaining. It’s one of the better movies of the summer.
The Dark Lord of the Sith says:
***1/2 stars
Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste
your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *=
Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre,
Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4
*= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
The Possession
Reviews from the Dark Side presents
The Possession
Released 8/31/12, now in theaters
Sam Raimi makes an entry to the year’s summer madness with The Possession. The film stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick. Ole Bornedal directs while Raimi gets the co-producer credit. As the film states after the opening credits, the story is based on true events that happened to a family over 29 days.
Clyde and Stephanie Brenek are recently divorced. They have joint custody of their daughters, Hannah and Emily. On a weekend with their father, he purchases a mysterious box that mysteriously draws Em to it at a yard sale. The audience has seen this box before. At the beginning of the film, an older woman has possession of the box and attempts to destroy it. This does not go well for her to say the least. In fact, the yard sale is conducted by her son. Bandaged and under a nurse’s care, the old woman screams warnings to Em through the window, but, like in all horror movies, the warnings go unheeded. The box is difficult to open, but Em finally does and finds strange items in it that make no sense at all. After opening the box, there’s something terribly wrong with Em. She is insanely drawn to the box and attacks anyone who attempts to take it from her. She stabs her father with a fork, speaks in a different voice, and has an almost insatiable hunger. What could have been in that box? And will the Brenek family live long enough to find out?
Since horror is one of my top three favorite movie genres, I’m always up for the next big scare. The bar has definitely been raised in recent years with films like The Mist and the Saw series. And this Spring’s The Cabin in the Woods set a whole new standard. It’s also very easy to screw up a horror movie, too. The Possession is at neither end of the spectrum. It’s definitely not groundbreaking, but it is far from horrible. There is some truly creepy imagery, particularly, what’s found in Em’s MRI. But I didn’t think anything was over-the-top cringe worthy. It’s not a horror movie that will make you think or talk about long after you’ve seen it. It’s decent but not memorable. That’s the best way I can describe it.
I count Jeffrey Dean Morgan as one of the more underrated actors working today. He’s good as the concerned, but, misunderstood father who seems to be the only one who notices Em’s strange behavior is more than being upset about her parents divorcing. The standout here is Natasha Calis as the young Em. For a young actress, she gives a nice range of emotion from innocent, to terrified to truly terrifying. Her angry stare is absolutely chilling.
I’ll give The Possession a positive review, however, if you’re jonesing for a Sam Raimi horror movie, watch Drag Me to Hell before this.
The Dark Lord of the Sith says:
*** stars
Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.
The Possession
Released 8/31/12, now in theaters
Sam Raimi makes an entry to the year’s summer madness with The Possession. The film stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Kyra Sedgwick. Ole Bornedal directs while Raimi gets the co-producer credit. As the film states after the opening credits, the story is based on true events that happened to a family over 29 days.
Clyde and Stephanie Brenek are recently divorced. They have joint custody of their daughters, Hannah and Emily. On a weekend with their father, he purchases a mysterious box that mysteriously draws Em to it at a yard sale. The audience has seen this box before. At the beginning of the film, an older woman has possession of the box and attempts to destroy it. This does not go well for her to say the least. In fact, the yard sale is conducted by her son. Bandaged and under a nurse’s care, the old woman screams warnings to Em through the window, but, like in all horror movies, the warnings go unheeded. The box is difficult to open, but Em finally does and finds strange items in it that make no sense at all. After opening the box, there’s something terribly wrong with Em. She is insanely drawn to the box and attacks anyone who attempts to take it from her. She stabs her father with a fork, speaks in a different voice, and has an almost insatiable hunger. What could have been in that box? And will the Brenek family live long enough to find out?
Since horror is one of my top three favorite movie genres, I’m always up for the next big scare. The bar has definitely been raised in recent years with films like The Mist and the Saw series. And this Spring’s The Cabin in the Woods set a whole new standard. It’s also very easy to screw up a horror movie, too. The Possession is at neither end of the spectrum. It’s definitely not groundbreaking, but it is far from horrible. There is some truly creepy imagery, particularly, what’s found in Em’s MRI. But I didn’t think anything was over-the-top cringe worthy. It’s not a horror movie that will make you think or talk about long after you’ve seen it. It’s decent but not memorable. That’s the best way I can describe it.
I count Jeffrey Dean Morgan as one of the more underrated actors working today. He’s good as the concerned, but, misunderstood father who seems to be the only one who notices Em’s strange behavior is more than being upset about her parents divorcing. The standout here is Natasha Calis as the young Em. For a young actress, she gives a nice range of emotion from innocent, to terrified to truly terrifying. Her angry stare is absolutely chilling.
I’ll give The Possession a positive review, however, if you’re jonesing for a Sam Raimi horror movie, watch Drag Me to Hell before this.
The Dark Lord of the Sith says:
*** stars
Ratings Legend
Zero *= Don't waste your time. Pure dreck! Dreck is too good for this! Blind me please!
1 *= Fuggedaboutit!
2 *= Average, Mediocre, Nothing Special
3 *= Good viewing. Much better than a poke in the eye.
4 *= Great. Could possibly foot the price of a non-Matinee.
5 *= Pure eye candy. Hall of Fame material here.
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