Lawless

My View:   Lawless (2012) During the depression, three brothers (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke) run a successful bootlegging business in Franklin County, Virginia. With corrupt law (Guy Pearce) and a local mob boss (Gary Oldman) wanting to muscle in on the brothers' business, it’s soon up to the brothers to fight back.  I was very disappointed in this film, especially since it has such a great cast, but the film never gets moving in the right direction, which I think is mostly the fault of LeBeouf, who is asked to carry much of the acting load, and he’s just not quite up to the task. Tom Hardy seems to be suffering from Bane aftereffects.  He barely talks in the film, and the usually excellent Jessica Chastain seems to be sleepwalking through the entire film. The film’s action sequences are too few and far between, and I wanted more of Gary Oldman’s character.    My Rating: Cable   Lawless Website

My View:  The Possession (2012) A father (Jeffery Dean Morgan) and daughter (Natasha Calis) go to a yard sale and buy an antique box. Little do they know that the box they now possess is inhabited by an evil spirit, one waiting for the box to be opened so it can unleash a curse. Now the father and his ex-wife (Kyra Sedgwick) must find a way to end the curse or their daughter will die. While watching this film, I kept flashing back to The Shining when the kid talks to his finger saying “Redrum” as the girl who is possessed by the evil being in this film does a lot of talking in a strange voice. The film doesn’t deliver enough scary parts to make up for its slow moving storyline.   My Rating: Cable   The Possession Website

Indiefest:  Robot & Frank (2012)   This film, from Director Jake Schreier, is set in the near future where robots have started taking over tasks that humans normally do, such as caring for the elderly. Frank (Frank Langella) is a retired cat burglar who lives alone.  His only contact with his family are phone calls from his daughter (Liv Tyler), who is always traveling, and weekly visits from his son. Frank has started to show signs of dementia, so his son (James Marsden) brings a robot into the house to take care of Frank. Frank resists at first, as he is set in his ways, and continues taking his daily trips into town to visit the librarian, Jennifer (Susan Sarandon). He soon realizes, though, that the robot can aid him in pulling off one last heist. Langella is terrific as the crusty “second story man” who realizes that things are starting to change, but maybe he can recapture a little of his youth by planning and carrying out the caper.  The friendship that develops between the Robot (voiced by Peter Sarsgaard) and Frank is touching and shows the need of everyone (even the crankiest person) for love and friendship.   My Rating:  Bargain Matinee   Robot & Frank Website

The 50 (A Movie From My Best/Worst Films of All Time)

#16 Best Film

The Maltese Falcon (1941) Humphrey Bogart stars in this classic film as Sam Spade, a Private Investigator who gets caught up in a search for the mysterious Maltese Falcon. Written and directed by the legendary John Huston, the film sets the standard for Film Noir style of film making with its dark Black and White shadows, which is used in almost every inch of this film.  The film has one of the great casts with Sydney Greenstreet, Elisha Cook Jr. , Peter Lorre and Mary Astor. This film made Bogart the star that he was destined to be.   The Maltese Falcon Info

Forgotten Film:   Slap Shot (1977) Paul Newman stars in this comedy as Reg Dunlop, the player/coach of a failing Ice Hockey team called, The Charlestown Chiefs. The team isn’t doing very well, both on the ice and at the box office, when Reg decides to play the Hanson Brothers, three violent hockey goons, and soon the future of the team starts looking up. Newman is hilarious in the role of the savvy and conniving Reg who will do almost anything to keep his hockey team together. But, be warned.  This is not the usual Paul Newman role as just about every other word that comes out of his mouth is a curse word.    Slap Shot Info

In Case You Missed it (A Film Just Released on DVD):   Battleship (2012) An absolute stinker of a film about an alien invasion and a small navy force that has to defeat the alien army. When I saw this movie in the theatre, the audience was laughing at almost every twist and turn. The only thing I liked about this film was Rihanna, who plays a kick ass Petty Officer who likes blowing up things, but she can’t make up for this complete mess.   My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again    Battleship Website

In Memory of Ed Wood (A Movie I’ve Only Seen in Trailers but Just Looks Like a Bad Idea): Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) Do we really need another Resident Evil movie with Milla Jovovich shooting big guns?  I can’t believe that five of these films have been made based off a video game.    Resident Evil: Retribution Website

Weird Credits: From the credits of The Possession: Truck Costumer

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You:  Liberal Arts (2012) Josh Radnor stars and directs this film about a man who returns to his hometown, a small college town, and quickly falls for a young college student, played by Elizabeth Olsen.  I really enjoyed Radnor's last film, 2010's Happythankyoumoreplease and this romantic comedy looks even better.   Liberal Arts Info

Until Next Time!

The Odd Life of Timothy Green

Family Faire:  The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)  Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton play Cindy and Jim Green, a couple who have been told by doctors that they will never get pregnant. Jim and Cindy get a little drunk, write down their wishes for the infant they never will have and bury the box in the garden. Then something magical happens as Timothy shows up on their doorstep. Timothy was born in the garden. This is an enjoyable family film that will make you laugh and will tug at your heart strings.  Sure, it’s a little sappy, but sometimes that’s okay. CJ Adams does an excellent job as Timothy Green, a boy who is caught up in the wonder of the world around him. Jennifer Garner is outstanding as the young mother who tries to cope with the situation.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   The Odd Life of Timothy Green Website

My View:   Sparkle (2012)  Set in the 1960’s, three sisters form a Motown singing group, but fame has a heavy price, and Sparkle (Jordin Sparks) is seeing her family fall apart right before her eyes. While Sparkle is writing her songs, it’s her sister, named Sister (Carmen Ejogo), who has center stage.  The other two sisters are backup for her, but she is a troubled soul and could make all their hopes and dreams come crashing down. The music is the best thing in this film (a lot of the original songs were written by R Kelly), which is a good thing because it makes you forget the plot is so full of clichés that you can see from a chorus away. Whitney Houston does sing one song in this film, and I sure some tears will be shed.   My Rating: Cable   Sparkle Website

Family Faire:  ParaNorman (2012)  Norman isn’t an ordinary boy – he can see dead people. In fact, Norman can’t just see them, he can interact with them. He is going to need this talent to help stop a legendary curse from destroying his town. This film is from the same group who did Coraline and it has that marvelous rich looking, stop-motion animation. The film starts off fresh and funny, especially when you can see the ghosts that Norman interacts with. The film bogs down at the end, with a confusing tale of a girl who is falsely accused of being a witch and now she has come back for revenge. I enjoyed this film, but it just didn’t have enough material to be a feature length film - it would have worked much better as a short. This film has some rather scary looking zombies and ghosts, so it’s not good for the 6 year-old and under group.   My Rating: Bargain Matinee   ParaNorman Website

Indiefest:  Killer Joe (2012)  Chris (Emile Hirsch) is a man who is in debt to a local mobster. When he hears that his mom has a $50,000 life insurance policy, he plans to hire Killer Joe (Matthew McConaughey), a hit man who happens to also be a police detective, to carry out the dirty deed. However, Killer Joe may want more than money to seal the deal. This is one of those films that some critics are going to love and some are going to hate. It is an ultra-violent film that doesn’t contain one redeeming character in it. My guess is that McConaughey just might get an Oscar nomination from this film.  McConaughey's that good in it, but one performance doesn’t make it a good movie. And, the last twenty minutes of this film is very graphic and bloody, making it very uncomfortable to watch.  My Rating: You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again   Killer Joe Website

Indiefest: The Awakening (2012)  In 1921 England, Florence (Rebecca Hall) has dedicated her life to de-bunking the claims of paranormal activity. After exposing a fake séance, she is hired to investigate a ghost that is haunting a boarding school. This film starts out fun and entertaining as we see Florence exposed in a crooked séance, but, by the time we get to the boarding school, it becomes your run of the mill ghost story and not very scary at all. There is a huge twist in the film that I absolutely hated. I did like Rebecca Hall as the pants wearing, tough as nails investigator, but the film’s script lets her down in the end.   My Rating: Cable   The Awakening Website

Indiefest: Easy Money (2012) JW (Joel Kinnaman) is a college student who comes from a poor background and needs money to stay in school and keep up appearances. He becomes involved with a drug gang who are trying to set up the drug deal of a lifetime, and JW gets more and more involved with the deal. This Swedish film is interesting to watch as a we see the mob and it’s drug induced way of life aren’t just native to the US. Kinnaman does a first rate job as the college student who gets in way over his head and just might not be able to get out of a life and death situation. But it’s Kragomir Mrsic as the hit man/enforcer named Mrado who makes this film so compelling. He is a man of extreme violence but must temper it when given custody of his young daughter. Now, he must decide to stay in the mob and risk his daughter's life or try and get away.  My Rating: Bargain Matinee   Easy Money Info

Weird Credits: From the credits of Sparkle: Piano Coach to Jordan Sparks

Coming Soon to a Theatre Near You: Lawless (2012) Just the cast alone, Tom Hardy, Shia LeBeouf, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, makes me want to see this film about bootleggers during the depression.   Lawless Info

Until Next Time!