Lawless
The film opens by introducing us to the Bondurant Brothers, three devil-may-care men living in Franklin County, Virginia in the early 1930s. They're famous for two things - the moonshine business that they run, and the fact that they consider themselves invincible, due to the number of times they have cheated death. The unofficial leader of the boys is Forrest (Tom Hardy), who almost does live up to his "invincible" reputation when he gets his throat slit by a couple of thugs, and he ends up walking all the way to the hospital, his hand covering his wound. The middle and least interesting of the three is Howard (Jason Clarke), who the screenplay forgets to develop into a character. And finally, there is the youngest, Jack (Shia LaBeouf), who serves as the film's narrator, and is the main focal point to the story.
Over the past five years, Shia LaBeouf has mainly been acting solely in mindless special effects spectacles like the Transformers movies, so Lawless represents his first real acting effort in a long time. There's nothing wrong with his performance here, but his character of Jack never demands much attention of us. He has a passion for fast cars, flashy clothes, and gangsters. He also pines after the lovely Bertha (Mia Wasikowska), the timid daughter of the local preacher. This romantic subplot seems shoehorned in, as we learn very little about the two, nor do we ever feel any chemistry at any time in the film. The same goes for Forrest's relationship with his girl, Maggie (Jessica Chastain). While she seems like an interesting character (she's an exotic dancer who fled from Chicago to find a life away from the gangster violence), the movie never fully develops her into a full character. In the case of both Wasilkowska and Chastain, there is nothing to fault about their screen presence. They're just short changed by the script.
Eventually, the Bondurant Brothers find their business and their lives threatened by the arrival of a deputy from Chicago named Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce). Charlie is so oily and immediately sleazy, he's the type of villain who may as well be wearing a sign around his neck reading, "HI! I'M THE VILLAIN!" As soon as Charlie arrives, he starts threatening the Bondurants and the rest of the local bootleggers to pay him a fee in order to get him to look the other way. Those who do not comply are met with brutal violence, which the movie likes to show in great detail. Naturally, the three brothers refuse, and a war breaks out, which eventually gets the attention of famed gangster, Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman), who is supposed to side with the Bondurants. Unfortunately, Floyd is so underwritten and his part is so small, he makes no impression whatsoever, and Oldman is essentially doing a walk-on here.
Lawless has been made with a considerable amount of skill. It looks and feels real in its setting, giving us a sense of being in a certain time period. And the violence, while often very grisly and extreme, feels stylistic, and not exploitive or offensive. The problem lies solely and complete with the script by Nick Cave, and its inability to make us care about the people inhabiting the story. It seems fascinating, and it seems like it should be engaging. And at times, it is. There are some tense moments throughout the film that got me close to recommending this. But, in the end, I just could not shake the fact that the characters and various subplots that are supposed to strengthen them had no effect on me.
I must admit, I admired that the movie did not try to completely romanticize the Bondurant Brothers. They are criminals, and they can be quite ruthless. However, the law (represented by the slimy Charlie Rakes) is much worse, so they come across as the lesser of two evils. This could have been intriguing, but the character of Charlie is so one-sided in his evil nature, it's just not as interesting as it should be. Guy Pearce plays the role of Charlie almost as if he is channeling Dick Dastardly. I half expected him to take Jack's girlfriend, and tie her to the railroad tracks during the climax. In order for the character to work, he needs a much less broad approach. And in order for the Bondurants to be interesting, we need to actually know about them.
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I personally always enjoy it when a movie gives us a look into a profession that is seldom seen in most films. That is certainly the case here, as we are introduced to the high speed world of bicycle messengers, who zip in and out of New York gridlock traffic in order to deliver their parcels on time. We're introduced to the best of the lot, Wilee (as in the coyote from the 
We get a brief glimpse into Wilee's life before the plot kicks in. He walked away from a career in law, not wanting to be tied down with a desk job. His on again-off again girlfriend, Vanessa (Dania Ramirez), is a bike messenger also, and is in danger of falling in love with his personal rival on the messenger circuit, the arrogant Manny (Wole Parks). The plot is set into motion when Vanessa's roommate, Nima (Jamie Chung), attempts to smuggle her young son out of China by delivering something to a woman in Chinatown by 7 PM. Wilee is put in care of the package, but as he begins the delivery, a crooked cop by the name of Bobby Monday (Michael Shannon) stops him, and tries to get the package he's delivering. His attempts to obtain it grow more violent as the film goes on. We witness in flashbacks that the object Wilee is delivering is worth a lot of money, and Bobby needs it to pay off some gambling debts. The chase begins, and pretty much does not let up for the next 80 minutes or so.
Even though he has many directing efforts to his credit, David Koepp is more known for writing screenplays to big budget blockbusters like 
The film also expertly mixes some professional stunt work and well-done CG to recreate the dangers that bike messengers face every day in the city. Fortunately, it's all blended quite seamlessly, so we don't spend the whole movie trying to figure out what's what. Joseph Gordon-Levitt supposedly did some of his own bike stunts in this film, and it does look like practical stunts and effects were used as much as possible, which is almost a necessity in a film such as this. It's a good thing the film seldom if ever slows down, because when it stops long enough to focus on its plot, the movie gets bogged down a little by Michael Shannon's silly and over the top villain performance. He chews the scenery as much as possible, which is fine when he's driving fast on the tail of a bike messenger. But, when he has to deliver a real scene, his performance sometimes comes across as more than a little cartoonish.
Everybody else's performance, fortunately, is a little more grounded. They come across as likable, hard-working people who just get wrapped up in something much bigger than they anticipated. There's an honesty in the way the messengers talk to each other, and how they relate to one another. That's something that kind of caught me off guard. While these messengers risk their lives on the streets of Manhattan, they are not just mindless thrill seekers. They have real lives and concerns, and the movie does touch upon that. It also helps that this is a particularly strong cast of young actors in the leads, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt once again branching out into a very different kind of role.
The movie is the pet project of comic actor, Dax Shepard, who not only stars in the film, but also wrote the script, and co-directed the film along with David Palmer. He cast his girlfriend, Kristen Bell, in the female lead, which was a good idea, as they do have obvious chemistry during their scenes together. He then cast a bunch of his actor friends in the supporting roles, including Bradley Cooper, Tom Arnold, Kristen Chenoweth, Michael Rosenbaum, and Beau Bridges. There are more recognizable actors in smaller roles, which turns the movie into a game of which celebrity is going to pop up in the movie next. I'm sure a great time was had by all on the set, but why couldn't the script give these actors actual characters to play? Outside of Shepard and Bell, we learn very little about these people, other than they're goofballs who like to drive really fast cars. This film starts out amusing, as we listen to Shepard and Bell's witty dialogue. But then the plot kicks in, and the car chases take over.
Shepard plays a man who goes by the name of Charlie Bronson. That's not his real name, because he's been in the Witness Protection program the past few years after he testified against some criminals. At least, that's what his girlfriend, Annie (Bell) thinks. As it later turns out, he has a closer tie to the criminals he helped put behind bars other than just testifying against them. But, before all that, Annie gets a job interview in Los Angeles. It's the chance of a lifetime. Not wanting to lose her, Charlie decides to break away from the accident-prone U.S. marshal who has been hired to protect him (Tom Arnold), and drive Annie to L.A.
It should be a simple drive, but Annie has to make a quick stop at her ex-boyfriend's house (Michael Rosenbaum) to get something before they leave. This is a mistake, as the ex has always been suspicious of Charlie's criminal past, and after a quick search on the Internet, learns that the guy has connections with a notorious bank robber named Alex Dimitry (Bradley Cooper). Turns out Charlie didn't just rat on the guy, he was his former getaway driver. Alex has been hungry for revenge since getting out of prison, and when he finds out from the ex that Charlie is on his way to L.A., he sends his gang after the couple. Also pursuing Charlie and Annie is the previously mentioned U.S. marshal, and two local sheriffs, one of whom is gay for the sole fact that someone felt the movie needed a comedic gay character in its cast of oddballs.
Then the characters hit the road, and my heart sunk with each passing minute. While the film remains watchable and pleasant, it just simply runs out of any inspiration. Instead of characters and witty dialogue, we get a lot of car chases. I don't know about you, but I do not find cars driving around really fast, or flying off of things funny. I also didn't find it funny that the Tom Arnold character is so unlucky and accident-prone that he crashes his car in nearly every scene he's in. By the end of the movie, the thing looks like a wreck. Are we supposed to be laughing at the vehicular damage? I suppose people who are really into cars will enjoy these scenes. They can point out what the characters are driving, and get to see some of them get smashed up really good.
I also have to take issue with the casting of Bradley Cooper as the villain. He simply is not intimidating here, not even when he's strangling a guy and forcing him to eat dog food. Whenever he's supposed to be confronting Shepard's character, they seem like they're having friendly banter, not bitter enemies. And when he kidnaps his girlfriend, we don't really fear for her, because his heart doesn't even seem to be in it. This kind of role calls for an actor with manic energy, and Cooper is simply too safe and mild. Everybody else fills out their roles well enough, with no one really standing out. I mentioned that Shepard and Bell had good chemistry together, and they do. Made me want to see them in a movie where they could fully exploit it.
Stop me if you've heard this plot before - Three young black girls dream about being a Motown music trio. One of them is big, brash, and has the best singing voice. One of them is the overachiever. And the third is the little mousy one who doesn't stand out much, but is secretly the most talented of the three, both as a singer and a songwriter. She just needs to find the right man to believe in her, and bring out her talent. The three girls are under the thumb of a very strict mother, who is very religious, and pretty much sees everything that her girls think is fun as "the devil's work". They go against their mom's wishes, and quickly skyrocket to fame with their music act. But then, trouble hits. The big, brash lead singer gets involved with an abusive and slimy man who frequently beats her, and gets her hooked on drugs. It looks like the act's going to have to break up. But then, the little mousy one finds the power to believe in herself and her talent. With the help of her supportive boyfriend, she starts a successful solo career. And of course, her strict mother who has been against her dreams from the very start, is there in the audience, nodding approvingly, and cheering the loudest when the girl sings her big number at the end.
You can probably name at least one movie with that exact same plot. If you can, you've already seen what 
The other half of the movie is supposed to be about Sparkle finally becoming her own person, believing in herself, and standing up to her God-fearing mother. Unfortunately, none of this resonates, because the script doesn't seem all that interested in her transformation into a confident woman. It seems much more interested in the melodramatic story of Sister's decline into drug addiction. Once that's been resolved, it hurries through the obligatory scenes of Sparkle moving out of her home, mending things with her boyfriend, and winning over a record executive, who agrees to give her a chance. It's almost like the movie can't wait to get itself over with. I could certainly sympathize with the desire for a quick end, but it's always kind of depressing to see a movie not that interested in its main character.
And then, of course, there is Whitney Houston, giving her final performance as the girls' mother. For an entertainer's swan song, this is a depressingly low key one. Nothing about Houston's performance stands out. Her voice is usually raspy, and whenever she's supposed to be angry about something, she never quite seems as angry as she's supposed to. Her key moment in the film comes when she gets to sing a number in a church scene. Even this disappoints, as it seems she has a harder time hitting those high notes she was once famous for. This is not a strong performance, and far from a fitting send off for one who was a great entertainer. At one point in the film, someone tells her character she looks tired, and she responds that she is. I seriously could not tell if this was dialogue, or the actor having a moment of honesty, given Houston's sadly lethargic performance here.
I think what ultimately bothered me the most about 
The gimmick for the sequel is essentially the same as the first movie - Gather a bunch of big name stars from the 80s and 90s, and have them play some middle aged guns-for-hire, who swoop in and kill all the bad guys whenever they're needed. Just like the last film, despite all the big names that appear above the title, only a small handful of them play any actual role in the plot. Sylvester Stallone (who co-wrote the film) and Jason Statham pretty much get all the dialogue. Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, and Randy Couture pretty much exist solely for the action scenes. And Jet Li, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Chuck Norris are here for a quick cameo. Norris, in particular, pretty much shows up unannounced, makes his own personal "Chuck Norris" joke, and then walks off. He does return for the big climactic shoot out, but I sense this is only because the studio wanted to use him more than just for a walk on.
The plot: There's a fresh young member to the team of heroes named Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth). After the introductory action sequence, he pulls Stallone aside, and tells him he wants to quit the team. He's young, full of dreams, and is in love with a pretty young nurse. In other words, the kid's doomed. Being full of dreams and love in an action movie pretty much guarantees you'll be the first major character to die. It's right up there with being a cop who is only two days away from retirement. Sure enough, when Stallone and his crew are sent on their next mission to retrieve a computer with the aid of a Chinese woman named Maggie Chan (Nan Yu), they run into the film's villain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), who promptly steals the computer, and kills Billy. This is enough to give our heroes motivation to spend the rest of the movie chasing after the bad guys.
I smiled when I saw Van Damme show up as the bad guy, my mind racing with the possibilities of what sort of villain he would turn out to be. Turns out, he's not much of one. The main distinguishing trait of his character is that he wears sunglasses pretty much at all times, even when he's deep underground in a mine shaft. He doesn't even get to play any sort of role in the movie after he appears. He pretty much disappears until it's time for his climactic fight scene with Stallone. So, why did he want the computer? Apparently, it shows the location of some plutonium that's been hidden in a mine since the Cold War. He says to his lead henchman that he already has some buyers for the plutonium. Who, you ask? He doesn't say. I'm assuming this is to help the film in the overseas market. If he doesn't name what countries are interested in buying from him, then nobody will get offended.
That's pretty much all there is to 
Things are not much better for Norman outside of the home. It seems that everyone knows that he believes he can talk to the dead, which has understandably given him the reputation of being the town weirdo, and a victim of the local bully, Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). The closest thing to a friend that Norman has is a chubby and dorky kid named Neil (Tucker Albrizzi), who looks kind of like an animated version of Rowley, the chubby and dorky kid from the 
Of course, no one in town knows about this curse, because it's been kept in check by Norman's crazy Uncle Prenderghast (John Goodman). He can see and talk to the dead also, and up until now, it's been his duty to prevent the witch from rising from the grave every year. He does this by reading a passage from a certain book. But this year, Prenderghast does not live long enough to stop the curse from happening. Fortunately, he happens to know that Norman shares his gift for seeing ghosts, and so his spirit visits the kid during a most unfortunate time (while Norman is using the bathroom), and charges him with the task of finding the book, and completing the ritual that will hold back the curse for another year. Norman finds the book easily enough, but doesn't get to the witch's grave in time. Therefore, the witch rises from her slumber, the dead start walking the Earth, and young Norman will have to put aside his fears, and use his sixth sense to save his town.
Not only is it wonderful to listen to what these characters say to each other, it's a joy to look at, too. The movie is done with stop motion animation, which means all the sets are models and incredibly detailed. There are a lot of hidden gags found all around the background that most audience members will miss. At one point, as the camera is flying over the town of Blithe Hollow, we see a sign reading, "Welcome to Blithe Hollow - a nice place to hang". This is accompanied by an image of a smiling witch with a noose around her neck. Aside from the hidden background gags, the movie features some truly stunning action sequences, made all the more amazing when you consider that the characters are all three-dimensional figures being moved frame by frame by the animators. Stop motion animation is one of the more time consuming versions of the artform, and the true brilliance of 
That's because this is a surprisingly tender and heartfelt film. For all of its ghosts, witches, and zombies, the movie is really about a little boy trying to fit in and find his place in the world. Nothing new, obviously, but this film deals with it in a very mature manner that helps us relate to and connect with young Norman. And while some of the characters who surround him can seem quite silly, they never come across as shallow caricatures. This is a movie that's been thought through in just about every category, and it really shows. I think the best complement I can give is that the movie pulls off the rare feat of being charming, funny, suspenseful, and heartfelt often at the same time. It's one of 2012's best animated releases, also.
The movie was written and directed by Peter Hedges, who has done some really good, small movies about everyday people, such as 
That night, a magical rainstorm hits the Green home. We know it's magical, because it's only raining directly on their land, and nowhere else in the small country town where they live. They are awakened by the storm, only to see muddy footprints covering their floor in different parts of the house. They follow the trail to a small bedroom, where a boy about 10-years-old covered with mud is waiting for them. He addresses himself as Timothy (CJ Adams), and calls Jim and Cindy "mom and dad". Where did he come from? From the spot in the ground where they buried the box earlier that evening, apparently, judging by the hole that's suddenly there. The boy is a bit awkward and not that coordinated, but he possesses all the traits that Jim and Cindy dreamed of in their "perfect child".
The movie wisely does not really try to explain Timothy, or what he is. We know he's not entirely human, because he has fresh green leaves growing out of his skin around his ankles. Regardless, the Greens accept him as their own, and before long, so does most of the local townsfolk. Timothy develops a relationship with a withdrawn, but nice local girl (Odeya Rush) who appreciates him for how different he is and acts. He even manages to somewhat win over the mean old lady (Dianne Wiest) who runs the small museum where his mother works. No big plot developments happen once Timothy appears into the lives of his parents. This is a quiet, gentle fable about two people learning to love this strange little boy whom they know nothing about, nor where he truly came from. Meanwhile, little Timothy gets to experience life, and the different people who make up the town. How long he will get to enjoy this is another matter, as when the leaves on the trees start to change color, so do the ones on Timothy.
Ferrell is Cam Brady, a Senator in North Carolina's 14th District, who has held office for so long, largely because he's gone unchallenged. He's been in office for so long, he treats everything (even family life at home) as part of his campaign, and probably doesn't remember the last time he said something that had nothing to do with boosting his approval rating. A recent phone sex scandal has threatened his plans for another run in office, however. His main supporters, the wealthy Motch Brothers, Glenn and Wade (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd), suddenly find themselves in a position where they can no longer back Cam, due to his growing list of scandals. Instead, they decide to back a dark horse candidate, and the first competition Cam has had for his position in years.
That candidate is Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), a local tour guide who talks with a chirpy little voice that almost makes him sound like a cartoon character. Marty is a decent enough guy, but he doesn't have a clue and he can't mudsling to save his life when he goes up against Cam in a televised debate. He's teamed up with a campaign manager (Dylan McDermott) who not only teaches Marty how to sell his soul (and sacrifice his family) for approval points from the voters, but also how to play at Cam's level of dirty politics. Before two long, the two candidates are attacking each other's values. Cam calls Marty a Communist, because he owns Chinese pug dogs, so Marty counters by attacking Cam's religious beliefs. As the battle between the two escalates, the movie becomes broader, and obviously has a lot of fun letting these actors cut loose.
The movie is funny in two ways. It's funny, because it attacks some recognizable traits of political campaigns, and the "anything to win" approach that most candidates win. We laugh, and we nod our head in recognition during these moments. The other way that it gets its laughs is by just being as broad as possible. When Cam decides to seduce Marty's wife and make a sex video out of it, we're sort of shocked. But that shock turns into a huge laugh when that video becomes an actual campaign commercial for Brady, and it gets him higher in the polls. Yeah, this is not a high brow movie. But I laughed, darn it! The film's third act, where the candidates finally stop and realize how low they've stooped, kind of bogs things down a little, but by that point, the movie had already earned enough good will with me that I didn't mind.
