Lawless is all wet
If Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas had been set in the Prohibition Era south, it might look a lot like John Hillcoat’s (The Road) Lawless. Based on Matt Bondurant’s novel The Wettest County in the World, a historical account of his ancestors’ moonshine exploits, the screenplay, as adapted by Nick Cave (yes, that Nick Cave, minus seeds of any variety) so often parallels the 1990 gangster classic that it seems like just a matter of time before a “Layla” interlude kicks in. Despite the structural similarities, there is little of Goodfellas’ brilliance to be found in Lawless, as it plants its cowboy boot-heeled feet firmly in the middle the dirt road.
While it may appear that this is Tom Hardy’s movie, he’s actually more Robert De Niro to Shia LaBeouf’s Ray Liotta. So it goes that, in a film featuring Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce and Mia Wasikowska, it is LaBeouf’s Jack Bondurant who this story is really about. The runt of the Bodurant litter that includes Hardy’s Forrest and Jason Clarke’s Howard, Lawless focuses on how little Jack becomes a big man. Never mind the fact that LaBeouf appears only slightly more related to Hardy than, say, Don Cheadle would, this family folktale plays on the brothers’ relationships with one another and the rumoured invincibility of Forrest. Pearce hits the scene (modelling a slightly less absurd presentation than when he was last seen onscreen in Prometheus) as a Special Deputy intent on bringing the Bondurant’s down. Without eyebrows to get in his way, Pearce’s Rakes blazes a brutal trail in his efforts to bring the bootleggers to justice. If only there was an underdog, whom no one takes seriously, to stop him…
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Prometheus makes a crash landing
In anticipation of the release of Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, there has been much discussion over what this story will reveal. It’s well known that The Alien director was interested in telling the origin story of the xenomorphs, but he has been dismissive towards persistent rumours that his latest is a direct prequel to his 1979 classic; famously stating that the films share strands of the same DNA. While it would be expected that Scott was lying through his teeth, the surprise is that his statement is more of a half-truth, which may have been the worst option.
Set in 2093, a full 29 years before of Scott’s franchise leader, Prometheus treads very familiar territory. In these pre-Ripley days, we get Dr Elizabeth Shaw, whose tenacity is amply supplied by Noomi Rapace. On the slightly less human side, Michael Fassbender fills David’s synthetic shoes (although he probably should have been named Aaron). Visually, Prometheus paints a spectacular vision of life in space, but as the Prometheus ship itself is introduced with its name, crew number and “destination: unknown” flashing across the screen, it feels like Scott is coming home and taking the audience with him. Throughout the opening act, as the Weyland funded and led expedition to a far off planet gathers steam, a slow-burn, yet exciting pace builds. As the team explores the dark, mysterious caverns it’s easy to feel there beside them, despite knowing more about what may lie in wait for the crew than they do. When an instantly recognisable body is discovered, it’s almost enough to make one cheer. Heartbreakingly though, Damon Lindelof’s script gets it almost entirely wrong beyond that point.
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Noomi gets viral for Prometheus
The latest in a series of viral adverts for Ridley Scott’s Prometheus features the former girl with the dragon tattoo Noomi Rapace as Dr Elizabeth Shaw. It’s a bigger piece of work than her role in A Game of Shadows was, so why not give it a watch?
Check out the previous Prometheus viral vids after the break…
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Review: Justice
If anything can be said with certainty about Roger Donaldson’s new film Justice, it’s that it is definitely a Nic Cage kind of movie. It’s ludicrous, melodramatic, brimming with bad acting and is gloriously, unintentionally hilarious. Throw January Jones and Guy Pearce onto that sinking ship and Justice is served.
This man has had a lucrative acting career... Justice? I think not.
Cage stars as Will Gerard, an English teacher at a dangerous, urban New Orleans high school. Will is first introduced celebrating an anniversary with Laura (Jones), who he is inexplicably married to. Presented as easy-going and good-hearted, Cage, in full-on nerd mode, awkwardly dances the night away, unaware that a vile assault is soon in store for his wife. Following a night at the chess club with his best mate, Jimmy (Harold Perrineau), Will rushes to hospital, where Laura is being treated. In his time of agony (you can tell Will is really upset because Cage rubs his face a lot), Will is approached by Simon, just a regular guy who is tired of seeing the city being overrun by crime. He is part of an organisation made up of local citizens seeking justice. Simon tells Will that they know who attacked his wife and offer to “take care of it” at no financial cost, adding that they may need a favour of him in return. An uncertain Will is instructed to think it over and if he’s interested to buy two candy bars from the lobby vending machine. Of course, this leads to the most suspenseful, nerve-wracking vending machine scene ever committed to film. Will inserts his first dollar and eyes the chocolate bar. He selects it. The bar drops to the bottom of the machine. He inserts the second dollar. A moment’s hesitation. He selects… a second chocolate bar. The next scene sees John Q Rapist returning home, looking bushed after a hard day’s rape, but little does he know that Justice is about to kill him off. A simple phone call tells the tale: the hungry rabbit jumps.
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