(my list of) The Oscar Winners of 2014!

To be honest, this year's Oscar nominee choices were a bit irritating.  There's been too much sucking-up to the A-listers and not nearly enough attention on others. I'll be up front, I thought Wolf of Wall Street was a complete flop.  What critics see in it beyond the fact that it is directed by Scorsese and it's an attack on Wall Street stock brokers (oh wait, that's all they need!) I don't know.  Gravity? Really?  I mean I get it, it was fun, but people saw it for the same reason they flocked to Avatar: technical innovation.  But you didn't see Avatar getting Oscar nods...why? Because the story was awful, just like Gravity's. So why is Gravity getting so much Oscar attention?  American Hustle was technically brilliant, but my goodness I can't remember the last time I cared less about the outcome of the story's characters.  I think David O. Russell lost the audience badly with a script that was made for himself and his actors, without any consideration for the audience.  Once again though, critics aren't admitting these flaws, and here we are with Gravity and American Hustle with 10 nominations each.

But! my grudges aside, there are still plenty of great films, performances, and other aspects of film production that are getting the attention they deserve.  So, let's start off with the big one!


 
Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

I truly want to give this one a tie between 12 Years and Her, but 12 Years just barely beats it out for best picture.  12 Years a Slave is such an important, necessary film that everyone should see.  Director McQueen manages to go way beyond the over-told story of American slavery and capture just how cruel it is to degrade another human being to a sub-human level.  It's brutal, relentless, and entirely unapologetic, just as it should be.  No film has ever captured the cruelty of slavery better than 12 Years a Slave, and so, for it's importance, I give it a slight edge over Her for best picture this year.




Best Actor in a Leading Role: Matthew McConaughey
While there wasn't much else I loved about this movie, McConaughey's performance is totally spellbinding.  The screenwriters excessively preached their agenda through the script, and I think McConaughey saw that and tried to transcend it.  He did it well, because while the filmmakers were focused on the message, he was focused on portraying a man facing the worst death he could have possibly imagined for himself, and overcoming it.  For me, McConaughey pretty clearly had the best performance this year, although I give a tip of the cap to Bruce Dern for his wonderful performance in Nebraska.

(It's worth noting that McConaughey's performance in Mud, a movie released in early 2013, could have received a nomination too.  He was on fire this year!)




Best Actress in a Leading Role: Cate Blanchett

This is by far the easiest choice in the list.  Blanchett is magnificent in her difficult role portraying a woman who's high-class life turns entirely upside down, and suddenly faced with not only poverty, but largely-avoided family conflicts.  This is nowhere near Woody Allen's best film, which puts me in the surprising position of giving both leading actors the award for acting in only slightly above-average movies.  Nonetheless, I agree with most critics that Woody Allen is the best dialogue-writer of the modern era, and he doesn't disappoint in Blue Jasmine.  Blanchett seizes her lines and makes her character her own.  It's definitely worth a watch just for her performance.








Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Michael Fassbender

Fassbender's role as a cruel slave master in 12 Years a Slave is possibly the most overlooked performance this year.  He had the best acting performance in the movie, and I can't stop comparing it to Ralph Fiennes' infamous performance as an SS officer in Schindler's List.  It's so unbelievably cruel and inhuman, yet perfected by Fassbender's devotion to the part.
 
(I just can't leave this section without noting Barkhad Abdi's performance in Captain Phillips.  He gets a close runner-up for best supporting actor in my opinion.)




Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Lupita Nyong'o

While I think the supporting actress roles were probably the weakest section in this year's awards, Nyong'o still does an exceptionally good job portraying an enslaved woman that has any chance of hope slowly stolen away from her.  Your heart absolutely breaks for her, and her expression of pain during the now-infamous whipping scene (that makes Passion of the Christ look G-rated) brought me to tears.  Her performance, (and especially that scene) is scarring in the best way possible: It's a necessary scar, and the lesson learned from it is irreplaceable.







...NOW TO MY FAVORITE FILM THIS YEAR!...

 

Best Documentary Feature:  The Act of Killing

The Act of Killing is one of the best pieces of work ever captured on a camera. 

I mean it.

This documentary follows the famous executioners, (murderers) during the Indonsian killings of 1965-66, which was an anti-communism purge that led to at least 500,000 executions in under 2 years.  Director Joshua Oppenhiemer asked these killers to re-enact their murders for a "film", and the results are sickening to your core.  It will leave you breathless, screaming at your screen as you watch all your preconceptions about morality fall to pieces.  I can't give it best picture because, by being a documentary, there is no script or any writing involved, but! That said, it is (to borrow a critic's quote) the most innovative masterpiece of documentary film-making in history.

SERIOUSLY. GO WATCH THIS MOVIE.



And now for the rest of categories:

Best Animated Feature: Monsters University 
- Seriously it wasn't even nominated. Like what is that nonsense.

Best Cinematography: Her (Hoyte Van Hoytema)
- Yes, there are a lot of close-up shots of Joaquin Phoenix's face, but I loved each shot.  Her is yet another masterpiece for the highly-accomplished Hoyte.  He's my personal favorite cinematographer in the business today, with other great accomplishments like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Fighter, and Let the Right One In.

Best Directing: 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
- Easy choice. I don't know why the Academy separates this from Best Picture...they really should always go hand in hand.  If not, that's like saying the best painting of the year wasn't done by the best painter of the year.  ...Just doesn't make sense haha.

Best Costume Design: The Great Gatsby (Catherine Martin)
- I liked this movie way more than most critics, especially the surreal "feel" or "style" of the film, which I attribute largely to Costume Design and Makeup/Hairstyling.  However, considering most of the film sets were CGI, (animated), I can't give it best production design.

Best Film Editing: Captain Phillips (Christopher Rouse)
- It's amazing how I knew the ending to this film and still had sweaty hands for an hour.  Film editing was the main reason behind all that intensity.

Best Makeup & Hairstyling:  The Great Gatsby (Ashley Johnson & Wizzy Molineaux)
- Like I mentioned above, I loved the style of this film.

Best Original Score: Her (William Butler, Owen Pallett)
- It wasn't loud or inspiring like a summer blockbuster's score, but it was absolutely perfect for Her.  It gave an incredibly precise atmosphere to Jonze's already amazing movie.

Best Original Song:  "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" by Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis)
- The biggest movie snub of this year was the exclusion of the Coen Brother's Inside Llewyn Davis, which was easily better than American Hustle, Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club, and Gravity. This song, performed beautifully by Oscar Isaac, is one of my favorite songs released this year by any music artist.

Best Production Design: American Hustle (Judy Becker)
- While I mentioned earlier that I think this movie contains some critical flaws, I do think it deserves best production design. Each set (1) looked wonderful and (2) told a story in and of itself. Director David O. Russell packed a heaping amount of symbolism into his sets, and I happened to catch it and reveled in the genius subtleties.

Best Sound Editing: Inside Llewyn Davis (Skip Lievsay)
- The movie is practically a musical with the amount of folk songs sung in full in this movie, (all songs are great.) The editing on the songs and the dialogue was technically flawless to me.

Best Sound Mixing: Lone Survivor (Wylie Statemen)
- Another Oscar snub this year was Lone Survivor.  While there were certainly a few flaws I took issue with, it was still incredibly moving.  This was an easy award choice considering half of the film is essentially a firefight.

Best Visual Effects: Gravity (Tim Webber) 
- Nobody denies the technical innovation displayed in Gravity. You should look up the visual effects crew for this movie on iMDB...seriously its ridiculous haha.

Best Adapted Screenplay: 12 Years a Slave (John Ridley)
- Incredible true story perfectly captured on film. Another easy pick.

Best Original Screenplay: Her (Spike Jonze)
- I wish I could put this at the top of the list.  This script, and the way it was executed on film, is by far the main reason I want to give Her best picture.  It's just so impressive and thought-provoking on so many levels that I feel it deserves more recognition then it will receive.

(my list of) The Oscar Winners of 2013!

Well here we are!  The 85th Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, also known as the List of Politically Correct Movies of the Year, is airing tonight, and with Seth MacFarlane hosting, it is sure to be a show.

It is during this time of year when every film critic feels entitled to share their opinions on this years nominees with anyone that will listen, (I'm definitely guilty.) 
But! Instead of listing who I think will win each category, I give you my list of who should win.  In a few of these categories, I have listed winners who weren't even nominated, (cough cough Ben Affleck).  But honestly, in this not-so-humble man's opinion, they deserve the win. 

So! Here is my list of who deserves the Oscars this year:

Best Picture:  Argo

Ben Affleck's outstanding direction alone puts Argo on top for this year's best picture.  This is a must-see film that's gripping from the opening scene until even after the credits roll.

Actor in a Leading Role:  Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

There's practically no debate on this one.  His performance of Honest Abe is spellbinding, and he's definitely the most obvious shoe-in for this year's best acting performance.

Actress in a Leading Role:  Emmanuelle Riva  (Amour)

It's incredibly rare for a foreign film to win anything big in the Oscars, but Riva deserves this win.  Partially because this year's leading actress performances were notably lacking, but also because this 85 year old woman mesmerized us in the tragic tale of Amour.

Actor in a Supporting Role:  Tommy Lee Jones  (Lincoln)

This was the hardest category for me to pick a winner, as I am really tempted to give a three-way tie between Jones, Waltz for his performance in Djengo Unchained, and De Niro for his performance in Silver Linings Playbook.  But in the end, there must be a winner, and so I give the edge to Tommy Lee Jones for his incredible work in Lincoln. 

Actress in a Supporting Role:  Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

<--  That scene, right there, was the most emotional moment for me during any film I've seen this year.  The amount of tears shed by everyone who witnessed her singing "I dreamed a dream" is enough weight to land her the best actress in a supporting role this year.

Animated Feature Film:  Brave

Cinematography:  Cloud Atlas  (Frank Griebe and John Toll)

Costume Design:  Les Miserables  (Paco Delgado)

Directing:  Argo  (Ben Affleck) - may I note that this was the biggest oscar snub of the year.  Affleck was not even nominated!

Film Editing:  Argo  (William Goldenberg)

Make-up and Hairstyling:  Les Miserables  (Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell)

Music (Original Score):  Lincoln  (John Williams)

Music (Original Song): Cloud Atlas from Cloud Atlas (Tom Tykwer, Johnny Klimek, and Reinhold Heil)

Production Design:  Lincoln  (Rick Carter and Jim Erickson)

Sound Editing:  Life of Pi  (Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton)

Sound Mixing:  Les Miserables  (Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, and Simon Hayes)

Visual Effects:  Life of Pi  (Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, and Erik-Jan De Boer) 

Writing (Adapted Screenplay):  Argo (Chris Terrio)

Writing (Original Screenplay):  Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola)





After tallying up the award count for each film this year, it seems we have a three-way tie for the most awards won this year! (by my vote at least :)

The three best films of 2012 are.....
ARGO, LINCOLN, and LES MISERABLES!!!  

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (5.5)

Peter Jackson and company have traveled back to Middle Earth to bring J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit to the big screen.  With the same director, writers, cinematographer, film editor, production designer, set decorator, musical score director, supervising sound editor, and a handful of actors ALL from the original Lord of the Rings films, are we to expect the same caliber film with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey?

Plot:

Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit from the Shire, is swept into an adventure with thirteen dwarves who are determined to recapture their homeland, which was stolen by a dragon named Smaug.

Editor’s Note:  I saw the film twice, once in 48 frames per second 3D, and then in regular 2D.  This review is based off the HFR 3D version, since that is how The Hobbit was meant to be viewed.

My Thoughts:

In the wise words of one of my friends, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a nearly unfilmable story.  It is a fairly short book, which is why I instantly questioned Peter Jackson’s decision to make three feature-length films for The Hobbit.  I feared that this would stretch the story far more than it could, and consequently the screenwriters would add unnecessary side plots in order to fill up time.  And, lo and behold, they did just that.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is unnecessarily bloated, with PJ spending too much time exploring side plots that carry little significance.  The editors could have easily cut 30 minutes off the 2 hour, 49 minute runtime, and it would have kept both Tolkien purists and casual movie-goers happy.  This is certainly not a fatal flaw, but it does not stop there.

The most destructive aspect of An Unexpected Journey is Peter Jackson’s direction.  The entire film feels like PJ wanted to create the next Avatar film.  Cheap humor riddles nearly every scene; fanatic, law-defying acts appear everywhere; and bright, over-contrasted landscapes and creatures make the audience feel like they’re in fantasy-land.  Now granted, Tolkien wrote The Hobbit as a children’s story, but in no way does it read like a cheap fantasy novel.  Tolkien’s writing genius came from his ability to make the surreal appear ever-so real, and PJ and company harnessed this with unparalleled skill with the Lord of the Rings films.  However, PJ utterly abandons this direction in An Unexpected Journey, and the result is less-than-satisfactory.

Is there anything that saves An Unexpected Journey from being a failure?  The 3D version does.  It was meant to be seen in 3D, and, my goodness, what a visual experience.  While the battle scenes appear dull and poorly animated in 2D, they come alive and real in 3D.  I had the most fun watching these battle scenes, along with a splendidly-acted scene between Bilbo and the creature Gollum.  Another saving grace was Martin Freeman’s acting performance as Bilbo Baggins.  He plays the role beautifully, and, on my second viewing, I noticed that any cheesiness that comes from his part can be blamed on PJ and the screenwriters once again.  While Sir Ian McKellen couldn’t quite grasp the role of Gandalf as well as he did a decade ago, he still did a praise-worthy job of playing the old wizard. 

I cannot say the same for the actors playing the 13 dwarves.  Besides a strong performance by Ben Stott as Balin and James Nesbitt as Bofur, the dwarves were poorly acted.  Once again, I blame PJ for this, because these dwarves were poorly casted in the first place.  It is an unfortunate and entirely avoidable problem that presents itself most vividly in the opening scenes in Bilbo’s hobbit-hole.  

I never, ever thought I would want it, but here I am wishing that Peter Jackson did not direct An Unexpected Journey.  I had fun watching it in 3D, but the direction, casting, and writing were, while not terrible, pretty disappointing.  I hope for a day in the distant future when another director decides to film the Hobbit in one, maybe two films, pull the script directly from the book, and create a realism to The Hobbit that would launch the film above the masses of big-budget fantasy movies overcrowding the film industry.

Rating: 5.5/10

Life Of Pi (8.5/10)

Critically acclaimed director Ang Lee, (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) gathers together a relatively unknown cast of actors for the film adaption of the book "Life of Pi".  This book had previously been dubbed as the "impossible" novel to film, but was Ang Lee able to prove that assumption wrong?

Plot:
Pi Patel, a young boy who survives a disaster at sea, is forced to survive in a small boat with the only company being a hungry, wild bengal tiger.

My Thoughts:
I'm going to try to be systematic in this review, with each paragraph covering a major area of filmmaking and how well it was done in Life of Pi.  First and foremost is the script/story.  The Life of Pi is a fictional tale, but it doesn't feel like one at all.  The story is gripping, and plot holes are non-existent.  I couldn't help but wish for a little more action whilst Pi Patel was on the lifeboat, but the energy between Pi and the tiger was plenty enough to keep the story afloat, (<--see what I did there:)  And just a side-note, there is a lovely plot twist at the end that will have you and your friends debating the ending for quite some time.

Acting was great with previously unknown lead actor Suraj Sharma dominating most of the screen time alongside the bengal tiger (named Richard Parker).  Sharma was no Tom Hanks from Cast Away, but he definitely held his own in a promising debut performance.  Irrfan Khan, playing the adult Pi Patel, was my favorite performance of the movie.  He has an absolutely incredible one-liner near the end of the film that has to be my favorite line I've heard in 2012, (barely taking the title away from the the "limitless ocean" line in Cloud Atlas, spoken by Jim Sturgess.)

Khan's one-liner pertained to the main theme of the story, religion.  What was interesting about the Life of Pi story was that instead of debating the overdone Hollywood theme of, "Is there a God?", it simply accepted that there was a God, and then asked the question, "which story of God is the real one?"  I really, really enjoyed the uniqueness of this theme, and I thought it was incredibly well done.  However, Pi falters when it dabbles in other themes that were obvious to a survival story, such as the power of starvation and relationships.  It was a little unnecessary, and I would much rather have them focus in on just that one theme of religion.  All the same, I was overall satisfied with the way they handled the themes in the film.

I don't think I need to say anything about the cinematic experience, but gosh I can't help myself.  Wow, was it spectacular.  It's the reason this film was made, it's the focus, and its beautiful.  It's not even, how you say "Artsy."  It's not just the cinema geeks that can appreciate it; everyone can love the beauty of this film.  It shows you earth at it's most magnificent, and I can almost hear Ang Lee saying through the cinema, "Look at what you're missing when you busily go through your lives.  Look at the beauty this world has to offer."  It's so mesmerizing, and totally worth the theater ticket just for the cinematic experience.  One shot, when Pi is under water watching a boat sink to the depths, brought tears to my eyes.

Life of Pi is a fantastic film.  There was no one area where it failed to inspire.  I had a few minor issues with the film in different aspects; with the two biggest being the lack of engaging action while on the lifeboat, and the choice to not focus on just the religion theme.  There are many stories that can pull off multiple themes, but for Life of Pi, which is very linear, is stretches the story a bit thin.  However, the minor details do not diminish from the story too much, and once again, the focus here is not the story; it is the beautiful world in which the story is told.

Rating:  8.5/10

Lincoln (7.5)

Honest Abe is on the big screen twice this year, but this time around he's not slaying any vampires.  Instead, he is played by one of the most infamous actors in hollywood today, the glorified Daniel Day Lewis. With a host of other superb actors all under the direction of Steven Spielberg, can this movie possibly go wrong?

Plot:  
Set during the the last few months of Abraham Lincoln's life as president of the United States, the story follows Lincoln's incredible struggle to free American slaves through passing the 13th amendment while trying to end a civil war. 

My Thoughts:
Until this movie, I have never had the chance to see Daniel Day Lewis act on the big screen.  Now that I have, it's truly unforgettable.  Lewis is one of, if not the most dedicated actor in hollywood; totally obsessed with his roles in film.  He is nothing short of captivating; so (seemingly) effortlessly becoming the 16th President of the United States, embodying all of his strengths, weaknesses, struggles, joys, and trials.  It is a masterpiece, as is Tommy Lee Jones performance as Thaddeus Stevens.  Jones was almost as equally moving, and it was a shame the two characters only shared one scene, (but what a great scene it was.)

Acting across the board was easily the best part of this movie.  I'll go ahead and list a few names: Sally Field, David Strathairn, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Lee Pace, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Hawkes all were incredible.  I really believe that casting is Spielberg's greatest ability in filmmaking.  I can't think of anyone else that can cast actors for their roles better then he can.

The next best aspect of Lincoln was cinematography.  The director of cinematography was Janusz Kaminski, who is quite literally the best.  He did Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List, The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, etc, but even with all those under his belt, I dare say Lincoln was possibly his best work.  One shot in particular, in which President Lincoln walks away after dictating a letter to two young scribes, had me tearing up.  This was definitely my favorite scene in the whole movie.

So, why didn't I love the movie?  That's right, I sure didn't.  I liked the film, but I didn't love it.  After all, all the "technical" stuff was flawless; perfect acting, beautiful cinematography, no plot holes, (It's history so, that's pretty easy), and great music.  So what was the problem?  

Direction.  The overall direction of the film just did not grip me.  Lots, lots, lots of monologues that, while fun explorations of Daniel Day Lewis's acting talents, bored the progression.  Too much political bickering that, while gripping during the House of Representative debates, was pretty boring.  And that's at least 95% of the film: talking.  Not just talking, but talking about the exact same problem; how to end the war and slavery at the same time.  Watch the first half of the trailer below; the dialogue you hear there is all you'll hear for about two hours.

So in conclusion, you're left with a film that has incredible actors saying the same thing and talking about the same thing...it needed to go somewhere.  But instead, scriptwriter Tony Kushner filled the time with political arguments between political figures, saying the same quotes akin to, "Focus on ending the war, not slaves!",  "You can't have it both ways!", "Slaves don't deserve to be free!" etc, etc.  However, when the movie shined was when Tommy Lee Jones or Daniel Day Lewis were in the center of the screen, completely captivating the audience with their passionate performances.

Rating: 7.5/10

Cloud Atlas (7/10)

Cloud Atlas, based off the novel of the same name by David Mitchell, is an epic of a story spanning over a millennium of time, capturing the lives of dozens of characters all played by only a handful of actors.  Three directors, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski, (formally Larry Wachowski before a sex change) took on the task of telling this daring story.  Were they able to make such a great story work on the big screen?

Plot:  
This movie is simply too big to try and lay out the plot.  But in a nutshell, Cloud Atlas is a deep exploration of how all of our lives are interconnected and impacted by our actions...actions that transcend lifetimes and shape souls.

My Thoughts:

There are 13 main actors playing 68, (yes, sixty-eight,) different characters. Let that wash over you for a second.  But its only impressive if it works, right? Well it does work!  It really did!  I never once lost which character was which, even though multiple actors played as many as 7 different characters.

There was, however, one big problem with the character-switching.  Switching characters between ethnicities, which many main actors do in Cloud Atlas, did not work.  Jim Sturgess and Hugo Weaving, for example, looked downright silly as Asians, and by the same token, Doona Bae was horribly unconvincing as a Caucasian.  I understand the obvious message the directors were trying to convey here, but for cinematic purposes it really hindered the "seriousness" of the film.

With six stories spanning over six time-periods, I was really surprised that I never once got lost with any of the plots.  That fact alone I found to be a massive success.  All of the stories are engaging, which I credit the author David Mitchell for.  The acting was great across the board, with the standouts being Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, (of course), Jim Sturgess, and Jim Broadbent.  I'll also give a shout out to Ben Whishaw for doing an absolutely superb job of narrating his well-written monologues.  And I think this goes without saying: Cloud Atlas will be one of, if not the most beautiful, awe-inspiring cinematic experience of the year.  You only need to watch the trailer to figure that out.

It's going to take at least 4 or 5 viewings to catch all the underlying, interweaving themes running through each story.  It was masterfully done.  However, there are many times when Cloud Atlas begins to feel like Lana Wachowski's film.  She preaches way too much, and its obvious.  She(he), has a massive chip on her shoulder about the transgender thing, (go watch some interviews, it's very annoying) and she vents it all out in Cloud Atlas.  It has a very negative impact on the film as a whole, and I couldn't stop wishing she(he) was not a part of the filming process.

There are two other negatives in Cloud Atlas that bother me.  One was the musical score.  Honestly, it was just bad, (besides the "theme" song heard at the beginning of the trailer).  Too dramatic where it didn't need to be and very misleading at times, the score intervened with the film much more then progressed it.  

The other is uselessly explicit sex scenes.  One in particular was absolutely over the top, and this new Hollywood trend of "slipping in" women's bare breasts into the frame was just everywhere.  Also note that there is a very, very much in love gay couple that, while are not sexually explicit on screen, spend a good deal amount of time talking about how much they adamantly love each other, and it's shown in a very positive light.  All of this once again, feels very much driven by Lana Wachowski.

Never in cinema has anyone ever seen anything like Cloud Atlas.  Whether you hate it or love it, that's one thing I think all of us can agree on.  This story is just, new.  It is a completely original, mind-bending story.  For this reason alone, you should definitely see this film.  All the same, I can't help feeling like Cloud Atlas was held back by Lana's insistence to preach her grudges with society in uncalled-for, sometimes overly-explicit ways.

Rating:  7/10

Lawless (7/10)

Lawless is an adaption of the book "The Wettest Country in the World" which tells the story of the infamous Bondurant brothers; bootleggers during the prohibition era.  The writer of the original novel, Matt Bondurant, (grandchild of Jack Bondurant, the youngest of the three), is also on the script-writing team alongside the musician Nick Cave.  All of this is helmed by director John Hillcoat, who directed The Road; one of my favorite films of 2009.  This is indeed a odd combination of leaders, but are they able to pull it off?

Plot:
Set during the prohibition era, the Bondurant brothers are known as the toughest and best bootleggers in Franklin County, Virginia.  Their authority is challenged when crooked special deputy Charles Rakes wants in on their profits.  As fellow bootleggers begin to fold to Rakes' demands and pressure begins to mount, Jack Bondurant (Shia LaBeouf) must prove he can lead his brother's operation while still trying to win the heart of the local pastor's daughter Bertha (Mia Wasikowska).

My Thoughts:
Check out this cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, and Mia Wasikowska.  ....Yeah, my jaw was on the floor too.  This is the best lineup of actors since Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy of last year.  But with such a huge cast, does each character get to flourish or do some characters get overwhelmed?

Unfortunately, it is the latter.  Some performances were fantastic and made you care about their character's outcome, such as Tom Hardy, (Forest Bondurant) Jessica Chastain, (Maggie) and especially Guy Pearce as the oh-so-hateable villain Charles Rakes.  However, the leads Shia LaBeouf, (Jack Bondurant) and Mia Wasikowska (Bertha) fall incredibly flat and predictable.  I found myself bored with the leads and focusing in on the side characters of the story.  And just a side-note, Gary Oldman's character gets a whole 2 minutes of screen time, which was, albeit sufficient for his role, very disappointing considering his immense acting talent.

The plot line and script are predictable, as are most things coming out of hollywood these days.  But in the case of Lawless, that did not make it any less fun.  It's a genuinely addicting, interesting story set in one of the most unique, adventurous time periods of American history.  Worth mentioning is that there are no plot holes that I could find, which always puts a movie script above the rest.

Also, a word of warning; This movie is horribly violent.  The camera spares the audience nothing, "treating" us to torture-style violence and raising the volume of those lovely knife-slitting, skin-burning, blood-curdling sounds and screams.  There is also unnecessary nudity that has no reason to be there besides shock-effect, which is disappointing.

In conclusion, Lawless is a film that set out to tell a really good story.  And it did.  It's fun, it's engaging, and it'll make you laugh, squeal, and cheer all at the right times.  However, it is definitely bogged down by a predictable lead plot that was unenthusiastically performed, and that darn nudity that has no place here.  But if you're willing to look over the shoulder of Shia and Mia's characters, you'll see a world blossoming with interesting characters and intriguing story lines that lead to a climatic finish that had me on the edge of my seat.

RATING: 7/10