The Revenant (8/10): A visual spectacle

"As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe... keep breathing."

It's only been a year since Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu delivered the award winning Birdman and somehow he managed to deliver another visual masterpiece in record time. To follow up such a groundbreaking film like Birdman, with an epic adventure film like The Revenant is mesmerizing. But Gonzalez doesn't deserve all the credit, his films have stood out because of Emmanuel Lubezki's groundbreaking cinematography. The best thing about The Revenant is without a doubt its visual style. And the same could be said about Lubezki's previous efforts: Gravity and Birdman. In three years Lubezki has delivered some of the most beautiful looking films of our decade (and I'm not even including The Tree of Life which he worked on in 2011). This man is pure genius and will without a doubt win his third Oscar in a row. I hope the two continue to work together and deliver more visually inspiring films. 

Leonardo DiCaprio deserves all the accolades he's received for his physically demanding performance here. From the very first scene we see him face one obstacle after another as the opening sequence takes place while he is being attacked by a group of indians during a fur trading expedition. It's not much later when the much commented bear mauling scene takes place, but that is only the beginning of his struggles. DiCaprio gives it his all and even though this isn't the best performance of his career, it will finally be the one that gives him the Oscar. Tom Hardy also delivers a fantastic supporting performance as John Fitzgerald, the man who wants to leave him behind. The film ends up feeling like one long chase in a similar way as Mad Max Fury Road, although at a much slower pace. A survival/revenge film like this has never looked so beautiful. The film is a bit too long and it eventually begins to wear down, but it's a constant feast to the eyes despite the exhaustion. 

Child 44 (5/10): Anti-Soviet Propaganda in case a new Cold War breaks out.

"There is no murder in paradise.”

Another of my most anticipated films of the year that failed to live up to my expectations. I usually tend to look forward to films based solely on the director, but this time I was excited about the cast: Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, and Noomi Rapace. Child 44 is an adaptation of Tom Rob Smith’s best selling novel directed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) set in Stalin-era Soviet Union. Of course it is easily going to be labelled as anti-Soviet propaganda considering it is based on a novel written by a British author and directed by a Swedish director. The screenwriter, Richard Price (The Color of Money), is American and despite being set in Russia no one in the cast is Russian. Child 44 feels like one of those movies that came out during the Cold War trying to prove to the Western world how awful the Soviet communist regime was. You have British and Swedish actors playing Russian characters, but speaking in English with Russian accents because it wouldn’t be as accessible to us if they had them speaking Russian. I’m not a fan of this style of film making and would much rather them stick with the original language, but we probably would miss out on seeing such a talented cast like this if that were so. The accent issue isn’t the greatest problem with this film however, the tone of the movie is inconsistent and there are several tonal shifts that simply make the story drag at times. Child 44 is 135 minutes long and you feel every minute of it. 

Tom Hardy is Leo Demidov, a Soviet military police officer who was adopted at an early age after the death of his parents. By chance he became a war hero thanks to a picture taken of him waving the Soviet flag over Berlin after their victory. Now in the early 50’s he has an important rank working in Moscow as a military officer married to Raisa (Noomi Rapace) and he enjoys sharing the story of how they met with his fellow officers. He’s idealistic and pursues anyone who is against the Stalin regime labelled as traitors. When a young boy is found dead near a train station the officials dismiss the cause of death as simply an accident, but it is evident that the kid was brutally murdered. But of course under the Soviet regime there can’t be any murders because they’re supposedly living in a perfect society. The kid happened to be the son of one of Leo’s friends, Alexei (Fares Fares), and so he begins having his doubts about the cause of death. However that doesn’t go well with Major Kuzmin (Vincent Cassel) who warns him to leave it at that. After successfully capturing a traitor named Anatoly (Jason Clarke), the officers get a list of names of other suspects from him. Raisa happens to be on that list and Leo is asked to testify against his wife and bring her in, which seemed to be a way of testing his commitment to the regime. He refuses to turn her in and is disgraced, demoted, and exiled to a small town near Moscow to serve under General Mikhail Nesterov (Gary Oldman). When another child victim is found there in similar conditions, Leo convinces Mikhail to look into it and they secretly begin investigating the case.

The premise of the story is very interesting, but unfortunately this period piece takes its time to introduce each character. I’ve read that the first cut of the film was over 5 hours long and you can tell here that it hasn’t been edited in the best way because there are several tonal shifts throughout the film. Price was given the almost impossible task of adapting the screenplay of this novel without trying to leave any of the subplots out. There are several elements of the story that could’ve been ignored and which would’ve allowed for a much better pacing, but unfortunately every time the thrills began to draw me back to the story they introduced another narrative arc that drowned the pacing once again. If the film focused exclusively on the search for this mysterious serial killer it could’ve been a strong thriller because the performances in this film were all solid. Tom Hardy is great in his role and he alone almost makes the film worth recommending. Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Noomi Rapace, Fares Fares, Paddy Considine, Vincent Cassel are all convincing as well, but they don’t get as much screen time and some of their narrative arcs aren’t as interesting.        

Mad Max Fury Road (9/10): Geroge Miller's vision perfectly executed in this action pounding orchestra of a film

“As the world fell it was hard to know who was more crazy. Me... Or everyone else.”

To describe George Miller’s fourth post-apocalyptic Mad Max film as crazy would be an understatement because it is one of those rare over the top and unique action films that keeps you at the edge of your seat during its entire runtime with fantastic car chases and inventive fighting scenes that feel like a breath of fresh air in an era dominated by CGI effects. The visuals absolutely stun you and Miller’s amazing vision of this apocalyptic wasteland is beautifully captured through the camera. It may have taken 30 years for this sequel to be released, but it is a huge improvement over Beyond Thunderdome and it manages to build on what The Road Warrior had achieved by introducing a much more chaotic world and colorful characters. Fury Road works both ways as either a sequel or a reboot, and it erases most of the problems I had with Max’s character in the previous film. This is a return to what Miller had done in The Road Warrior, but with a much higher budget to work with and that allowed his vision to be fully fulfilled here. Three more Mad Max films are already in the talks and I can’t wait to embark with Max on his next adventures. This is going to be a very difficult film to top and so far it’s the best 2015 has to offer.

In Fury Road, Tom Hardy replaces Mel Gibson for the lead role of Max, a wondering warrior who’s still coping with the loss of his wife and son as he travels through the post-apocalyptic deserted wasteland. The film begins with a group of bandits chasing Max who eventually capture him and take him to The Citadel, where a ruthless leader named Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) controls the water supply for the masses that have gathered below the heights of the mountain where he is based. Joe doesn’t just control the water supply, he also has a large army of War Boys who he has trained to sacrifice themselves willingly for his service, farming women who breed their breast milk, and even several beautiful wives to give him children. Joe has created quite an empire, and Max has been enslaved to serve as a blood donor for the injured War Boys. We are introduced to this crazy place and its rules as Joe sends his trusted lieutenant, Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) on a local errand with her fuel filled rig to Gasland. However, she  decides to take another route and her intentions are soon revealed. She is helping some of Joe’s wives escape from their enslavement promising to lead them to the green lands. When Joe discovers that she has betrayed him he sends all his boys out on a desperate chase and that includes Nux (Nicholas Hoult), one of the War Boys who is using Max as his personal blood bag. Nux chains Max to the front of his vehicle and brings him along the desperate and nonstop chase that ensues. For the next two hours Fury Road is basically one extensive chase that will get the entire audiences’ blood pumping.  

I’ve praised Miller’s vision and his direction, as well as the spectacular action set pieces he has crafted, but it wouldn’t do this film justice if the cast didn’t receive its share of praise as well. It isn’t easy to fill the shoes of such an iconic character like Mad Max, but Tom Hardy pulled it off in a very convincing matter. As much as I like Mel Gibson, I have to give Hardy a lot of praise for delivering such an entertaining performance. He is one of my favorite actors working today. It was also great to see Hugh Keays-Byrne back in a Mad Max film playing a different character this time, but he absolutely nailed the menacing role of Joe. Nicholas Hoult was also a pleasant surprise, but perhaps the greatest addition to this franchise was Charlize Theron’s Furiosa who injects the film with a very much needed feminist tone. Theron delivers perhaps the strongest and most memorable role in the movie and she is one kick-ass action star. It helped that she got a lot of action scenes where she actually got to do something instead of being the damsel in distress. The look of the film is also breathtaking, and the way that Miller envisions this world is simply fantastic. The cool vehicles are built from all sorts of scrappy metals and materials you’d collect in the wasteland. Everything about this film is simply fantastic and the action scenes don’t disappoint one bit. You will feel the rush from the very opening scene and it will continue long after the credits begin to roll. Fury Road is the best film of the franchise.   

The Drop (8/10): Tom Hardy delivers an outstanding performance in this criminal thriller

“There are some sins that you commit that you can't come back from, you know, no matter how hard you try. You just can't.”

The Drop is my kind of film and that is why I am able to look past the predictability of the story and simply enjoy the movie for what it is: a low level gangster film with an outstanding cast. If you are the kind of person who prefers spectacular car chases and heavy shooting in thrillers than The Drop definitely isn’t for you because it is a slow burner that requires patience from the viewers. It is more interested in establishing who these characters are and setting the atmosphere and tone of the movie than in focusing on the action scenes. It doesn’t discard the banality of these gangsters day to day life so at times the viewer might feel that it is an ordinary and boring film, but if you stick with the story the ending definitely pays off. I enjoyed that slow buildup and didn’t mind it at all because I loved how the story focused on Tom Hardy’s character arc and was drawn to his performance. The Drop is based on Dennis Lehane’s short story, Animal Resuce, and the screenplay was also adapted by him so I had confidence in the story that was being told. Lehane has written some of my favorite crime thrillers (Gone Baby Gone and Mystic River) so I knew he was going to deliver once again. It might just be another crime thriller that doesn’t stand out from other films in the genre, but if you are a fan of these stories you will have a great time with The Drop.  

The Drop is directed by Michael Roskam and despite not being as groundbreaking as his Oscar nominated Belgian film, Bullhead, it is still one of the best thrillers of the year thanks to the wonderful performances from the cast and the attention to details of the Brooklyn scene. In The Drop Tom Hardy stars as a lonely bartender named Bob. Along with his cousin Marv (James Gandolfini) they run things at a local bar as a cover for dangerous Chechen gangsters. This is just one of the many bars the Chechens use as a cover to drop off all the money from the night’s criminal activities in one place. There are some strong supporting performances from John Ortiz who plays a detective investigating a robbery that takes place in Marv’s bar, Noomi Rapace who thanks to the help of an abandoned puppy warms up to Bob’s lonely persona, and Matthias Schoenaerts a low life criminal trying to con Bob using the puppy. As you can tell the puppy plays an important role in this film and there is something symbolic about its presence in the way it changes Bob’s social life. It’s the cutest puppy I’ve seen on film this year.

The greatest thing about The Drop is without a doubt Tom Hardy’s lead performance. Hardy is establishing himself as my favorite actor. He is such a versatile actor and in this film he reminded me a lot Gosling’s character in Drive. He is sort of retracted and silent, but he conveys so much without saying anything. His character arc is what drives this film. Another reason to watch The Drop is that it’s James Gandolfini’s final performance. He passed away a month after having finished shooting this film. We’ve seen him play this role many times in the past, but he does it so well that I found it a fitting farewell. Schoenaerts is excellent and Rapace plays these dark roles to perfection. John Ortiz also has some interesting scenes and I was glad to see Ann Dowd have a small role as well. I wish she had more screen time. The Drop is worth watching for the cast alone, but it also has a smart screenplay and an interesting atmospheric tone. It’s short of being a masterpiece, but it still is a wonderful film.  

   
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My Review: Stuart: A Life Backwards (7/10)

"My name is Psycho but you can call me Stuart if you want."

Before his breakout role in Bronson, Tom Hardy showed his true potential in a small made for TV film, Stuart A Life Backwards. He co-stared along another relatively unknown at the time, Benedict Cumberbatch (at least outside of Great Britain). These are two huge A-list actors today who have starred as villains in blockbusters like Star Trek Into Darkness and The Dark Knight Rises among many other great films. So I was immediately attracted to this film when I heard it starred these two actors. It is a biography of a troubled alcoholic and homeless man named Stuart(Tom Hardy) who establishes a friendship with a writer and charity worker named Alexander (Benedict Cumberbatch). We've seen these dramatic films exploring similar issues of unlikely friendships done before, but Stuart gives it a unique twist by telling the story beginning from the back. Because lets face it when we first meet someone like Stuart we are shocked at their current condition and we take little time to try to figure out what may have caused this strange behavior. We see who the person is at the present and by establishing a relationship we slowly begin to uncover things about their past, and that is exactly how Alexander presents Stuart to the audience. Stuart is a rather unconventional character, and Tom Hardy plays him brilliantly. He is an alcoholic who suffers from violent outbreaks. He also has suicide tendencies and suffers from muscular dystrophy which has taken its toll on him. But most of the time Stuart is a kind man with a dry sense of humor. He tells his story in a rather funny way adding a tragicomic touch to this film. Despite the strong performances from Cumberbatch and Hardy the film works mostly because of the way the film is narrated. As we learn more about Stuarts past we begin to sympathize with him and realize where he is coming from. It isn't a great film, but it is solid and it showed the true potential these lead actors had. 

The film does feel a bit rushed at times and it suffers from trying to add a lot of information in only 90 minutes, making some scenes feel chopped and forced. Director David Attwood benefits mostly from this emotional true story and these two actors, who happened to be the main attraction for me and the reason why this film is getting some distribution currently on HBO. It isn't a perfect film, but it has a masterful physical performance delivered by Hardy who was just getting warmed up for his upcoming and breakout role in Bronson. I really loved the quirky approach the film took in telling this true story (which was actually based on the successful biography written by Alexander Masters), but it's far from being a perfect and memorable film. The animated scenes that Attwood decided to introduce to tell some parts of the story were a bit disturbing and took me out of the movie at times. But every time I was let down by these scenes, Tom Hardy showed up with another impressive scene and brought me right back in. It is a masterful performance and one that shows his unique talent as an actor. I am also thankful I watched this film with subtitles because sometimes it was difficult to understand what he was mumbling about, but it was still great voice work from his part. Cumberbatch played a more restricted character, but he also has some emotional scenes near the end where he proves he's a talented actor. It is a film worth checking out if you are a fan of these actors. 

My Review: Locke (6/10)

"I want to know that I'm not driving in one direction."

Director Steven Knight has left me in sort of a dilemma with his sophomore film, Locke. On the one hand the movie lacked the suspense that the trailers promised so I can't give it a higher rating. However, for minimalist cinema this might just be one of the best and most unique examples so it deserves a much higher rating. It ranks up there with the likes of Buried which was also basically a one man show starring Ryan Reynolds confined in a small space. The only difference was that in that film there was much more at stake. Locke isn't a film for everyone because some audiences might get bored with the entire premise considering it centers on one man (played by Tom Hardy) driving across the freeway in the course of one night while he is talking to different people on a hands-free mobile device. The main reason why I wanted to watch Locke despite not being attracted by the premise was the fact that it starred Tom Hardy and I basically will watch anything this guy stars in. Hardy didn't disappoint and he is the main reason why this film even worked in the first place. His performance felt authentic and natural making the audience forget for a moment that we were watching a super star as we followed a simple construction manager driving his BMW while trying to solve his issues involving his family and business. Hardy really delivers and impresses despite not having much to work with considering that this film would have never worked if it weren't for his powerful performance. Despite not having such an intriguing premise the pacing of the story worked just fine considering it clocked out at about 80 minutes. If Knight would have stretched this film out a little more than the pacing could've become an issue, but fortunately he didn't and I ended up enjoying it mostly thanks to Hardy's solid performance. 

Considering the film was minimalist I would also like to keep my review rather short and concise. The film gets points for originality and for Hardy's great performance. By only using dialogue through phone calls we really got to know this character and see how he tried to balance the different events that were unfolding before him in the course of one night. As a successful construction manager who tries to keep everything in order he sort of applies the same philosophy to his life and tries to do the right thing despite having made a mistake in the past. He is a fixer and that is what he tries to do as he deals with the specific events during each one of his conversations. Despite being a one man show, we hear other characters through the mobile phone and I was surprised at how each one really had their own unique personality despite never really seeing them. So I also have to give a lot of credit to Knight for his writing as well. The film succeeds in these aspects, but I still felt that the lack of suspense hurt this movie. In the end, Locke is a film about a man who is paying for his one mistake and seeing how everything is unraveling before him in the course of one night. That is all there is to it. 

My Review: Bronson (7/10)

"You don't want to be trapped inside with me sunshine."

My first Nicolas Winding Refn film was Drive, which I absolutely fell in love with and it quickly became one of my favorite films of all time. I had no prior knowledge of his past work and went into his next film, Only God Forgives, with huge expectations. Despite having a great style and beautiful cinematography, I was really disappointed with the story. Now I've decided to go back and watch some of his past films, starting with Bronson and I must say that I really enjoyed it. Bronson centers on an extremely violent character, and that is one thing I've found in common with these three movies. Refn likes exploring this sort of violent behavior and unsettles the audience with these disturbing scenes. It was something that caught me off guard when I first saw Drive because the first half of the film seemed like it was going to explore the romantic relationship between the two leads, but once the elevator scene takes place it completely changes gears. In Only God Forgives the violence is heavily stylized and there is practically little narrative. Bronson may be a little more similar to Only God Forgives in that you don't get your typical narrative structure in the film, but Refn succeeds in making this a film about a violent character and not just a stylized violent film. The violence we get in Bronson all comes from this one character who the film centers on. It is in his nature to be violent and there is no explanation as to why he behaves this way, we just see him as who he really is. 

The screenplay co-written by Refn and Norman Brock centers on the true story of one of Britain's most notorious and violent criminals, Michael Paterson (Tom Hardy), who is better known with his alter ego name, Charles Bronson, which he adopted after having seen Death Wish starring that actor. Paterson introduces himself once he's in prison claiming he had a normal childhood. Ever since he can remember he's wanted to be famous so the easiest way to become famous was adopting the life of a criminal. In 1974 at the age of 19 he attempted to rob a post office and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Due to his violent behavior those 7 years turned into 34, and 30 of those he spent in solitary confinement due to his violent behavior. It's during this time that Bronson creates alternate realities celebrating his criminal persona and glorifying his violent behavior in his mind as he enjoys beating the prison guards and sometimes even taking them hostages in his cell.

This is Tom Hardy's movie and his physical performance is so impressive that it's simply irresistible. He has all this rage and anger in him and he looks like he can explode in any second on screen. Hardy is one of my favorite actors so when I say that this is his best performance, I'm giving it very high praise. This isn't a violent film, it's a surreal character study of a violent man. In no way is Refn trying to glorify this criminal, he is simply portraying this man as evil without trying to explain how he became this way. He simply is violent and there is no need to try to reason with it. The scenes where Refn takes us into his mind and we see him performing in front of an audience are really impressive, especially that two-faced scene. Refn executes this film perfectly with his usual eccentric scores combining electronic with classical music which fit perfectly the character of Bronson. In the midst of all the dark and violent scenes, Refn also introduces some subtle comedy in the mix. Bronson is a biopic unlike any other and it's hard to resist due to Hardy's furious and mouth foaming performance. 

My Review: Layer Cake (7/10)

¨Always remember that one day all this drug monkey business will all be legal. I´m not a gangster. I’m a businessman whose commodity happens to be cocaine.¨

Layer Cake is the film that made Hollywood turn its eyes on Daniel Craig to become the next James Bond. Despite playing an anti-villain in this film, he displayed several qualities that we actually see in some of his recent roles as Bond. If it weren’t for Layer Cake, I can´t imagine Craig being considered for the role. But Layer Cake wasn’t just a breakout role for Daniel Craig; this was also Matthew Vaughn´s directorial debut. Vaughn who had previously produced some of Guy Ritchie´s work including Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch was heavily influenced by his directing style and Layer Cake is living proof of that. After the success Vaughn had with this film he went on directing different projects like Stardust, Kick-Ass, and X-Men First Class, which in my opinion were superior to Layer Cake. In Layer Cake I felt, Vaughn took a lot of things from the British criminal genre that Ritchie made famous, but in his next movies he was able to break free and try new things. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time with this crime thriller, but I felt like it didn’t stand out from the rest of the films in this genre besides Craig´s superb performance. The film requires its audience to play close attention to the story because several things are happening at once and at times I felt the pace of the film was a bit rushed. There were way too many things going on to fit everything in a 100 minute movie. The screenplay was based on J.J. Connolly´s successful novel.

The story centers on a cocaine dealer who considers himself a businessman and not a gangster. He´s working as sort of a middle man between the underground wholesalers and street dealers. He´s not named, but the credit roles call him XXXX (Daniel Craig). XXXX is a very intelligent and cautious businessman who knows what he´s doing, but happens to work for very dangerous people who sometimes get him into trouble. He´s planning on retiring from the business, but before he can do so his boss, Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham) asks him to locate Charlotte Ryder (Nathalie Lunghi), who happens to be the daughter of another powerful underground mob leader named Eddie Temple (Michael Gambon). XXXX works alongside with Gene (Colm Meaney) and Morty (George Harris) who watches his back, but he also has two other employees who work for him: Clarkie (Tom Hardy) and Terry (Tamer Hassan). Everything gets complicated for XXXX when a group of junkies steal two million pounds worth of ecstasy pills from a wholesaler named Dragan (Dragan Micanovic) and he´s forced to find and give back the drugs. The person who stole the drugs is Duke (Jamie Foreman), and he´s not willing to give them back. While Duke´s hiding out, XXXX encounters his nephew and ends up falling for his girlfriend, Tammy (Sienna Miller), making matters even worse. XXXX will soon find out that the British mob is like a cake which consists of several different layers.

The film has so many characters and different thing going on at the same time that it’s very difficult to follow everything. Layer Cake is a bit too complicated and messy, but it is still a great crime thriller in which Daniel Craig gives a very solid performance. The rest of the characters don’t get too much screen time. Sienna Miller is much underused here and her character doesn’t bring much to the film. I love Tom Hardy as well but he has almost nothing to work with here and goes unnoticed as well. Michael Gambon and Colm Meaney give the best supporting performance in my opinion, but the rest of the cast is totally forgettable. We´ve seen many crime thrillers and this one doesn’t stand out from the rest. It is above average but nothing groundbreaking in my opinion. I love Vaughn´s films, but this is probably my least favorite film of his.

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My Review: Lawless (9/10)

¨It is not the violence that sets men apart, alright, it is the distance that he is prepared to go.¨

Lawless is a terrific action drama set in the depression era in a small Virginia town. The cinematography in this film is beautiful; I just love movies set in this period when they have a good story like this one. Lawless is based on the novel written by Matt Bondurant, ¨The Wettest County in the World,¨ the grandson of one of the characters in this film, and it claims to be based on a true story. The screenplay was adapted by Nick Cave, and the film directed by John Hillcoat (The Road). I was instantly won over by Lawless as soon as I saw the talented cast that was involved. Shia LaBeouf may have the lead role, but he is outshined by Tom Hardy who is the heart and soul of this movie. The rest of the cast was also excellent with Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan (the young Leonardo Di Caprio look alike from Chronicle), Gary Oldman, and Guy Pearce who plays the villain to perfection here. Gary Oldman is always great, but my only complaint here is that he gets as much screen time in the movie as he does in the trailer. He could´ve been used much more here, although I understand that there were a lot of different things going on. There was one terrific and brutal scene thirty minutes into the movie that really caught my attention and picked up the story from that point forward. It was the turning point for me. Hardy was the rock of this film and he absolutely nailed his role convincing the audience of the legends surrounding his character. I had some trouble with his grumpy voice at times understanding what he was saying, but his performance was spectacular nonetheless. In a way he reminded me of Ryan Gosling in Drive.

The story takes place during the prohibition era in Franklin County, Virginia where the three Bondurant brothers, Forrest (Tom Hardy), Howard (Jason Clarke), and Jack (Shia LaBeouf) run a bootlegging business with the compliance of the local authorities. Jack´s close friend, Cricket (Dane DeHaan), a young teenager who couldn’t hurt a fly is responsible for the moonshine production for which he`s very talented. At the same time, city girl Maggie (Jessica Chastain) shows up in the small town looking for a job at the local bar that Forrest runs. Trouble arises when a new Special Deputy arrives in town from Chicago. His name is Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce), and he wants a bigger share in the Bondurant´s profits. Rakes is eccentric and crooked, but he isn’t intimidated by these brothers. The rest of the town believes in the legend that Forrest is immortal after having survived several life threatening experiences (even Forrest himself believes this). Forrest is perhaps the only one in the town that stands up against Rakes and defies him. The younger brother, Jack, initially is the most timid one, but after falling for the local preacher´s daughter, Bertha (Mia Wasikowska) and scoring an important business deal with a famous mobster named Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman) he begins to transform himself into quite a respectable lad. The problem is that Rakes is keeping a close watch on their business and waiting for the perfect opportunity to intervene.

Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy`s characters are probably the best developed in the story. Shia goes through the greatest transformation, while Hardy remains the same always projecting this in control and cool persona. He truly believes he`s immortal like the rest of the town. Jason Clarke is probably the least developed character along with Gary Oldman who really has very little screen time (a real shame). Guy Pearce is very cynical and twisted minded. He made for a perfect villain. Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska both projected beauty and innocence in their roles. The cast was really great in this. I also loved the music and score that accompanied the film. The drama and action played out really well with a couple of violent and bloody scenes. There were several sub plots going on as well with the love interest between Jack and Bertha, and Forrest and Maggie. The legend behind these three men is probably what makes the film stand out story wise and puts Forrest on top of my favorite characters list for 2012. Lawless is a film you won´t want to miss.

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My Review: The Dark Knight Rises (10/10)

¨ We were in this together, and then you were gone. Now this evil... rises. The Batman has to come back. ¨

The Dark Knight films have made other superhero movies look like a joke. These films have transcended its genre and created a different type of superhero. The film works more as a perfectly crafted thriller than an actual superhero film. For me The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises are way above the rest of superhero movies, but it`s a little unfair to compare them because this seems like a completely different genre, and a much darker one. When I first saw The Dark Knight I was completely in love with it, and it ranked among my favorite all time movies. I had high expectations for The Dark Knight Rises, but I thought there was no way this film could equal the greatness of its predecessor, especially because what I loved the most about the first one was Heath Ledger`s memorable performance as the Joker. Without the Joker I thought it would be impossible for this film to match it, but I was overwhelmed once again by the direction of Christopher Nolan and the great script that he and his brother Jonathan created. The movie is spectacular, highly entertaining, and it`s as good as its predecessor. When the movie ended, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of tremendous satisfaction and joy. It was a perfect ending to what is in my opinion the best film trilogy. Batman Begins was a great movie in itself, but compared to The Dark Knight sequels it falls way behind. This shows how much Christopher Nolan has matured as a director. I think he is without a doubt the best modern day director of big budget blockbusters. It will be hard for any other superhero movie to match the success of this franchise.

Batman (Christian Bale) hasn`t appeared in Gotham City for eight years after he accepted to take the fall for the Harvey Dent incident in the previous film. He is a fugitive from the law and isn’t needed anymore because the city has lived in peace after being inspired by the heroism of Harvey Dent. Under the new Harvey Dent law all the important criminals in Gotham have been arrested. Bruce Wayne has also disappeared from the public eye and is still mourning Rachel`s death. He has given up on life and lives secluded in his mansion without having contact with anyone except his faithful servant, Alfred (Michael Caine). But the peaceful days in Gotham seem to be reaching its end when a new threat arises. A masked man named Bane (Tom Hardy) has been building an army to destroy the city. He`s a former disciple of Ra Al Ghul and a great threat to the city. Meanwhile Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) continues to be on his guard and feels that the truth about Harvey Dent needs to be told. A young police officer named Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) follows a lead about a missing Congressman, who has been kidnapped by Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), an evasive jewelry thief who has dozens of criminal records and is known as the Cat. He follows the lead along with Gordon and together they discover about Bane`s underground army. It is time for the Batman to come out of retirement and defend the city once again. Morgan Freeman reprises his role as Mr. Fox and Marion Cotillard is introduced as Miranda Tate, a philanthropist and possible love interest for Bruce Wayne.  

The three hours the film almost lasts go by so fast that you think only a few minutes have passed by the time the credits begin to role. It is just that good. I`ve asked for my time back in many movies that I felt dragged for such a long time, but for this film I have to admit I wish every hour in my life was as sensational as the three hours I experienced with The Dark Knight Rises. This thriller works more like a Shakespearean tragedy than a traditional superhero movie. It makes the ridiculous premise feel as real and authentic as possible and takes a lot of elements from classical stories such as Dickens` A Tale of Two Cities. I`m not a fan boy, I don’t know anything about the Batman comics, but I was completely hooked and enamored with this franchise. The introduction of several new characters gave the film some freshness and I didn’t think they slowed down the story; on the other hand they made it much more interesting. Bane might not be as memorable a villain as the Joker was, but he is a different kind of threat for an aging Batman. Bane is Batman`s match in terms of physical power. He might not be as great of a schemer as the Joker, but Bane is powerful and presents an even greater threat to Batman. The other actors who had worked with Nolan in Inception all had important roles here; Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were great on screen. Gordon-Levitt is such an underrated actor, but he has proven time after time that he`s a real movie star. There are some truly great performances and in my opinion this is the best film of 2012. I doubt any movie will equal its greatness and Dark Knight fans shouldn’t worry about this movie failing to fulfill expectations because it lives up to its predecessor. There are so many symbolisms in this movie that we could spend hours talking about them.

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My Review: This Means War (8/10)

¨It`s spy against spy.¨

This Means War is a really silly and predictable film, but I had a great time with it thanks to the excellent cast. Tom Hardy, Chris Pine, and Reese Witherspoon are great actors, and they prove it in this film in which they turn mediocre material into an extremely fun film. I couldn’t stop laughing while seeing Tom Hardy in action. He is one of my favorite actors and you can hardly recognize him in most of his films. I never expected to see him in a rom-com like this, and I usually hate most of these predictable and painfully unfunny films, but This Means War is the exception. It could be my new guilty pleasure, considering it did get trashed by most of the critics. Everyone in the theater I saw it with was laughing hysterically, so I guess I wasn’t the only one. This film was directed by McG, the man who brought the Charlie`s Angels to the big screen, and this might be my favorite film of his (although that isn’t saying much because I pretty much hated his other movies). The screenplay was written by Timothy Dowling and Simon Kinberg. It isn`t really funny, but the actors make the movie and the jokes better. I guess Chelsea Handler wrote all her lines herself because it sounded like the advice she would truly give her friends on TV. I wasn’t too much of a fan of her character, but the rest of the cast made the film for me. I knew everything that was going to happen, even the twist at the end, but that didn’t ruin the film one bit; it was seeing Hardy in this role I`d never think I`d see him in that made this such a pleasant experience. Witherspoon and Pine held their par as well. This is no Lethal Weapon, but it still was entertaining.

FDR Foster (Chris Pine) and Tuck (Tom Hardy) are spies working for the CIA. After their latest assignment blows out of proportions and leaves several people dead, their boss takes them off the field and assigns them to office duties only. FDR and Tuck were made for the field, so life in the office grows increasingly tedious for them. Besides working together, they are great friends. FDR is a ladies’ man; he is good at hitting on girls and having one night stands with them, while Tuck has a harder time finding a woman after his latest marriage failed. He does have a six year old son named Joe. Tuck decides to try his luck on a dating website so he publishes his picture and description hoping he can meet a nice girl. Lauren (Reese Witherspoon), who left Atlanta for a man that later left her for another woman, is now an independent working woman who hasn`t really dated anyone seriously after being dumped. Her best friend, Trish (Chelsea Handler), places a profile of her on the dating website without her permission. When Lauren finds out she ends up seeing Tuck`s picture in the site and decides to give it a try. The date goes well, but later Lauren runs into FDR who also makes a move on her (having not realized that she is the girl Tuck is dating). Both FDR and Tuck realize they`re dating the same woman and decide to compete for her without letting her know they know each other. They make a gentleman`s agreement and don’t think this situation will harm their friendship one bit, but what will happen when both men fall for her?

 The story is pretty simple and we`ve seen it before, but it’s the actors that make the movie so much fun. I focused mainly on the romantic triangle because that is the center of the movie, although there is a pretty ridiculous side plot dealing with a villain named Heinrich (Til Schweiger), but that story doesn’t do much for the film really. I guess they placed it there to keep some of the guys interested and have some action scenes, although the scenes are really cartoonish and dumb. The fun in this film isn’t trying to guess who Lauren will choose, but really seeing these two men fighting each other and trying to boycott each other`s date. Pine and Hardy are two excellent action stars, but I hadn’t seen them in this sort of role before and they were great in it. I laughed at most of the goofy moments, and I can see how so many critics hated it, but I can also see why so many people got a kick out of this movie as well. This Means War isn’t a memorable film, it won`t win any awards, but it is an entertaining movie and an interesting option for a date movie. I really had a blast with this film; my new guilty pleasure.

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