Lawless

     So, I know this came out earlier in the fall, and my reviews are generally reserved for movies in theaters, but I just watched it on Redbox, and it was awesome! I was really disappointed in this summer's movie selection, but the fall has definitely made up for it. The only problem? Law school, and no real job, get in the way of me going to see all the movies! Which is why I have to post delayed reviews of redboxed movies!
    And, now that I have fully explained the seemingly late post, I just need to reiterate, this movie is great! You can hate on Shia LaBeouf all you want, but I think he has some talent. At least, he did in this movie. Now, some of his others, maybe not so great, and it might have been Tom Hardy and some others who truly carried the day, but you can't knock Shia's performance in Lawless. However, the accent did get a little annoying.
    Speaking of the cast, let's just go through the big ones. Guy Pearce, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, and Gary Oldman. Guy Pearce was super creepy, had a very strange accent, and thankfully died in the end. Gary Oldman was a badass gangster, with a limited role, but excellent as always. And then there was Tom Hardy. The unsung star of the movie. I love him. He can be suave (like in This Means War), super creepy and evil (like in The Dark Knight Rises), simply a badass (like in Inception) somewhat of a combination of all three (like in Lawless). Not to mention, no matter how gruff he gets, he's still pretty damn hot! His only problem in this movie? He made the girl make the move.
    But, enough about the cast, that's not really all that important. The movie itself was stellar. This movie is about moonshining in the 1930s in Virginia. This included a great plot, that kept moving in different directions. There was violence, intrigue, sex, love, politic-ing, historical accuracy, a good v. evil dynamic, a legend, and an all-around decent flow. My only complaint was in the end. The story was chugging (ha!) along and then seemed to all of a sudden hit a mini-climax that led to the the big climax and then it was done. There was no slow descent, it was simply done. (Yes, that is what she said). While that may be appropriate in some situations (see the previous joke), it is not appropriate for good stories. English 101, you story slowly reaches the climax and then is at least somewhat slowly resolved. It is not supposed to almost simultaneously climax and end.
    That being said, the movie pulled it off. I wanted a little more story, but it still ended well. There was resolution, there was a change, and there was ending. I don't want to completely spoil things by saying whether it was a happy or a sad ending. I will simply leave it at an ending. :) Needless to say, go watch this movie!
    In the end, I give this movie a 9.5 out of 10 (there was a LITTLE bit more substance than Pitch Perfect :) ). I really did enjoy this.