Thursday, November 22, 2012

Arriving Tuesday, November 27th on DVD and Blu-Ray -- Lawless (Review)



ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT and THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY PRESENT THE CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED EPIC OUTLAW TALE LAWLESS ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD



Based On A True Story From Matt Bondurant’s Novel The Wettest County In The World, This Gripping Tale of Brotherhood, Bootlegging, and Murder Heads To Retail November 27th.


"Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company announced today the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD release of the critically acclaimed film, LAWLESS, from director John Hillcoat (The Road, The Proposition).  Written by musician, composer and screenwriter, Nick Cave (The Proposition), inspired by the 2008 biographical novel The Wettest County In The World, LAWLESS follows the bootlegging Bondurant Brothers on their quest for the American Dream in Prohibition-era Virginia.  Featuring an all-star cast that includes Shia LaBeouf (Transformers franchise, Disturbia), Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception), Academy Award® nominee Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Dark Knight Rises), Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre), Academy Award® nominee Jessica Chastain (Coriolanus, The Help) and Emmy® winner Guy Pearce (Mildred Pierce, The King’s Speech), LAWLESS heads to retail on November 27, 2012 for an SRP of $39.99 for the Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and $29.98 for the DVD.

LAWLESS, which was nominated for an illustrious Palme d’Or at the 2012 Cannes International Film Festival, also stars Jason Clarke (Texas Killing Fields, the upcoming The Great Gatsby) and Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, The Place Beyond the Pines).

The Hollywood Reporter called LAWLESS “A gritty and suspenseful bootlegger tale.”  Added film critic, Richard Roeper, in his Reelz Channel review, LAWLESS is “A hell of an entertaining movie, I give it an ‘A’!”  Wrote Paste magazine film critic, Tyler Chase, “Lawless blends stylish originality with genre standards into a mixture as potent and explosive as Virginia moonshine.” 

They were brothers who became outlaws, and outlaws who became heroes... The three Bondurant boys (Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke), along with their sultry new hire (Jessica Chastain), command the most lucrative bootlegging operation in Franklin County, Virginia.  The locals consider them “indestructible.”  But the law — in the form of a corrupt special deputy (Guy Pearce) — wants a cut of their action, at any cost.  When youngest brother Jack (LaBeouf) gets a taste of power with a deadly gangster (Gary Oldman), the whole business blows sky high.  Based on the astonishing true story, the Bondurant brotherhood is the stuff of legend.

The LAWLESS Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD special features include an audio commentary with Director John Hillcoat and Author Matt Bondurant; two featurettes: “The True Story of the Wettest County In The World” and “Franklin County, VA: Then and Now”; Willie Nelson’s “Midnight Run” music video; and deleted scenes.  Note: Special features are subject to change."


Learn more about LAWLESS at: http://lawless-film.com/


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My Thoughts:

The one thing I look forward to besides a wonderful meal on Thanksgiving is watching some great movies with my family. It has become tradition to pile into the living room after our turkey dinner and watch a few new movies, while the girls nap.  Then, once the girls get up, my mother an I head downstairs while my husband and father entertain the girls, and we put up and decorate the Christmas tree.  Following with tradition, we watched a couple great films today, with one of them being "Lawless," which arrives on DVD and Blu-Ray, Tuesday, November 27th.

Unfortunately we didn't get to see it when it was out in theaters, but would hear from family and friends at how good this film, which is based on a true story was.  So, I was excited to receive an advance copy to share with my parents, who also didn't see it.  This movie is set during the American Prohibition and focuses on the three Bondurant siblings and their bootlegging operation in Franklin County, Virginia.  If you love gangster movies, or movies based on true stories, then you will love Lawless. Also, my father is a huge history buff and likes seeing real stories played out on the big screen.  After watching this film, he said much of how this era and area were portrayed was spot on that time. 

Even though it has a run time of 1 hr. 55 min., halfway through the movie, the plot began to drag, and felt like we had been sitting their forever.  But, then with a few fight scenes thrown in, and watching Jack, played by Shia LaBeouf, as he navigates into adulthood, with a few romances, the plot seems to get better and ends on a high note.  At first, I couldn't picture LeBeouf in a movie outside of Transformers, but I am surprised to say that he did a great job playing an outlaw in this film.  He made his character believable, and was an integral part of making the movie and plot such a success.  The Bondurant brothers will go from being outlaws to heroes in under 2 hrs.  Will they get captured and be brought to justice?  Or, will their moonshine business take off and make them wealthy?  I am not going to ruin it for you.  You will just have to pick up a copy of Lawless, which is now available in stores. :-)



ABOUT THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
The Weinstein Company (TWC) is a multimedia production and distribution company launched in October 2005 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, the brothers who founded Miramax Films in 1979.  TWC  Together TWC and Dimension Films have released a broad range of mainstream, genre and specialty films that have been commercial and critical successes.  TWC releases took home eight 2012 Academy Awards(r), the most wins in the studio's history.  The tally included Best Picture for Michel Hazanavicius's THE ARTIST and Best Documentary Feature for TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay's UNDEFEATED.  THE ARTIST brought TWC its second consecutive Best Picture statuette following the 2011 win for Tom Hooper's THE KING'S SPEECH.

Since 2005, TWC and Dimension Films have released such films as GRINDHOUSE; I'M NOT THERE; THE GREAT DEBATERS; VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA; THE READER; THE ROAD; HALLOWEEN; THE PAT TILLMAN STORY; PIRANHA 3D; INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS; A SINGLE MAN; BLUE VALENTINE; THE COMPANY MEN; MIRAL; SCRE4M; SUBMARINE; DIRTY GIRL; APOLLO 18; OUR IDIOT BROTHER; I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT; SARAH'S KEY; SPY KIDS: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD IN 4D; MY WEEK WITH MARILYN; THE IRON LADY; W.E.; CORIOLANUS; UNDEFEATED; THE ARTIST; BULLY; and EASY MONEY.  Currently in release are THE MASTER; THE INTOUCHABLES; and LAWLESS. Upcoming releases include KILLING THEM SOFTLY; THIS MUST BE THE PLACE; SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; and DJANGO UNCHAINED.

TWC is also active in television production, led by former Miramax Films President of Production and current President of Television Meryl Poster, with credits including the Emmy(r) nominated and Peabody Award winning reality series Project Runway, spin-off series Project Runway All Stars and Project Accessory, the VH1 reality series Mob Wives, spin-off series Big Ang and Mob Wives: Chicago, and the critically acclaimed HBO comedy/crime series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency which also received a Peabody Award.  The company is currently in pre-production on the martial-arts epic Marco Polo for Starz.  TWC additionally has 17 series in different stages of development, including The Nanny Diaries, being adapted for ABC by Amy Sherman Palladino (Gilmore Girls).

ABOUT ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT
Anchor Bay Entertainment is the home entertainment division of Starz Media, LLC. It includes the Anchor Bay Films and Manga Entertainment brands. It distributes feature films, children’s entertainment, fitness, TV series, documentaries, anime and other filmed entertainment on Blu-ray™ and DVD formats. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, Anchor Bay Entertainment has offices in Troy, MI, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Starz Media is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation.

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this movie from the vendor in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.

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