LAWLESS (2012)

Three "lawless" brothers run moonshine off in the deep woods during the Prohibition.  Being "lawless" they use nothing but child labor to run the stills and only use the tears of the children, instead of water, to make the shine.  They also pass the time by raping everybody...wait, what?  Oh, they're not that "lawless" after all?  Well shit.  The only laws these "lawless" criminals actually do disobey are the manufacturing & selling alcohol and then getting violent when they have to.

Enough  about the misleading title.  The real story is about three good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm, makin' their way the only way they know how but that's just a little bit more than the law will allow.  There's also some stuff about the different women in their lives, but it all goes exactly as you would expect.  Actually the entire film goes pretty much by the numbers.  Mild violence, pretty women, potentially epic story material told with a pathetically average script, good acting by supporting actor Dane DeHaan, pretty scenery and a disappointingly small role by Gary Oldman.

When I heard about this film I was imagining all kinds of exciting gun battles, old timey slang and ultraviolence with a breakneck pace, but instead LAWLESS just putters along and never really goes anywhere.  Worth a watch, but just barely.  I know I'll never watch it ever again.  If you need me, I'll be in my room drinkin' some corn squeezin's.

THAT EVENING SUN (2009)

Legendary actor Hal Holbrook plays Abner Meecham, an old man who, after a fall was placed in an assisted living home by his son. Abner doesn't like it there, so one day he says "Deuces!" and walks out. He catches a ride back to his farm only to find that his son has rented his homestead out to a white trash family headed up by Lonzo Choat. Unwilling to give up the home he's worked his entire life for, he moves into a small shack off to the side of the big house and refuses to leave. What follows next is an increasingly volatile standoff between Meecham and Choat.

So close to being awesome. The first two acts of the story were really good. Excellent character development, lots of tension building, but then it seems the writer wrote himself into a corner because the ending, at least to me, was a major letdown. I was hoping for something explosive and memorable. Instead THAT EVENING SUN drops with a thud.

Worth a watch for sure, if only for Hal Holbrook's performance. I'm kinda surprised that he didn't receive an Oscar nomination for his performance, but then again the Academy has never been known for making smart decisions. The entire supporting cast was very good also.

JANE EYRE (2011)

For a less than two hour adaptation this new JANE EYRE is very good.  The thing that sets this version apart from the 20+ that came before it is: the gorgeous photography, Michael Fassbender from FISH TANK and the non-linear storytelling. Charlotte Bronte's wonderful Gothic horror/romance novel starts with a young Jane orphaned and living with her assholish Aunt Sarah. This film instead opens with a dramatic scene later in Jane's life in order to hook the viewer in then it goes to the story of Jane's childhood. It's a simple trick, but it works beautifully.

Orphaned as a child Jane is left to the care of her Aunt Sarah who cares nothing for the child and sends her to live full-time at the sadistic Lowood School for Girls. After a decade of this abuse Jane is old enough to leave and she gets a job as the governess of a young girl at the remote Thornfield Hall. Once there she meets the master of the house, Edward Rochester. He's older than her and a mysterious, brooding fellow, but after a time his icy demeanor thaws to Jane's quiet presence. Eventually he breaks down and admits his love for her and Jane is immensely happy...but what's behind these strange happenings at Thornfield Hall and what exactly is that noise coming from the tapestry hanging on Edward's bedroom wall?

A film can never do a novel the quality of "Jane Eyre" justice, that said, I liked this version a lot. My only complaints would be Edward's secret was covered too quickly and the ending was way too abrupt, but both of those problems would have been solved if the film had only been an hour longer. It's not the greatest adaptation of a classic novel ever, but it's no slouch either. If you're into this sort of thing then I recommend it.

I also want to give a quick praise to Amelia Clarkson as the young Jane. She wasn't on the screen long, but I was very, very impressed with her passionate performance. Excellent job.