Fox Releases Logo and Synopsis for 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'

Badass Digest broke the new logo and synopsis of the Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequel. Production started a few days ago and with any luck the project will capitalize on the intriguing premise set below:

A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier. They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth's dominant species.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes stars Gary Oldman, Judy Greer, Keri Russell, Jason Clarke and Andy Serkis as Caesar. Cloverfield director Matt Reeves takes over the reins from Rupert Wyatt.

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Review: Brother Knows Best (Lawless)

When times are increasingly desperate, men of violence rule. The Bondurant brothers are such men. Forrest (Tom Hardy) and Howard (Jason Clarke) are chief bootleggers in the wettest county in the union. Practically everyone in Franklin is on the take from the moonshine trade: sheriffs, owners, and church-going folk alike. From churches to nightclubs these outlaws go untouched. The boys are legend and believed to be immortal, worse, they believe the tales about themselves.

Jack (Shia LaBeouf) is the black sheep of this backwoods flock. He does not possess the size of his brothers, nor the brutality. When a spiffy, special agent from Chicago comes down to enforce a new law, the Bondurants are forced to make up for their brother's inefficiencies.

Brutality is not new to the Bondurants, but what Special Agent Rakes (a deranged Guy Pearce) presents is remarkable cruelty. He is a gloved poke right in the center of Forrest's chest. The Bondurants can be touched, he implies, and they can also bleed. Other outside elements like Mad Dog Floyd Banner (Gary Oldman) also pose a danger.

Nick Cave and John Hillcoat's previous collaboration, The Proposition, was a gripping and utterly violent film that saw a revisioning of the West. Lawless proves to be just as violent, but more poetic in its implementation. Shots of the South offer a spectacular canvas for showdowns between the perpetually mumbling Tom Hardy and the associates of Rakes. The legend of the Bondurants will be tested and their way of life may die in the process.

In many ways, Lawless presents a parallel to The Godfather. Three brothers vying to create a lasting legacy: the ambitious Jack, the loose-cannon that is Howard and the stoic guardian, Forrest. One of the faults with Lawless is that the corrupted soul at the center is not portrayed by Al Pacino, rather Shia LaBeouf. The faults that many see with LaBeouf's acting may actually be the arrogance and naivete of Jack. Does he have the strengths of Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce or an always excellent Jessica Chastain? No, but he is evolving past his turns in Transformers.

While the ambitions of Lawless don't always pay off, it is an admirable effort for John Hillcoat. The stumbles are few and more than made up for with the performances of Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain. Their scenes together are a highlight of humor in a film that wouldn't be thought of as cheery.

Still, the real draw of Lawless is of course, the criminal element, when the adrenaline throttle is shifted into gear, the film is at its finest.

***/****

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Review: The Long Goodbye (The Dark Knight Rises)

"Because he's not the hero we need right now, but he's the one we deserve."

Eight years have passed since Gotham last needed Batman. Without the ornaments and implements of Batman, Bruce Wayne rings hollow. When we last left the Dark Knight he was on the run from the police and held in contempt by virtually all of Gotham. Shouldering the weight of Harvey Dent's crimes and suffering the loss of Rachel, he is in his own personal hell. Any semblance of a normal life ended with a sick joke and a cleansing burn.

Gotham itself is also in a transitional phase. The dark, transient city from Batman Begins was melded into a shiny metropolis for The Dark Knight and now is waiting to be torn apart in Rises. The have-nots have dragged on for far too long and now the socialites are ticking down the seconds before the doors burst open.

What Christopher Nolan does with this Batman trilogy is take a mirror and—under the guise of being only a comic book movie—holds it up to society and forces us to look. By grounding Gotham in Pittsburgh the audience cannot pretend this was a piece of fiction, this is a living, breathing organism that is suffocating in corruption. We don't have to look very far to see the resemblance. Bruce has no trouble comprehending what has happened to his city and, in his shame, has retreated to Wayne Manor.

Still, Bruce, with all of his high-tech-wizardry, is just a boy in a cowl looking for his parents. He is made of flesh and blood and he can be broken. Which is what make Bane (a very fearsome Tom Hardy) such a fearsome opponent. It would be impossible for any villain to surpass the peaks Heath Ledger climbed as the Joker, yet the Joker never really presented any physical challenge. Tom Hardy's Bane is frightening, stomachs clench when he appears onscreen. In political terms, the Joker was nothing more than a theorist with a bad sense of humor—Bane is a terrorist. More importantly, a terrorist with a plan. Everything will change in this madman's eyes. We will all fall.

Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne/Batman has been the most definitive take on the character offered on film. The only other real competition for that mantle is Michael Keaton. Keaton's Batman was fine enough, but he was stranded when it came to mining depth out of his character. What Bale has done is elevated the status of a once campy t.v. idol and made it real. Bruce's life is formed through his parents being taken from him violently. Yes, he has dark periods, but Batman is his solution. Batman is not a costume he puts on, he is the instinctual urge that Bruce constantly represses. He no longer has a choice in the matter. Batman has been labeled a public enemy, so in the shadows of Wayne Manor he must remain.

In Harvey Dent, the once bright beacon of hope, we saw a slide into darkness that would have destroyed Gotham. His memory has been manipulated into creating a police state aided by a police commissioner plagued by the lie of the past. Gary Oldman's Commissioner Gordon has been overlooked as far as characters go. He is the heart of Gotham that Batman can never be. Amongst the corruption that had infiltrated the city, he tried to remain steadfast.

However, both Dent and Gordon fell, only Bruce can be what Gotham truly needs. He knows that sacrifice must mean something and his promise to his parents must mean something. Batman must come back, if only for people like John Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who believe in what Batman stood for. His mettle will be tested in combating Bane and he must do so with an undependable ally in Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway, surprising no one in spectacular, femme fatale fashion).

Christopher Nolan was up to the arduous task of following up one of the greatest films of recent history, and he didn't disappoint. He faced questions about casting Anne Hathaway and she turned in one of the most spectacular female characters in comic book film history. In making a third film he had to surpass expectations and avoid the pitfalls of the trilogy letdown.

The director not only managed to avoid the pitfall, he tore the genre-layout to shreds and, now, he can lay claim to one of the greatest trilogies of all-time. A better finish could not have been asked for. What impresses most is that Mr. Nolan manages to tear Bruce/Batman out of the stasis that his left the character without closure for almost a hundred years. By not rigidly adhering to what stories have come before, we are treated to something much more.

***1/2 out of ****

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10 Words or Less: The Dark Knight (2008)

WURESSHEEEEE!!??!?

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Final 'Dark Knight Rises' Theatrical Trailer

As pathetic as this sounds, I can't bring myself to watch the trailer before seeing it on the big screen along with The Avengers on Friday. Enjoy!

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Enthralling 'Lawless' Trailer

Tense. Riveting. Bold. Everything that you want from a Nick Cave-scripted film about bootlegging in the South. "Do you know what a Thompson Sub-Machine gun does to a mortal?" may be the best line that I've heard in a long, long time. This summer is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory.

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ArcLight Interviews: Gary Oldman

Thanks to ArcLight for providing us with an insightful look at how and why Gary Oldman took on the character of George Smiley in his Academy Award nominated performance in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

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Review: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Taut thrillers have been left by the wayside in recent years - action films and romantic comedies are more sure investments for studios - but here, a prize one, has been placed right into our laps.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens as George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is about to receive the boot. Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) and Roy Bland (Ciaran Hinds) have the favor of Control (John Hurt) so the failure of their most recent assignment must fall square on the shoulders of Smiley.

Retirement suits Smiley well enough: he swims daily, reads the paper, and even decides to update his eye-wear (a nice reference when keeping track of the non-linear story). Yet retirement doesn't last long for Smiley, he is called in by Control. The Russians are have infiltrated "the circus" and Smiley has been tasked with finding a mole in his agency. When men start dying the stakes cannot be higher. But who can you trust?

Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of John le Carré’s novel gives in to the unrelenting suspicion of the Cold War where each agent is constantly wondering if the last sound they will hear is a silencer. Whether the camera closes in behind Smiley, Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch) or Ricky Tarr (Tom Hardy) in various states of distress, the feeling of paranoia is expertly captured by cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema. Frequently placing these members of MI6 at the center of a wide-shot, looking over their shoulder, the audience wonders if it is their last appearance onscreen as well.

Spy films are very rarely this subdued, but the quiet, tension-filled moments of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy match John LeCarré's work perfectly. Gary Oldman gives one of the finest performances of his career as the quiet analyst, Smiley is not going to be brash enough to leap out at Academy voters, but his performance is no less impressive. He is glib in his answers, yet earnest in finding his own.

What impresses most about Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is the benign nature of it all. James Bond is the template for the genre, but this interpretation is far more honest. The agency is a self-contained one, made up of huddled, tweeded masses who believe themselves to be the last line between England and the Soviet Union, but they are just paper pushers. The real enemies are in their own ranks.

***1/2 out of ****

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'The Dark Knight Rises' Theatrical Trailer

As with Shame, I won't be watching the trailers for the film. Enjoy!

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NY Times' Cinematic Villainy

If you ever wondered what Wall Street would be like with Michael Shannon as Gordon Gekko, A Clockwork Orange with Rooney Mara, or Brad Pitt in Eraserhead, wonder no more. The New York Times has answered all of these questions and more.

(Courtesy: The New York Times)

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