Lawless (2012, USA)

There might be a good movie somewhere in Lawless – perhaps it’s hiding in the material I suspect never made the final cut. With its overstuffed cast and lurching structure (not to mention the ridiculously neutered title), John Hillcoat’s latest film feels like it’s missing a good twenty minutes of connective tissue. Despite the apparent intention to bend Lawless into a more action-oriented film, the final product feels gutless.

There are moments of clarity, however. Hillcoat, working again with his Proposition cinematographer Benoît Delhomme, knows how to play with light and locations, and the outdoor sequences shine. Guy Pearce warrants commendation for showing up a better-than-able cast (I’m not lumping LaBeouf into that group), though I’m sure it’s easier – not to mention more fun – to play a straight psycho than it is a more complex one, as is Tom Hardy’s lot. (Pearce does struggle with his flat Chicago accent more than Hardy his hills one, but perhaps it should be called a draw, as for the second time this summer you can only understand about three-quarters of anything coming out of Hardy’s mouth.) There is one romantic subplot too many, but can someone find Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska a real project together?

The Proposition is one of my favorite films of the ‘00s, but I worry that Hillcoat is not fulfilling his promise, even when reunited with Delhomme and, of course, Nick Cave. Hillcoat’s next film, currently slated for 2013, appears to be some sort of cop drama starring Shia LaBeouf, whom I find distracting in pretty much every role. I’d like to see him strip down with a project as raw as The Proposition. Lawless had promise, but its authorial voice is muted.

Tokyo Zombie (2005, Japan)

Oh, how I wish I could remember who or what recommended Tokyo Zombie. It’s been far too long since I’ve embraced weirdo Japanese cinema (though a recent going-out-of-business sale at the local video store means that a handful of old favorites – Charisma, Tokyo Sonata, The Taste of Tea, Versus – will be revisited soon (and foisted on the husband)). Directed by Sakichi Sato, writer of such Takashi Miike treasures as Gozu and Ichi the Killer, Tokyo Zombie is the manga-derived story of two idiot factory workers who encounter a zombie apocalypse. The idiots, played by Tadanobu Asano in an afro wig and Sho (sometimes Show) Aikawa in a bald cap, are more into their bizarre jujitsu lessons than pretty much anything else, and as such don’t realize the undead uprising has occurred until Tokyo is a lost cause. Once it dawns on them, they’re fairly nonchalant about the whole thing – again, neither is suffering from a surfeit of brainpower – and the hijinks continue until circumstance separates our heroes, leading to a somewhat unfortunate – and strangely mean-spirited – second half. Unsurprisingly, the best analogue I can think of for Tokyo Zombie a Miike film – The Happiness of the Katakuris– though it can’t sustain its madcap zombie action quite as well as Katakuris does. Also, there’s far less singing. But for anyone into weird Japanese film, Tokyo Zombie is most certainly worth checking out.

The Bourne Legacy (2012, USA)

There’s a lot that seems right on the surface of Tony Gilroy’s The Bourne Legacy – a capable leading man in Jeremy Renner, a smart female one in Rachel Weiss, a bloodless villain in Edward Norton, good use of locations and some early action sequences with snap – but it’s all in the service of very little. In a fatal misstep, Gilroy layers elements of The Bourne Ultimatum into Legacy at the outset and the end, trying to anchor his film with the structure and impact of the preceding one. The device falls flat, underlining Legacy’s inability to stand on its own. Smart casting and flashy Manila motorcycle chases can’t compensate for a film without a plot.