cult film freak: tom hardy

Showing posts with label tom hardy. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 5/24/2016 / No comments / 2016 , chris hemsworth , contributors , kurt russell , list , ron howard , tom hardy

MOST UNDERRATED FILMS OF 2015 BY MARK SULLIVAN

2016, chris hemsworth, contributors, kurt russell, list, ron howard, tom hardy

MOST UNDERRATED FILMS OF 2015 BY MARK SULLIVAN

Tom Hardy plays both Kray brothers in LEGEND in an article by guest contributor Mark Sullivan

REVIEWS OF REVENANT & MAN IN THE WILDERNESS

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhoGHh2jZ3cWeesQpOQBUEnxpZYI3eMNaByHhDUoxNaxAZpzaASYMAe9ARfIPu5MmQzZID-JX1HjIn75yPH7vDqxkveI4U81kUOmGkj84dgZpPDueFPReUTYfA64V9_uJgGbzRXEAIYw/s1600/the_revenant__2015__movie_poster_by_nabilstevieg-d8jq7yv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVhoGHh2jZ3cWeesQpOQBUEnxpZYI3eMNaByHhDUoxNaxAZpzaASYMAe9ARfIPu5MmQzZID-JX1HjIn75yPH7vDqxkveI4U81kUOmGkj84dgZpPDueFPReUTYfA64V9_uJgGbzRXEAIYw/s400/the_revenant__2015__movie_poster_by_nabilstevieg-d8jq7yv.jpg" width="282"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2016</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In MAN IN THE WILDERNESS, a 1971 Western, or, for that gritty, no-nonsense, ultra-realistic period, more of an anti-Western... far more rough around the edges compared to the particularly cozy elements of older, quieter, more John Ford/John Wayne patriotic sense-of-Americana ventures... a lot of things happen that you will see in a 2015 time-period melodrama based on a true story of Frontiersman/Trapper Hugh Glass that in THE REVENANT, starring the Golden Globe winner Leonardo DiCarpio, is making waves for possibly garnering his first possible Oscar victory (and since this was originally written, DiCaprio won the Oscar he's wanted for decades)...<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, back in the early-seventies, Richard Harris (who, for Millennial knowledge, was the original Dumbledore in the first two HARRY POTTER flicks), and under primal direction of VANISHING POINT auteur Richard C. Sarafian, without having to reach for a Golden Statue, naturally played a character based on Hugh Glass named Zachary Bass: while not the leader of a group of eclectic fur trappers, knows his way around the territory better than anyone and, wandering the woodsy locale, he comes across something that's even more Native than Indians: That being a ferocious bear, leading to an attack that renders Bass unable to move and basically, his group, led by a cold-hearted, world-weary quiet type in John Huston's Captain Henry (his men carrying a miniature arc on a long journey to find the river necessary to sustain their trade) leaves his once-important number-one man behind to die, presuming he's more than halfway to the Pearly Gates already.<br>

john huston, leonardo dicaprio, remake, richard harris, tom hardy, western

REVIEWS OF REVENANT & MAN IN THE WILDERNESS

year: 2016 In MAN IN THE WILDERNESS, a 1971 Western, or, for that gritty, no-nonsense, ultra-realistic period, more of an anti-Western.....

TWO HARDY SQUARED IN LEGEND

2015, biopic, crime, mobster, tom hardy

TWO HARDY SQUARED IN LEGEND

year: 2015 cast: Tom Hardy, Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Chazz Palminteri In THE GODFATHER PART II, Al Pacino's Michael...

GEORGE MILLER DIRECTS MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlxN7j5k-zUjNCrJYws_atLWC1WX_NIAuMRUyJH_PpoobJGzeplx4w2gOTYtKt55caHsz4x0nG8i7VltpCiPkvmqeik_N_YiVVEWJ6nbtc1nvggTBQuRCPqDCQqx8Xnq1Xn-h16FXpsU/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOlxN7j5k-zUjNCrJYws_atLWC1WX_NIAuMRUyJH_PpoobJGzeplx4w2gOTYtKt55caHsz4x0nG8i7VltpCiPkvmqeik_N_YiVVEWJ6nbtc1nvggTBQuRCPqDCQqx8Xnq1Xn-h16FXpsU/s320/Picture+1.png" width="186" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: <span id="goog_475067870"></span><span id="goog_475067871"></span>2015 rating: *1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
George Miller’s original MAD MAX films might have broken too much ground since every other <i>barren landscape within a post-Apocalyptic</i> action vehicle is compared to the source – and here’s a reboot by the man himself, perhaps bringing something fresh to the dilapidated table...<br />
<br />
Well the action scenes are done all right, and the direction is quick and tense. But the characters… including MAX himself, cursed with sudden flashbacks to partially explain his brute-like mannerisms and Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa, equally bad ass and a far better driver… are about as important as avatars controlled on a noisy video game.<br />
<br />
The score seems intentionally melodramatic, encapsulating a grandiose old school epic vibe, trying way too hard for genuine cult status – treating our heroes like they’ve earned their thick skin without being fleshed out beyond cool weaponry and nostalgic roots – FURY ROAD actually feels more like a second film following a proper introduction. Meanwhile, the tyrannical main villain looks straight out of a HE-MAN cartoon, and the only hint of a plot evolves around beautiful slaves being protected from his banal wrath.    <br />
<br />
Technically, a ROAD is a particular section of a larger area that takes you down one specific lane, but FURY has too much open space where everything is going on while absolutely nothing happens, back and forth, in either direction.

2015, action, charlize theron, george miller, reboot, tom hardy

GEORGE MILLER DIRECTS MAD MAX: FURY ROAD

year: 2015 rating: *1/2 George Miller’s original MAD MAX films might have broken too much ground since every other barren landscape with...

Written by James M. Tate / 4/22/2015 / No comments / 2015 , crime , noomi repace , ridley scott , tom hardy

TOM HARDY & NOOMI REPACE IN CHILD 44

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWidNFzIh139uONstBj7fBvx3T6iMudQWDvzXfbI6h9no9SKxWYx0smbB0GGfnQubYbcfdMD7_u94jKCCArE1daFkwALBDtCfi2H3YrjQ9ZtiwMaSv3ythllbn2Cma2LaLXFWwr0YgcY/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNWidNFzIh139uONstBj7fBvx3T6iMudQWDvzXfbI6h9no9SKxWYx0smbB0GGfnQubYbcfdMD7_u94jKCCArE1daFkwALBDtCfi2H3YrjQ9ZtiwMaSv3ythllbn2Cma2LaLXFWwr0YgcY/s1600/Picture+1.png" width="128" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 rating: **</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
If you think American-set crime flicks like SEVEN are gruesome, depressing and hopeless, prepare for two full hours of torture that often feels like getting bitten by a cobra snake in hell... Death upon death, as it were. And that’s not really strange since CHILD 44, taking place in Russia after World War II, is deliberately morbid and futile i.e. the uncomfortable shoe fits. <br />
<br />
Enter Tom Hardy's rugged war hero, Leo Demidov, who eventually decides to hunt down a psychotic "phantom" mutilating young boys between Moscow and other small cities: one dark factory town in particular where Leo is sent for not “selling out” his wife, Raisa Demidov, played by Noomi Repace. The couple travel around by train – the tracks wind through forests where exterior shots capture gorgeous scenery between the bleak, prison-like locales. And it takes well over an hour before the actual investigation begins... not an easy task in Russia where armed officials remain in strict denial of any problems. A decade after the war, and Hitler's still being blamed. <br />
<br />
The performances fall short of the talent on board, also including Gary Oldman and Vincent Cassel in somewhat wasted roles. The direction, while not by producer Ridley Scott, mirrors his Neo Noir vibe, intense close-ups and action sequences that put you rolling and tumbling in the often dizzy pandemonium. But the most intriguing aspect... the search for the killer... is hindered by sluggish reality as the actors, using distractingly thick Russian accents, are still speaking English – making CHILD 44 only halfway genuine, and even less entertaining.

2015, crime, noomi repace, ridley scott, tom hardy

TOM HARDY & NOOMI REPACE IN CHILD 44

year: 2015 rating: ** If you think American-set crime flicks like SEVEN are gruesome, depressing and hopeless, prepare for two full hour...

Written by James M. Tate / 9/13/2014 / 2 Comments / 2014 , crime , james gandolfini , neo noir , suspense , tom hardy

TOM HARDY & JAMES GANDOLFINI IN THE DROP

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAF-wSKy7hJd1IcuARTF5uin45h4A1b3aIry1fdtryXkOngruEzsXPKXbcTBBKQBB8a9nSMyuxdwUwxZ3LoI7kjADvCuFCeYqPB4oJm2uRIOJ4GIL_N8NvLyHbMcGDkoYD-D6xmeGH_0/s1600/drop-excl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNAF-wSKy7hJd1IcuARTF5uin45h4A1b3aIry1fdtryXkOngruEzsXPKXbcTBBKQBB8a9nSMyuxdwUwxZ3LoI7kjADvCuFCeYqPB4oJm2uRIOJ4GIL_N8NvLyHbMcGDkoYD-D6xmeGH_0/s320/drop-excl.jpg" width="243" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With a gentle lug countenance of Marlon Brando in ON THE WATERFRONT, a voice crossed between Mike Tyson and John Leguizamo, the meticulous patience of Harvey Keitel’s crime cleaner in PULP FICTION, and the cutest pit bull puppy in town, Tom Hardy’s Bob, as well as his cousin Marv – whose character, played by the late James Gandolfini, is actually named Cousin Marv – both run a dive bar that’s a drop for funneling mobster cash. <br />
<br />
The partners have obviously been through the mill but now, in a sort of deadpan retirement mode, they're merely used as pawns, especially Bob… Yet he’s got something to live for: After finding the puppy bloodied up in a trashcan, he raises it like a child along with ingénue Nadia (Noomi Rapace). <br />
<br />
Promoted as a gangster style thriller, THE DROP is actually a slowburn character-study where Bob is either mildly pestered by a cop after a pivotal robbery, or is verbally bullied by a local thug who claims to have owned the dog, and wants it back... with a price. Gandolfini’s intentions are a bit muddled further into the slowburn Neo Noir storyline, making Hardy the one to center on. He’s the kind of guy who must be hiding something, or holding back – or holding back something he’s trying to hide. And that’s what makes this cinematic sheep in wolf's clothing, centering on a wolf in sheep's clothing, eventually pay off in silver dollars.

2014, crime, james gandolfini, neo noir, suspense, tom hardy

TOM HARDY & JAMES GANDOLFINI IN THE DROP

year: 2014 rating: ***1/2 With a gentle lug countenance of Marlon Brando in ON THE WATERFRONT, a voice crossed between Mike Tyson and Jo...

Written by James M. Tate / 9/16/2012 / No comments / 2012 , action , gary oldman , guy pearce , jessica chastain , shia labeouf , tom hardy

TOM HARDY SURVIVES LAWLESS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-n-sWeUVIbnSMlMBTqnEZ15bsjIISG4042_pU29HsmqTaL8WLueVp4CL_ra3slGYEvjss4TsInBSjPy74ilUGjG9AvwaAil9R_LBjzF-PZ7QJWVu1mG2rFPWCQMvAaH_R4lxLy407B4m/s1600/Lawless_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-n-sWeUVIbnSMlMBTqnEZ15bsjIISG4042_pU29HsmqTaL8WLueVp4CL_ra3slGYEvjss4TsInBSjPy74ilUGjG9AvwaAil9R_LBjzF-PZ7QJWVu1mG2rFPWCQMvAaH_R4lxLy407B4m/s640/Lawless_Poster.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2012 cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Fans of 1970’s cinema or television have seen this kinda story a thousand times over: backwoods siblings run moonshine and go up against the law. But this is a <i>true</i> story of the Bondurant brothers and how they beat the odds – and then some.<br />
<br />
The bros couldn’t be more different: there’s the tough as nails Tom Hardy's Forrest, who can’t die no matter what’s thrown at him; Howard, the rock steady oldest; and the youngest, Jack... Shia LaBeouf in a worthy performance despite not looking "redneck" enough... who lacks guts and backbone. This is the perfect character to follow through the first half as he learns from his experienced elders how the game is played. Threatened into partnering with a crooked deputy, played with snarky bravado by Guy Pearce, the brothers decide to keep running things their way – and wind up close to dead and penniless. That’s when Jack takes the smart move (ala Al Pacino in THE GODFATHER) and joins with mobster Gary Oldman... and the money flows.<br />
<br />
The women are gorgeous and talented but don’t do much for the story. Jessica Chastain’s subtle romance with Tom Hardy’s lethal quiet man seems more filler than Jack’s chaste courtship with the preacher’s mousy, soft-spoken daughter. But LAWLESS is all about the ultra-violence between the crooked lawmen and the “invincible” Bondurants, who hold their ground till the bloody end: although the first half, as the tension builds, packs more wallop than the somewhat gratuitous resolution. With so many antagonists, it’s tough to figure what the brother’s are fighting for, or what they’re up against, exactly. Yet Pearce makes a worthy maverick villain, and if anything else, you’ll root for his downfall alone.

2012, action, gary oldman, guy pearce, jessica chastain, shia labeouf, tom hardy

TOM HARDY SURVIVES LAWLESS

year: 2012 cast: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain rating: ***1/2 Fans of 1970’s cinema or television have seen this...

Written by James M. Tate / 2/18/2012 / No comments / 2012 , chris pine , comedy , reese witherspoon , romantic comedy , tom hardy

THIS MEANS WAR

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltOtFV6yqGGli7T8sQ_z-KmRZpiBjN5mekxif0rJybtuuTtUG5zQ8AYxHh8KPQZbhxSlg1Vpx8Bu1lJ6_YuzBAnre8d77tSCHcST4zJXITKJm0PyNWSyLtvILYJJS1jItcGD4mkxRNCGZ/s1600/this-mean-war-movie-review.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhltOtFV6yqGGli7T8sQ_z-KmRZpiBjN5mekxif0rJybtuuTtUG5zQ8AYxHh8KPQZbhxSlg1Vpx8Bu1lJ6_YuzBAnre8d77tSCHcST4zJXITKJm0PyNWSyLtvILYJJS1jItcGD4mkxRNCGZ/s320/this-mean-war-movie-review.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>title:</b> THIS MEANS WAR<br />
<b>year: </b>2012<br />
<b>cast:</b> Reese Witherspoon, Tom Hardy, Chris Pine<br />
<b>rating:</b> *** <br />
<br />
This movie might have the best, or perhaps worst, trailer ever made. Because in three minutes time you get the most important (and worthwhile) scenes involving two covert C.I.A. agents, Chris Pine and Tom Hardy, outwitting each other to win over the same girl, Reese Witherspoon. Well there’s not much more than that – although some scenes are funnier than others. Like whenever either spy sabotages one another, both sharing the same character traits as Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristopherson in the 1977 comedy SEMI TOUGH, which borrows the same triangular premise. Here the spontaneous womanizer (Pine) acts sensitive while the nice guy (Hardy) proves he's gutsy, and it’s up to Witherspoon, with a consistently fervent expression, to decide. While expecting the viewer to embrace the characters before they’ve earned it, perhaps we've lived it all before – this being a very clichéd rom-com, including Witherspoon’s snarky best friend dishing bad advice that eventually makes sense. The action scenes are decent and, although shot in a glossy fashion (mirroring the director’s CHARLIE’S ANGELS), all the running around make the two male leads seem legitimate in their trade – underlined by a somewhat contrived subplot involving a maverick assassin. But the dynamic duo, partners who risk their lives together, have more camaraderie with the girl than they do each other. Which isn't so bad – since it’s her they’re after.

2012, chris pine, comedy, reese witherspoon, romantic comedy, tom hardy