Five clips from the period drama Lawless have been released.  Directed by John Hillcoat, the film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke as three brothers who became bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  I was able to see the pic at Comic-Con and it’s great.  The violence is incredibly raw and brutal, but it’s grounded with real, engaging characters brought to life by stellar performances.  Though there’s not a bad actor in the bunch, the standout is definitely Guy Pearce as a corrupt FBI agent who’s obsessed with bringing the Bondurant boys down.  His character is as slimy as he is disturbing, and Pearce chews the scenery like no other.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  The film also stars Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, and Gary Oldman.  Lawless opens on August 31st.

As one of our most anticipated films of the current quarter, I’m anxious to get a look at director John Hillcoat’s Prohibition drama, Lawless, which debuts at the end of the month.  Two new behind-the-scenes featurettes have gone online that show not only new footage from the Depression era film, but the true story behind the plot.  Nick Cave (The Proposition) adapted the novel by Matt Bondurant which tells the tale of the bootlegging Bondurant family and the government officials who wanted to wet their beaks. Starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, Lawless opens August 29th.  Hit the jump to see the new featurettes.

Director John Hillcoat’s Prohibition era drama, Lawless, is set to release later this month, but we’ve got a few new social games to help pass the time until then.  Set during the Depression, Lawless follows the bootlegging Bondurant family as they clash with the local law enforcement who wants a cut of their profits.  The games let you get in a bare-knuckle fight, shoot your way out of a bad spot, select a period-appropriate nickname and play some good old fashioned drinking games.  The new infographic also spotlights the “bad girls” of the era.

Lawless, starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, opens August 29th.  Hit the jump to see the new infographic and play some games.

Some new images from two promising fall releases have surfaced.  First up is new images from director John Hillcoat’s (The Road) prohibition-era drama Lawless.  The film stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, and Jason Clarke as three brothers who became bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  I caught the film at Comic-Con and thought it was great.  The violence is brutal and hard-hitting, but the film is grounded with engaging characters and bits of dark humor.  Moreover, Guy Pearce is terrifying as a corrupt FBI agent who’s obsessed with bringing the Bondurant brothers down.  Lawless opens on August 31st, and I highly recommend checking it out.

Additionally, we’ve got a couple of new images from director Joe Wright’s (Hanna) adaptation of the classic Leo Tolstoy novel Anna Karenina.  Keira Knightley, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson star in this visually impressive period pic that’s definitely high on my list of anticipated fall titles.  Anna Karenina opens on November 16th.  Hit the jump to check out all the images.

August is “National Moonshine Month” (not really) so it’s fitting that John Hillcoat’s new feature, Lawless, will debut at the end of it.  To wet your whistle, we’ve got a couple of new posters for the Prohibition era flick, along with an infographic on the history of the spirit known as White Lightning.  In addition, we’ve got soundtrack details for the film so that you can crank up the tunes while outrunning the law in your old jalopy.

Starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska,  Lawless opens August 29th.  Hit the jump to check out the posters, infographic and details on the soundtrack.

We’ve got some new posters to share with you today.  Check them out in brief below:

• The Campaign – Starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, the Jay Roach film pits the actors against each other as opponents in a political race for a seat in North Carolina.  The Campaign opens August 10th.
• Lawless – Starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, the John Hillcoat film is a throwback to the Prohibition era.  Lawless opens August 29th.

Have a look at the full-size posters after the jump.

As much as I enjoy film, my first entertainment love will always be music. As such, this weekend finds me in Chicago in anticipation of what could be my final Warped Tour appearance. That’s right, I’m a 26 year-old man (I use the term “man” lightly, of course) who still finds immense joy in the pop-punk genre. Nevertheless, it’s becoming harder and harder for my oldness to blend in with a predominantly sub-18 crowd without looking like a total creep and, therefore, today may very well be my last Warped experience. On the bright side, I still have XBox Live to remind me that I’ve never completely grown up.

Maturity issues aside, on tap in this week’s version of the Top 5 is a slew of interviews for The Amazing Spider-Man, the first trailer and new images for Tom Cruise‘s Jack Reacher, our most anticipated movies from July to September, Savages interviews with Oliver Stone, Blake Lively, etc., and more The Dark Knight Rises coverage than most humans are capable of comprehending. Links and brief recaps for each reside after the break.

A new trailer for director John Hillcoat’s crime drama Lawless has gone online.  Based on the novel The Wettest County in the World, the film stars Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy as two brothers who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  This trailer isn’t as enthralling as the film’s first trailer, but it’s still pretty damn good.  We get a bit more into the plot and see some interactions between LaBeouf and Mia Wasikowska, but Guy Pearce again steals the show.  The film landed on our most anticipated list for the third quarter of 2012, and I’m eager to see how the full story plays out.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Jason Clarke, Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman, and Dane DeHaan.  Lawless opens on August 31st.

We’re halfway into summer 2012 and, with the exception of The Avengers, it’s been a bit of a disappointing blur.  The third-quarter of 2012 is now upon us and we hope that the second half of the summer season will turn around (possibly with the help of a caped crusader) and then lead us into a fall packed with the smaller dramas that signal the beginning of the awards race.

There’s a lot to look forward to in the next three months, so hit the jump for lists of our most-anticipated films from July to September.

In a summer filled with superhero spectacles and sci-fi extravaganzas, it’s nice to get back to the roots of Depression-era, moonshine-runnin’ crime dramas.  Director John Hillcoat (The Road) has the cure for what ails you in Lawless, an adaptation of the Matt Bondurant novel, “The Wettest County in the World.”  Lawless stars Shia LaBeouf (Transformers) and Tom Hardy (Inception) as the Bondurant brothers, Southern bootleggers during the Prohibition era.  A new clip from the film shows a nice moment between the two characters and highlights the range of both.  Another clip introduces the strangely androgynous character, Special Agent Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce) who has swooped in from Chicago to shut the Bondurants down.  There’s some good stuff on display here, hints of which were seen in this trailer.  You should also check out these awesome character posters.  Lawless, also starring Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska and Dane DeHaan will debut in theaters on August 29th.  Hit the jump to see the clips.

The period crime drama Lawless was on my radar for quite a while given its pedigreed cast and talented director, but the film rocketed towards the top of my most anticipated list with a truly stellar first trailer.  Based on the novel The Wettest County in the World, the film stars Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy as two brothers who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  The trailer highlighted some truly badass moments for Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman, and I love the aesthetic that director John Hillcoat (The Road) has chosen for this story.  A few character posters have gone online featuring a majority of the film’s cast.  They’re not the most artful one sheets I’ve ever seen (the photoshop on Oldman is highly questionable), but I’m assuming these will appeal to wide commercial audiences who haven’t yet heard about the film.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also stars Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, and Dane DeHaan.  Lawless will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and is slated to open nationwide on August 31st.

We’ve got a few new images to share with you this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Lawless – Following a beyond stellar first trailer, we’ve got these new looks at Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Shia LaBeouf, Mia Wasikowska, and Guy Pearce in director John Hillcoat’s bootlegging-centered period drama.  The film opens on August 31st.
• Anna Karenina – A new image of Keira Knightley from director Joe Wright’s (Atonement) adaptation of the classic novel.  The film also stars Jude Law and Aaron Johnson and opens on November 9th.
• Now You See Me – The first official image of Isla Fisher in director Louis Letterier’s magician-centered heist drama, also starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Mark Ruffalo.  The film opens on January 18th, 2013.

Hit the jump to check out the images.

I want to send a big “Thank You” to my colleagues Matt, Adam, and Dave for inviting me to be a part of our new podcast, The Collision, last week. I had an excellent time chatting it up with Matt and Adam and I give those guys and Dave a ton of credit for using what might otherwise be well deserved time off (i.e. Sunday nights) in the name of continuing to offer our readers additional original content. In case you missed it, I encourage you to click here to listen to Episode 4 and click here to add The Collision to your RSS feed.

In this week’s Top 5, you’ll find a slew of new assets for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, video interviews with Jason Segel, Emily Blunt and more for The Five-Year Engagement, the first images from Django Unchained, a stellar first trailer for Lawless, and a recap of all of our CinemaCon 2012 coverage. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

The first trailer for the period crime drama Lawless has gone online.  Based on the novel The Wettest County in the World, the film stars Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy as two brothers who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  This first trailer is pretty incredible, and a different stellar actor seems to pop into frame every 10 seconds.  LaBeouf, Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman all promise strong performances under the gritty/dirty direction of John Hillcoat (The Road).  Prohibition is a swell setting for some great drama, and I’m excited to see Hillcoat weave all the pieces of the story together with a strong character focus.  If the setting, cast, Hillcoat and the story aren’t enough to entice you, did I mention that the trailer features a bad ass Gary Oldman wielding a tommy gun?

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Jason Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, and Dane DeHaan.  Lawless will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month and opens nationwide on August 31st.

The full line-up for the 2012 Cannes Film Festival has been announced, and there are some heavy hitting debuts making their premieres.  As we’ve previously reported, Wes Anderson‘s Moonrise Kingdom will open the festival.  This year’s Cannes will also include Cosmopolis (directed by David Cronenberg), The Paperboy (from Precious director Lee Daniels), Lawless (from The Road director John Hillcoat), Killing Them Softly (from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford director Andrew Dominik), Mud (from Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols), Rust & Bone (from A Prophet director Jacques Audiard) and On the Road (from The Motorcycle Diaries director Walter Salles).

Click on the corresponding link for more on each film, and hit the jump for the full line-up.  The 65th Cannes Film Festival runs from May 16 – 25th.