“It is not the violence that sets men apart,” Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy) tells his younger brother Jack (Shia LaBeouf) in John Hillcoat‘s Lawless.  “It is the distance he is prepared to go.”  The film presents two approaches to the gangster world: the imagined and the practical.  Jack dreams of being a gangster without the violence.  Forrest doesn’t need the gangster flash, but he is willing to take a pair of brass knuckles and punch out someone’s throat.  Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave take a curious look at how two men approach the violence that must be done in order to ensure their survival, and ask themselves what they’re surviving for.  Is it for family?  Is it for personal pride?  Between Jack and Forrest, there’s a serious, meditative story.  But beyond them lies distractions of half-developed romances and a cartoonish villain.

If you enjoyed the five clips from director John Hillcoat’s Lawless we posted earlier today, you’re going to love this new red-band trailer.  It features good old-fashioned tar and feathering, blood-letting, shoot ‘em ups and even an imposing dust storm. That all fits right at home in the Depression-era drama that follows the bootlegging Bondurant family in their backlash against the law enforcement officials who are trying to taking a cut of the profits.

Lawless, starring Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Guy Pearce and Gary Oldman, opens August 31st.  Hit the jump to check out the red-band trailer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Weinstein Company has set John Hillcoat‘s The Wettest County for April 20, 2012.  Nick Cave (The Proposition) wrote the script based Matt Bondourant‘s novel about two brothers (played by Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy) who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  In addition to LaBeouf and Hardy, the outstanding cast also includes Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain.  It looked like TWC would be setting the movie up for an awards run, but the studio already has its line-up set with The Artist, The Iron Lady, and My Week with Marilyn.  That doesn’t mean that Wettest County is bad, but it may not be appealing to Academy voters.  Neither were Hillcoat’s previous films, The Proposition and The Road.

Hit the jump for Wettest County‘s competition on April 20, 2012, and for a synopsis of Bondourant’s novel.

A new image from John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County in the World has gone online.  The story centers on two brothers (played by Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy) who become bootleggers in the South during Prohibition.  Musician/screenwriter Nick Cave wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Matt Bondourant.  The outstanding cast also features Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain.  While I’m still waiting for Hillcoat to deliver a film that will blow me away, I know he has it in him and a script by Cave (who previously wrote Hillcoat’s The Proposition) is a good start.  The Weinstein Company is close to picking up the film and if we’re lucky, they’ll distribute it this year to put it in the 2011 Awards race.

Photos from the film have been leaking out over the last couple of months and you can check out the latest one after the jump.

A few set photos from director John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County in the World have hit the web. While the quality isn’t great, we do get a look at stars Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke in their 1920’s get-up. We previously saw LaBeouf in the first set photo from the film last month.

The Wettest County boasts a brilliant cast that includes LaBeouf, Hardy, Clarke, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Guy Pearce, Dane DeHaan, and Jessica Chastain. Based on the book by Matt Bondourant, the story centers on two brothers (played LaBeouf and Hardy) who become bootleggers in the American south during Prohibition. Hit the jump to check out the set photos as well as a synopsis of the novel.