A few days ago L.A. Times columnist Glenn Whipp alerted the Academy of Motion Picture Farts and Sciences to adopt a guarded attitude about Brian Helgeland‘s Legend (Universal, 10.2). The warning was contained in a 7.29 piece that pondered which films being shown at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival might be award-season material. “We’ve seen this crime thriller, which sports the gimmick of the great actor Tom Hardy playing twin gangster brothers Reggie and Ron Kray,” Whipp wrote. “Hardy’s work is stellar, but the film, written and directed by Brian Helgeland, has its share of problems. It’s also extremely violent, and the stabby-stab-stab bloodshed will be sure to alienate many of the academy’s more squeamish members.”
