Who doesn’t love a wandering movie following the vile adventures of a bunch of junkies?

This is a bitter film wallowing in the ugliness of humanity. Yes, it offers a very effective look at the issue of addiction, but it does so through the lens of stylized coolness that cheapens the impact. The film barely summons the strength to condemn the characters save the worst of them, played by Robert Carlyle.

Granted, Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Slumdog Millionaire) is at the helm so this a well constructed film. Of course, you will have to suffer through amoral portrayals of drug use, death, full frontal nudity, and stark violence.

This film wants to be smart and cool. It’s not that, it’s just a sick yarn that offers little for the audience except clever editing and titillation.


Related Reviews:
Danny Boyle movies
28 Days Later (2002)
Sunshine (2007)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Need Coffee.com
Roger Ebert

Labels: Danny Boyle, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, film, Johnny Lee Miller, Kelly MacDonald, movie review, Robert Carlyle

Short Review: This film boasts some of the WORST action figures I’ve ever seen.


This may be the only time I’ll have the opportunity to say “Sure, the film has male strippers but guys you’re still gonna like it.” The word that best fits this odd little film is “endearing”. It isn’t terribly funny and its not weighed down with drama. It is a mix of the two, a little like real life.

Much of the film hits close to real life for many men. The industries of Western societies have evaporated and many jobs have been lost, never to come back. The promise of steady employment is gone. The roles men once played are gone as well. In addition, many of the things men used to do to define themselves are now considered to be social ills. Following the advice of modern culture, many guys now have broken marriages and fleeting moments of court defined fatherhood. This film finds explores these bitter points with its lost characters. The story surrounds the rudderless lives of out of work steelworkers who are running out of money and meaning. They devise a ridiculous plan to put on a Chippendale’s like show with themselves in the spotlight. These men are worn down blue-collar workers who mostly have physiques that resemble coat racks. One of the men has the shape of a bag of mayonnaise. To water this down, we watch the men struggle with their personal lives while they spend their spare time learning how to dance as the big day gets closer. This is not Shakespeare but it certainly has its moments.

Much of the film rests on the shoulders of the two leads Robert Carlyle and Mark Addy. The natural chemistry between the two actors is plain to see and they work off one another well. This is not a vibrant script but these two add the needed flavor. Carlyle has an intensity that he tries to tone down for this piece but it still comes through. I get the feeling he doesn’t just sit well. Against this is Addy’s lumbering, oafish persona which anchors Carlyle. The two are a great match on screen both physically (one is an ox, the other spindly,) but also in regards to personality.

Low on the nudity, this film isn’t really about stripping. It is more about self-definition. Simon Beaufoy’s script is very dry and simple. However, it provides some pertinent moments of reflection for its characters. In the hands of first time director Peter Cattaneo, the script finds a voice that supports its quirky tone. The two working in unison produces a sleepy but memorable movie worth watching – even if it is about a bunch of slobs dangling their tackle.


Related Reviews:
Tom Wilkerson movies
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
Michael Clayton (2007)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Combustible Celluloid
Crazy for Cinema

Labels: British Cinema, film, Mark Addy, movie review, Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson

"Brutal" is probably the best word for this film. This is not a flick for the light of heart. It is a harsh, violent look at the horrors visited upon P.O.W.s under the control of the Japanese military during World War II. This is also a brilliant look at worldviews in conflict. The bankrupt Japanese belief in honor and ancestry against the Christian view of redemption and forgiveness.

The performances by Keifer Sutherland, Mark Strong and Robert Carlyle are impressive. The script by Brian Godawa threatens to succumb to it's own somber tones but pulls through in the end. This is a depressing film, probably one of the more depressing ones I've ever seen. If you can handle rough content presented in stark terms then this is a film you should consider. Just don't plan on being too upbeat when you're through with it.


Related Reviews:
Prisoner of war movies
The Great Raid (2005)
Rescue Dawn (2006)


Other Critic's Reviews:
PopMatters
Reel Film Reviews

Labels: Brian Godawa, film, Keifer Sutherland, Mark Strong, movie review, Robert Carlyle

Short Review: The characters in the film are turned into mind numbed vomiting zombies – so is the audience.

I found myself rooting for the zombies.

This is the unneeded follow up to the more successful 28 Days Later. The original was a refreshing take on the old zombie movie plot. It was inventive in its look, its handling of the end of the world (or at least the U.K.). To be honest, the first half was masterful, the second half absolutely falls apart and loses its focus faster than Michael Jackson driving past a Boy Scout camp. Regardless, the first half of the original film is probably the best piece of horror since The Exorcist.

This sequel couldn’t be more of a disappointment. It certainly appears to have promise, following the complete destruction of Britain by a horrid virus that causes its victims to become blood-vomiting zombies, people have finally returned home. Of course it is only a matter of time before the virus makes it return. What should be a tension filled movie turns out to be a dopey series of forced plot conveniences and paper-thin characters. Given how potent the first film was, this sequel being so patently bad is a disgrace. Where the first film can be likened to a slightly rebellious but likable and intelligent father who is interesting and fun to know, this film is more like his loser slack-jawed son who eats crayons and punctuates his jokes by farting. It’s hard to believe such a good film went on to produce such a dumb one.

The main problem with this film is its script. The concept itself is solid and the acting and design are fine. There really can’t be that many ways you can mess this thing up. Amazingly enough, screenwriters Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Rowan Joffe and Jesús Olmo all manage to locate and execute every single way to screw up every scene. With three screenwriters on this thing that means there had to be a ton of ideas that were probably thrown out or rewritten. If this piece of trash is the end result of their editing, what possibly was not good enough for them to include? The plot is so horrid I was surprised to keep finding the characters running away from the zombies. If I were in the movie I’d embrace them so I’d be wiped out and wouldn’t have to be a part of this stupid movie anymore. For my example, I won’t go to deep into the plot to avoid spoiling the movie more than the writers already have done...you know what, forget it – I’m ruining it.


The film focuses on a dad and his two kids. The dad gets infected and spends the remainder of the film chasing after the children. The plot is twisted into every possible direction to keep the father in the film despite the fact that it makes NO SENSE. The characters get in a car and drive through London. The father ON FOOT – WHILE STILL A ZOMBIE - manages to keep up to surprise them after they stop. Its stupid bits like this that make this an overly managed and unsatisfying heap of stewing cinematic waste. It KILLS me that they just have the virus show up and quickly wipe the population out instead of a slow building infection of the people which increases both tension and horror. With this dumb flick one minute everyone is fine and then five minutes later the whole place is overrun. There is no craft at work here.

I wanted to like this movie, I did. The truth be told, I have a soft spot for zombie movies. I was inclined to give this movie a few breaks I wouldn’t provide other productions and I still have to tell you to not bother watching it.


Related Reviews:
Zombie movies
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004)
Shaun of the Dead (2004)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Monsters & Critics
The Stop Button

Labels: Catherine McCormack, film, horror, movie review, Robert Carlyle, zombie