Reviews

Statham is consistently the badass and here it's no different but in this movie there is a depth to the characterization seldom seen in action movies. There are some comedic moments that are so unexpected they just slay here. Not many but where they are they're so effective and break up the tension in remarkable ways. The directing is really what sets this movie apart as the camera work is meticulous and you feel so "right there". The only detraction was Statham's seeming invincibility to highly trained combat trained specialists, often several against one. But this is typical for action movies so we can give that a pass. I only wish there was more time with Jeremy Irons. Hard to believe an actor of such stature would be involved in an action movie but he played his part at 110% as always.

You know there are going to be sequels. Statham has a real winner here. The storyline is rather unique for action movies and is a definite keeper. You can bank on it. I just hope they go for a more realistic character because they can't get away with the invincible star and stay within the confines of reality again. Let's hope. This has so much promise.

The profanity was unending and really detracted from the storyline as it was so unneeded and diluted the strength of the dialogue as it always does when writers seem to run out of words. Hopefully they'll hire a better writer in the future.

So many movies exude pride from the people behind the camera as well as the writers. You'll see none of that here. Just raw, sinewy survival. Not a second of overacting, just pure real life brought to your screen. The director of this should be knighted. Every single person in this was so flawless. How does that happen without attentive, highest standard directing? Well it doesn't.

Also it's relevant to today with many people being able to relate to the border and drug issues through personal experience. This movie shows the conflict so many face trying to balance familial obligations with personal survival.

This is truly on another level compared to most of his other work. I haven't seen all his work.

But I just cannot recommend this movie high enough. Make sure you download the correct subtitles if you don't have them with your version. This is one astounding movie that really paints the stark reality of war and how the taking of life after life can erode your sense of right and wrong, of really anything resembling normalcy. The directing is very involving, you feel you're experiencing all the dampness, cold and emptiness of the surroundings. Every character is very well played, there are no weak actors here, not a one. It does move slowly at times: Have patience. It is so well worth it. You don't want to miss any part of the plot/story. This IS a gem.

Everyone in it is strong, convincing, immersed in their role. The writing and directing is on a very high level here with scenes melting into the next, your mind entwined in a fascinating yet disturbing character you can't predict. This is what movies SHOULD be like yet rarely are. They place you right there, breathing every nuance of the plot.

I'd like to call attention to the real surprise and that is the boy who is so boldly there yet has many layers he works with. His acting is so good its hard to believe. Even close up shots are riveting and real, never any deviation from the character and the moment. I can't ever recall ever seeing a child act so convincingly and I've been watching movies for many decades. This is next level stuff folks.

Its obviously working on a very low budget yet still it was well done. One issue I have with the writing though is there are WAY too many people that were taken. As a society there aren't that many believers! This is a very difficult topic to undertake and I thought they did an admirable job. The acting was realistic and the directing wasn't distracting. If it was me I wouldn't have had both young males with such chiseled features. This is a very rare feature in men so finding two together in any situation is ridiculously unrealistic. Consider it a gift for the female audience.

Now just imagine if this is true and is going to happen. Are you ready? Talk about prepping. This is the ultimate prepping project. It starts with, "Hello Jesus".

We know you've seen countless Indian attempts at copying American cinema and falling flat. This is on an entirely different level. Here we see right into Indian culture, the layers of class, complexity and caste. How education and religion can divide people where it should bring them together. Where people with social power feel delight on stepping on those beneath them. The humor is light but quick and fast, intuitive and spontaneous. Its used in the most unpredictable and delightful fashion. The directing is superb, the acting is first class. Full believable every second.

Do NOT miss this movie.

Martin Scorsese directed this? Guess he never played pool much. So many shots were done showing the fingers holding the cue in a way no advanced player would ever hold it. And when the camera shows the actor shooting, not cropped, they are the easiest shots imaginable, usually a straight ahead side shot. Most people won't pick up on this so its probably not mentioned but for realism this movie is just awful. Even the way they played so as not to call attention to themselves was awful. A skilled player would position the white ball as though it just happened to be set up so luckily, so the next shot was a given, nobody could miss straight into the side pocket with nothing in the way. Then the white ball just happens to be positioned well for the next shot and over and over with a few bad shots thrown in for realism. That's a true hustler, not this clownish directing. Its all on the director (and writer) for these blatant errors. If you make a movie about pool learn pool.

The writing, on the writing. So real gems here. Luke Wilson is very good but the hilarious parts were stolen by Rainn Wilson whose comic timing was just epic. Its almost hard to believe he didn't write his lines, they were so spontaneously flawless and just melted into the plot line. Uma is excellent as well and her mood swings showed such range. Anna Faris who had a more straight part here played it so well as well.

I cannot believe its rated at 5.1. So unfair to the comic geniuses that put this together.

I see so many things that echo in Heat. There's another film Michael Mann did and it does the same thing. Collateral was a lot more original. Heat was magnificent but sheesh, how many times does the guy have to rehash the same things? He seems to have an obsession with stealing things.

I suppose its both the writing and directing. Scene after scene just fall flat. Very strange movie. The humor is also flat: Bland, predictable, staged, monotonous. Maybe they were short of time, deadlines looming like New Year's Eve, and huge compromises were made.

So many absolutely priceless moments. You can see Gervais and Merchant's masterful moments here. The writing is so top notch, so many unexpected twists that make it an utter delight to watch. And the ending is so unpredictable and wonderful. Every actor was just at the top of their game. You have to credit so much of that to the director(s).

In the first few minutes you wonder if its a farce so stiff and staged the acting is, so completely artificial, so utterly barren of any realism. Then with incredulity you realize, yes, they are serious. It looks like it was shot on a cell phone from 20 years ago. The writing is something that would come out of 1950's elementary school production. This takes awful to new heights!

There is so much overlay and intro between the commercials its excruciating. The only way to watch this is to record it first and zip through the filler. They repeat so much stuff as well. They take a great concept of being just by yourself in nature and destroy it with the most commercialized editing drivel possible. And in many episodes (I'm currently in Season 3) they use this breathing sound effect ad nauseum. Its used often more than once a minute. Can you imagine how aggravating it is to go through that - to hear something maybe 100 times in a single episode? Truly the most brain dead editors working on this show.

Its a non-stop smoke fest. The film is very gritty, yet not glorifyingly so. Acting is very good, with John Hurt taking top honors as usual. What depth he has. Its very realistic.

This is such a tragedy to have Louis CK exposed doing something so many men have so flippantly done with women not realizing it could be so hurtful. This is a masterpiece on many levels. I couldn't believe he wrote AND directed it. To think he's been on a stage making people laugh for so many years when he had so much talent writing and directing is just so overwhelming. Nobody's perfect people. You miss out on so much when you judge harshly. What's amazing is so few people have seen this. One of the greatest films ever set in New York with all its idiosyncrasies. He does so well what Woody tried to do but was only partially successful at. Let's hope he doesn't churn out repetetive material like Woody did so tirelessly. And let's not forget his acting. He's plays this role to perfection on so many levels. Its like he was born into it. If Louis has acting range on top of all this it will be one of the greatest tragedies ever if people don't give him another chance. The public is so ungrateful, so undeserving, so miserable in its harshness. And so very hypocritical. Don't be like that. Watch this and sink into the world of great film production.

Not sure if I got a strange version of it but I just saw the Brazil one and it was great except I didn't understand a word of what the local people were saying because the narrator didn't translate hardly anything. Hopefully your version has subtitles.