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Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Snatch (2001) in Movies
Jun 14, 2019
Do ya like dags?
The direction is fantastic, Guy Richie is such an amazing Director! The introduction scene with the diamond is awesome, the music is perfect and the story is brilliant.
Brad Pitt was rumoured to have approached Guy Richie after Lock Stock, but he couldn't get the cockney accent right so he was cast as Mickey. When someone told me (before I had seen it) that an American was playing an Irish Traveller I was seriously sceptical. No need to be, he did it perfectly.
The story flows so well and the way everyone links together works so well, that kind of storyline can fall apart but it goes smoothly and keeps you interested right until the end.
An awesome film everyone should atleast try and watch - it might not be everyones cup of tea but it should be tried.
Brad Pitt was rumoured to have approached Guy Richie after Lock Stock, but he couldn't get the cockney accent right so he was cast as Mickey. When someone told me (before I had seen it) that an American was playing an Irish Traveller I was seriously sceptical. No need to be, he did it perfectly.
The story flows so well and the way everyone links together works so well, that kind of storyline can fall apart but it goes smoothly and keeps you interested right until the end.
An awesome film everyone should atleast try and watch - it might not be everyones cup of tea but it should be tried.
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Masque of the Red Death (1964) in Movies
Mar 26, 2018 (Updated Mar 26, 2018)
Visually lavish Poe adaptation eschews easy shocks and fake gore (mostly) in favour of a more impressionistic and literary flavour of thoughtful horror. Devil-worshipping nobleman (Price) takes refuge from the plague in his castle, but decides to try and corrupt the soul of pious young village girl (Asher) while planning a big party. Will Satan turn up for the shindig, or will it be something worse...?
Classy, well-mounted movie, with a marvellously poetic script ('I have tasted the beauties of terror', and so on) - a bit like a feature-length Twilight Zone episode in glorious technicolour. The various subplots about a vengeful dwarf and Price's jealous mistress could be a bit sharper, but Price absolutely rocks the house in a role you can't imagine anyone else playing nearly as well. If Ingmar Bergman had ever got together with Hammer Films this is the kind of film which would have resulted.
Classy, well-mounted movie, with a marvellously poetic script ('I have tasted the beauties of terror', and so on) - a bit like a feature-length Twilight Zone episode in glorious technicolour. The various subplots about a vengeful dwarf and Price's jealous mistress could be a bit sharper, but Price absolutely rocks the house in a role you can't imagine anyone else playing nearly as well. If Ingmar Bergman had ever got together with Hammer Films this is the kind of film which would have resulted.
Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Four Christmases (2008) in Movies
Jan 16, 2021
Easily Forgettable
I honestly can't tell you how many times I've seen this movie. Not because it's good, but because I keep forgetting whether or not I've watched it. I literally watched it earlier today and I don't think I could recall the details of it.
I'm a sucker for Reese Witherspoon. She is one of my favorite actresses and probably always will be. But I feel like this is just not the type of role she should be playing. I feel like she is so high caliber and often times underestimated. She's capable of a lot more than this.
Vince Vaughn on the other hand? Typical movie for him. Nothing stand out, and isn't much of a main character, despite literally being a main character. I think that he settled into his niche and does what works for him, not a bad thing, but not anything that makes him worth remembering in most of his work.
I'm a sucker for Reese Witherspoon. She is one of my favorite actresses and probably always will be. But I feel like this is just not the type of role she should be playing. I feel like she is so high caliber and often times underestimated. She's capable of a lot more than this.
Vince Vaughn on the other hand? Typical movie for him. Nothing stand out, and isn't much of a main character, despite literally being a main character. I think that he settled into his niche and does what works for him, not a bad thing, but not anything that makes him worth remembering in most of his work.
David McK (3562 KP) rated Catch Me If You Can (2002) in Movies
Mar 11, 2023
Spielbergian drama starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks and supposedly based on the true-life story of Frank Abagnale Jr (I wonder how much of it is, how much made up, and how much dramatised?), with DiCaprio playing the role of Frank Abagnale, who successfully bluffed his way into work as a co-pilot at a major airway, as a doctor and as a lawyer all before he reached his 18th birthday.
In order to do so, he also forged numerous official documents, which brings him to the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), who makes it his mission to capture Abagnale, with the two then forming a sort of co-dependent relationship on each other.
It's not a bad movie by any means, with it also attempting to provide some form of justification/explanation for Frank's actions through the lens of his childhood and his relationships with his parents, although I did find it a little slow to start with.
In order to do so, he also forged numerous official documents, which brings him to the attention of Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), who makes it his mission to capture Abagnale, with the two then forming a sort of co-dependent relationship on each other.
It's not a bad movie by any means, with it also attempting to provide some form of justification/explanation for Frank's actions through the lens of his childhood and his relationships with his parents, although I did find it a little slow to start with.
David McK (3562 KP) rated Hornblower: The Even Chance (1998) in Movies
Aug 15, 2021 (Updated Jun 29, 2025 - 3:33 PM)
First of the TV movie adaptations of CS Forester's famous nautical hero Horatio Hornblower, taking it's main inspiration and plot from the earliest (set, if not released) of those books when Hornblower had just joined the navy.
Ant, therein, I found, lies my biggest problem with the film: Ioan Gruffudd (back before Hollywood came calling - he was Mr Fantastic from the original Fantastic Four movies, remember) is simply too old for the part!
That's not to say that he doesn't give it his all, or even manage to fully inhabit the role: just that, in this one at least, I couldn't get over the fact that Midshipmen were only supposed to be in their very early teens (11, 12, thereabouts), and yet here we have an actor in his mid 20s (at the time of recording) playing a 17 year old - and even 17, to me, seems too old to be a Midshipman during the period portrayed.
Ant, therein, I found, lies my biggest problem with the film: Ioan Gruffudd (back before Hollywood came calling - he was Mr Fantastic from the original Fantastic Four movies, remember) is simply too old for the part!
That's not to say that he doesn't give it his all, or even manage to fully inhabit the role: just that, in this one at least, I couldn't get over the fact that Midshipmen were only supposed to be in their very early teens (11, 12, thereabouts), and yet here we have an actor in his mid 20s (at the time of recording) playing a 17 year old - and even 17, to me, seems too old to be a Midshipman during the period portrayed.
David McK (3562 KP) rated Skulduggery Pleasant in Books
Jan 26, 2024
The first in Derek Landy's 'Skulduggery Pleasant' series, which I decided to borrow recently from Kindle Unlimited.
I read (or heard) somewhere that this was attempting to be the heir to the Harry potter crown, and I can definitely see the similarities: a secret world alongside our own full of magic, where a dark sorcerer wants to gain control over the mortal world, and where a young pre-teen is introduced to the world and has (to them) unknown connections to it already, and some unpleasant relatives...
However, unlike the Harry Potter series, this is primarily set in and around Dublin (rather than London) - and so, to me, is closer to home - while the home life of the protagonist is far more settled: she's not an orphan, and lives with her family.
I also found Skulduggery Pleasant to be more of an interesting character than Dumbledore, as well as playing a far larger role in the proceedings.
Finally, I may yet read more of these.
I read (or heard) somewhere that this was attempting to be the heir to the Harry potter crown, and I can definitely see the similarities: a secret world alongside our own full of magic, where a dark sorcerer wants to gain control over the mortal world, and where a young pre-teen is introduced to the world and has (to them) unknown connections to it already, and some unpleasant relatives...
However, unlike the Harry Potter series, this is primarily set in and around Dublin (rather than London) - and so, to me, is closer to home - while the home life of the protagonist is far more settled: she's not an orphan, and lives with her family.
I also found Skulduggery Pleasant to be more of an interesting character than Dumbledore, as well as playing a far larger role in the proceedings.
Finally, I may yet read more of these.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Last Act in Books
Feb 16, 2024
29 of 220
Book
The Last Act
By Brad Parks
⭐️⭐️
Tommy Jump is an out-of-work stage actor approached by the FBI with the role of a lifetime: Go undercover at a federal prison, impersonate a convicted felon, and befriend a fellow inmate, a disgraced banker named Mitchell Dupree, who knows the location of documents that can be used to bring down a ruthless drug cartel . . . if only he’d tell the FBI where they are.
The women in Tommy’s life, his fiancée and mother, tell him he’s crazy to even consider taking the part. The cartel has quickly risen to become the largest supplier of crystal meth in America. And it hasn’t done it by playing nice. Still, Tommy’s acting career has stalled, and the FBI is offering a minimum of $150,000 for a six-month gig—whether he gets the documents or not.
Using a false name and backstory, Tommy enters the low-security prison and begins the process of befriending Dupree. But Tommy soon realizes he’s underestimated the enormity of his task and the terrifying reach of the cartel. The FBI aren't the only ones looking for the documents, and if Tommy doesn’t play his role to perfection, it just may be his last act.
I don’t know why but this just didn’t grab me as much as it promised. It was an ok read but o found the chara lacking in any personality. Like I said it was an ok read.
Book
The Last Act
By Brad Parks
⭐️⭐️
Tommy Jump is an out-of-work stage actor approached by the FBI with the role of a lifetime: Go undercover at a federal prison, impersonate a convicted felon, and befriend a fellow inmate, a disgraced banker named Mitchell Dupree, who knows the location of documents that can be used to bring down a ruthless drug cartel . . . if only he’d tell the FBI where they are.
The women in Tommy’s life, his fiancée and mother, tell him he’s crazy to even consider taking the part. The cartel has quickly risen to become the largest supplier of crystal meth in America. And it hasn’t done it by playing nice. Still, Tommy’s acting career has stalled, and the FBI is offering a minimum of $150,000 for a six-month gig—whether he gets the documents or not.
Using a false name and backstory, Tommy enters the low-security prison and begins the process of befriending Dupree. But Tommy soon realizes he’s underestimated the enormity of his task and the terrifying reach of the cartel. The FBI aren't the only ones looking for the documents, and if Tommy doesn’t play his role to perfection, it just may be his last act.
I don’t know why but this just didn’t grab me as much as it promised. It was an ok read but o found the chara lacking in any personality. Like I said it was an ok read.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Kill the Messenger (2014) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
For those of you who don’t know the true story behind Kill the Messenger I won’t spoil anything for you in this review. I will just review the movie in general terms and talk about the performances.
The very basic premise that you pick up from seeing any trailers for this movie is that Kill the Messenger is about a reporter from a San Jose news paper that breaks a huge story that puts him in the national spot light and possibly in danger.
Jeremy Renner who plays the main character is fantastic in his role and really carries the movie as he has proven being very capable of in other great movies. He is so believable in his role. You really care about his character almost from the beginning and from then on out you are totally bought in. Renner has that “it” factor that makes you root so hard for him no matter what role he is playing in. He’s just a really likable guy.
The story is real and I knew the basics, so there really were no shocking moments but the movie still does a great job of telling a compelling tale. The pacing is good but still has the dramatic pauses and uncomfortable moments that all dramas need. The movie runs about 2 hours and it feels perfect, not too long or short.
For the most part the supporting actors fade away around Renner, but Rosemarie DeWitt who plays the spouse of the main character put in a solid performance. There are some miss steps such as watching Andy Garcia trying way to hard to act and a small part for Ray Liotta in the only underacted role in his entire career. Liotta is typically a scene stealer and even he wasn’t able to take the shine off of Renner.
Ultimately this isn’t the best drama this season, but its a great story that deserved the true Hollywood treatment and it got what it deserved with this film. I never looked at my watch during the entire movie. I just sat back, had a cold drink and a bag of popcorn and really enjoyed watching the story unfold.
Well told story, solid acting, good pacing, Jeremy Renner, go see it.
http://sknr.net/2014/10/10/kill-messenger/
The very basic premise that you pick up from seeing any trailers for this movie is that Kill the Messenger is about a reporter from a San Jose news paper that breaks a huge story that puts him in the national spot light and possibly in danger.
Jeremy Renner who plays the main character is fantastic in his role and really carries the movie as he has proven being very capable of in other great movies. He is so believable in his role. You really care about his character almost from the beginning and from then on out you are totally bought in. Renner has that “it” factor that makes you root so hard for him no matter what role he is playing in. He’s just a really likable guy.
The story is real and I knew the basics, so there really were no shocking moments but the movie still does a great job of telling a compelling tale. The pacing is good but still has the dramatic pauses and uncomfortable moments that all dramas need. The movie runs about 2 hours and it feels perfect, not too long or short.
For the most part the supporting actors fade away around Renner, but Rosemarie DeWitt who plays the spouse of the main character put in a solid performance. There are some miss steps such as watching Andy Garcia trying way to hard to act and a small part for Ray Liotta in the only underacted role in his entire career. Liotta is typically a scene stealer and even he wasn’t able to take the shine off of Renner.
Ultimately this isn’t the best drama this season, but its a great story that deserved the true Hollywood treatment and it got what it deserved with this film. I never looked at my watch during the entire movie. I just sat back, had a cold drink and a bag of popcorn and really enjoyed watching the story unfold.
Well told story, solid acting, good pacing, Jeremy Renner, go see it.
http://sknr.net/2014/10/10/kill-messenger/
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) in Movies
Feb 19, 2019
Great fun British film
This film seems pretty timely - the backdrop of the country being split and in turmoil with everyone miserable and/or arguing perfectly nails pre-Brexit Britain, without actually naming the cause of the upset. Seeing kids sensing their parents' and teachers' stress levels and looking to help really nails home how much we are all struggling with the current climate and need to think about the impact that has on our homelives.
The plot is fairly standard Arthurian legend - boy pulls sword from stone and seeks to unite his enemies behind him in battling against forces of evil. The film does this with full knowledge and gentle telling of the actual legend, and doesn't look to be a re-telling, rather a modern day "second coming of Arthur".
There are plenty of laughs throughout the film, with a typical British flavour.
There is also action aplenty with some really powerful battle scenes and excellent SFX.
Director Joe Cornish (of Adam & Joe fame - there is also a nice cameo from Adam Buxton in the film) does a fantastic job of telling the story through the eyes of a child but without it being patronising or twee.
The cast are superb, with the young Merlin really being a star (and creepily like a young Joe Cornish). While I enjoyed Patrick Stewart's role as Merlin, I felt it added less gravitas than I think was intended and wasn't really necessary, the young incarnation perfectly playing the role himself.
A great, fun and thrilling adventure.
The plot is fairly standard Arthurian legend - boy pulls sword from stone and seeks to unite his enemies behind him in battling against forces of evil. The film does this with full knowledge and gentle telling of the actual legend, and doesn't look to be a re-telling, rather a modern day "second coming of Arthur".
There are plenty of laughs throughout the film, with a typical British flavour.
There is also action aplenty with some really powerful battle scenes and excellent SFX.
Director Joe Cornish (of Adam & Joe fame - there is also a nice cameo from Adam Buxton in the film) does a fantastic job of telling the story through the eyes of a child but without it being patronising or twee.
The cast are superb, with the young Merlin really being a star (and creepily like a young Joe Cornish). While I enjoyed Patrick Stewart's role as Merlin, I felt it added less gravitas than I think was intended and wasn't really necessary, the young incarnation perfectly playing the role himself.
A great, fun and thrilling adventure.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Snatch (2001) in Movies
May 8, 2020
A Movie Carried By Brilliant Performances
In Snatch, three separate groups of characters revolve around a missing diamond.
Acting: 10
In a movie like this where the character list looks more like a laundry list, you have to count on a number of solid performances to carry the film from large to small. Every performance is on point here, right down to smaller showings from guys like Ade playing the role of Tyrone the overweight getaway driver. You get to see a guy like Brad Pitt step out of his comfort zone playing a gypsy boxer by the name of Mickey O’Neil. Meanwhile Benicio Del Toro absolutely crushes his role as gangster Franky Four Fingers. None of these characters succeed without the great actors behind them.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 10
Each of the three groups of characters have no shortage of their share of problems in the film. The film grows and relies on conflict to keep it afloat. It’s a movie that keeps you guessing as you never know what’s going to happen next or who’s going to live to see the next scene. The conflict within ultimately gives you the motive to care about what’s happening to each of these guys.
Entertainment Value: 9
Memorability: 6
Pace: 8
Barring a couple of lulls, the movie moves at a consistent clip. There are occasions where things are happening too quickly and I wish they would slow down just a tad but, for the most part, the pace is on point. I was impressed by how quickly it moved while still managing to develop the plight of each character.
Plot: 6
Resolution: 8
Solid ending that could have been a tad better. I was hoping for a bit more closure. All things considered, it will do.
Overall: 87
Snatch kicks off with an original robbery and it’s off to the races from there. I can’t wait to watch it again to catch some of the things I might have missed. I can definitely see why the movie is beloved.
Acting: 10
In a movie like this where the character list looks more like a laundry list, you have to count on a number of solid performances to carry the film from large to small. Every performance is on point here, right down to smaller showings from guys like Ade playing the role of Tyrone the overweight getaway driver. You get to see a guy like Brad Pitt step out of his comfort zone playing a gypsy boxer by the name of Mickey O’Neil. Meanwhile Benicio Del Toro absolutely crushes his role as gangster Franky Four Fingers. None of these characters succeed without the great actors behind them.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Cinematography/Visuals: 10
Conflict: 10
Each of the three groups of characters have no shortage of their share of problems in the film. The film grows and relies on conflict to keep it afloat. It’s a movie that keeps you guessing as you never know what’s going to happen next or who’s going to live to see the next scene. The conflict within ultimately gives you the motive to care about what’s happening to each of these guys.
Entertainment Value: 9
Memorability: 6
Pace: 8
Barring a couple of lulls, the movie moves at a consistent clip. There are occasions where things are happening too quickly and I wish they would slow down just a tad but, for the most part, the pace is on point. I was impressed by how quickly it moved while still managing to develop the plight of each character.
Plot: 6
Resolution: 8
Solid ending that could have been a tad better. I was hoping for a bit more closure. All things considered, it will do.
Overall: 87
Snatch kicks off with an original robbery and it’s off to the races from there. I can’t wait to watch it again to catch some of the things I might have missed. I can definitely see why the movie is beloved.