Snatch.

Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writer: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Benicio Del Toro.

Storyline

Turkish and his close friend/accomplice Tommy get pulled into the world of match fixing by the notorious Brick Top. Things get complicated when the boxer they had lined up gets badly beaten by Pitt, a 'pikey' ( slang for an Irish Gypsy)- who comes into the equation after Turkish, an unlicensed boxing promoter wants to buy a caravan off the Irish Gypsies. They then try to convince Pitt not only to fight for them, but to lose for them too. Whilst all this is going on, a huge diamond heist takes place, and a fistful of motley characters enter the story, including 'Cousin Avi', 'Boris The Blade', 'Franky Four Fingers' and 'Bullet Tooth Tony'. Things go from bad to worse as it all becomes about the money, the guns, and the damned dog!

User Reviews

This movie is perfect in all its categories: credits, sound track, production, casting, writing, photography, editing, acting, and direction. 10/10.

I was amazed with the freedom of the use of the camera. This movie will change the way movies are made. Slow-mo, stills, black and white, and color were all used to brilliant effect.

I must pick out specific actors who were just over the top - meaning 10+!

Jason Statham as "Turkish" is simply superb - a star of very high caliber. (You should see him in anything he made, and read my comment about John Carpenter's movie: "Ghosts of Mars.")

Alan Ford as "Brick Top" is terrifying - his forced speaking style made me think that he was chewing on the flesh of his previous victim.

Vinnie Jones as "Bullet Tooth Tony" is total tough head to foot tough - a walking brick wall - a marine for all seasons - none tougher.

Brad Pitt as "Mickey O'Neil" is utterly 110% convincing. I never liked Mr. Pitt's work before this - but this one totally sold me - he is as solid an actor as ever came out of Hollywood... and better!

Finally, Guy Ritchie should be recognized as a Michelangelo of film.

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Gladiator

When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by an emperor's corrupt son, he comes to Rome as a gladiator to seek revenge.

Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: David Franzoni (story), David Franzoni (screenplay).
Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen.

Storyline

Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.

User Reviews

I love history, and to me, Gladiator is a masterpiece. It is the most accurate picture of the Roman Empire Hollywood has ever put out. People declare Spartacus a masterpiece, but Gladiator far outdoes Spartacus in quality. The costuming, the acting, the screenplay, the scenery, and the fighting styles made me think that I had traveled back to 180 A.D. Russell Crowe is a true Hollywood tough guy, and he is superb in this movie. Joaquin Phoenix is outstanding as a villain, one of the best in movie history. He played his character as if it were a psychologist's dream case. Connie Nielsen plays one of the strongest female characters that I have ever seen. The choreographer of the action sequences was brilliant. Ridley Scott did an outstanding job in recreating the Empire, including the multitude of ethnic groups within the Empire and accurately depicting everyday life. If you're looking for insight into what the Roman Empire was like, this is a perfect depiction.

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Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically skilled, adolescent nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.

Director: Ang Lee
Writers: Du Lu Wang (book), Hui-Ling Wang (screenplay).
Stars: Yun-Fat Chow, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang.

Storyline

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon is a timeless story that takes place in QING China when miracles were credible and spirits and gods were present in man's world. It is not unbelievable that zen warriors float through the air, skim the water and battle in trees and on rooftops. Pain, revenge and duty are the stuff that bind us in this world and are the main plot line of the movie, but in the afterlife love and faith linger on.

User Reviews

 

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is, quite simply, a stunning film and a real breath of fresh air in a genre that was previously somewhat stagnant. Kung-fu films were on a very steady decline, with only Jet Li making a valid effort to change things around. It comes then as a great relief that Ang Lee decided to do what he did and put an entirely new slant on the genre.

Tacky dubbed dialogue is out of the window and we're back to the films original Chinese language subtitled into English. This adds a lot more to one of the films main themes, culture. While we as the Kung-fu loving public have grown used to storylines generally involving the hero's lost mother/brother/pet goldfish, Crouching Tiger... eschews all of these stereotypes and sets about creating a really authentic atmosphere.

I won't bother rehashing the story because if you haven't seen the film yet I want you to go in with as little knowledge as possible. If you don't know what to expect, I can't recommend Crouching Tiger... more highly. Lee's directorial style is simply a joy to behold, and every minute detail is treated with a respect most directors simply don't have. Now, the part we've all been waiting for. I know what you're thinking, "It's all very well having a great story but what good is it if they're all going to mince about like fairies?"

Well, I'm pleased to tell you that these guys kick more ass than you've EVER seen before. The fight sequences are stunningly choreographed and the 'flying' looks spectacular. While a big thing has been made of Chow Yun Fat and Zhang Ziyi's treetop battle, the one for me is between Michelle Yeoh's Shu Lien and Ziyi's Jen. Both instances, both in the courtyard and the dojo are, quite frankly, the most astounding displays of martial arts I have EVER been lucky enough to witness. While Bruce Lee can certainly do the real thing, and he is without doubt the original and best, Wo Ping's sequencing of the fight scenes is truly revolutionary.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is one of the best films I have ever seen and I would recommend anyone, whether or not they are interested in Kung-fu movies.

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Battle Royale

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

Director: Kinji Fukasaku
Writers: Koushun Takami (novel), Kenta Fukasaku.
Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto.

Storyline

Forty-two students, three days, one deserted Island: welcome to Battle Royale. A group of ninth-grade students from a Japanese high school have been forced by legislation to compete in a Battle Royale. The students are each given a bag with a randomly selected weapon and a few rations of food and water and sent off to kill each other in a no-holds-barred (with a few minor rules) game to the death, which means that the students have three days to kill each other until one survives--or they all die. The movie focuses on a few of the students and how they cope. Some decide to play the game like the psychotic Kiriyama or the sexual Mitsuko, while others like the heroes of the movie--Shuya, Noriko, and Kawada--are trying to find a way to get off the Island without violence. However, as the numbers dwell down lower and lower on an hourly basis, is there any way for Shuya and his classmates to survive?

User Reviews

 

The Place: Japan. The Time: The not-so-distant-future. Faced with the prospect of losing control over the nation's young people, a totalitarian government decides upon a ruthless demonstration of power. The Battle Royale Act annually sends a randomly-selected class of high school students to an uninhabited island where they are compelled to kill each other until only one of their number survives.

The reasoning behind this bizarre piece of legislation is perhaps the weakest part of the plot - but the Director deftly causes us to suspend disbelief by drawing us surely and touchingly into the feelings of the young cast. Unlike many western movies which trot out a body count of simplistic characters who are only there to die horribly for our entertainment, Battle Royale somehow manages to rapidly introduce us to the story's potential victims and make us care about them.

You will read reviews that describe this film as excessively violent. I believe that this is a gross overstatement. Though there are many deaths and not a little blood, the main emphasis is upon simple human values - issues such as trust, friendship, love and hate - which the competition tests to their very limits. Children who have little genuine experience of living are forced to evaluate their relationships with each other if they want to stay alive. Alliances are formed and broken; long suppressed crushes and barely buried antagonisms influence their decisions.

There are no easy or mindless deaths in Battle Royale. The violent scenes make the point that violence and death are not cool or funny. This is not Kill Bill; every character in Battle Royale has value as a living, breathing human being. It may sound corny to say that the movie is an emotional roller-coaster ride, but it truly is - having dared to give us three dimensional people who bleed when they are cut, the Director sometimes further dares to cruelly follow scenes of tragedy with jarring moments of biting, dark and sarcastic wit.

If this was an American movie, the class would be played by people in their twenties and thirties. Two or three of the students would be given a lot of screen time and the rest would be faceless cannon fodder. Five seconds after the opening titles, you would know who was going to survive. Despite its odd premise, Battle Royale seems closer to reality because its teenagers really are teenagers and it allows no comforting certainties about who lives or dies.

The true genius of Battle Royale lies in the talented playing of the entire cast. Although young, not one of them strikes a dud note and the script gives almost all of the students a chance to shine at some point. The fight scenes are not staged in the style of 'Enter The Dragon' - the kids are not weapons experts or Karate champions. We see them kill each other but we are not invited to hate them - they are, after all, children and they are scared and desperate. Even a student who takes to killing with apparent relish deserves our sympathy.

Some reviewers have criticised aspects of the dialogue as unrealistic. There are certainly times when the script seems stagy - but it is important to remember that these Japanese children are products of a national culture which often finds the expression of passionate emotions problematical. If anything, the formal phrasing and awkwardness of their most heartfelt expressions only serves to make them more meaningful.

The Special Edition ends (quite literally) with a question. You will find yourself going back to this movie time and time again to answer it. Each viewing is rewarded with details that you probably missed previously - the depth of characterisation and the layers of hidden-in-plain-sight clues continually allow you to understand the story from fresh perspectives.

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X-Men

Two mutants come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.

Director: Bryan Singer

Writers: Tom DeSanto (story), Bryan Singer (story).

Stars: Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen.

Storyline

In a world where both Mutants and Humans fear each other, Marie, better known as Rogue, runs away from home and hitches a ride with another mutant, known as Logan, a.k.a. Wolverine. Charles Xavier, who owns a school for young mutants, sends Storm and Cyclops to bring them back before it is too late. Magneto, who believes a war is approaching, has an evil plan in mind, and needs young Rogue to help him.

User Reviews

 

"X-men" is a well done sci-fi action film for all action fans: especially for those who as kids dreamed of having special powers themselves. Each of the main mutant characters has a special ability and during the film I sometimes found myself thinking about which of those abilities I would choose if I were given the chance. Of course all of those special abilities are visible in the film's spectacular special effects. But the special effects were not the only thing that made watching this film fun. There is also plenty of action and character interaction besides shooting and beating and using special powers. As each mutant character is given a past (to give him a motivation) and a weakness, the film's plot never got boring because I also wanted to know how things developed between the mutants themselves.

And I won't even talk about the ending. It actually surprised me. But go see for yourself

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Versus

There are 666 portals that connect this world to the other side. These are concealed from all human beings. Somewhere in Japan exists the 444th portal.... The forest of resurrection.

Director: Ryûhei Kitamura
Writers: Ryûhei Kitamura, Yudai Yamaguchi.
Stars: Tak Sakaguchi, Hideo Sakaki, Chieko Misaka.

Storyline

Set in the present where a group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, unwittingly, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead, with the assistance of the evil Sprit that has also come back, come back from ages past, to claim his prize. The final standoff between Light and Dark has never been so cunning, so brutal and so deadly. This is where old Japanese Samurai mysticism meets the new world of the gangster and the gun. Gruesome, bloody and positively bold.

User Reviews

 

Boy, oh, boy. They don't make them like this anymore and boy, do I wish I had written this flick. This is a movie living and breathing (so to speak) cult following. "Versus" is a thrilling, fast and furious action-horror-comedy-martial arts actioner directed by Ryuhei Kitamara and features a bizarre and original plot line that's virtually nonexistent.

The irony is, even though it's original, the film spends very little time explaining its more complicated bits and gets great mileage out of the Japanese actors, none of whom have real names, other than two or three-word descriptions like the grungy, tough-talking anti-hero "Prisoner KSC2-303" or "The Girl" or "Yakuza Leader with Butterfly Knife." Real deep characters, huh?

The plot is simple, if confusing, and all seven minutes of it occur within the first few scenes: In Japan's "Forest of Resurrection," two escaped convicts are on their way to making a rendezvous with a group of fellow gangsters. A shoot-out occurs over a disagreement between KSC2 and the Yakuza leader regarding a kidnapped young woman in the trunk of his car - The Girl; one of the men is killed, and so is KSC2's buddy.

KSC2 and The Girl run off into the forest, but after he, and each of the gangsters put 50 bullets into the reanimated corpses of KSC2's buddy and the dead gangster. Soon, KSC2, The Girl, and the gangsters realize something is not right about the woods they had set up as a prearranged meeting spot, and it isn't long before they're all emptying clip after clip into the zombified corpses rising up from their shallow graves in the forest floor. (On a side note, I don't think any of the gangsters ever run out of ammunition.)

As it would turn out, the gangsters have been using the forest as a burial ground for their victims, and they're coming back to settle a score with their killers. Since this is the Forest of Resurrection, all the bodies of slain gangsters are rising from the dead and fighting against their living enemies. That's about all there is to the plot, and all you need to know.

This is a strange gem right here, folks. I don't think there's single production in Hollywood that could touch this movie in terms of style and subject matter. It looks fantastic, really giving the woods a life of its own (so to speak), and the mood of the film is effectively surreal. (It kind of reminds me of "The Evil Dead" in a few ways.) "Versus" ultimately plays out like a collision between every low-budget zombie movie, John Woo shoot-'em-up picture, and action movie we've ever seen. Now in Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen, we call that originality.

"Versus" is a skillful blend of each genre and it never loses sight of the main conflict between escaped convicts and gangsters; the zombies are merely a nuisance - who at first appear to be an interference with shadowy gangland activities. But as it would turn out, however, there's more to the story, and the Forest of Resurrection, as well as the zombies somehow figure into a plot that's best explained by the main villain of the picture, a stranger who I presume is The Man (since as I said before none of the characters have real names), who seeks The Girl to use her in his quest to achieve immortality, or something like that.

It's also pretty funny too. Much of the comedy in this movie arises from one panicky gangster member and two horribly disfigured police officers (whom I'm not sure are dead and resurrected or just badly injured) who have vowed to bring down the escaped convicts. And the corny one-liners (ever-present in the American dubbed version) will definitely get you laughing at its attempts to sound cool to our braindead audiences.

Even though "Verses" is not rated, it's extremely bloody with enough over-the-top gore to please any American gorehound or fan of zombie pictures. It's also got enough martial arts action and Woo-style gunplay to satisfy anyone who's gone into the film thinking this is a samurai picture (from looking at the DVD cover art).

"Versus" will definitely win on the cult circuit; whether it's ready to take on the American mainstream is a question that only time will answer. We'll just have to wait and see who the winner of that titanic battle will be...

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