Angelus2

20 May 2012

Mediocre at its best

Mitchel is an ex-criminal who wants to leave behind his criminal waysand is offered a job as a handyman for a famous movie-star, but Mitchelfind that a underworld boss known as Gant wants Mitchel to work forhim.I was expecting a suave British gangster movie, one that would putBritish greats such as Get Carter, Lock Stock, Snatch and the recentRocknRolla to shame, but what we got instead was a film that was barelygangster, comedy, drama and romance orientated. Secondaly when youconsider the rich cast with the likes of Colin Farrel, Keira Knightly,Ray Winstone, Sanjay Bhasker and Anna Friel, its very disappointing.Colin is someone I'd watch and even go far as saying is perhaps one ofmy favourite actors, but even he fails to entice his accent at times isdodgy but that is forgivable, in all honesty none of the actors wereused to their full capacity and the script was terrible with the 'deadclichés' of gangsters seeking protection money.Stay away from London Boulavard.

soupdogg10-1

20 May 2012

A Miserable Gangster

There are a lot of empty moments throughout London Boulevard. The storycenters around a brooding ex-con Mitch (Colin Ferrel) who has just beenreleased from prison. Old habits die hard in this character drivenmelo-drama set in a very dreary England, where the hero can't help butfall back on his violent nature.It is not so much a bad story as it is a bad execution. It begs to betold at a quicker pace. The hero's haunted past is never truly flushedout and even with it's neat little aha-ending, it does not resolveenough in it's philosophy. The character's stand as types rather thanpeople, showcasing how the quest for beautiful privacy in the celebrityworld (Keira Knightly) crossed with the seedy private dealings inMitch's crime world can mesh so seamlessly when provoked.As far as gangster films go there have been worse. But even thegangsters of LB, in their ruthlessness, leave something to be desiredin the way that they are captured on film. Where Tarantino might notshow an ear being shaved off, in London Boulevard we hardly see thedeeply vicious violence but only it's aftermath.It's pacing is slow and the story is not grand enough to allow it todribble on the way it does before fizzling out at it's lacklusterconclusion.

eoinej

19 May 2012

New Michael Caine?

Interesting but not great movie. Probably would get shelved in a GuyRitchie section, but could have deserved better. Nasty Ray Winstone,more convincing than at other times of late, and seriously scary.Various other familiar faces, but although less comic than thecharacters in the shelf sharers, most fail to rise completely from therealm of criminal fantasy. Apart from Colin Farrell that is.Colin Farrell actually lifts the movie by sheer charisma and screenpresence most of the time, and, in at least the first half of the film,replaces the space left by Michael Caine in his Carter or Palmer typeroles. However, warning bells rang with the introduction of DavidThewlis's character who's development parallels the plot's departurefrom credibility Sadly, it all goes rather loopy towards the end, and what was promisedwas unfulfilled which is why this film will be shelved with otherBritish tongue-in-cheek gangster flicks.

18 May 2012

A Problem With Language

Though it has its issues, LONDON BOULEVARD is a pretty good gangster movie, which seems to draw some of its inspiration from films like CARLITO'S WAY and even SUNSET BOULEVARD.Fresh out of a British prison after spending three years on an assault charge, tough guy Colin Farrell is determined to go straight, even though his best buddy (Ben Chaplin) and his brutal, ultra-violent boss (Ray Winstone) are determined to bring him back into the rackets by fair means or foul.Farrell gets a job working for reclusive movie actress Keira Knightley, who is constantly being stalked by paparazzi stationed outside of her house. A romantic relationship develops between them, and they even make plans to escape London forever. Unfortunately, the spurned Winstone is not about to let that happen.William Monahan (THE DEPARTED) both wrote and makes his directing debut with LONDON BOULEVARD, which moves along at a fairly nice clip and never really loses our interest. The cast is uniformly excellent.The primary problem that I have with this picture is one that is shared with many of today's British movies, and that's its language.Years ago, when actors like Laurence Olivier, Michael Redgrave or Trevor Howard were making films, you could hear and understand every word they said on screen. Today, performers akin to the very talented and charismatic Colin Farrell often mumble their lines or speak in an accent and/or with slang that is difficult to understand. You may be able to generally comprehend what is happening on screen, but the subtleties escape you.There are also a couple of unexplained "holes" in the story, like: Who was the paparazzi in the olive green jacket and what was his purpose?On the other hand, perhaps that was explained in the dialogue that I didn't understand.Next time I watch this movie, I think I'll turn on the subtitles.© Michael B. Druxman

17 May 2012

different

some may view this as a typical british gangster movie and if that's a turn off don't bother watching it. don't watch it for the supposed romance between kiera knightley and colin farrel. don't watch it because most people seem to hate it. watch it for the difference in language. nothing is a shock in this movie but it's well paced and provides a transport from reality for a little over an hour. isn't that what movies are for?

16 May 2012

rough sexy

This review is from: London Boulevard (DVD) A nice gangster flick with an interesting take on the life of a thug and what he has for values and ethics.

lewiskendell

16 May 2012

Good movie, better cast.

"That's why nobody wants me to be a gangster. Because I could not stopif I started."I mainly wanted to see London Boulevard because of the pairing of KeiraKnightley and Colin Farrell, and that part of the movie certainlydidn't disappoint me. This is definitely Farrel's film, and he carriesit well. Knightley is much more a side character, despite her prominentplace in the posters and advertisements. And while she's good in herpart, Farrell is what makes this interesting. The guy is absolutelyferocious in this movie, and any fans of his will be pleased. The story of a man, fresh off of time in the prison, struggling not tobe drawn into the violent criminal world that everyone around him seemsto think he belongs in, is an average one. It feels a bit haphazard attimes, which seems due to the way the plot continued to change as thefilm was being made. It progresses in leaps and fits and starts,without ever really establishing a steady flow. The scenes withKnightley and Farrell together seem from a completely different flickthan the scenes with Farrell in his violent criminal element, due tothe drastic differences in tone between the two. That's not a flaw initself, but it highlights how piecemeal the whole film can feel attimes. What makes London Boulevard a memorable movie despite its issues is thecharacters. Beyond Farrell and Knightley's hounded actress, Anna Friel,David Thewlis, and Ray Winstone each help carry the story along withinteresting roles that they play just perfectly. I recommend London Boulevard if you're a fan of anyone involved, butdon't expect a traditional English gangster flick. Or a perfect one. 

15 May 2012

London Boulevard

This review is from: London Boulevard (Amazon Instant Video) If you just like a Film noir a little bit. You will like this movie. Sure you know it is going to end with most of the cast of characters meeting a bad end. But the story is worth it.

tieman64

13 May 2012

Interesting and low key, until someone opens the clich floodgate

From the writer of "The Departed" comes "London Boulevard". The filmstars Colin Farrell as Mitchell, an ex convict who vows to stay out oftrouble. In an attempt to put his violent past behind him, Mitchelltakes on the job of assisting a famous movie star, played by KieraKnightingly. Knightingly is housebound, hounded by the paparazzi andstruggling to overcome depression, but Mitchell is helping her largelyas a means of sublimating his inability to help his own sister, who'sslowly degenerating into an alcoholic wreck.Of course the past eventually catches up with Mitchell – thanks to aidiotic, bumbling old friend – and he's sucked inexorably back into alife of crime. The film wastes an opportunity to delve into the life ofa reformed con, scarred actress and their subsequent romance, andinstead serves up a reheated version of "Carlito's Way" (amongst otherthings), its second half wholly derivative.Surprinsingly, in a film filled with big name British actors andloud-mouthed gangsters, it is actor David Thewlis, who plays aperpetually high, washed up actor, who steals the show. His scenerychewing - and interesting, theatrical take on his character - is a joyto watch.7.9/10 – Good pulp until the clichés hit. See Farrell's "In Bruges".Worth one viewing.

arne-ziebell

12 May 2012

Excing, moving and surprising. Great entertainment!

This is an amazing film with great acting by all, especially by ColinFerrell, and it has a very good script. The film has a fabulous slowlybuild-up suspense, at times it's moving and even funny, but these funnyscenes are all appropriate … and the ending makes a full circle to thebeginning - just perfect! I'm not a big fan of Colin Ferrell, but inthis movie – just as in "A Home at the End of the World" and"Cassandra's Dream" – he shows what a good and marvelous actor hereally is.I would be very happy to recommend this movie, and I'll give all tenstars!

s-connor

07 May 2012

Seriously Cool Film

Really, really, enjoyed this film. Colin Farrell is back on form. Heshould stick to straight forward, tough guy, black comedy rather thangalavanting around on a horse in Alexander! The film reminds me of thetype of filming that made me love 'In Bruges'. The atmosphere betweenFarrell and Ray Winston is pretty intense. Lady actresses Anna Frieland Keira Knightly are gorgeous and Anna plays a great role asFarrell's pain in the ass sister. David Thewlis is great and actuallyenjoyed seeing a cast made up of mainly British actors/actresses. Iwould strongly advise going to see this film. Better than expected.Only thing I would have changed was a different last minute to thefilm.

Lou O

07 May 2012

Underrated, but now on DVD appreciation for this film sure to grow.

Monaghan has a witty way with tough guys, evident from THE DEPARTED andBODY OF LIES, and his talent for writing colourful characters is in noway restricted here by the London setting with its PERFORMANCE-esquemix of geezers and toff tossers. He really rises spectacularly to thechallenge, as a non-Brit, of making a Brit gangster flick and at thesame time making it something recognizably his own: Monaghan apparentlyonly decided to get into screen writing after realizing his preferredcareer – all purpose Man of Letters – had gone out with the dinosaurs,so it's not surprising then that when Ray Winstone is called upon thistime to assert himself as "the Daddy," he angles a little literaryanalysis into the routine early on. This is nice and droll – enjoyable– and it makes the later scene, in which he must drawl the word c*ntabout 20 times in a minute, all the funnier. (Farrell also quotespoetry, while practically every other line out of Thewlis'sdissipated-rake-one-time-actor is a highbrow quip of some description.)So, the film is funny; and not in a Guy Ritchieslapstick-and-irony-yield-diminishing-returns kind of way, but in anagreeably amusing, actually pretty cool kind of way. Humour though, isjust one part of it.Primarily, the film plays as legitimate drama; as a somewhat sad storyof the budding, ultimately thwarted love of Farrell's sensitiveex-con-and-would-be-ex-gangster, and Knightly's hurt and fragile,reclusive actress. Farrell and Knightly have good chemistry and thescript brings them together and establishes their relationship withgreat economy. They're an attractive pair whose affection for oneanother quite immediately, without any unnecessary scenes or highdrama, feels right and believable.Other posters, and some critics when it was released, have called thefilm muddled. This is misleading – undeniably yes, there's a certainamount of contrivance to the plot – but there's absolutely no muddle tothe film in the way mixes its 'tasty', c*nt-riddled Britgangsterish-ism with its attempts at legitimate drama. With a nicevisual style and a grooved out mood courtesy of a good soundtrack andrelaxed editing – London BOULEVARD reminded me of nothing more than ofsomething by Michael Mann. Mann has that much more earnestness and thesilliness in his films is that bit more unintentional, whileconversely, London BOULEVARD isn't quite done with as fine a touch as aMann film; but he and Monaghan are similar in their way of making pulpycharacters into nicely realized, real-feeling people and fashioninggenuine, involving drama at the centre of what are essentially thrillvehicles.London BOULEVARD is plenty thrilling; it might not have been tillsometime in that I was vibing on it the way I was the entire durationof COLLATERAL, say. Some of the many music cues initially seemed a bitredundant, but the film soon gets the right atmosphere about it – itachieves an irrepressible sense of cool - and watching it becomes agreat pleasure.8/10

Jaime-b

03 May 2012

Entertaining if you can look past some of the poor writing clichs

This film was brimming with potential, an adept cast, some stylishdirecting & gritty yet beautiful set locations. However some of thestory & the actions taken by its characters were implausible, & most ofits ideas didn't develop effectively on screen. Recently released gangster Colin Farrell meets a young female friend ofreclusive celebrity actor Kiera Knightly & offers him a job protectingher from intrusive paparazzi. He shows up for work & What feels like ascene or two later they have (unconvincingly) fallen in love. parallelto this Farrels character is finding it hard to escape his past & issoon roped into a feud with gangster boss Ray Winstone. He is now facedwith the dilemma of either returning to his previous nature orbeginning a life of new found love in LA.All this is played out with some very stylish moments, such as thedialogue between Winstone & Farrel in the restaurant or the artisticbut realistic way in which the environment is captured. All the actingis well done & Its accompanied by a great soundtrack, but a huge amountof the script feels rushed & underdeveloped. As a whole it isentertaining if not taken to seriously but may not appeal to anyserious film enthusiast.I also felt that the ending of this film was brave but what I had seenprior to it lacked enough substance or attachment to make it stick & Ithink I would have been more satisfied with a conventional ending.

gradyharp

02 May 2012

The Dark Side Miscalculations

London BOULEVARD is a British film that is unafraid to take a long hardlook at the dark side of London - organized and unorganized crime,miscreants of all ages, vengeance, substance abuse - and still come upwith a 'bruised hero' with whom we can relate. The film has itsproblems: the dialects of these 'English speaking' actors is so thickthat it becomes necessary to turn on the subtitles to understand thedialogue, some characters are insufficiently define, the musicsoundtrack overwhelms the action too frequently. Yet the cast of actorsis so strong that they overcome these problems and ultimately give us aterrifyingly real glimpse at the low life happenings in that majormetropolis.Mitchel (Colin Farrell, looking better than he has in years) has justbeen released from jail, an experience he never wants to face again,but his old friends such as Billy (Ben Chaplin) tempt him to get backinto big crime. Mitchel still stops by the street people to see his oldfriend Joe (Alan Williams) who warns Mithcel to stay away from Billy.Mitchel finds a job as a bodyguard for actress Charlotte (KeiraKnightley) who stays secluded from the omnipresent paparazzi in herhome where she lives with an ex-actor now druggie Jordan (DavidThewlis). Billy learns of Mitchel's new job and informs the local crimelord Gant (Ray Winstone) and a plot to rob Charlotte's home is hatched.Mitchel will have nothing to do with the plot, warning Gant that hewill never work for crime again. A series of brutal murders occurincluding the slaughter of old Joe by two young footballers - a deedthat enrages Mitchel, but even this need for vengeance is something hecannot carry out. The plot thickens and other atrocities arise, butMitchel has fallen in love with the delicate Charlotte and urges her toflee to Los Angeles to rid herself of the dangers and the paparazzi.But despite Mitchel's attempts to stay clean in the midst of thethickening mire that Gant creates, he is thwarted at every turn. Theending is a major surprise.William Monahan (Body of Lies, The Departed, Kingdom of Heaven) wroteand directed this film based on the novel by Ken Bruen. It is harsh, itis dark, but it is a fine example of film noir. Colin Farrell is superbin the every difficult role of Mitchel - his acting skills are polishedand his characterization is wholly credible. The supporting cast -Winstone, Thewlis, Knightley, Chaplin, Eddie Marsan, Anna Friel asMitchel's alcoholic wasted sister, Jamie Campbell Bower - isastonishingly fine. This is not a film for the fainthearted, but it isa powerful little movie with many bits of afterburn to keep theaudience guessing. Grady Harp

liveweaver

28 April 2012

httpreadreels.blogspot.in A half baked cake.Half is so good that youll want your full but sadly its not there.

London Boulevard, a crime caper kind of a movie stars Keira Knightleyand Colin Farrel in the lead. The films starts with Colin Farrel'scharacter Mitchel getting out of prison after three years.He decides togo straight.He takes a job of protecting this young out of work actressCharlotte that Keira Knightley's playing who is quite unsocial andreclusive in nature and is quite paranoid with the surroundingpaparazzi.Charlotte lives with Jordon played by David Thewlis who playshis part exceptionally well.The problems start when Gant who is a bigtime don becomes interested in Mitchel.You'll get the idea if you haveseen Michael Mann's Thief as this film's outline is quite similar butthey are totally different films.Keira has little to do in the movie, though i haven't read the novelthis film is based on but I'm sure Keira's character in the novel wouldhave been much more developed than what we see in the film and to makethis story work that was essential.The chemistry between the leads hasfew moments but they are not fully realized and it feels choppedoff.Although the film was beautifully scripted but the acting sometimeslooked forced and quite unnatural at times.Only David Thewlis catchesyour eyes every time he's on the screen.Colin Farrel never makes mecare about his situation or his dilemma.London Boulevard doesn't quite finds its foot between its romance andviolence and sadly stays quite mediocre throughout.Through last twentysomething minutes promise to be fulfilling but they are undone by theending with what we see and what we don't.Its a nice time spender butyou don't get a reward back from it and that's what makes it sodisappointing.Its a dart that misses the board.

johnnyboyz

28 April 2012

Not exactly streets ahead of some of Britains better gangster films, but a pleasant trip down a familiar lane none-the-less.

London Boulevard uses the age old premise of a former criminal letloose from of prison for the first time in years and spins a wileylittle tale about this person getting involved in, and up to his neckin, all manner of criminal shenanigans of which he feared the veeringback toward. Blurring lines between what it is a harder, meaner Britishgangster film of old and what might be conceived as a lighter, morecomically imbued piece reminiscent of far recent-a gangster episodes,American born William Monahan, here debuting behind the camera whilstworking off of his own script, weaves an enjoyable crime drama from asource material that knows its place; realises its inspirations andconstructs a nourishing character driven tale predominantly operatingwithin the realms of archetype.Colin Farrell plays the lead, a young Englishman named Mitchell freshfrom the confines of a jail cell now out and about as summer comes toan end looking for some kind of work amidst the mingling with some oldfriends; former criminal cohorts and loose family members. As acharacter, we sense Mitchell is reformed; his rueful expressions as helies in his cell give way to the foiling of a robbery once outside twoyouths were about to execute on an unsuspecting young woman withdrawingcash from a bank machine; as, on another occasion, he donates whatevercash he did have to a homeless man he goes back rather far with. Hischange in conscience runs hand in hand with definitive changes on theoutside; an old contact, now more broadly linked to crime and criminalsyndicates, named Billy (Chaplin) informs Mitchell that Britain is nowsmoke free. A later, smaller but pleasingly intricate moment seesMitchell standing on a public street and looking on in a confusedfashion at a Muslim woman walking on the other side - her observing ofMuslim law, walking dressed in full respective gear-plus veil,additionally going a way in establishing Mitchell's newfound sense ofalienation from the world he left when compared to the one he nowoccupies.As things unravel, our lead becomes more involved in the life of aBritsh actress named Charlotte (Knightley), a softly spoken and rathershy woman now living through the ill-gotten consequences of thestardom, celebrification and the glamour which imbues her profession.She spends most of her days indoors whilst limply wrapped up in acardigan; young, confused and coming across as somewhat vulnerable, sheis in stark opposition to Mitchell's heavier build and more aggressivedemeanour. Charlotte's hiring of Mitchell through an often spaced outformer actor friend named Jordan (Thewlis) to guard her; reassure herand chip in with some manual labour is the latest edition to a shroudedlife born out of a career on the continent in the niche film market.Indeed, it is Jordan whom rather dryly points out, in the processciting Noé's 2003 film Irreversible, that had it not been for MonicaBellucci, Charlotte may very well be "the most raped actress in thehistory of European art cinema", thus establishing a distinct on-offscreen set of characteristics that paints portraits of her charisma andsheer bravery but introversion off it. Additionally, Mitchell'sobserving of some billboards housing Charlotte looking glamorous as henears her guarded compound sees several of them change colour from redto blue, hinting at such a duality and mixture of identities, while hisarrival at her dwelling to a song on the soundtrack blaring out thelyrics "I'm your man....." wholly reiterates his cause for being there.Complications arise when Ray Winstone's Robert Gant enters proceedings,a Rolls-Royce owning; chauffeur driven heavy weight London gangsterwith a short fuse; a clan of tough heavies and a penchant forregressing back to a disturbed childhood every time he violentlyeliminates somebody. With Winstone's trademark East-End accent and themanipulation of the man's star power, Gant is good value as a walking,talking stereotype; Bob Hoskins' The Long Good Friday character HaroldShand by way of a Spitting Image puppet. When he comes to confrontMitchell in a halfway-house, the man tries to infiltrate Mitchell'slife; the suggestion of planting cell phones onto his person andsuggesting other such ideas so that he may worm his way into Mitchell'slife as his lackeys loom out of sight behind him in this, an enclosedterrace house, working well.The crux of the film is made up of the bond between Charlotte andMitchell, ties that they share via an alienation or a disenchantment atthe world; the Britain or universe as they know it which has seeminglydisappeared and rendering the pair of them ailing, flailing peopleturning their noses up at what they did because it has brought barelyanything more than grief and confusion. Their ties eventually come tosee them feel rather fond for each other; the inescapable sensation ofthe world around them persistently there to eat one up again calling tomind a number of past films and here, working well in its drawing oninspiration from rather than straight up lampooning. Monahan weavesthis love story with a revenge sub-plot that opens up early on with allof this as well as Gant's persistent, looming presence really ratherwell; the majority of the characters, right down to a corrupt policeofficer character whose facial features has him look like he's justraided a joke shop and pasted an array of faux-disguises onto his face,integrating with one another and flitting in and out of each andeverybody's lives in an ambitious manner which is reigned in and keptgrounded; resulting in a competently executed film.

supah79

27 April 2012

The Good, The Bad and The Boulevard

I was lucky enough to see this film without being trampled by eitherthe studio's marketing machine or the bizz-reviewers. This gave me achance to experience the film without prejudice. It is a film that hasme going in opposite directions at once.This is a not a bad movie. It entertains me more than something likeLayer Cake or Rocknrolla. Why? This movie is filled with style-elementsand trademarks from the screenwriter/director that do not scream outloud "Look at me being a hip and smart director"(for example theSpaghetti Western elements at the beginning and the end). Thecharacters seem more real to me. Plus the violence is not glorified orfunny. It's harsh and pains you even looking at it. At the end of thisfilm, you just want to go back to your boring job: it is a complimentto the filmmaker.But is it good? I don't know, because it also has you scratching theback of your head too much. Some of the dialogue is so crypted, youmiss the next minutes because your still putting the last scenestogether. But at the same time I love that. It doesn't try to bepleasing or find the easy way out. But this does have a dangerouseffect: people will stamp your movie as riddled with plot holes, whileit just needs a bit attention from the viewer. One of the things thatstayed with me was the (latent) homosexual feelings Ray Winston'scharacter seemed to have. It is a real clue as to why he reacts the wayhe does to Colin Farrel's character. And gives a whole other meaning tothe sentence: 'You and I would be great together' while Farrel'scharacter is ready to kill him. I also think the homeless guy isMitch's father. Think about it: all the signs point to this.Farrel gives his best performance yet. I always was not very convincedabout his acting skills. But his performance here, along with Pride andGlory, shows me he can act. If he wants to. For that matter: everyoneinvolved was very well cast.At 103 minutes, I think it could have used 15 to 20 more minutes tosmooth over the final resolution. The set up is great and takes it'stime. The movie really isn't about the love between Farrel andKneightley, but the attempts of Farrel to break free from his criminalpast. And with the excellent setup, the ending seems too rushed andthat's too bad. Because not too many movies today have sad endings. Andthis is one of the few that had me really sad.I give it 7 out of 10.

JoeytheBrit

27 April 2012

Disjointed but watchable...

The title London Boulevard bears little meaning in relation to itsplot, which pretty much typifies the air of incompleteness that hangsover the whole thing. It seems that at some point somebody had a goodidea, but as that idea was expanded upon things grew increasinglywoolly, loose threads were overlooked and narrative coherence precludedby a blinkered pursuit of style.Beetle-browed Colin Farrell plays Mitchel, a reformed criminal freshout of prison with a determination to go straight. Unfortunately forhim, former associate Billy Norton (Ben Chaplin) is there to greet himas he walks through the prison gates. Despite Mitchel's insistence thathis life of crime is now behind him he allows Billy to house him in aplush house that once belonged to a former debtor of his boss, avicious, bespectacled, cigar-chomping thug called Gant (Ray Winstone).It's not long before Mitchel comes to the attention of Gant, who sensesan unnatural level of potential in the independent, and apparentlyfearless, younger man. While Gant's attempts to get Mitchel on-boardgrow increasingly violent, resulting in a tit-for-tat struggle thatquickly spirals out of control, Mitchel begins a relationship withCharlotte (Keira Knightley), a brittle, reclusive movie star hounded tothe verge of a mental breakdown by persistent paparazzi.Writer-director William Monaghan's stylish adaptation of Ken Bruen'snovel suffers first of all from one of the hoariest of plots - theex-con trying to go straight who finds himself dragged back into a lifeof crime by his former associates. He fleshes this tired premise outwith a clumsy sub-plot involving Keira Knightley's flaky movie starthat seems to belong to another film entirely. Farrell's characterflits back and forth between these two plots like a pinball, whilesub-plots three, four and five eventually intertwine with his battle ofwills with Gant, all of which serves to provide the viewer with adisjointed narrative that too often seems to lose its way.Farrell gives his character an intense nervous energy that bubblesbeneath a deceptively calm exterior and acquits himself quite well,while the ever-reliable Ray Winstone's fearsome performance is perhapsmired a little too deeply within his comfort zone to make the impactthat it should. Nevertheless, he and Farrell do play well off eachother, and provide the film's most compelling moments. In fact, thefilm contains a number of impressive scenes, but they just don't seemto gel in the way they should. Maybe, given that Monahan is afirst-time director, such flaws are forgivable to a degree, but whatisn't is the way that so many plots points are left unexplained: whydoes Mitchel have such a fearful reputation? Who is the creepypaparazzo with a gun who lurks outside Charlotte's town house? Why areglossy posters of a reclusive movie star plastered across London?Monaghan neglects to inform us, leaving what appears to be a promisingthriller looking disjointed and incomplete. Nevertheless, it iswatch-able and reasonably entertaining thanks to the lead protagonists,and it does gather momentum as it moves towards its ironic conclusion.A special mention, by the way, for David Thewlis, who, as a doped-upmentor of the fragile Charlotte, effortlessly steals every scene inwhich he appears. It would have been nice to see him share a few sceneswith Ray Winstone…

freddy54-211-469054

27 April 2012

Perplexing and poorly-conceived movie

I really wanted to admire this film but the confusing plot,unintelligible dialogue(particularly from Ray Winstone) andridiculously loud music soundtrack spoilt it for me. There were suddenplot twists and developments that made no sense, as if the continuitydepartment had pasted scenes together in random order. The ending wastacked on to end the movie just for the sake of it. What I wanted toknow is what motivated David Thewlis' character to commit murder? Whowas the Bosnian guy? Why is Anna Friel's character so annoying? Why doI care? If you wish to see a first-rate British crime movie, watch"Harry Brown".

aaron esmonde

26 April 2012

Blighty Brilliant - Colin Farrells Charlie Brigante

A London gangster is recently released from prison and tries to gostraight after being offered a job by a clinically depressed borderlineagoraphobic celebrity. However, he's forcefully reined back into 'thebusiness' by Gant a psychotic criminal boss.A star-studded and familiar face cast come together in WilliamMonahan's passionate compelling and compulsory underworld film thatmanages to capture a contemporary 60's feel. It benefit's from an onlocation look which is wonderfully and stylishly shot capturing bothbeauty and darkness of L.A. and London. The back drop of London feelslike a character itself with something interesting always going onscreen.For some reason despite the formulaically worn genre Boulevard managesto stay fresh. Colin Farrell's main character Mitchell is likable,interesting and dynamic with a Steve McQueen air about him.The character relationship dimensions and interactions are intriguingand a little bit different from the usual Brit flick considering linearstory thanks to a at times ambiguous script. Leads Farrell, KeiraKnightley and Ray Winstone are on fine form. And both David Thewlis andBen Chaplin steal the show with their contrasting characterperformances. There are loads of great supporting actor appearances,Eddie Marsan,Matt King,Tim Plester and Sanjeev Bhaskar to name a few.Notable is Briony, Mitchell 's alcoholic sister played excellently byAnna Friel.US director Monahan has created a slick, witty, violent and soulfullyhard hitting film. It's a quality production and despite the soundtrackbeing repetitive at times and a choppy last act - London Boulevard isnear on perfection for the genre. Reminiscent of Layer Cake (2004) quite frankly it's the UK's Carlito'sWay (1993),which is a simply a good thing.