2cents Reviews

Pursued (2004)

Vodka pineapple ice cold!

[9/10 · 30 May 2006]

I saw this movie in a blockbuster sale and picked it up for a couple of quid, I am a huge Christian Slater Fan but the last time I did this I picked up the god awful 'Run for the Money' (Hard Cash) so I wasn't expecting much..

As a Slater fan 'Pursued' in excellent, he steals every scene that he is in and plays the corporate psycho to perfection. The first 80% of this film is a delight and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

It is also nice to see Michael Clarke Duncan in a normal acting role, he is so often used as just a big strong enforcer type and yet 'Green Mile' showed so much more, here he gets the opportunity to just act. As does Estelle Warren who is usually just used as a the sexy blonde.

Gil Bellows is slightly disappointing and this is partly why I didn't enjoy the ending but I have seen a hundred movies worse than this and if you are stuck for a flick on a rainy day then this is definitely one to watch.

Zemanovaload (2005)

Ed Byrne deserves so much more . . . .

[23 September 2004]

Ed Byrne is one of the funniest British comedians working today, I have seen him perform numerous times on the TV and recently I had the pleasure of seeing him live at the Edinburgh Festival, the man is hilarious . . . this film is just a joke.

Actually that may be a little harsh, in it's own way it is quite quirky and if it wasn't for the complete waste of Ed's talent then it could be seen as a nice little 'made for TV' britflick. But the potential was DID exist and it was wasted.

Ed is John a film and TV writer with quirky neurosis and hang-ups. He is completely shallow and only dates models. After being dumped he sets his sites on the top 'perfect 10' model (Miss Zemanova) and he continues to e-stalk her using the internet.

The production is so cheap that in one continuous paranoia gag they actually use the same piece of footage at least 10 times throughout the movie, and it was only mildly amusing the first time. ( Credit where it's due, Vic and Bob are actually quite amusing as Ed's fingers)

This is a terrible vehicle for Ed Byrne and isn't going to do his career any favours. My advice would be to watch it if it's on TV late and you have just come in after a night out (it's that sort of movie) certainly not worth wasting money on. Either at the cinema or as a DVD purchase.

Fans of Ed Byrnes comedy STAY AWAY, you will only be left unsatisfied.

Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)

Comedy IS this man . . .

[19 May 2004]

Despite the thousands that have stepped on to the comedy stage, many regard Richard Pryor: Live in Concert as the greatest stand-up show of all time. Live and on fire, this is Pryor at his finest ~ a unique opportunity to understand why comics and comedy lovers call him the godfather of modern comedy. Whether he's talking about his bout in the ring with Mohammed Ali, or recounting tales of snorting cocaine off the dining room table in front of his grandmother, Pryor is the heavyweight champion, playing off tragedy and humour in a way that few others have ever dared.

This is f@ckin hilarious !!

Apparently this is going to be released on a UK DVD soon. Cant wait !!

The Calcium Kid (2004)

Nothing is out of reach if you have long arms . . .

[10/10 · 4 May 2004]

First off I must start by saying that I am sick of reading film reviews written by pretentious magazine reviewers. They slagged this film off royally and for no good reason. It seems now in the UK that unless you produce an arty film or one that was filmed in darkest Peru using only a £20 digital camera the film writers will hate it.

Why do we let people who don't like mainstream movies review main stream movies?

Anyway rant over. This movie is one of the sweetest films ever made and I mean sweet in both the original and the 'Saff London' sense.

Orlando Bloom plays the lead role really well, you can't help but like him and hope that Hose Mendes doesn't kill him in round one. The plot is simple but the comedy is well written with a few excellent lines from Omid Djalili, David Kelly, Rafe Spall and a brilliant cameo from Frank Harper.

Billie Piper still needs to improve as an actress (which she has done recently as shown by her TV roles) but she is gorgeous and it is completely believable that Jimmy (Orlando) would stop what he was doing and just stare every time he sees her.

The Calcium Kid is not the next great British movie but you do come out of the cinema feeling good, having enjoyed the last 2 hours of your life rather than feeling like you have been robbed of the £6 you paid for the ticket (Gothika, 21 Grams etc).

A quote from South Parks Eric Cartman sums it up best . . . "Sweet!" and thats my 2 cents

Hard Cash (2002)

Predrag messed up . . . Muppet!

[6/10 · 25 June 2003]

I recently saw this dvd in a bargain bin for £4 and out of curiosity bought it. I have been a fan of Christian Slaters movies for some time and it was so sad to see a brilliant actor reduced by such god awful directing.

Hard Cash is a good movie screaming to get out of a s***e one, scenes involving Kilmer and Slater are actually pretty good, they bounce of each other well and Val Kilmer does camp,pompous villain far better than he does batman !!!. Verne Troyer has a great character who should have been used more (However 'Attila' is not funny, clever or ironic as his character name) and the actual idea of the film isn't that bad.

The problem is the editing/directing. Predrag whatzizface turns this movie into a joke, over use of the dodgy car chase scenes and the constant flicking to irrelevant shots just annoy the viewer.

I didn't hate this movie, but I just feel that a monkey could have edited it better!! With the cast available and the technology these days I cant believe how visually poor this film is.

Pull it back, give all the film to a proper director and let him go to work. There is a watchable and enjoyable movie hidden in this mess. Maybe they should have spent a little more 'hard cash' on the crew!!

I can only imagine what was left on the cutting room floor.

Thats my 2 cents

Heathers (1988)

So Very.

[10/10 · 8 May 2003]

Greetings and Salutations,

If you can imagine Jack Nicholsons 'Joker' at high school, he's cool, he's a loner, has a dark mysterious quality . . . oh and he is insane and likes to kill people. Still with me?

Meet J.D, this is Christian Slaters character in Heathers, Slater gives the kind of performance that makes you wish he got cast in 'dark' roles more often. J.D has spawned numerous fan websites and is arguably the greatest teen movie character ever. His lines are spot on and the one scene right at the start of the film where he pulls a gun on the two main school bully's/jocks still brings a smile to my face.

Heathers takes the teen flick concept and ads a new twist. The school characters are perfect right down to the cool kids inventing a new way of speaking just so they stand out even more. You have the nerds, the jocks, the rich kids, the popular kids, the fat victim etc all your standard teen groups are here and happily bouncing along to the beat that life has given them no matter how shallow or cr*p it is.

This is where most movies just continue, and where Heathers excels. Enter J.D, J.D represents everything that every kid ever wanted to do or say and didn't. Not so much a spanner in the works more a bomb!

This film has pages and pages of great quotes and the acting from it's 2 stars is exceptional, Winona Ryder has not made a better film (neither has Shannen Doherty)and the supporting cast play their small but oh so important roles to perfection.

The only pre 25's who will not get this movie are the rich spoilt teens who are oblivious to real life because daddy has always bailed them out or given them everything that they ever wanted (much like the 'rich kid' social group in the film). And as in the film they are largely irrelevant anyway.

Everyone else you must see this movie at least once, it is a classic. You may not love it but you will definitely have an opinion on it.

One quote for the road . . .

In Prayer "Hi, I'm sorry. Technically I did not kill Heather Chandler, but hey, who am I trying to kid right?. I just want my high school to be a nice place. Amen. Did that sound b1tchy?"

Pump Up the Volume (1990)

Slaters teen master class . . .

[10/10 · 7 May 2003]

I loved this film

When I was 17 I first saw the second half of this movie on TV, the next day I scoured my local video shops to buy the film so that I could watch the first half.

I know that sounds a little sad but I really felt that at the time this film was spot on. Parents do seem to hate you, it is incredibly hard to talk to a girl that you want to ask out and school is the last place you ever want to be. This film had the emotions just about right.

I now see its faults but I still feel that it is an excellent movie to its targeted age group, everyone who ever wanted to "rise up in the cafeteria and stab them (teachers) with your plastic fork".

I could fill this review with quotes, the speech on why teen suicide is a bad idea is up there with the "Am I funny?" scene in goodfella's.

Christian Slater is excellent, apparently it's his favourite movie and you can see that he enjoyed making it. He does dark-teen like no one else, this is Nicholson at 16! In my humble opinion this film is at the top of the teen-flick chart alongside Heathers.

Samantha Mathis makes an intriguing leading lady, she really gets her character spot on. Miss Mathis also provides one of the best sexual tension scenes ever in this genre. (it's all in the music)

A young Seth Green also makes an appearance that I am sure he would rather forget, his acting is fine it's how he looks thats the problem !!

This film is dark, funny and brutaly honest. If you are under 20 and still hate the world this will kill a couple of those boring 'too old to play to young to drink' hours.

Highly recommended.