Director Of CTU (Counter-Terrorism Unit), Los Angeles, Jack Bauer (Sutherland) sees his daughter to bed and is called in to the office when the CIA becomes aware of a threat to Presidential Candidate David Palmer (Haysbert). As Bauer investigates the threat against Palmer, he realises that there is probably someone on the inside, and that there is no one he can trust, leaving himself and his family in danger. Filmed in real time, we live with Bauer, Palmer, their families and the CTU team over 24 hours, the longest day of their lives…

I didn’t see this on TV, so I’ve watched all 24 episodes without missing one (which usually happens when I try to watch a TV series). I very nearly didn’t sleep in the two weeks it’s taken to find the time to watch and entire TV series. After the first few episodes, which introduce the characters, it becomes very hard to switch off – brilliantly acted, incredibly well directed and ending each episode with a cliffhanger, it becomes an obsession. The real-time aspect means that you find yourself wondering what is going on at that time on another sub-plot. Often you see two or three stories on-screen, and as it takes many episodes to resolve even the smallest story, you keep coming back for more, and just when you think you’ve figured it out, there’s a twist you didn’t see coming and another story starts up.

There’s so much to the story I would like to talk about but can’t simply because to say anymore will be to ruin the surprise (and excitement) of watching this without prior knowledge. But believe me when I say that this is the best TV show I have ever seen, and nothing has come close to entertaining me much as this series has. Obviously it’s tough to keep up such momentum for 24 episodes, and it does lull after the first dozen episodes, and some of the events do beggar belief, but it is still engaging throughout, supported by great performances – particularly from Sutherland and Haysbert.

The Series is presented on 6 disks, 4 episodes on each. Image is widescreen and clear, but ultimately it’s a TV presentation and so quite grainy at times. The 2.0 soundtrack is clear, but only uses the surround channel for the haunting music. You also get an alternate (and quite different ending), which is good, and a teaser for series 2, which I will be watching! I would have liked to see commentaries or a making of documentary – explaining the logistics behind making a real-time TV show, but perhaps we will see that on Season 2.

Many of you out there will have heard a lot about this but baulked at the price tag. All I can say to persuade you is that this is probably the best TV show ever to come out on DVD and worth every penny – if you only watch the series once you will get value for money.

Film:	★★★★★★★★★★
Video:	★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Audio:	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
Extras:	★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆
Overall:	★★★★★★★★☆☆

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24 Season 1, DVD Review (Archive)

The Punisher:

There have been three Punisher films. The first back in 1989 starred Dolph Lundgren as Frank Castle or the Punisher as he is more widely known. The second, also called The Punisher was in 2004 and starred Thomas Jane in the leading role and also had John Travolta in it. The latest incarnation is called The Punisher: War Zone and yet again the main actor has changed, this time Ray Stevenson has taken the Punisher moniker for an outing, Thomas Jane leaving the franchise due to alleged creative differences. Marketed as a reboot of the series it never really harks back to anything in the past accept some very short flashbacks when Frank Castle holds the corpses of his murdered family, obviously turning the once exemplary military man into the one facial expression Punisher that he is today.

Frank Castle/The Punisher (Ray Stevenson) is (at a basic level) an anti-hero vigilante taking down bad guys that for some reason the law cannot seem to touch. This time he goes after mob boss Gaitano Cesare and in the process of taking him and his organisation out he disfigures Billy (The Beut) Russoti in a glass crusher. Billy who now goes by the new name of The Jigsaw is bent on revenge and sets about implementing a plan whereby he can kill The Punisher, that plan includes releasing his psychopathic brother Looney Bin Jim (Doug Hutchinson) from the asylum. In the meantime The Punisher who mistakenly killed an FBI undercover agent when fighting the mob family withdraws in on himself and considers giving it all up, however he is forced to change his mind when the wife and child of the agent he killed is targeted and he dons the suit of the punisher once again to try and make the wrong things right.

The Punisher is a gruesome movie that is heavy on the gore and light on the storyline, indeed in the first ten or fifteen minutes our main protagonist doesn’t say a word, he merely has a determined grimace and an available arsenal that would put Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commando to shame as he slaughters wave after wave of heavily armed gangsters (that cannot shoot straight) whilst spinning upside down from a chandelier.

There were other points that brought the movie down for me too. For example some of the accents came across as forced and clichéd in certain scenes. Also as the guy is a vigilante, officially the law is supposed to be after this guy AND they know his identity, he doesn’t try to mask who he is and yet they haven’t been able to capture him in 6 years, in fact a lot of the Police don’t seem that interested in catching him at all, after all he is dispatching all the criminals and judging by the number of files in the Punisher task force section there can’t be many bad guys left on the planet. But they make a half hearted show of trying to do something when they introduce F.B.I agent Paul Budiansky (Colin Salmon) yet he carries out his work relatively unhindered.

All these things I mention may make it seem that I didn’t enjoy the film, that isn’t true, in fact I admit that I although I thought it would be exceptionally bad, I actually enjoyed it as the credits rolled. Anyway this Marvel Comic adaptation is never supposed to be that realistic. In fact the decision on it you like this movie or not will be on if you like liberal bloodletting or not.

Ray Stevenson who plays Frank Castle/The Punisher is fitting for the role; he is certainly a big enough guy although his facial expressions never seem to change much regardless of if he is angry, or sad. I saw him recently in Outpost, another B film that is actually very good and I think he is a capable actor.

Dominic West who plays Billy Russoti overplays it a bit I think on occasion in terms of both acting and the accent that he uses. And his brother (in the film) Looney Bin Jim (Doug Hutchinson) overplayed the crazy a little too much as well. If they had maybe toned things down a tad I feel that they would have been more convincing.
7/10

Audio:
My AMP does not play the soundtracks that come with High Definition movies and so I listened to it in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The Dialogue comes across clear and concise although it is all mainly through the front array with hardly anything through the rears. So I was disappointed that the soundtrack did not utilise the surrounds more.
5/10

Video:
Some of the colour palette used seems a little weird; they have gone for a heavy implementation of Brown, Green or Blue hue (for example) in a lot of places. They do seem to work well however but it came across as a little strange initially, there are some decent camera angles used to keep things interesting although the detail seems a little soft in places.

Special Effects are well done; I think that is where the bulk of the estimated $22,000.000 budget went,
7/10

Extras:
Extras wise we have the almost obligatory commentary with Director Lexi Alexander and Cinematographer Steve Gainer, we then have a number of fairly short features such as The making of Punisher: War Zone, which spends time with the Director Levi Alexander and the main cast members. Then comes Training for the Punisher which takes us through some of the moves Ray Stevenson had to learn in order to be convincing as an ex military man. The Weapons of the Punisher takes us through all the nice shiny guns that everyone uses whereas Meet Jigsaw gives us a short with Dominic West and his makeup routine when he becomes Jigsaw. The last real extra is Creating the look of the Punisher where it explains about the heavy colour hues that I mention in the video part of this review, they decided that there should be no more than 3 main colours in any scene and I suppose that it actually works.
6/10

Overall:
I was entertained by the film, the bad points that I mention in the review did not spoil the film to the point whereby it was terrible so I would class this as an above average B film. As for how it compares in terms of quality to the two other Punisher films I have no idea as I have not seen those version. I would say that if you like deep meaningful story lines then this is not for you, however if you like heavy violence and gore then this will push the right buttons for you. You can check out more information on the website at http://www.punishermovie.com/
7/10

Reviewers set up:
32” Sony Bravia
Harman Kardon AVR7300 through KEF Q Series Speakers
PS3 via HDMI Connection (Video) and Optical connection via the AMP (Audio)

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Punisher: War Zone Blu-Ray Review

Season 7 is the final season of the Shield, and it’s clear from start to finish that the series hasn’t lost any of the hard-hitting, gritty realism, that’s had fans hooked since early 2002. The stories are as edgy as ever, there’s plenty of action, brutality, and a plot that twists and turns so often that once you start watching, you won’t be able to stop. It’s also the most shocking series yet (fans will know that’s a pretty bold statement to make), as there’s about ten or eleven episodes (out of a 13 episode series) with cliff-hangers so surprising that not only will they make any viewers jaw hit the floor, but leave them with only two thoughts; “wow!” and “what’re they going to do next?”

The Shield was created by Shawn Ryan (writer for Angel, showrunner for The Unit, and co-wrote Terminator Salvation) and revolves around the exploits of the L.A.P.D. within the fictional Farmington District. The series’ main protagonist is Detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), who heads the Strike Team; a four man unit that deals solely with gang related crimes, and aren’t above planting evidence on suspects, beating confessions out of them, and even occasionally raising the bar to outright murder and other questionable activities used to keep peace on the streets and supplement their income.

The main issue presented by the series is the use of force, and corruption within the police department, as the actions of Vic and the rest of the Strike Team are not only vicious, but immoral and downright illegal, yet they always seem to do more good than harm; granted now and again they ‘forget’ to turn in a brick of heroin to evidence, or make back-room deals with drug dealers and murderers, but all the beatings, murders and stitch-ups they ever conduct are against people that are truly deserving; serial rapists, paedophiles, murderers, pimps or drug dealers; and because of this no viewer can truly hate Mackey or the Strike Team as a whole.

In the pilot episode Mackey was referred to as “Al Capone with a badge” but as another detective pointed out, as long as people feel safe, and crime is down, as far as the public are concerned “it’s don’t ask, don’t tell,” and while most people may agree with that in real life, we have not only been told, but shown the actions of the Strike Team for the past six years, and as this is the last ever season fans were itching to find out if Mackey would finally get his comeuppance, or what depraved acts he would have to commit to escape scott free.

The next section of the series review should only be read by people that have seen at least the first six series of The Shield, as while it contains no real Season 7 spoilers, it does refer to events from earlier series. People that haven’t seen the earlier series’ should skip ahead to Acting/conclusion, Picture/Audio quality, Extras and the Bottom Line.

Season 6 ended with Shane (Walton Goggins), once again, being in way over his head with a gang; the Armenians, which led to him letting slip that Vic had ripped off the money train, and even kidnapping Vic’s wife and children to protect them from an Armenian hitman. Season 7 kicks off with a bang, as within the first few seconds Shane’s wife is bound and gagged, and Shane is receiving a beating from Vic and Ronnie (David Rees Snell) and is forced to tell them about the Armenians and just how screwed they all are.

From that point Vic, Shane and Ronnie are again forced to work closer together, and the season’s early episodes focus on the efforts to catch and kill any Armenians that know of their involvement in the money train robbery and could, by association, be a threat to their families. Shane is trying to find the Armenians before Vic and Ronnie, in order to keep his involvement in their predicament under wraps, and once more tries to redeem himself for killing Lem back in season 5.

Vic and Ronnie (him especially) aren’t too forgiving; they want to end the Armenian threat, find out how involved Shane is, and if not to avenge Lem’s death outright, to at least cut all ties with Shane. Inevitably tensions boil over, and the surprising actions of some of the main characters shift the story in a totally new direction. Without giving too much away, the remaining members of the Strike Team find themselves in more trouble than they have ever been in before, it’s clear that at least one if not all of them are going down, either to prison or the morgue, and the team’s inevitable descent to hell comes extremely rapidly from that point onwards.

The shift mentioned occurs in episode 8 (titled “Parricide”) and it is possibly the finest episode of The Shield ever produced; it has some of the best writing, best acting and most nail-biting moments of the series entire run. It is an episode that will not only have viewers on the edge of their seats, but holding their breath for the full 45 minute episode simply willing certain characters to do/not to do certain things, and this episode (more so than most, yet all in this season are brilliant) is a perfect example of why The Shield has been so beloved by fans, why the first season gained the most Emmy nominations for a basic cable drama, and just what an all-round brilliant show it was.

Unfortunately however, The Shield has now ended, and most people reading this will be interested in one thing above all else, ‘was the finale any good?’ and in short, it was unexpected. That comment shouldn’t be taken too negatively, as there are many things about the final episode which would more than please the shows legions of loyal fans; the fact that it was written solely by Shawn Ryan (shows creator and sole writer of the pilot episode), that references and even appearances are made by supporting cast members from earlier seasons, and most importantly of all, that every major storyline is satisfactorily and realistically closed.

Spoilers End

Realistic is a word that perfectly describes the series’ ending; as whilst it may not be the ending that most fans were expecting, it’s one that would probably have happened, had the events of the entire series been real; and on reflection, it was truly a piece of writing genius to end the series in such an unexpected, realistic and still shockingly powerful way.

As one would expect, the finale is tied up almost entirely with the fate of Vic, and it’s one of many episodes that keeps you guessing right until, and even past, the episodes closing scene. It’s an extremely powerful episode that will memorize just about anyone watching, there’s unexpected twists even at such a late stage in the game, and it is acted so well that the emotions of all key characters can actually be felt by the people watching, an example would be any one of several scenes where the camera holds steady for 30-40 seconds on a close-up of Mackey’s face, with no background noise or anything but his expression to convey the complex emotions felt by the character, and they are all scenes which Michael Chiklis pulls off exceptionally well.

The acting in this series is nothing but superb, Michael Chiklis is as convincing as ever as Vic Mackey, the tough cop that believes he is trying to do the right thing, and effectively carries the wider range of emotions needed to be conveyed by his character this series; having to show sadness, empathy, and convey a feeling that he knows he is taking things to far, and is disgusted with himself, but is unable to stop.

However it isn’t just Michael Chiklis that deserves all the credit, as the acting from the supporting cast is also exceptional; Walton Goggins, as Shane Vendrell, had to carry his character through some especially dark times during the season, and despite being an extremely difficult character to like, he was convincing and created a character that was easy to hate, yet deserving of an innumerable amount of empathy. David Rees Snell has the finest season of his Shield career as the third Strike Team member, Ronnie Gardocki, and it’s a season described in the commentary as the corruption of Ronnie because in several episodes Ronnie is forced to commit acts worse than he has ever done onscreen before. He’s an extremely likeable character, and it’s nice to see him get more screen time than has been awarded him in the past, and while David’s acting might not be as critically praised as that of Michael Chiklis or Walton Goggins, he easily matches their stellar standard and his performance far surpasses simply being believable, making it easy to feel for his character.

The rest of the regular cast also have their fair share of screen time and decent stories this series, Billings’ law suit reaches its climax, Dutch (wonderfully played by Jay Karnes) becomes involved in a disturbing case regarding a potential teenage serial killer, and the extent of Claudette’s (a character played to perfection by CCH Pounder) illness is made clear, and Aceveda (Benito Martinez) edges ever closer to the mayors desk.

To sum up, The Shield is, and has always been, a magnificent series, and season 7 is impressive enough to not only contend with but even surpass some of the earlier series’. The acting from all regular cast members, guest stars and even those reappearing in smaller supporting roles (the return of Tavon was a personal highlight) is as near perfect as possible, the stories are just as shocking and powerful as ever, with Vic barely hanging on through most of the series’, and the individual tragedies that befall a number of key characters are enough to move viewers to tears.  This is one of very few series’ that can be classified as essential viewing, as the writing quality, the show’s style and overall impression of the show haven’t failed to disappoint for seven years.

Picture:

The Shield has always been known for it’s gritty look, and as with all earlier series’ you can expect a good deal of grain on this transfer, something which is so noticeable that it even warrants a mention in the season openers commentary. However, grain here isn’t the result of a bad transfer, but rather a reflection of the series’ on-the-fly style of filming, and use of handheld cameras that provides a near documentary style look to the show. For that reason alone it should not be put down, and the fact that contrast remains consistent throughout and the picture looks a good deal better than the earlier series’ mean that whilst being far from perfect, the picture quality is more than adequate (actually adding to the realistic feel of the show), and doesn’t distract from the edgy storylines contained in each episode.

Audio:

Audio on previous Shield boxsets has been pretty limited, with seasons 1-6 having only 2 channel mixes, and unfortunately whilst online info states that season 7 has a 5.1 audio track, it only played in standard 2 channel stereo, with no options to change to 5.1. It’s understandable that the fast paced nature of the show, use of handheld cameras and the crews style of filming, would make it difficult creating a full 5.1 track during filming, but The Shield is a show that could really benefit from some decent surround sound; there are numerous action sequences, scenes on city streets and even quiet moments where the low hum of fluorescent lights being heard through the rear speakers would provide another level to the show and help to further immerse the viewer; however this isn’t the case, and season 7 of The Shield still has the same tired audio quality of the first season. A track that will be far from impressive, but boasts clear dialogue, ambient, and action noise levels throughout, and while it will not heighten the experience of the series, neither will it distract from the compelling story.

Extras:

As with all previous The Shield boxsets there are deleted scenes for every episode (51 scenes in total) with optional commentary by creator Shawn Ryan, and while the scenes themselves may prove interesting (but brief) the commentary really isn’t needed, as it generally consists of ‘this was a good scene but we cut it for time’ and little else.

There is also episode commentary on every episode, with commentators changing from main cast members, to writers, directors and crew, and they are surprisingly easy to listen to and informative. The commentaries conducted solely by the writers can become somewhat tedious, but the ones with directors and cast (particularly the finale) are interesting enough to please both fans and casual viewers alike; as they are littered with stories about the decision making processes, behind the scenes antics, banter between cast members, interesting question posed to one another and funny anecdotes, that all prove worthy of a listen.

Finally there are two making of featurettes: “Last Call: The Final Episode”, which is only really for real fans, as it mainly consists of the cast giving small speeches and heartfelt goodbyes to one-another, and “Nobody Expects to Lose, Nobody Expects to Die: The Shield’s Final Act”, which is more of a traditional making of, with some interesting cast and crew interviews conducted before, during and post filming, behind the scenes shots, and recapping the final season and showing how the ending was reached.

The most puzzling extra(s) of all come on the final disc, as there are ‘deleted scenes’ from the final episode, that seemed strangely familiar, because they were in fact only deleted in the U.S. and anyone who watched the finale on Channel 5 would have already seen these scenes. The scenes even appear in the episode when watching them on the DVD, the only difference being that in the deleted scenes section, they have worse picture and audio quality. Even more baffling, is the ‘bonus episode’ which is the U.S. version of the finale, which is exactly the same as the one that aired here, but with the ‘deleted scenes’ actually taken out, and unfortunately the only way to watch the two-part finale as a whole is to view the ‘bonus episode’ with removed scenes.

In short, a nice collection of extras, with many interesting deleted scenes and commentaries and a nice making of featurette, although the ‘bonus episode’ really wasn’t needed.

The Bottom Line:

Summing up, season 7 of The Shield is pure television brilliance, it’s the perfect (even if rather unsettling) ending to possibly the best show on television and has lost none of its impact since its hard-hitting pilot first aired. All major stories are summed up powerfully well, there’s a closing montage that’s brought many viewers to tears, and no-one could argue that there could have been an ending that better suited the characters and situation that they found themselves in. Granted the picture quality is far from perfect, but that’s a stylistic choice rather than a transfer issue and actually adds to the realism of the show. The audio also isn’t up to scratch with most new releases, but that shouldn’t put anyone off when there’s a plot this intricate, gripping and truly shocking. Season 7 isn’t the place to start if you’ve never seen The Shield, because events from not only seasons 2-6 reach their culmination, but so does the storyline first opened up in the shows pilot episode. If you already own seasons 1-6, then 7 is a must buy as it rounds everything off brilliantly, otherwise the soon to be released, excellently presented, complete box set, comes highly recommended.

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The Shield Series 7, DVD Review

Max Payne (Region 2):
Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg) is a cop. He is a moody, angry soul with a permanent scowl who obsessively works on cold case files in an attempt to find clues as to who killed his wife and baby. He finds a lead which may help him and he pursues it. On his quest he comes across Mona Sax (Mila Kunis) whom he eventually joins forces with after her sister is killed possibly by the same people who killed Max Payne’s family. Max finds evidence of a cover up at the highest level with several clues pointing back to a drug called Valkyr made by Aesir Pharmaceuticals which just happens to be where his wife worked. Will Max find those responsible? Will he get to shoot them? And will he get more work as a gravel voiced talk over guy?

Max Payne is yet another on of the films that are based on a best selling game (of the same name) and as we have seen in the past (Alone in the Dark, Bloodrayne) things have not always turned out that well. Whilst I am happy to say that this movie doesn’t hit bottom like those two films it doesn’t full its potential. But I think that the only reason for this is that nothing really happens during the first half of the film, so much so that my partner told me that she was “going to bed because this is boring”.

This is a real shame as I think that Wahlberg is convincing as the grimacing Max Payne, anyone who has played the game will know that the look on Max’s face throughout that was a scowl and that is exactly what we get there, Max has nothing to be happy about, indeed, max has nothing really left to live for except to deal out revenge on those responsible for killing his family, indeed on certain flash backs we she the spirit of his wife tell him “not yet Max”.

We even have gorgeous Bond girl Olga Kurylenko in the film as a call girl in the film but I felt she was never really utilised enough, in fact I would have preferred to see her in the role of Mona Sax; not that Mila Kunis (who did play her) wasn’t any good as she was, but because I am a complete fanboy of Ms Kurylenko and felt her smouldering good looks should have been on screen more. That said Kunis does favourably as an assassin.

Other people of note are Beau Bridges as BB Hensley, Ludacris as Lt Jim Bravura and Chris O’Donnell as Jason Colvin whom are all there to either help or hinder Max in his quest for revenge. Chris O’Donnell playing the better of the three roles mentioned here.

The movie itself I didn’t feel was overly long, but it did feel unbalanced, not much happens in the first half of the movie and all the action and shooting comes in the last half, some would say that makes sense and yes it does, but I felt that it was a case of so little going on in the first 50% of the film that it could actually be construed as being a little boring.

Looks wise the film is stunning, Director John Moore (behind Enemy Lines) has captured the film-noir influence of the game and has brought it to life here as a dark, foreboding environment with snow flurries to add to the cold desolate chill of the place, The special effects too were all in the same style and quite stunning, in fact the look and feel of the film reminds me of a cross between Sincity, Constantine and 300, sound wise too it is all things good as the LFE rumbles out deep bass especially with each gunshot, it is a real gem on the eyes and ears.

Overall I think that Max Payne has just missed the mark. It isn’t a terrible film and I think that the viewer will be entertained but it is unbalanced and something is missing, whether it is a big of character development or something more interesting in the first half I don’t know, but something is amiss. As a game to film conversion I think it is one of the superior ones out there it looks and sounds beautiful and I do wonder if they will make a second as there is a second game called The Fall of Max Payne.

Extras:
The special features may as well not be there as all you get are three weblinks, I hope the full retail version gives more than this, pathetic.

Overall:
I feel that Max Payne has really captured the look and feel of the game very well but something has been lost in the execution of it. It is worth a watch but it doesn’t pick up until the last half.

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Max Payne DVD Review

Periodically I will take a disc from my collection and review it, this week it is that Guy Ritchie classic Snatch.

Snatch – R2 – 2 Disc Collector’s Edition

There is so much happening in Snatch that it may be difficult to pin down what is going on, when its going on, and who it is happening too; but it essentially starts off with two stories that merge towards the end… kind of. The first story involves two unlicensed boxing promoters, Turkish (Jason Statham) and Tommy (Stephen Graham) who get involved with organising an illegal boxing match with local villain Brick Top (Alan Ford). This all starts to go wrong when Mickey (Brad Pitt) an Irish Gypsy boxer doesn’t do what he is told piling pressure on everyone.

The second story line involves Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) who is trying to get a large Diamond back to his boss Avi (Dennis Farina), Franky however has gone missing in London so Avi comes over and speaks to his cousin Doug the Head (Mike Reid) and they get in Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) to help search for Franky and the missing rock.

The two stories are the catalyst for everything that happens in the film and for me it is a gem of a movie that is funny, violent and full of interesting characters and bad language that all intertwine the only way an early Guy Ritchie film could, you know… back when he made good films.

In fact the film is very much like his previous film Lock Stick and Two Smoking barrels in terms of style and comedic value, however it is not a continuation of that movie even though it does contain a few of the same actors, In fact Ritchie says in the extras that he wanted this to be a lot darker although he concedes that that didn’t really happen.

Personally I love the film, I love the way all the threads of the two story streams come together, the way that the actors embrace their characters and by that I mean all the actors from Tommy and Gorgeous George (Adam Fogerty) all the way through to Mickey and Brick Top (Alan Ford) who incidentally gets all the best lines (just listen to the Nemesis speech).

Some have written that there are too many characters in the film and there is a fair few but I would disagree that there are too many, everyone will have characters that they love and ones they love to hate. Turkish, Tommy, Brick Top and Mickey have their little story, that all revolves around the boxing match and every one of them is superb, Jason Statham as Turkish totally looks the part as the unlicensed boxing promoter, his lines are witty and quick and although he is a little bit of a hard man himself he doesn’t really want to get into owing Brick Top any favours, it is worth noting that Statham character narrates certain aspects of the film in a talk over. Even Stephen Graham’s character Tommy does well as his little sidekick and I am surprised that he has done nothing movie wise since this film.

Brick Top is a rather unhinged gangster, totally ruthless and doesn’t stand any messing about and he will come down hard on those that do, Alan Ford is absolutely fantastic in his role, I would not want to mess with him at all in any way shape or form. Brad Pitts Mickey is exceptional too, I wouldn’t say that he steals the show but the scenes that he is in are ones that you will be waiting for, and his unintelligible chat will have you rewinding scenes if this is your first viewing.

On the other story Benicio Del Toro does really have masses of screen time, but it is his character that starts to ball rolling by stealing the Diamond in the first place. Dennis Farina (Avi) is the would be recipient of the Diamond, he has to come to London when it all goes wrong; again he doesn’t have masses of screen time. Vinnie Jones as Bullet Tooth Tony makes a great gangster, and as someone new to the world of acting (at the time of filming) he really fits in well with these tough guy characters, the speech he gives in the pub is a classic. There are other characters on this side of the story, the best of whom is Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija) and totally insane ex KGB agent whom seemingly just cannot be killed. He is one of my favourite characters in the film, totally psychotic and really he is the cause of the mayhem that transpires as it is him that hires people to try and rob Franky of the Diamond.

On a technical point of view though Ritchie had not really pushed himself, in fact Snatch was probably easier to make than Lock Stock, He had a bigger budget and a definitive crowd puller in Brad Pitt in fact since making this film he obviously got involved with Madonna and his films have been panned, namely in the ultra crap Swept Away, and even going back nearer his roots in Revolver have not given him the credibility that he had gained from his first two films. As of writing this his Sherlock Holmes film is in post production and I really just hope that he finds his way back to making really entertaining movies again as it would be a shame to see this talented British film maker fall by the wayside.

Extras:
On the first disc you can listen to a commentary by Director Guy Ritchie and Producer Matthew Vaughn. Switch over to disc two and you get the following.

Song Selection:
This is a collection of 6 songs that feature in the film, these are not standalone but actually show that clip of the film with the accompanying track.

Trailers:
Two trailers, one an international trailer, the other just marked as a trailer.

Soundbites:
This is a set of quick fire interview excerpts; this would have been quite interesting had they interviewed normally and let the camera role, but there are too many cuts making it annoying to watch, although some of the information imparted is good.

Photo library:
As it says a number of still taken throughout the making of the film.
Making of Snatch;
this is quite interesting, a fairly lengthy look into the making of the film, a fair bit of the interview footage is that from the
soundbites.

Productions Notes:
This is obviously text based and maybe interesting to those that like this work of thing.

TV Spots:
A bit like trailers, but for television.

Deleted scenes:
this was quite interesting; you can have them with commentary on or off and I believe there is a feature on disc one called Stealing Stones where you can view these deleted scenes within the film.

Filmographies:
Basically what films some of the actors have been in before.

Storyboard Comparisons:
Exactly what it says on the tin.

b-roll:
A weird little extra that shows two scenes being filmed with Ritchie directing a few of the actors.

Overall:
a thoroughly enjoyable film, the storyline is excellent, that actors all play their roles really well and has the humour that fans of lock stock enjoy. For those not familiar with lock stock, but like gangster films that have menace as well as a little humour then I totally recommend this.

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From the Collection: Snatch DVD Review

The Film:

When news of writer/director Guy Ritchie’s new gangster project, RocknRolla, surfaced, I have to say I was hopeful, yet not optimistic. Whilst I was a massive fan of his first two (Lock, Stock and Snatch) the third (Revolver) was an utter car wreck. So, is RocknRolla a spectacular return to form, or another miss?

As with any Guy Ritchie film you can expect a very detailed and intricate plot with several different elements all separate yet interconnected, and all winding towards each other for the big finale. Very briefly the film concerns crime boss Lenny Cole, played by Tom Wilkinson, offering to bribe councillors for planning permission for some Eastern European Crooks, who happen to lend him a painting which gets stolen by a junkie musician named Johnny Quid (Toby Kebbell) – the RocknRolla. Obviously Cole tries using his gangster ways to track down this painting as the Europeans want it back, but they have their own problems, as the money they are supposed to pay Cole with keeps getting stolen, thanks to insider information given from their accountant to One Two (Gerard Butler) and the Wild Bunch, who need the money to clear their own debts with Cole.

If you’re not confused by now, I’d be impressed, but there’s no need to panic, as this is possibly one of, if not, the easiest to follow of the Ritchie films to date; which is both a positive and a negative. It’s good because it’s never really confusing, but bad because you never really get to experience the shocks and thrills presented in Lock, Stock or Snatch, as it’s all laid out from the start and any plot development can be seen a mile off.
 
Another thing that’s somewhat lacking, is the humour that was so evident in those first two films; lines like “Could everyone just stop getting shot” or “it was at a funny angle” are completely absent but there are a few laughs; mainly presented around one character finding out a mate of his is gay, a couple of robberies and during a superbly constructed robbery/chase flashback scene. A scene that lasts a good few minutes has action, humour, and a good bit of directorial flair and is one of the best and most memorable parts of the film.

The real problem here is not necessarily the story, as whilst unsurprising it’s fairly well thought out and expressed… aside from the pacing; Lock, Stock and Snatch gained momentum throughout, growing bigger and bigger until the climax and eventual cool down cliff-hanger. RocknRolla simply doesn’t, it never really takes off, and while great deals of events occur and the story keeps progressing, you’re continually left waiting for it to get going.

One of the biggest shocks of the film was the absence of Jason Statham, who has appeared in all three of Guy’s other crime films, but couldn’t be in RocknRolla because of a scheduling conflict. To make up for that, we have Tom Wilkinson, who easily pulls off playing crime boss Lenny Cole, a role not dissimilar to the one he played in Batman Begins. Gerard Butler (of 300 fame) as One Two is the loveable low-level criminal, a role he fits fairly well, yet somehow isn’t quite as endearing as you’d expect, and doesn’t seem quite hard enough to fulfil the role. Other than that the cast is largely full of people that you will recognize, yet might have trouble placing, such as the girl from Mission Impossible 2 (Thandie Newton), the agent from Entourage (Jeremy Piven) and the bloke from that episode of Sharpe (Mark Strong).
 
Ritchie has a gift for picking out untapped talent and Mark Strong really shines as Archy, Cole’s right hand man, a loveable honest gangster who’s loyal to the end. The rest of the cast however are nothing special, Thandie Newton gives a fairly lifeless performance, and Jeremy Piven whilst acting as good as ever, isn’t really given a chance to shine (watch Entourage or Smokin’ Aces for classic Piven). The real untouched gem in this picture is Toby Kebbell, as Johnny Quid, while some of his scenes don’t really require all that much acting, others that would be downright difficult he performs with ease; when he’s high, he really does seem strung out, when he flips, you believe he’s a real psycho, and the hardest of all, when he’s crying and sad (or pretending to be) you actually feel sorry for him.

In the end, RocknRolla, is a decent film (miles better than Revolver), one that will make you smile, give you a good dose of action and the typical tough cockney bravado that you expect from the genre. The plot whilst appearing confusing, is easy enough to follow, and well shown, but by the end, your left with a resounding ‘is that it’ feeling as it never really seems to take off; but then again, Ritchie is planning to turn this into a trilogy, and if this is simply the first act then the rest should surely be worth a look. RocknRolla is worth a look in its own right, and should entertain any fan of the British crime genre, but would probably have faired better if I didn’t hold Lock, Stock and Snatch in such high regard.

Picture:
 
RocknRolla is presented in beautiful, and it is beautiful, 1080p quality and doesn’t disappoint. Blacks are bold and deep, and look especially good next to the heightened and stylised colour palette selected for the film. It’s obvious that a good deal of enhancement took place as far as colour is concerned, but it was done so well that you will be hard pressed to figure out what is real and what’s been artificially altered. There are a couple of points where grain rears its ugly head and tiny fluctuations in contrast levels, but you really have to look for them. Granted there have been better transfers than this, but not many, and anyone who is watching the film instead of simply examining the picture should certainly be impressed.

Audio:
 
Musically RocknRolla lacks the commerciality of Lock, Stock and Snatch, instead, containing a much more subtle soundtrack that whilst different from earlier ones, works extremely well. Music plays a large part in flashback scenes, but for the most part goes unnoticed, but where the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack truly shines is concerning the effects; it’s by no means a film that will test the limits of your speakers throughout, as rear channels and the woofer remain largely silent (aside from the odd bit of background noise), but what that means is that when the action does kick off you really know about it. Sound here (unlike most transfers) is actually a part of the film, not simply an added effect, and every little nuance is directed from the right angle, with the right sound and employed at the right time. I was thoroughly impressed with this soundtrack as it fits the world completely, not one to test your set-up with, but one that works exceptionally well for the film.

Extras:

Additional scene: Will You Put the Cigarette Out
An amusing little scene, that is less story progressing and more of a mild comedic sketch, hence why it was cut. It takes place before the main robbery and basically consists of the Wild Bunch joking around with One Two who’s running on a treadmill and annoyed at another bloke smoking, hence the name of the scene.

Blokes, Birds and Backhanders: Inside RocknRolla (HD)
A 15 minute behind the scenes featurette, that flies by. It contains all the usual cast and crew interviews, some shots showing how scenes were constructed, discussions of the films metaphors and the evolution of London. Only problem with this extra is that it is too short, and doesn’t delve into making/shooting of the main robbery scene as much as I’d have liked.

Guy’s Town: The Director reflects on his fascination with the ever-evolving London (HD)
Despite the name, this isn’t just a conversation with Guy Ritchie, there’s interviews with Thandie Newton, Tom Wilkinson, Gerard Butler and crew members all discussing locations, and how London has changed over the years. The sections on locations such as Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf are interesting, yet the feature is a little redundant as most of the clips are shown in the Blokes, Birds and Backhanders feature.

In addition there’s the regular commentary provided here by Guy Ritchie and Mark Strong, and a free digital copy of the film for download. Here I can’t really comment on either as I’m generally not one for commentaries, and digital copies don’t interest me as they appeal more to people that watch films on there ipods, but those people will be disappointed, as strangely the digital copy is not itunes or ipod compatible.

The Bottom Line:

RocknRolla is surely worth a watch, it’s a very good London crime film in its own right; just don’t go into it hoping for another Lock, Stock/Snatch. Picture and sound quality are both excellent making the extra three pound for the Blu-ray well spent. The extras are nothing special, just a couple of shorts tacked on because that’s what customers expect nowadays, but that should hardly stop you from watching the film, and I recommend you do watch it, just don’t expect a miracle.

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RocknRolla, Blu Ray Review

Movie:

Lakeview Terrace is a film about relationships and about prejudice. Samuel L Jackson is Abel Turner, a 28 year old veteran of the LAPD who has worked really hard all his life in order to afford a nice house in a nice area, he is self proclaimed guardian of the cul-de-sac that he lives on. He is also a bigoted racist with a massive chip on his shoulder.

The opening scenes however make us believe that Abel Turner is a good, righteous man; a widower who looks at his dead wife’s picture, says his prayers in the morning and then tries to teach his kids respect and discipline. He spies the Mattson’s moving next door they are newly weds moving into their first home in Lakeview Terrace. Initially he believes that Chris (Patrick Wilson) is the moving guy helping another family move in as Lisa (Kerry Washington) is with her Father and walking around the new property. We see his face drop when he realises that Chris and Lisa are in fact a married couple and he doesn’t like the fact that Chris is a white guy and Lisa is a black woman and that they are together; and he makes sure that at every opportunity he will make their lives a misery, They don’t have the option of calling the Police and Turner uses that fact very much to his advantage.

The bulk of the film concentrates on the “fun and games” between the Mattson’s and Turner, this moves along fairly predictably in terms of both pace and the events that actually unfold before us gently ramping up the tension and the lengths that Turner is prepared to go to in order to make his new neighbours move away towards the end of the film. The predictability is disappointing in some ways especially when you’re correctly guessing what will happen a few scenes before they actually occur whilst not killing the film off entirely it may sully it for some. Indeed there are some interesting bits where we find out more about Abel Turner and possible reasons that may have pushed him into becoming the racist person that he has become.

Sam Jackson plays a fairly typical role in the film, and is a good choice for the role as a look from a mean Jackson can make almost anyone whither visibly and he uses that ability very much to his advantage in Lakeview Terrace. Kerry Washington is one half of the inter racial couple, she wants to start a family and settle down, be happy but is also aware of the challenges that comes with being a black woman married to a white guy, not only from normal people in the street but also from within their respective families. Patrick Wilson is the husband facing off with Sam Jackson I found him believable in the role, and he gave a good , honest performance. Not only with his reactions to the situation with his neighbour but also with his father in law and his wife. In fact I detected that in his own household he was almost as controlling as Turner was in his, everything that Lisa and Chris have done has been what HE wanted to do and Lisa leads us to believe that she has gone along with it in order to try and go with the flow.

Throughout the whole movie the race issue is brought to the fore, Turner the cop is a racist, he hates the fact that a black woman and a white man are together. Lisa fathers whilst not openly a racist seems to dislike Chris and looks down upon him, even between Chris and Lisa themselves the question is raised, they are both uncomfortable with the parents seemingly tolerating them, Lisa also wants to start a family and Chris is unsure, him citing that they agreed to wait as an excuse but you wonder if it because he is unsure if the marriage will last. And it is this them that is at the fore in almost every scene within the film.

There is also a sub plot involving wildfires that are moving closer and closer to the neighbourhood. I been trying to think of the purpose if involving this and I guess there is a number of explanations. One possible explanation could be that as the fires draw nearer and we see the intense flames and smoke billowing into the air it replicates the intensity between the two neighbours giving us a hell like back drop in the final scenes of the film. Alternatively it could be there merely as a vehicle for setting up the final scenes of the movie, making everything more plausible, or maybe even something else that I’ve not considered perhaps it will be explained in the commentary that I have not watched yet.

Predictability issues aside I enjoyed the film although I do believe that without Samuel L Jackson doing his thing on screen it would have been very mediocre, I enjoyed the build up of tensions within the film and it helps that Kerry Washington is very easy on the eye, it is a watchable movie and I was entertained. Even though the story is quite slow and drawn out I was never bored.

Extras:

Commentary with Director Neil Labute and Kerry Washington:
I found this and interesting Neil and Kerry give us an interesting dialogue in a fairly lively conversation; often giving us additional information about scenes and the theory behind them. Labute does most of the talking here but Kerry has a fair amount of time too.

Deleted Scenes:
There are eight deleted scenes in total, you can view them individually or play all, you can also choose to listen to the director’s commentary on them which I always choose if available as it is nice to hear why the scenes didn’t make the film, if indeed they tell us the reasons. Which he does and I think they are all good reasons for taking out of the film.

Welcome to Lakeview Terrace: Behind the scenes:
Three behind the scenes features, again we can play all or individually. They don’t run for long but they are pretty interesting for the time that they are on, we find out more about the stunts and production values as well as Neil Labutes opinion on the shooting decision he made. There is a lot of the usual “everyone is wonderful” comments.

Overall:
An entertaining film although predictable and probably around 20 minutes too long concentrating on a plot that has been down a fair few times before however Sam L Jackson takes the movie from being just average to one that is entertaining and watchable.

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Lakeview Terrace, DVD Review