Reviews

I didn't think there was anything more that could be done with the evil babysitter genre and, on reflection, I was probably right. On the other hand there were two or three clever scenes I've not seen before but nothing that had me gripping the edge of my seat. The saddest part of the movie was the sequel-begging ending. I'm sorry, but even though cast and crew gave of their best there is nothing here I want to see again. If, like me, you downloaded this for nothing, you might be entertained late-night after a few drinks but I wouldn't pay to see it and I will certainly not be awaiting the next instalment. Plus points are that the menacing moments were exactly that - menacing rather than explicit - but the whole thing has TV movie/direct-to-DVD written all over it.

I'm not sure why the Scandinavian commentators on this movie are so uptight about this cool little gangster flick. Sure, it's full of Nordic stereotypes, but for non-Scandinavians who will already be confused by the mix of languages in the movie and the unfamiliarity of the actors, this won't matter a jot. It's a farce for heaven's sake, and nobody should be bothered by a little political incorrectness. Apart from some very modern bad language and one hilarious (but over the top) scene of tongue-in-cheek violence, this movie plays very much like an Ealing comedy. Think 'Lock Stock' meets 'The Ladykillers' with a hint of 'The Big White'. Well worth a look on TV or DVD, but the running time makes it a bad deal at a theatre.

The director and all the actors were new to me, and with the exception of Brian Mani, who gives a doing-it-by-numbers performance, they all tried really hard to made the twisting but ultimately unconvincing plot work. In fact, unusually for a noir, three of the four main characters are actually likable! First-time director and screenwriter Dave Hansen constructs something that rarely rises above the TV movie level, but it's a good TV movie and a far sight better than many of the bigger-budget mainstream productions I've seen lately. What it really lacks is tension, and maybe that's because it's too prettily filmed. Noirs work best in black and white, and this one is far too bright and cheerful. I've probably made this movie sound worse than it it. Despite its failings it's a good way of spending 90 minutes if you're in the right mood, so if you like John Dahl's modern noirs, give this one a try. Well worth renting, but not buying.

I loved Dog Soldiers and was keen to see this new outing from its director. What a disappointment!

Girls trapped in a pothole system with not one mobile phone between them...come on now, this is 2005. Then there are the unoriginal monsters stolen from 'Creep' who live underground and are blind, but we're expected to believe they can't smell a woman or feel her even when they've got a hand on her face. So how do they catch all the humans and animals whose bones litter the cave floor if they can't see, smell or feel?

And where does all the light come from in these caves we are told beforehand are pitch black? Not from the light sticks and torches of the actors, that's for sure.

Yes, it's slick, stylish, and gruesome enough to please those who get a kick out of a thumbs-in-the-eyeballs style of violence, but unlike Dog Soldiers, which was a fresh take on an old story, this is a hackneyed and derivative tale that frankly bored me well before the end: an end which is a total cliché and an obvious teaser for a pointless sequel.

I had no great expectations of The Ladykillers (I think even the original was over-rated) but I was looking for something light to watch late at night, which is when I'm usually easy to please. Even though my expectations were low, The Ladykillers failed to live up to them. I managed to watch it for 16 minutes, during which time I cringed more than once but never came remotely close to laughing. When the moronic, foul-mouthed 'comic' relief started I lunged for the off button. Incidentally, am I the only poster to find the heavy-handed stereotyping of all the black characters inane and offensive? Unless you are a die-hard fan of either Hanks or the Cohen brothers I urge you to give this one a miss.