Viewing Thread:
"Sexy Beast (again)"

Following in the tradition of Mr Nice Guy telling you about films you may have missed, I shall do so. (and I will continue to bang on about this film until someone else here has seen it)

Sexy Beast.

This was released at the beginning of this year (I think) and sank without a trace at the cinema. Which is a shame, because it is one of the most original ìBrit Gangster Flickî movies of recent memory.
It pained me to see Guy Ritchie being lauded so heavily for ripping off every previous quality Brit crime flick (Long Good Friday, Get Carter) and ìpaying homageî to Scorcese by using all of his tricks and major scenes (the card game in Lock, Stock is straight from Mean Streets).
Everyone fell over themselves to praise this mockney chancer and there then followed a slew of god-awful crime films made by Uni. graduates that knew nothing about the genre except other movies, and UK companies were so eager to have another ìLock, Stockî hit that they greenlighted movies that should have stayed as student shorts (Circus, Bang Bang Youíre Dead, Love, Honour and Obey and blah blah blah).
And then came Sexy Beast, but because of the amount of sheer tripe released the previous 2 years, everyone thought ìChrist, not another UK crime filmî and didnít go to watch it.
Which is a crime, because Sexy Beast rates as one of the finest British films made.
Full stop.
Plot?

Gary Dove (Ray Winston) is a retired villain living in Spain with his beautiful wide Deedee (Amanda Redman) and their two friends. They have a nice life of relaxation, good food and each otherís company.
And then one day they get a phone call from someone back in London that wants Gary for a job.
Only Gary doesnít want to do this job, because ìIím ëappy ëere. I donít want no grief for anyfing now, I like it out ëereî and tells his mate to ìjust say fanks but I ainít interestedî.
Only problem is, the guy that made the call is coming over himself.
And this person is Don Logan. (Ben Kingsley).
Don Logan is a psychopathic animal, you donít say no or argue with Logan for one single instant.
So Don arrives to convince Gary to do the job.
Gary doesnít want to, but you donít ever say no to Don Logan.

And thatís about it.
But to ignore this movie for what appears to be a standard plot is to miss an amazing film.
Two reasons to watch Sexy Beast.

The director:
Jonathan Glazar. He takes what could be an ordinary story and gives it a truly stunning look and feel. Just watch the opening 5 mins of Gary lying by the pool talking to himself about how hot it is before heís almost killed by a boulder. Pure cinema poetry in action.

The performances:
Nobody in this movie is what you expect them to be.
Ray ìIím the fakkin Daddy!î Winston plays Gary as a gentle, loving man that is perfectly happy just being in the sun and wouldnít dream of hurting anybody. This is Winston doing something you have never seen before, being a nice guy. Not a thug, not a violent ìC***-er-nee Geezaî but a guy you care about and want to see get away with telling Don ìnoî

Ben KingsleyÖjesus christ Ben Kingsley.
Youíve seen him in Gandhi, youíve seen him in Schindlerís List but you have never seen him do anything like this.
Kingsley is pure animal. From the moment he arrives and everyone is too scared to look him in the face untilÖwellÖjust watch it.
Kingsley is ferocious. You donít doubt for a second why Gary is terrified of him, you just know from the way he talks and sits that he can (and will) explode at you for anything.
Even Ian ìLovejoyî McShane is awesome, heís slick and nasty, brutal and strong.

And it has one of the best, most original robbery sequences ever put onto film before.
I cannot praise Sexy Beast enough.
If you liked Reservoir Dogs, get this movie.
If you liked Lock, Stock, do not get this movie. Itís not comedy crime, no snappy lines, just 100% acting bolted to a fantastic script and amazing visuals.
Donít let this one slip you by, rent it and wonder why the hell nobody else has seen this one.

What about Snatch then? And like I just said Gangster No1? I found them entertaining and Snatch was sheer brilliance espically with Brad Pitt, well worth a watch and better then Lock Stock.

Goatboy wrote:
wonder why the hell you ever thought Lock,
> Stock was good.

I didn't.

I didn't see it until long after everyone else had done, and it didn't live up to the hype.

Stick Sexy Beast near the top and wonder why the hell you ever thought Lock, Stock was good.

This isn't even really a gangster film, more of a love story like no other.

This made me laugh:

And this person is Don Logan. (Gandhi).
Gandhi is a psychopathic animal, you donít say no or argue with Gandhi for
one single instant.

Yep, I editted it for comic effect.

I have this list of 'Must Rent' movies, but haven't even gotten round to watching all of the movies I own yet!

Sexy Beast and One Night at McCools are now added to my 'Must Rent' list.

The rabbit did make me laugh, especially at the end with Don just looking at it and sniffing like "Yeah? What you gonna do?"

I loved Winston in this, just so unlike anything else he's ever done. Not some tought thug bloke, a really nice, gentle loving guy.
Yeah, I thought he was really mean to that kid at 1st, but it's not like that.

Kingsley though...my lord is that guy mean. "Get out of bed you 'orrible little (expletive deleted), you (expletive deleted)"

A most sweary film, but it worked. I was thinking "Oh christ, it's going to go bad" when Logan is on his way back from the airport and storms up the stairs "What do yout take me for? Some kind of (expletive deleted)?"
Kingsley owned this movie, and so far removed from Schindler's List or Gandhi or anything else.

And a top robbery scene.
(Trying not to spoil it for anyone else that hasn't seen it)

WEll he started off looking like a geezer, but unfortunatley for him Kingsley didn't end that way. Another one that I enjoyed was 'Gangster No1', another Guardian film. That was damn gory and starred 'David Thlewis' If that's how you spell it, bloke from Dragon Heart.

How many times do you reckon Kingsley uses that naughter F word in that speech just before he was *Shows action of running his hand along his throat*. That beginning you were thinking that he was a right ar*e to that kids, but like you said nice bloke.

What was all that 8ft rabbit all about? That lost me, and my step-dad aswell. It agree with though, it's just funny.

'Ye....ye.....ye.....yes Don', 'sorry Don',

'Oh fudge off will ya'

A bloke of his size against a man who'd literally have eaten him for breakfast, it was probally designed to make us laugh aswell.

Mr Nice Guy wrote:
> Holy merd, is that REALLY Ben Kingsley?

Told you Kingsley is awesome in this.
"No, no no no no no no no no"
Absolute animal eh?


'People ask
> my what it's like out here, and I just say it's
> hot..........hot.........hot.........flipping hot'

Ain't that a top beginning?
Ray Winston in yellow pants with ice on his nads, "It's 'ot. You could fry an egg on my stomach..lovely..fandabydosy..."
(and then the boulder)
"You almost 'ad a squashed 'usband"
I thought, initially, that Winston was bullying that Spanish kid, but what a nice relationship they had.

Glad you liked it, stands head and shoulders above almost any Brit Crime flick I've seen in a long time.
And Lovejoy...he makes a good villain, "'Ow much did he promise you for this job?"
"..he didn't really give an amount"
"I'll give you a tenner"

And an 8ft rabbit with an Uzi.

I was just amazed to see Kingsley be so convincing as a maniac. Little bloke but you'd never, ever argue with him.
When he's threatening Ray Winston, the difference in their size is laughable, but Ray cowering against the kitchen counter whilst Kingsley almost rips his head off
"NO! NO NO NO NO NO"

Sexy Beast = Awesome film that you and me have watched, nobody else.

I'd call it almost a love story, yes it's gangster, but he is so totally in love with his wife, I felt really bad for him when Logan was saying "Deedee, there's still a market for her movies, the Wednesday w**** club they call it" and Winston is almost crying, whispering "I love her"

Fantastic, top film. I'm really pleased you were into it.

Holy merd, is that REALLY Ben Kingsley? Skin head, goatee and a London accent. What the hell is going on? You see him in Schindler's List and Dave, clean spoken and with hair, then you see him in this magnificent film.

'People ask my what it's like out here, and I just say it's hot..........hot.........hot.........flipping hot'

I don't think many people liked him though although he was ust perfect, memorable, twisted and sheer class. What a gangster he'd have made and espically with that use of vocabulary and his dodgy accent.

CHEERS GOAYBOY, WHAT A GREAT WATCH

It's out on the 28th, just in time for Halloween.

The 1998 film Apt Pupil, went unnoticed in the filming world and just like Arlington Road, it never got the attention that it deserved and much needed.

Directed by the same guys that brought us The Usual Suspects, Bryan Singer, it shows us 16-year-old high school student Todd Bowden, an A grade student with a hopeful future, has uncovered a deadly secret that could ruin a life and uncover a past. Far from suspicion, Nazi war criminal Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellan) has been quietly living in Toddís neighbourhood.

Fascinated by the atrocities Kurt committed during the war, Todd begins to blackmail him. In exchange for the teenagerís silence, Dussander must reveal his evil past; the two then begin a relationship that spirals out of control, producing terrifying results.

There is just something about Apt Pupil to get you intrested.

I meant to watch that at the cinema but got sidetracked.

Is it out already?

Ginger Snaps is out soon, and that's pretty cool.