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DVD Layer Cake (Full Screen Edition)
As its title suggests, Layer Cake is a crime thriller that cuts into several levels of its treacherous criminal underworld. The title is actually one character's definition of the drug-trade hierarchy, but it's also an apt metaphor for the separate layers of deception, death, and betrayal experienced by the film's unnamed protagonist, a cocaine traffic middle-man played with smooth appeal by Daniel Craig (rumored at the time of this film's release to be on the short list for consideration as the next James Bond). Listed in the credits only as "XXXX," the character is trapped into doing a favor for his volatile boss, only to have tables turned by his boss's boss (Michael Gambon) in a twisting plot involving a stolen shipment of Ecstasy, a missing girl, duplicitous dealers, murderous Serbian gangsters, and a variety of lowlifes with their own deadly agendas. As adapted by J.J. Connolly (from his own novel) and directed by Matthew Vaughan (who earned his genre chops as producer of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch), Layer Cake improves upon those earlier British gangland hits with assured pacing, intelligent plotting, and an admirable emphasis on plot-moving dialogue over routine action. Sure, it's violent (that's to be expected) and not always involving, but it's smarter than most thrillers, and Vaughan's directorial debut has a confident style that's flashy without being flamboyant. This could be the start of an impressive career. --Jeff Shannon
Traditional gangster film with a modern British spin. Drug kingpin advances to the top of the trafficking 'layer cake' of drug smuggling, and believes he will be able to retire in multi-millionaire comfort. There's just one more job to do. While all the familiar gangster themes are here; heads packed in ice, double crosses, pistol wielding maniacs, the film boasts a realism that reveals the upper income underworld with little pretension, and not a godfather in sight. The entire organization is nearly brought down by the hot potato 'big score', - one million hits of the club drug Ecstasy, a loot, I would assume, no self respecting murderous drug smuggler would be left holding in a bust. It all makes for an intriguing and entertaining gangster film; these characters could be the grandsons of 'Goodfellas'. It's no wonder the cool, controlled Daniel Craig, as the accomplished and independent anti-hero, has just signed to be the new James Bond.
The best pure gangster film since "Casino"
I'm not a Guy Ritchie fan. I thought "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" was cute, but not compelling, and I thought "Snatch" was more of the same. So I wasn't expecting much from "Layer Cake," which I knew wasn't even a Guy Ritchie flick but a flick directed by the PRODUCER of "Lock, Stock, etc." and "Snatch." Things didn't look promising. However, I read a review by Roger Ebert that compared "Layer Cake" to "Goodfellas" and "Casino" and mentioned that unlike Ritchie's other films, this one took itself seriously. I decided to give it a try.
I was blown away. "Layer Cake" is lean, mean, tough, and, ultimately, tragic. It is a gangster film in the tradition of "The Long Good Friday," and if it doesn't have the epic scope that elevated "Casino" above other entries in the genre it's got echoes of that Scorcese masterpiece and a lot of good stuff of its own vintage.
Like "Casino," "Layer Cake" tells the story of a man who is very, very good at being a criminal, but makes the mistake of believing that he can stop being one. Both DeNiro's Sam Rothstein and Daniel Craig's unnamed drug dealer want to go straight, but quickly find that they've gotten in too deep, that people depend on them, and that those people will not just let them walk away. Craig's drug dealer is a smart, but self-centered man who believes he's better than the guys he works for and the guys who work for him. By the end of the film, he's learned his lesson.
Craig's slimy, serpentine performance is very convincing and effective. It's hard to see how anybody watched this film and saw the next James Bond, but that's beside the point. He's surrounded by similarly talented performers in the always dependable Colm Meaney and Michael Gambon. Sienna Miller, who plays his love interest, radiates so much warmth and sensuality that it's not difficult to believe that Craig's dealer would be distracted by her, even when it becomes clear that next week is not promised for him.
The film also looks great. Though it was shot on the cheap, you wouldn't know it for a second, as the compositions in every scene are superb and everything has a cold, barren, metallic feel to it that perfectly suits the tone of the movie. This isn't the London you've got in your minds' eye-- this is a place without history, without culture, without values. It's a bleak, soulless world. There's nothing comfortable about it.
What impressed me most about "Layer Cake," however, was not the tragic arc of the story, nor the performances, or the cinematography. It was the fact that the film didn't make mistakes, anywhere. There were no unnecessary scenes, no comic relief that didn't emerge organically out of the material, no attempts to placate the audience or make them feel better about what they were watching. The soundtrack doesn't provide easy emotional cues but picks its spots and nails them, then fades back and lets us draw our own conclusions about what we see. The romantic subplot that develops doesn't seem like an attempt to engage those put off by the rough stuff-- it's a vital part of the story, even if we don't realize it at first. The violence is profuse, but relatively bloodless-- it's cold, and businesslike, not passionate. Just like the characters engaged in it.
Finally, there are scenes that are so good, they inspire a kind of awe. I'm thinking first of a scene in which a character says precisely the wrong thing at the wrong time and violence erupts in such a controlled way that you'd think it was premeditated. Then, there's the scene with Craig and Miller in the hotel room, which is sexy without being exploitive and ends in a very unexpected way. Lastly, there's the final scene-- both the set-up, with Craig walking away from his table of friends, thinking hard, and the payoff, when the inevitable takes place just when we're thinking the movie's let its protagonist too easily off the hook.
Three great scenes. No bad scenes. No mistakes. No messiness. "Layer Cake" is an excellent film.
Welcome To The Layer Cake
Layer Cake the first film by Matthew Vaughn the producer of films like Lock,Stock & Two Barrels and Snatch.This British gangster film was really a surprise for me.I wasent expecting something this good.Matthew Vaughn shows he can handle a film better behind the camera than as a producer. Meaning that he can deliver the goods.
The film based upon the novel Layer Cake written by J.J. Connolly who as well wrote the screenplay.This film focuses is on a very smart cocaine drug dealer XXXX (Daniel Craig).Who sticks to his philosophy.Quit while you're ahead.But its not always that easy when you are involved with lots of layers of the criminal underworld.He cant retire that easily so he is drawn back to the cake mix.With finding his bosses friends daughter.And whole mess of stolen ecstasy.He has do use skills to get of the mess as best as he can. The film really dwells into layers of mob world in England with great class.
The film has great cast.Daniel Craig that plays XXXX and that is now the new James Bond.I wasn't sure before Layer Cake if he was the right one.But now I am.Strong actor with great performances all the movies he has done from Sylvia,Road To Perdition and even Tomb Raider.There also Michael Gambon that in my opinion is one of best actors there is now in the business. He plays Eddie Temple in the film that really on the top the Layer Cake mixture.And always showed great acting like in films The Insider and replaced Richard Harris as Dubbledorf in the Harry Potter films.Also we got Sienna Miller playing Daniel Craig character's love intrest in the film.She plays her role very sexy and really is sight to see.She is actress to look out for in the future.As well all the other cast is exceptional.
Here Matthew Vaughn shows in my opinion in this film more talent than Guy Ritchie.Matthew Vaughn was offered the chance to direct X-Men 3 but had to pull out for family reasons.Too bad he would have done a great chance.There is very good camera work in the film especially in a scene between the character Morty,XXXX & Freddie if I remember the characters name correctly that he really shows his talent.Especially this film has great soundtrack that was actually assembled in 4 days.Songs form Duran Duran to Kylie Minogue and a bit of score with Lisa Gerrard.A lot of variety to the music.
The DVD is fairly packed with extras comprising of a nice Writer-Director commentary that give very good information on the production of the film.Also a nice behind the scenes.A music video of FC Kahuna Hayling.There is Q and A with Vaughn and Craig.Ending it some deleted scenes and some other little stuff.
I was happily surprised by this film.I really hope in the future Matthew Vaughn makes as good films as this.This film is not as good as GoodFellas or City Of God.But its right up there as really cool gangster film.
Brutal and breathtaking, Sin City is Robert Rodriguez's stunningly realized vision of Frank Miller's pulpy comic books. In the first of three separate but loosely related stories, Marv (Mickey Rourke in heavy makeup) tries to track down the killers of a woman who ended up dead in his bed. In the second story, Dwight's (Clive Owen) attempt to defend a woman from a brutal abuser goes horribly wrong, and threatens to destroy the uneasy truce among the police, the mob, and the women of Old Town. Finally, an aging cop on his last day on the job (Bruce Willis) rescues a young girl from a kidnapper, but is himself thrown in jail. Years later, he has a chance to save her again.
More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 16 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Movie studios, by and large, avoid controversial subjects like race the way you might avoid a hive of angry bees. So it's remarkable that Crash even got made; that it's a rich, intelligent, and moving exploration of the interlocking lives of a dozen Los Angeles residents--black, white, latino, Asian, and Persian--is downright amazing. A politically nervous district attorney (Brendan Fraser) and his high-strung wife (Sandra Bullock, biting into a welcome change of pace from Miss Congeniality) get car-jacked by an oddly sociological pair of young black men (Larenz Tate and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges); a rich black T.V. director (Terrence Howard) and his wife (Thandie Newton) get pulled over by a white racist cop (Matt Dillon) and his reluctant partner (Ryan Phillipe); a... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Paul Haggis DVD Release Date: Released the 06 September 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Batman Begins discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role) and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?
Co-written by the team of David S.... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Christopher Nolan DVD Release Date: Released the 18 October 2005 This item is currently not available.
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Movie-kinetics genius. Kung Fu Hustle takes the gleeful mayhem of Hong Kong action movies, the deadpan physical humor of silent comedies, and the sheer elasticity of Wile E. Coyote cartoons and fuses them into a spectacle that is simple in its joys and mind-boggling in its orchestration. A run-down slum has been poor but peaceful until a bunch of black-suited gangsters called the Axe Gang show up to cause trouble--and discover that, hidden among the humble poor, are three kung fu masters trying to live an ordinary life. But after these martial artists repulse the gang with their flying fists and feet, the gang leader hires a pair of assassins, whose arrival leads to the unveiling of more secrets, until both the screen and the audience are dizzy with hyperbolic fight artistry... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Sheng Yi Huang - Qiu Yuen - Wah Yuen DVD Release Date: Released the 09 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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In the realm of revenge thrillers, you'd be hard pressed to find more ultra-violent vengeance and psycho thrills than in the creepy story of Oldboy. This Korean import made a pop splash at the Cannes Film Festival and during its limited theatrical run thanks to the imprimatur of Quentin Tarantino, who raved about it and its visionary director, Chan-wook Park, to anyone who would listen. It's easy to see why QT fell in love with the grindhouse attitude, fast-paced action, violent imagery, and icy-black humor, but it's a disservice to think of Oldboy as another Tarantino homage or knockoff. The darkly existential undercurrent in the themes that Oldboy traces over its life-long narrative arc is much more complex and deeply disturbing than anything of its kind. The... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Min-sik Choi - Ji-tae Yu - Hye-jeong Kang Director(s): Chan-wook Park DVD Release Date: Released the 23 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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