Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: If psychos in movies usually dont scare you, you should watch this film. Excellent story, excellent actors (Ben Kingsley -stunning performance as psycho), no boring moments.
You should just watch the movie in stead of reading about it.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME
Review: Plain and simple. It's dark, funny, suspensful, chilling and somewhat disturbing. The acting is world class and the dialogue enaging. It's not for everyone but if you like dark movies, this is a must see!
Rating: 
Summary: gangsta' flick with a different twist...
Review: i'm afraid this film has little to offer besides an excellent cast of actors... i was drawn to it by the fact that it was all filmed in a remote spanish town where i happened to vacation one easter break, though i knew nothing else about the film. not being a lover of gangster/mob/mafia flicks to begin with, i was turned off once i figured out that that was the genre of the film (though the screenwriter keeps you guessing as to what the main character's former profession was for at least twenty gruelling minutes, in what is sort of a tired way to keep you watching the film...guessing what it is he might be...though you are 99% certain it is related with crime)... in any case, once you realize it is a gangster movie, the plot is incredibly simple and uninteresting: ex-con has "retired" and is asked to do one last job by evil psychotic former con cohort... from there you can pretty much imagine the rest: he doesn't want to do this last job, his wife pressures him, the former cohort is an a!$$%hole (great performance by kingsley, though this type of character seems silly to me)... you can either guess the rest or watch the film, but you can imagine that there are only 2-3 possibilities... i would just add that, though the movie takes place in spain, the few spaniards that appear in the movie are portrayed in a completely absurd manner, about as sophisticated as the way africans or asians might have been portrayed in the twenties in a film about british colonizers... (serve me the tea, sahib/bring me a beer, juanito...almost the same)... there is a completely ridiculous and unrealistic scene in a spanish airport: the scene is resolved in such an absurd way that would NEVER truly occur in this country (to begin with the airport official wouldn't have understood a word the british character was saying), but i will let you judge for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Only reason to see this: Kingsley's portrayal of Don Logan
Review: Two of my most literate friends recommended this film to me. As they are usually good in that department, I saw it. Sadly, I did not care for it. As far as Brit Gangster flicks go, I much preferred *The Last Good Friday* with Bob Hoskins. *Sexy Beast* did nothing to move me emotionally. I did not learn new things from watching it. However, Ben Kingsley was Oscar-worthy in his gnawing portrayal of the most irritating cinematic character since JarJar Binks. Ray Winstone carries the unlikely protagonist's role by sensitively underplaying it. At the same time he seems so numb about everything that nothing but Kingsley gets a rise out of him. This is not a classic heist flick. It's more is a welterweight, along the lines of 'Thief'(with James Caan). It was not as engrossing as 'The Usual Suspects', nor as entertaining as 'Ocean's 11'. One good thing ---it was WAY better than 3000 Miles to Graceland. That stinker was a total waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: BEN KINGSLEY -- THE REASON TO WATCH THIS MOVIE NOW.
Review: Simple gangster story about middle-aged love. A thief retires to Spain with his former porno star wife and wants to enjoy retirement. His former associates in London have different ideas. They want him for "one last job" but he wants to hang out in Spain instead. They send their bald bulldog (Ben Kingsley) to negotiate the deal. He doesn't take no for an answer. Well, apart from the fact that British mafia movies are downright wicked (think Guy Ritchie, or The Limey, etc), Ben Kingley absolutely rocks the house. Expect some surreal (or not!) dialogue ridden with that delectable Brit mafia tinge. Many tense moments. Very little predictability. Surprisingly, some very cute true love. What are you thinking, this IS classy cinema. The DVD though could have had a little more than the movie itself! Which is a minor quibble. In general, consider this a must-watch.
Rating:
Summary: I know a bloke. This is a bloke you know.
Review: I give this movie six stars! Dark and humorous all at once, and every acting performance is a gem. As good as the acting though is the WRITING! Ohh, and did I mention the directing? Top notch!
Rating:
Summary: No fu**ing way, no fu**ing way, no fu**ing way!
Review: Ben Kingsley rocks as Don Logan in this excellent heist film. Logan is a jealous, mean spirited thug who is called on to lure Gal Dove out of retirement for a big heist back in his home country merry old England. Well, Gal's just fine with his life, enjoying his free time with friends in Spain. Logan doesn't see it that way though, and seems to not understand Gal's refusal to comply. From there, it evolves into a conflict that's sure to make you rise up out of your seat. This film is very slick, stylish and hillarious. The DVD doesn't offer up much, but has a great commentary track by Kingsley. Remember subtitles, cause the dialogue is hard to understand sometimes with the thick accents, but forget about it. This one fu**ing rocks.
Rating:
Summary: The Banality of Evil
Review: Expectations can lead to bitter disappointments. For over two years hearing friends and acquaintances bemoan the fact that I'd yet to view " Sexy Beast " and Ben Kingsley's Academy Award winning take as bilious and vengeful career criminal Don Logan I, at last, was able to fully digest ths marvelous picture. And though I may not share my friends complete enthusisasm for this movie I did find it completely engaging ( with reservations! )...though not completely satisfying. Obviously with Mr. Kingsley's role as the contemptible Mr. Logan the movie does rather revolve around a character that is neither completely fleshed out or indeed perhaps not even wholly worthy of all of this incredible word of mouth that it seems to have been awarded. Obviously Logan is a dark and disturbing ( and somewhat socially challenged ) character who pays the protagonist Gal ( lovingly underplayed by Ray Winstone ) a visit in an attempt to have him do one more job back in London for his old boss Teddy ( the ever sinister Ian McShane ). And while I found Kingsley's Don Logan to be just erratic and evil it sadly reached the point where I found him to be little more then an errant child in need of a good spanking as well. By giving Don so very much dialogue I found that, as time went by, his character became less a study of evil ( and far less threatening ) and more in a study of a lonely man who is seeking love from a past flame and one who needs solace and empathy. The scene on the airplane with Don heading back to London and subsequently thrown off due to his bad behavior seemed neither threatening or cruel. If anything it seemed rather contrived ( I've seen questioable behavior such as that myself while travelling ). For this viewer Don Logan was simply far too accessible as to his insecurities ( hence his relationship with the ever attractive Jackie ) and on the screen far too much thus taking away some of the mystery as to why he was supposedly so intimidating. Mean-spirited yes but it seemed as though the film was trying far too hard to make him seem as though he was the epitomie of some dark and forboding presence. For me, after a while he was little more then a nuisance and I was glad to see our protagonist off to London to do the heist. That being said, I did find Ian McShane as Teddy the crime boss to be of a particularly dominating presence and the one role where you simply did not know what he was going to do next. At once he was not only deeply threatening but oddly devoid of possessing any true emotions. The scene with Teddy driving Gal back to the airport, for this viewer, was one that frightenly real simply because you never knew what Teddy might do, or say, next. For me, Ian McShane almost stole this film and without him the movie wouldn't carry half the weight that it does so well. To be completely honest I felt that Ian McShane could say more with just one look then Don Logan did in one of his tyrants that the films protagonists are subjected to. The role of Teddy was so forboding and oddly entrancing simply due to the fact that here was a man who, unlike our talkative Mr. Logan, didn't say much ( thus not giving away too much of his character ) but seemed to constantly be taking everything in and you half expected him to erupt in a blind rage at any moment. With a ruthlessness and sheer abandonment that no other character was capable off. And it was all imaginatively done with extreme subtlty and aplomb thus showing the viewer how terribly banal evil can at once be. Overall, this was a film that while I enjoyed very much but, as previously stated, with some reservations. The murder at the end of the movie seemed rather pointless, though it seemed to be thrown in for little more then for effect not because it helped along the story line. Though I did find the murder at the house in Spain to be particularly ruthless ( and graphic ) though necessary to the films emtional impact and was not only well done but perhaps was the most honest scene in the entire film. Overall, a interesting twist on in the gangster genre ( and dramatically more honest then what we see made over here in America ) and one which should be seen more then once. If nothing else to enjoy the final scene which comes as not so quite a shock but shows a sense of grisly humour that ends the movie on a high note. You be the judge!
Rating:
Summary: Of Sun, Sin, and Stolen Goods
Review: The tone for Sexy Beast is set the moments the credit begin to roll. The Strangler's 'Peaches'- a song that is nothing short of gleeful lechery personified- slinks and oozes over the opening shots like the sweat on Ray Winstone's aging body. This movie is all about lust: Teddy's for making the ultimate robbery, Don's for Gal's return to corruption and for onetime lover Jackie, and Gal's to lead a relatively stress-free life with his wife and son in sunlight-saturated Spain. What keeps the plot from getting stale in this heist movie is that the heist itself is made secondary to the lead characters. More time and footage is spent examining Gal's 'new' and idyllic lifestyle and Don's fantatical need to have him come back to London for one last job while the robbery itself is condensed into a matter of suspenseless minutes. That is not to say this movie isn't a nailbiter, there were several instances where I found myself recoiling in shock and clutching my face in surprise. Cutting down on the artificial elements involved in most British gang movies actually serves to create more real, and ultimately more horrifying moments by lulling you into a false sense of security. Ben Kingsley is a quivering bowstring of energy but often takes things close to, and sometimes completely, over the top and around the bend. Ray Winstone is phenomenal as Gal; you will have no doubt that this pudgily imperfect man was once a hardened criminal. Ian McShane manages to banish all comparisons to his Lovejoy character with his weathered skin, deadened eyes and 'involvement' (to put it politely) with a bisexual bank manager at an orgy. The accents are thick, but if you've picked this up chances are you've already tried one or both of Guy Ritchie's films (I refuse to recognize a certain remake starring a certain talentless pop star as his work) and your ears should be used to it. What keeps this just short of the five-star mark are some cheesy effects (including Kingsley's unabashed mugging) that pull you out of the movie's gritty reality. The rabbit is slightly forgiveable because of the payoff we're treated to at the end but the boulder is a laughably obvious hunk of styrofoam.
Rating:
Summary: Good performances
Review: With all the talk about Ben Kingsley's image-breaking performance in Sexy Beast, another terrific performance was all but ignored--that of lead Ray Winstone. Winstone's character is not only the cement that holds the movie together, his Gal is also the character who goes through the change necessary to create dramatic tension. Actually, I thought Kingsley was over the top in the way that Al Pacino has been lately. But I noticed something I didn't expect. Kingsley made Don Logan into not only an intensely scary person, he also showed the pathetic helpless insecurity that fed the anger burning on the surface. All in all, it was a good film. I enjoyed the performances and the tension, but I left wondering if it was all worth it. I don't think I came away from Sexy Beast with anything new to add to my self, and with a drama like this, one tends to expect that sort of thing.
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