Circus

Rating:
Summary: Izzard Blizzard
Review:

Fairly soggy with enjoyable aspects. Has the feel of an initial effort by a smart and creative director who hasn't yet gotten his storytelling chops honed. Feels like the director loves con films enough to savor the details saying to his viewer "but I don't have to tell you how that works..." without quite having the panache to pull off the genre. John Hannah - charming but poorly directed. Famke Janssen is implausibly beautiful and not charasmatic enough to be paired believably with Hannah. Brian Conley as mob boss cliche stinks up the screen and Eddy Izzard is wasted in a ill-concieved bit part but still burns up the celluloid.

To fix this movie: Break the screen into four panes ala the DVD cover. Put Eddy izzard in one and let him do his act. Put John Hannah in a second and show him smoking a cigarette. Put Famke Janssen in a third alternately laughing fetchingly at Izzard and batting her eyes at Hannah. In the fourth panel run The Sting...

Rating:
Summary: Who Cons the Cons?
Review: A great story about the seemy side of Brighton. Who is the best con man among con men? Is it the pro (John Hannah), the gorgeous American wife (Famke Jannsen), or maybe the loan shark (Eddie Izzard in his best role yet)? I love this movie. It keeps you strapped in your chair trying to figure out who will finally come out on top, and it actually gives you a chance to root for the bad guy of your choice. I love Eddie Izzard as the tune-butchering loan shark. He makes the movie! You have to see this!

Rating:
Summary: Tarantino UK style
Review: After reading many poor reviews, I wasn't expecting much of this film. I was pleasantly surprised by "Circus", however, though in all essence, it's a toned down Tarantino wannabe with a British accent. "Circus" tries to be the ever-popular hip gangster crime film that was popular a while back, but it falls short a bit. The problem seems to be with the incredibly complex storyline. There is a new twist in the plot nearly every scene, so much that it becomes anticipated after a while. The purpose of maintaining suspense through this technique is lost somewhere, and the "unexpected" surprise angles seem to be nothing short of a gimmick. Despite this, I found "Circus" to be somewhat enjoyable; it held my interest through its entirety. Keep an eye out for Eddie Izzard and John Hannah.

Rating:
Summary: A witty and intelligent caper!
Review: Con man Leo Garfield can't seem to get a break in life. Seems like everyone in the world is after him to settle a score in the movie "Circus," one of the best capers I've ever seen in my life. There's so much going on at one time that confusion will set in, but don't give up on it, because everything comes together in the end of the film. The mysteries and attention-grabbers have a nice way of keeping our interest, while the husband-and-wife combo do more than just set up the plot twists. 

To try and sum up the plot of the film would require a second viewing directly after the first, as well as reveal some of the shockers that come along with the story. But here's a simple taste: Leo and Lily are connected to just about every shady character known to man. There's Bruno, who seems to be in charge of everything that goes on, but may not be as in control as he thinks. There's Caspar, who tries everything he can think of to hold his enemies under his power. 

Then there are the pawns in the mystery game: there's Elmo, whose past involvement with Lily brings him into town with a score to settle. We have Moose, whose loyalty to the person in charge is as shifty as a summer breeze. And then we have Julius, who ends up playing on the most important roles in connection with the main characters. 

The first thing about this movie that must be made clear is that nothing is what it seems until the end. Trying to solve the mystery will get you nowhere, because once you think you have it, a scene will reveal one person's interaction with another character that completely tosses your theories and suspicions out the window. At times, it weaves such an intricate web...that you can't help but think that it can't possibly have a plausible outcome. 

But you're wrong. The ending is not only the best of endings for a movie of this sort, but it remembers the previous actions and twists and binds them all together to make more sense to the viewer. Like any good suspense caper, upon seeing the climax, you'll recall earlier scenes that you once thought were obsolete or hard to follow, and they make sense. 

The two main characters, Leo and Lily, are intriguing to watch interact with one another as well as other characters onscreen, mainly due to the superb acting of John Hannah and Famke Janssen. Hannah is able to possess a certain slyness to his character, and his thin form and way with wit fit the role perfectly. It's kind of ironic, in a way: the small, lightweight guy is able to defeat the burly, powerful men chasing him. Famke Janssen is a knockout as Lily, her sarcastic way with words and her...demeanor certainly fitting the role of femme fatale her character requires. The romance between these two characters is just right: believable while never becoming too banal or sappy, and never overpowering the story or taking away from its focus. 

There are movies like "The Cell" which take us on visionary journeys into surrealistic realms, and then there are movies like "Circus," a movie for those of us in the mood for a plausible mind trip. The logical outcome of the films many different plot twists is a satisfying climax, and the acting ability and suspense are all to boot. This is one of the best capers ever made! I loved this movie!

Rating:
Summary: EVERYONE SCREWING UP EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE MOVIE
Review: Crime boss asks a hitman to run a casino. Everything's falling into place when we realize that there is much more to the story, a whole pageant of double-crossing, blackmailing, double-dealing and scamming going on behind the scenes. Far too complicated to care much about after a while.

Logan spews out twist after twist, but we soon realise what he's doing, and so none of his tricks have the ability to shock us. The plot has low credibility anyway, because most of the characters' secret schemes are dependent on coincidence, guesswork and oodles of luck.

What can I say. At least the film makes an attempt, and has ambition. It's better than the ads make it out to be, and if you really can't fight the urge to see a gangster film "Circus" is quite an alright feature. Oh, but it is NOWHERE near anything Guy Ritchie has ever lent his time to.

Rating:
Summary: EVERYONE SCREWING UP EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE MOVIE
Review: Crime boss asks a hitman to run a casino. Everything's falling into place when we realize that there is much more to the story, a whole pageant of double-crossing, blackmailing, double-dealing and scamming going on behind the scenes. Far too complicated to care much about after a while.

Logan spews out twist after twist, but we soon realise what he's doing, and so none of his tricks have the ability to shock us. The plot has low credibility anyway, because most of the characters' secret schemes are dependent on coincidence, guesswork and oodles of luck.

What can I say. At least the film makes an attempt, and has ambition. It's better than the ads make it out to be, and if you really can't fight the urge to see a gangster film "Circus" is quite an alright feature. Oh, but it is NOWHERE near anything Guy Ritchie has ever lent his time to.

Rating:
Summary: Garbage!
Review: Dull, amateurish, ugly as bad teeth. Plus, I don't care for films that show the torture & abuse of small dogs, or any other animal or child for that matter, in order to lend "atmosphere". Only the Brits seem to consider this to be cool. Talk about the tail end of an empire..

Rating:
Summary: Garbage!
Review: Dull, amateurish, ugly as bad teeth. Plus, I don't care for films that show the torture & abuse of small dogs, or any other animal or child for that matter, in order to lend "atmosphere". Only the Brits seem to consider this to be cool. Talk about the tail end of an empire..

Rating:
Summary: Famke, a goddess!
Review: Famke Janssen is the most beautiful woman alive and she looks drop dead gorgeous as a blonde in this interesting movie. The annoying brother from "The Mummy" is also in it and he's kind of funny. But, buy this for Famke.

Rating:
Summary: Ha!
Review: I got such a kick out of this film, I really wasn't expecting it to be as great as it was! It's light-hearted and quirky and it still managed to have me surprised at the end! I loved the cast and I have/would reccomend it to anyone.