Rating: 
Summary: Did I see the same movie or what????
Review: Okay I just saw this movie the other night and all I can say is, "Is this the same movie you guys saw?" This movie was mediocre at BEST. The plot 'twist' was predictable and the movie really had very little to offer other than a decent performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't really approach horrible, but it certainly wasn't stellar.
Rating: 
Summary: Making Things Pretty Again
Review: Directed by the estimable Stephen Frears ("The Grifters"), "Dirty Pretty Things" gives us a view of, not the Underworld, but the Netherworld of London. It's the world of those who do not officially exist on any National census, are not acknowledged by any government, who often live alone and afraid and who run our elevators, clean our hotel rooms and prepare our food in restaurants.
Many of these people are educated, sophisticated people who had no choice but to escape their own country for a myriad of reasons. One such person is Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) a Nigerian born cabdriver who discovers a vital organ blocking one of the toilets in the seedy hotel in which he lives. Though very secretive about his past, we do know that Okwe was a doctor in his home country and because of this commitment he sets upon to investigate the source of the organ.
Audrey Tautou plays Senay, a Turkish immigrant working as a maid in Okwe's hotel; in a performance that finally blows away all remnants of "Amelie." It also proves once again that she is an honest, talented and dedicated actress that likes to take chances much like Catherine Deneuve and has the wherewithal to jump from French to English without batting an eye. Her Senay is timid and wary of everything; always averting direct eye contact. Her growing feelings for Okwe trouble her deeply, yet she cannot resist his magnetism and obviously good heart.
"Dirty Pretty Things" celebrates the outcast, the disenfranchised, and the "non-existents" by granting them the nobility of common sense and common decency. It is an eloquent tale of survival and love among those who often feel that one often negates the other.
Rating:
Summary: London is not always what you think
Review: Question: You are a surgeon who is also an illegal immigrant. Would you illegally operate on a willing donor who wants a passport in return, to save a dying child's life?This film has everything. It's a thriller, a love story and an exposure of a side of London - or any big western city come to that - that you'll never see. It is set in the half world of illegal immigrants working in hotels, minicabs, as prostitutes, even mortuaries where all the characters are just trying to survive. And who is exploiting them? Other illegal immigrants. The cast, aside from the achingly beautiful Audrey Tatou, is relatively unknown, but as an ensemble they work and make you care and make it impossible to look away - even when the going gets gruesome. This isn't so much a political film but rather one about valuing life and honesty while making us make choices that are never easy. See it. Tony Howard
Rating:
Summary: immigrants - See how some people live!
Review: I thought this film was compelling and moving. I watched it on a Sunday morning and whilst I thought it was deep and had to stop half way through for a [cig] break to be able to handle the rest of the film, I simply couldn't do anything until I reached the end. The characters are not glamarous in anyway but extremely watchable. The cross cultural diversity of the characters gives an insight into a world that most of us may be aware of but simply never connect with and if we did I don't think we would survive. These characters have guts and don't give up and will do what it takes to reach the next level. Home - where is it? It's just a means to enable us to get through the next day...not even necessarily a place to sleep. Just a place to chill I guess - to store stuff - just the essentials. Everyone needs some respite some time. If you are into blood and gore there is a bit of that although not in the way that some would expect. If life doesn't work out in one place then it's simply a case of moving onto the next. Whilst some people worry where the money is coming from for their next package holiday, for these people it's just the next step in continuing along the road to the next stage of their lives. Where there is a will there is a way. The film is shocking but humourous at times too. Extremely colourful and vibrant. A friend of mine walked out (a bit sensitive!) but was told the end of the story by his girlfriend. It ends with a twist which is always good and it comes quickly. A must see!
Rating: 
Summary: Despite the title, no raincoat required
Review: Director Stephen Frears ("High Fidelity") returns to his "roots" with a character-driven film about everyday Londoners recalling his earlier "Sammie And Rosie" or "My Beautiful Laundrette". "Dirty P.T." tackles the immigrant experience in modern England. An African doctor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), not yet liscensed in the U.K., works several menial jobs and shares a flat (illegally) with a Turkish woman (Audrey Tautou, undoubtedly eager to shed the "Amelie" image by NOT playing a cute Frenchwoman). Both actors convey the desperate optimism immigrants hang on to despite frequent setbacks. What is most interesting about this story (and I'm sure Frears will take some flak for this from some P.C. quarters) is that, with the exception of a corrupt civil servant here and there, most of the "bad guys" who exploit the immigrants are-- (ready for this?) fellow immigrants! I have to mention the performance by Sergi Lopez, who specializes in creepy yet charismatic characters (see my review of "With A Friend Like Harry"). Lopez gleefully tackles his role as a sleazy, opportunistic hotel manager who exploits desperate immigrants who would give thier left arm (er-so to speak...OK, no "spoilers"...) for citizenship documentation. A worthy addition to Frears' canon.
Rating:
Summary: Liked Beautiful Laundrette or Sammie and Rosie......????
Review: What an amazing film! Not only does Ms. Tautou give another wonderful performance, Stephen Frears (director) has utilized the grand talent of Chiwetel Ejiofor (Amistad).
A wonderful yet disturbing film about being an immigrant in London and what some people feel the need to do to survive.
Incredible Soundtrack, especially the final song, by David Byrne.
Rating:
Summary: Understated desperation
Review: The lengths to which people would go for survival is examined in this well acted, grim thriller. An absolutely fine example of a film made with actors, who will be stars tomorrow.
Rating:
Summary: Her Eyes Convince You
Review: The drama of looking over your shoulder as an undocumented, gypsy in the London tenderloin and although the characters are overly lush and vivid-this makes compelling story telling with Casablanca Characters. A cloak and scalpel thriller.
Rating:
Summary: A True Thriller
Review: Looking at British society from the bottom up, and from the underground, is very interesting indeed. All the actors were excellent, especially the "Amelie" star, who was unrecognizable as a Turkish refugee. I found the plot very believable, although I hope it is not a reflection of reality. The ending was a little unsatisfactory, since I was hoping that the budding romance between Okwe and Senay would have ended on a more happy note. But alas, I am a dreamer.
Anyway, this is a great movie. It is gory, however, so be prepared to close your eyes and turn your head away a few times.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible
Review: This moview was simply awful. After you watch this, maybe you'll have some of the same questions that I did.
Why did the Turkish girl leave Turkey?
Why are we led to believe that the British immigration officials are so sinister and oppressive when they can't even manage to track down a Turkish refugee in a hotel at which no-one stays except Johns and other refugees/illegal immigrants who are having their organs removed? How such ineptitude can inspire such fear is beyond me.
Why didn't the Spanish guy speak with a Spanish accent?
Are there no Turks in London who could've possibly helped a young Turkish girl in need, which brings me back to my first question...why did she leave? Because she didn't want a life like her mother's? This allowed her to qualify for asylum? It's incomprehensible.
If I were a British subject I would come away from this movie thinking the following things: we shouldn't let any immigrants into this country and I am being taxed out of my mind to support a system of socialized medicine that allows sketchy immigrants to steal medications and give them away whenever they feel like it.
And when you see what happens at the climax of the movie, you may ask yourself why it was ok for the African doctor to do what he did while it was so horrible for the Spaniard to do the very same thing? I know, the doctor did it 'safely'...after all, he's a third world doctor who hasn't performed an advanced operation lately, and he did it to a rather cruddy specimen of humanity who probably deserved it. Even if he could do it safely, why were his motives so much better than the Spaniard? Because he's a 'nice' guy? Please.
The only good message of the movie is that if you want your hard work to pay off, you'd best get out of Europe and into the States.
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