Rating: 
Summary: Mean and Worthy
Review: The Limey is probably Soderberghs best work, it bests Traffic and Erin Brockovich easily, only Out of Sight and Sex, Lies, and Videotape are close. The Limey is one of the only movies I've seen where the stylistic chances the movie takes make the movie not just some self-indulgent art piece to be debated in film classes, but a poignant film that resonates and stays with you. Terence Stamp plays the main character Wilson as a tough sad English criminal that is trying to find out what happened to his daughter. His quest has genre underpinnings, but this movie rises above any genre label. A lot of credit has to go to Lem Dobbs script which sidesteps cliche and injects some worthwhile comedy into the mix. But the editing style of this movie is why I love it, it works in waves like memorys, its the only movie I've seen that accurately shows how your mind can shift from one thing to another. Right about now, I'm sounding like some chin-stroking art student hopped up on his own self-importance. But watch the movie and you'll see what I mean. The best part of this movie is that it is sad, the ending isn't a huge twist or some copout, its just profoundly sad, and there aren't many movies that evoke that feeling in me today. I'm done.
Rating: 
Summary: Dvd & Extras well worth it
Review: THe Movie: Like most of the review-posters here, I completely enjoyed the film. While it is not breaking any new storytelling, its mind bending time altering editing is a PRUE JOY. There are nice moments, for example, when Stamp confuses valet's for hired muscle, and a beautiful (and undoubtly very true) statement from Peter Fonda about what the 60's really boiled down to. Wonderful acting from all, and an ending that I will not soon forget, this is a little gem from a great director.The Extra's: The featurette is nice and the production spots are nice as well. THe 60's Star commentary is mostly enjoyable, although a little disjointed. The gem here is the commentary with Soderbergh and Lew Dobbs. Not only is Dobbs an angry screenwriter (he points out the difference between his written vision of character developement and Soderbergh's direction) but a talented one as well (describing the "shootout" scene, and explaining how close the film was to the written word). They appear to get along, but there is a touch of underlying tension. The coolest (or weirdist thing) is the "psychadelic" sound edits. Echo fades, overdubbs, I can't quite decide if they are being "cute" or just kinda matching the mood of the disk. My only complaint about the disk that everytime you go from the menu to the film, even if you are in the middle of the flick, you have to deal with the 6-8 second "intro" before you get back to the movie. Overall a great experience, and a wonderful film.
Rating: 
Summary: A Miss
Review: Soderbergh's movies are usually hit or miss for me. I love Out of Sight, Ocean's 11 and of course, Traffic. However, Solaris and now, The Limey are misses for me. There are definite great parts about The Limey, such as Terence Stamp and even Fonda, but I just never really go into the story. I was convinced Stamp's character wanted revenge, but the scenes that were supposed to convince me of his love for his daughter fell flat.
Soderbergh's signature style is definitely there though. As an early work of his, you can really see what he turned that style into later in his better works. The Limey is probably the first movie I didn't care for that I actually bought the soundtrack to, so there's something!
Rating:
Summary: It's all about Terrence Stamp
Review: My favorite film of 1999. The Limey would be a very straightforward tale were it not for the usual inventiveness of Steven Soderbergh and the searing intensity of Terrence Stamp. Peter Fonda parodies his image quite effectively, and Luis Guzman (one of Soderbergh's house players) excels in his small role. But the movie is all about Stamp. I read an interview with Soderbergh in which he said that he didn't need special effects because he had the best special effect ever invented: "Terrence Stamp's eyes." A great line, and 100% dead-on correct. On the larger screen, Stamp's eyes almost burn a hole through you. 'Bowfinger' came out around the same time as 'The Limey,' and it features Stamp as the leader of a Scientology-like cult called 'Mindhead' (which Steve Martin's character humorously refers to in the film as 'Mindfffff...head'). Put these two roles together - along with his classic portrayal of a transsexual in 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' - and what emerges is the picture of an actor with amazing range. To paraphrase Zod (Stamp in 'Superman 2'): "Is there no one on this earth to even challenge him?"
Rating:
Summary: First Class Stamp
Review: Directed by Steven Soderbergh, THE LIMEY, is an engaging drama that takes you on a great ride. The story centers around a British ex-con named Wilson (Terence Stamp), who travels to Los Angeles, to investigate his daughter's mysterious death. The prime suspect in Wilson's eyes,, is a wealthy music promoter, Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda) As the movie moves along, you really get a sense of Wilson's desperation to learn the truth, thanks to a great performance from Stamp. Actress Lesley Ann Warren as Elaine, gives one of the best performances, of her career The film uses scenes from another movie of Stamp's, in order tell part of the backstory of his character. The older footage fits remarkably well within the framework of the film. This is just one of the touches employed by Soderbergh that makes this film a "gritty actioner" that should please fans of the genre. I think in some small way, THE LIMEY, prapared the director to tackle certain elements of his later film, called TRAFFIC. This is a Terence Stamp film that shouldn't be missed The DVD has an interesting commentary of back and forth with Soderbergh and the writer Lem Dobbs There's also the usual theatrical trailer and television spots, production notes, and cast and crew information. The disc also has an isolated music track. By far though, the best extra on the disc, is the docucommentary that is well made and very clever. Thanks to Stamp, who put this little film on the map, in spades The DVD is recommended. If you havem't seen THE LIMEY, give it a shot, you wont be disappointed, it's time well spent
Rating: 
Summary: Is Terrence Stamp Somebody's 'Baby Daddy'?!
Review: This movie is so beautiful. But talkies require more than a pretty picture. It's so lame in so many ways that it hurts. The editing displays an overall attempt to visually salvage the story. The characters aren't believable, interesting or even descent eye-candy. I have enjoyed Stamp's earlier work and I anticipated a great film as he's the lead. What a disappointment. The friends watching it with me bet that I wouldn't finish watching it in one sitting. Although I won the bet, I regret the couple of hours of my life that I will never get back. I guess Mr. Stamp has a large hungry family to feed or something. I'm too lazy to sell this movie on e-bay....Actually, I'm just too kind.
Rating:
Summary: Low budget movie is smashing thriller
Review: The Limey, a dazzling little thriller, is the kind of movie that slips through the cracks during its theatrical run. These movies tend to be not quite mainstream enough for distributors to deal with through their slick, "one size fits all" publicity departments. Sometimes, these smaller films do well on video, and I hope The Limey turns out to be one of them. The Limey is in the style of the classic Hollywood thriller. It's fast-paced, full of odd characters, edited down to bare-bones essentials, and realistic only in that it fits in with a world created by and for the movies. Part of the enjoyment of this kind of film is that the viewer knows what they are seeing has little resemblance to his or her world. If this weren't so, then what we see would hit too close to home and would make us squirm. The lead character, Wilson, is played by veteran British actor Terence Stamp, who started out 1960s as a sex symbol who could act. Stamp seems to have had little interest in commercial roles. As time went on, he became a character actor, and it's great to see him once more with a big role. Wilson is a professional thief who has just been released from an English prison, where he spent a number of years. His incarceration caused him to miss seeing his daughter grow up. He is distraught when he learns the young woman has been killed in an automobile accident in Los Angeles. Perhaps out of guilt, he flies to California. Once there, he quickly learns that there are a lot of unanswered questions about the accident. He becomes suspicious and tries to learn more about Valentine, her mysterious boyfriend. The more the truth is hidden from him, the more he is willing to use any method, including violence, to find it. There are some drawbacks to the storyline, but they are ones typical of the genre. In particular, the body count is absurdly high. In real life, there would be police detectives and SWAT teams everywhere. The Drug Enforcement Agency is, as usual, portrayed as a group of guys whose morals are no better than the criminals they pursue. On the plus side, the characterizations are well defined, and the events that motivate the characters are clear and fairly logical. The movie poses some interesting questions. How far should you go in avenging the death of a child? Would your anger be increased if you were guilt-ridden because you were never there for her? Does revenge ever bring satisfaction? Above all, though, this is a thriller. It is almost all action, but, because of the questions it poses and its intriguing plot, The Limey proves entertaining to more than just hard-core action fans.
Rating:
Summary: A minor masterwork, innit?
Review: THE LIMEY is an engaging twist on the ol' revenge thriller motif, as Cockerney thug Terence Stamp hits L.A. like a cold slap, to find out what 'appened to 'is daughter, who reportedly perished in a car accident. In between moments of "fish out of water" dry humour, a story of lifelong regrets and melancholy emerges. Peter Fonda ably supports, in a role custom-fit for him; a rich, seedy faux-hippie who saw a good buck in the '60s-'70s L.A. rock 'n' roll business and milked it for all is was worth. Luis Guzman plays it relatively straight for once as Stamp's Latino guide around town, and Lesley Ann Warren is touching as a Hollywood B-actress who, like Stamp, is dealing with the onset of age and remorse. Another supporting player, Barry Newman, is like Fonda and Stamp, a '70s icon (from the great VANISHING POINT). Director Soderbergh's control of his story is (as ever) relaxed and guiding at the same time, and his use of an old Stamp movie from the '60s (POOR COW) to use as flashback material is near-genius. But it's the limey 'imself, Stamp, who leaves the most startling impression, his blue eyes alternately glaring and soft, his subdued temper mixed with reproach. Chilling, basically.
Rating:
Summary: Oh, dear...
Review: How come a man who started his career with the excellent: 'Sex, Lies and Videotape' managed to work backwards as far as this guy has, amazes me. This may appeal to a seventeen-year-old schoolboy, but if you're a 'grown-up' I'd definitely give it a miss. Terence Stamp seems to have been given a sort of retro-cool that he doesn't deserve. Even in his heyday, he was the lamest of the '60's British stars, though some people considered him very pretty. This is like very mediocre T.V. schlock.
Rating:
Summary: More than an action flick
Review: Although it has a fairly standard plot, ex-con seeks revenge for daughter's death, this film has several non-standard elements that save it from the 'B' action genre. There are frequent, short flash backs and flash forwards including alternate events that give a dream-like quality without turning it into 'Mulholland Drive'. There's surprising little violence, I counted less than a dozen bodies, and almost all occur off-screen. Also the protagonist anti-hero, played wonderfully by Terence Stamp, appears to be a more complicated than usual character although this isn't explored as much as it could have been. The ambiguous ending comes directly that complication. Although it has a completely different plot and is not as deep, this film reminds me a lot of 'Falling Down'.
|
