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The Limey

The Limey

List Price: $14.98
Your Price: $11.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Soderbergh tackles THE LIMEY
Review: Before the film TRAFFIC utilized a unique, loose editing style, Steven Soderbergh created THE LIMEY to try it out. Terrance Stamp (SUPERMAN, PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT) portrays the Limey; a just released convict-seeking revenge for the death of his young daughter. He flies out to Los Angeles and hunts down the suspected killer, a wealthy music producer. And as his hunt progresses, a lot of lives change in what ends up a very small film. The story plays chronologically while the editing hops around with little regard for TIMEX. And it's a great experiment. The DVD has a very basic transfer of both audio and video.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Soderbergh fans beware!
Review: First of all, I should describe the circumstances surrounding my purchase of this DVD. As a big fan of "Out Of Sight", and having read top-notch reviews of "The Limey," it seemed like a great addition to my shopping basket, to spread the shipping costs a little thinner. Don't fall into the same trap I did! Watch this film before you buy the DVD. You might be surprised.

Terence Stamp stars as Wilson, a cockney ex-con who travels to LA to discover the truth behind his daughter's death. In true "Columbo" style, he quickly realised that Terry Valentine (Peter Fonda), his daughter's boyfriend, holds the answers. Stylistically, this is an interesting movie. The trademark Soderbergh non-linearity is present, to great effect, and Luis Guzman turns in a typically high quality performance as Wilson's sidekick. A spooky score combines to give the movie a slightly disturbing quality that should make it a moody, stylish film.

However, when will Soderbergh understand that just because someone has a cockney accent doesn't mean that they have to rattle off rhyming slang all the time? He patronises his fellow Americans terribly by having Wilson translate every phrase for the audience. It's enough that Stamp uses a palpable London accent and obvious colloquialisms throughout the film, and that Guzman constantly comments that Wilson's drawl as unintelligible. Need we endure further embarrassment? As an Englishman myself, I can say that I have rarely seen a less convincing portrayal of one of my fellow countrymen, other than possibly Vinnie Jones's character in "Swordfish".

Further, an example of the script's flaws is that Wilson uses the phrase "you wrote me" on several occasions. An Englishman would say, "you wrote TO me". Is Wilson is catering for the Americans with whom he is conversing, (in which case wouldn't he also realise that they wouldn't understand rhyming slang)? Or is he exhibiting his character as a flawed and inconsistent one? Another point is that he talks so slowly (why?) that he sounds as if he suffered a 90% lobotomy whilst at "Her Majesty's pleasure"!

Rule One:

Cockney slang is an eccentric tradition, and charming in its own way, but if it needs explaining in as much depth as Soderbergh does here then it's not worth inclusion.

Rule Two:

Hire a leading man who can act.

Rule Three:

Hire some continuity staff that have some idea about dialectic issues across the globe.

Unfortunately it looks like Soderbergh will fall into the same traps time and again, as is exhibited by the recent "Ocean's Eleven". Not content with having Don Cheadle among the cast, one of the coolest actors working today, he makes him English too. Thankfully Cheadle only explains his rhyming slang once, or I might have walked out of the theatre!

Also unfortunately the story is incredibly boring. If this was a vanity project, then may I recommend that all mirrors in the near vicinity of the director's trailer be removed on future films?

Never write for an Englishman again Steven, it doesn't wash.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Worth watching
Review: This movie is an interesting character study. (warning: possible spoilers) The main character is in search of his daughter's killer. In the end, he discovers the truth about himself and how he has affected his daughter with whom he has hardly spent any time. Watching the main character, I found myself asking "who is this guy?" He kills people, but shows restraint and disernment. He also manages to keep from being caught. The surround sound was powerful in its minimalism. It was not overused, so when the subwoofer kicks in at particularly violent moments, you can really feel it. There are some good music tracks that surround nicely. The movie, in the end, has that rainy-day "so this is how it is" feel to it. Like I said, it is worth watching at least once. Not worth buying, in my opinion

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Definitive Thriller
Review: 1999 took perhaps one of the biggest evolutionary steps we have ever witnessed in film history. We witnessed films like Run Lola Run, The Blair Witch Project, The Matrix, and other films what we would have considered strange back in '99. Its funny, because one of the first films that came out in 1999 so happened to be the Steven Soderbergh thriller, ''The Limey''. Which, in my opinion, was one of the most entertaining movies that I had ever had the pleasure upon viewing. The film is weird, funny, thrilling, bold, and brilliant. One of the reasons I loved this film so much was simply because of Terrence Stamps performance as Wilson. His performance was riveting, captivating, and just down-right mesmerizing. Lets face it, I dont think anybody in the film industry has a stare as eerie as his. In this film his stare alone can send you chills. Peter Fonda's performance as Terry Valentine is so well casted, you can almost smell his cowardness. Who could have selected a better director for the film than Steven Soderbergh? He is what made this film so professional. I love the way he pulls his magic tricks with the camera, on this movie. He also did a great job selecting wonderful music from the 60s as well. In my opinion, its Soderberghs best film. Personally, I didnt very much care for Traffic. It was far too overated for my liking. Anyway, you cant beat ''The Limey''. If your in the mood for suspense, I think this film will win you over any weekend. It will continually keep you guessing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The limey
Review: This movie is starts slow but is worth the wait. While Terrance Stamp and Peter Fonda are great the best part of the movie is the supporting cast. While not subtle the movie is effective because it does not stop to explain every move. It is one of the best 'revenge' movies around. Worth viewing.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Terence Stamp is brilliant!
Review: When this movie was released two years ago i avoided it and didn't get to see it until yesterday. Although I am not a big fan of Steven Soderbergh, I must say his sophisticated use of cinema to expose the talents of a brilliant actor like Terence Stamp dazed me out of my senses. This movie makes clever use of cinematic tricks to create suspense out of ordinary situations.
The film goes back and forth with scenes depicting Wilson on the plane, thinking, him walking toward his target and memories of his daughter--combination of these shots, in near past, in present and in far past, is the dramatic equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle. A la Alfred Hitchcock, Soderberg creates characters that alternately terrorize and intrigue us. In "The Limey", iconic actor Terence Stamp, best known for his characterization of the angelic hero of "Billy Budd" and for his villanious roles in "Superman" movies, fills the director's pallet. Sodenberg builds up Stamp into an imaginary monster, an epic criminal who embodies every sin known to man--except disloyalty to his daughter. I was stricken with elation when Stamp's character flirted with disaster at Terry Valentine's home and smartly made his get away while sizing up the man who killed his daughter as if to let him know:"You're next!" The format of this movie is a movie goer's dream. It recycles scenes from the early career of Stamp as memory devices for Wilson. What a movie! What a dream!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Clever, sharp, introspective
Review: I really enjoyed this movie, and had no difficulty with the non-linear storyline. The whole thing is worth it for the one scene where Terence Stamp's character gets up off the pavement after being beaten up and goes back into the building like a heat seeking missile. It was an unexpected coda to the previous scene and actually provoked an adrenalin response while I watched it. How many movies do that anymore?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Masterpiece Of Nostalgia, Noir, & 60's Vibe
Review: This piece de resistance of Soderberg's achieves on many different levels. It stirs its audience with images of a bygone era, lost memories, and dead dreams, against a backdrop of a slick L.A. thriller. Stamp is excellent as a tired Cockney ex-con hunting the City of Angels for his daughter's killer. His character is both sad and ruthless, pensive yet dead-set as a guided missile. Fonda plays opposite him in one of his best performances yet as a smarmy music producer living large after selling out the 60's scene and cutting a few corners. The supporting cast is equally strong, including Nicky Katt and Warhol regular Joe Dallesandro as enterprising hit men, Barry Newman as Fonda's security advisor, and Luis Guzman as Stamp's L.A. contact. This movie is about as good as they get.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: When will it be over?
Review: When many of the reviewers give a movie either 5 stars or 1 star one has to search for the truth. From my perspective there are alot of movie viewers who need to validate themselves by supporting a director who they think is in vogue without actually analyzing what they have just seen. There could not have been much money put into the actual film production. The music was boring and pointless. That Wilson would be fanatically concerned about his daughter's death after not caring about her his entire life goes beyond believeability. That he could get Elaine (his daughter's teacher) and Ed ( his daughter's acting friend) to risk their lives helping him goes beyond believeability. The flashbacks and scene breaks will give you a headache. The dialogue is boring and monotonous. The attempt to give this a Pulp Fiction-like feeling was an abyssmal failure. The only two actors that gave a good performance were Luiz Guzman and Stacey Katt. The redeeming theme relative to Jenny's death should have been saved for another movie. The brief reference to George Clooney was gratuitious promotion in that the actor was in Soderbergh's "Out of Sight" released one year previously. This movie is not "Easy Rider," it is not a Charles Bronson film, it is not "Dirty Harry," it is not Quentin Tarrantino's "Pulp Fiction," and it is not even Soderbergh's "Sex, Lies, & Videotape." Hopefully the motivation behind this movie was not to make a quick buck although I have my doubts. The movie is a mess!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not for all taste !
Review: Its a must buy if your any fan of film noir.....at least that's what they call it. For me, it's pure cinematic pleasure. Dialogue is fantastic, first rate acting (Terence Stamp is amazing, Luiz Guzman always delivers)and Steven Soderbergh is one of todays best filmakers. However, I know it will not be a film that connects with the mass. There might be too many flashbacks and scenes running back and forth. But for the all round acting and directing, I think this is one of the best piece of work in years !


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