Roll-M |
Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (starring Jason Flemyng Vinnie Jones, Sting, P.H. Moriarty; written and directed by Guy Ritchie; rated R).
Blimey, mates, ’ere’s a bit of cinema from the other side of the Pond that is guaranteed to amuse and outrage you. Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels is just the "bat and wicket" (ticket) to perk up this slow season between the Christmas and Summer blockbuster seasons.
LS&TSB would appear to have ART HOUSE FILM stamped across it is bold letters, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this unusual movie. Think "Cockney Pulp Fiction," and you’ll have some idea of the movie’s timbre.
It’s not an easy picture to follow – the plot has more twists and turns than a crooked London street -- but Mensans will be up for the challenge. There are numerous characters – lowlifes all (and all with similar appearances, which adds to the confusion) – involved in crooked card games, drug dealing, grand theft and the like. Bullets fly, people die – but usually off-camera (although there are blood-soaked bodies – lots of ‘em – so don’t bring the kids). The "f" word flies quite a bit, too; without it, the script would probably come up several pages short, but if you aren’t offended by this (and after a while the words become simple sounds without real meaning attached), there is some harmless fun to be had at this movie. So head down the "apples and pears" (stairs), have a nip of "needle and pin" (gin) at the pub, and head to your nearest "Mickey Mouse" (movie house). And don’t worry your "loaf of bread" (head) over the Cockney rhyming slang peppering the dialogue throughout; when it starts to sound like a foreign language, there are subtitles to aid the Cockney-impaired!
Two and a half owls.