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Reviews
Layer Cake (2004)
Wasn't this just Carlito's Way in London?
While I enjoyed watching Craig and especially Gambon, I found this movie to be a British replay of Carlito's Way - all the way down to the Leguizamo character at the end. I'm not sure where you draw the line between plagiarism and an original idea, but this one seemed very close to Carlito's Way to me. Maybe I'm being too critical, or making something out of nothing, but I'd be curious to hear if there were others who found the same similarities. What did make this movie for me were the visuals, the great use of music (very much like Scorcese), and the ominous Serbs. Of course there's also Sienna Miller.
On a different note, I think Craig is a fine actor, but Clive Owen would have been James Bond for me....
Something the Lord Made (2004)
Worth watching
This is definitely worth watching if you can catch it on HBO, or in your home video store. If not just for the story, which is interesting in itself (about the progression of heart surgery) but for the wonderful acting. I've always been an Alan Rickman fan, but it's Mos Def who steals the show. It's very easy to tell that he's got what it takes to be as big of a star as he wants to be. I'll be anxious to see what he can do in other movies (hopefully he'll get better parts then he has been getting). While I don't think this would have done too well in the box office, only because it plays half documentary/half story (and has the TV movie feel), it's humbling to know what some people have overcome to achieve greatness. I'm headed to Hitchhikers guide nearly just for him...
Tart (2001)
Awful
It was so disjointed - it seemed to jump from place to place - and the "thief" was obvious. It was a poor man's (not to mention high school) "Less than Zero". I would pass on this movie as it has very little to add. So many issues are left unresolved, and that's okay - but the fact that it jumps around to the point where you wonder what's exactly going on is terrible. The voice-over is needed because the movie doesn't work on its own. Avoid this movie, and watch something else about rich teen angst. I'm sure there are plenty of others to watch. Don't waste your time on this.
The Cell (2000)
This movie is simply eye candy
I believe that Mark Protosevich (writer) came up with an idea to make a movie with really cool special effects and an interesting premise (entering someone's mind to help heal psychological problems) but failed to write a good story to match. The movie is eye candy, and has one of the weakest plots I've ever seen. For a better serial killer movie, watch Micheal Mann's "Manhunter" or for gruesome craziness watch "Seven". This movie tried to combine both. It didn't work.