The 51st State (DVD)

This is an enjoyable little film based in Liverpool which has most of the actrs from Liverpool appearing in it with a fair few familiar faces from Brookside in it. Samual L Jackson plays an American chemist involved in the drugs trade who has double crossed his American backers and fled to Liverpool with the formula for a new super drug in his possession which he intends to sell to the highest bidder for a cool £20m. Why he actually chooses Liverpool is not clear. At the airport he is met by Robert Carlyle who works for the local crime boss however on the plane is Carlyle former girlfriend, a hired assassin with a contract out on the head of Jackson ...  Read the complete review

~ Nice Wheels. Dirty Deals. And One Mean Mother In A Kilt. ~ The 51st State After watching this recently on E4 I decided to do an all time classic film. I do own the movie on DVD but haven't watched it for a while until Monday. When the film first came out I remember renting it on DVD from the local shop. What instantly attracted me to the film was not just one of my favourite genres (Gangster and Comedy) but the number of well respected actors starring in it. The main Samuel L Jackson made it seem more appealing as he is a great actor and I like his other films. Reading the back of the cover I was drawn in by the funny and interesting narrative ...  Read the complete review

'The 51st State' is the 2001 film from the director Ronny Yu. I'd been meaning to watch this film for a while, and having caught it on E4 am definitely glad that I finally managed to give it a go. Having previously directed the 'Bride of Chucky' film and more recently having directed 'Freddy vs. Jason', much of Ronny Yu's directorial experience is in Hong Kong cinema and to date it is only these three English language films that he has directed. I've yet to see any of his films in the Cantonese language, but perhaps I should do. I'm a huge fan of his work in the English language and 'The 51st State' is no exception to this rule. Starring Samuel L. Jackson as ...  Read the complete review

Take the best drugs chemist alive, he has created the best high known to man. And it turns out to be a placebo! Everyone and their dog want these new drugs but no-one knows they aren't real. And that's pretty much your plot. Robert Carlisle is a bit miscast in this - Why they couldn't have found a genuine Liverpudlian like Craig Charles or someone in that vein who'd be believable to British audiences I never really understood. I assume they cast Robert because he's known from Trainspotters and Plunkett & MacClaine (also an excellent film, go watch it if you already haven't - Johnny Lee Miller is great in it!) Meatloaf is pretty good, Rhys ...  Read the complete review

Guy Ritchie has got an awful lot to answer for - with the phenomenal success and acclaim of his twin smashes, Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Ritchie completely redefined the gangster movie genre and brought a new approach to the whole business of film making, with odd angles, bizarre characters and a rich new tapestry of language - Anglo Saxon, I think it.s known as. Both films were epics and immensely enjoyable, but unfortunately and somewhat predictably they spawned a slew of copyists, who inevitably didn't have the same inspired touch which Ritchie enjoyed and exploited. And that, unfortunately, is where 51st State comes in... ...  Read the complete review