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Month: February 2018

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TEN YEARS OF METACRITIC: THE BEST (AND WORST) MOVIES OF THE DECADE

Below is a list of Metacritic.com’s top movies during the ten years since it started, 2000-2009. The website has collated reviews of the films, from top professional critics, and given them numerical scores, out of 100, before working out an overall average. To make the list the films needed 7 or more reviews and re-releases and alternate versions are excluded. Also shown is the average site user score that is out of ten.

THE BEST-REVIEWED MOVIES OF THE DECADE, 2000-09
Title Year Metascore Users
1 Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 98 8.3
2 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 2008 97 8.0
3 Ratatouille 2007 96 8.6
4 Spirited Away 2002 94 9.3
5 Hurt Locker, The 2009 94 7.6
6 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The 2003 94 8.6


7 Sideways 2004 94 6.1
8 WALL-E 2008 93 8.9
9 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000 93 7.0
10 35 Shots of Rum 2009 93 7.3
11 Yi Yi (A One and a Two) 2000 92 8.2
12 Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The 2007 92 8.1
13 Class, The 2008 92 6.9
14 There Will Be Blood 2007 92 7.1
15 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The 2001 92 8.4
16 Werckmeister Harmonies 2001 92 7.0
17 Moolaadé 2004 91 7.9
18 Fast Runner, The 2002 91 7.8
19 Triplets of Belleville, The 2003 91 7.8
20 Queen, The 2006 91 6.0
21 Beau Travail 2000 91 7.8
22 Waltz with Bashir 2008 91 8.1
23 No Country for Old Men 2007 91 6.9
24 My Voyage to Italy 2001 90 7.0
25 Bloody Sunday 2002 90 8.4
26 Incredibles, The 2004 90 8.7
27 Before Sunset 2004 90 8.2
28 Almost Famous 2000 90 8.3
29 American Splendor 2003 90 8.0
30 Gosford Park 2001 90 6.1
31 United 93 2006 90 7.5
32 Capturing the Friedmans 2003 90 8.5
33 Persepolis 2007 90 8.1
34 Lost in Translation 2003 89 6.3
35 Best of Youth, The 2005 89 9.1
36 Lives of Others, The 2006 89 9.0
37 Still Walking 2009 89 9.1
38 House of Flying Daggers 2004 89 7.7
39 Man on Wire 2008 89 8.1
40 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan 2006 89 6.9
41 Finding Nemo 2003 89 8.5
42 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 89 8.6
43 No End in Sight 2007 89 8.2
44 Goodbye Solo 2009 89 7.5
45 Letters from Iwo Jima 2006 89 8.1
46 Once 2007 88 8.0
47 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The 2002 88 8.9
48 Ghost World 2001 88 8.4
49 Capote 2005 88 7.9
50 Tulpan 2009 88 5.7




51 Time Out 2002 88 7.2
52 Away from Her 2007 88 8.0
53 Chicken Run 2000 88 7.1
54 Up 2009 88 9.0
55 Y Tu Mamá También 2002 88 7.8
56 Nobody Knows 2005 88 9.0
57 L’Enfant (The Child) 2006 87 8.4
58 Gomorrah 2009 87 6.1
59 Fog of War, The 2003 87 8.7
60 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 2005 87 8.2
61 Maria Full of Grace 2004 87 8.4
62 Fateless 2006 87 8.4
63 Brokeback Mountain 2005 87 8.2
64 Tarnation 2004 87 7.3
65 Murderball 2005 87 9.0
66 Grizzly Man 2005 87 6.7
67 Marooned in Iraq 2003 86 7.3
68 Wind Will Carry Us, The 2000 86 8.2
69 Slumdog Millionaire 2008 86 7.9
70 Million Dollar Baby 2004 86 7.8
71 To Be and to Have 2003 86 10.0
72 In the Bedroom 2001 86 7.4
73 I’m Going Home 2002 86 7.0
74 Ten 2003 86 8.3
75 Russian Ark 2002 86 7.1
76 Deliver Us from Evil 2006 86 8.5
77 Beaches of Agnes, The 2009 86 8.2
78 Traffic 2000 86 8.0
79 Under the Sand 2001 86 8.7
80 Talk to Her 2002 86 8.4
81 Our Daily Bread 2006 86 7.7
82 This Is England 2007 86 7.4
83 Son, The 2003 86 7.5
84 Sweet Sixteen 2003 86 8.5
85 Departed, The 2006 86 7.7
86 Ponyo 2009 86 7.6
87 Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film 2006 86 8.0
88 Flight of the Red Balloon, The 2008 86 5.5
89 Before Night Falls 2000 85 9.0
90 Bourne Ultimatum, The 2007 85 7.7
91 Pianist, The 2002 85 8.6
92 You Can Count On Me 2000 85 8.5
93 Children Underground 2001 85 9.8
94 Edge of Heaven, The 2008 85 8.7
95 Savages, The 2007 85 7.4
96 Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The 2001 85 8.2
97 Offside 2007 85 8.6
98 Los Angeles Plays Itself 2004 85 7.8
99 Knocked Up 2007 85 6.4
100 Turtles Can Fly 2005 85 9.4




The list below shows the top 100 films over this period that had a wide cinema release. The reasoning for Metacritic.com publishing this list is for the benefit of the average site visitors who may not have heard of some of the foreign and art-house films in the list above.

THE BEST-REVIEWED WIDE-RELEASE FILMS OF THE DECADE, 2000-09
Title Year Metascore Users
1 Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 98 8.3
2 Ratatouille 2007 96 8.6
3 Spirited Away 2002 94 9.3
4 Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The 2003 94 8.6


5 Sideways 2004 94 6.1
6 WALL-E 2008 93 8.9
7 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000 93 7.0
8 There Will Be Blood 2007 92 7.1
9 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The 2001 92 8.4
10 Queen, The 2006 91 6.0
11 No Country for Old Men 2007 91 6.9
12 Incredibles, The 2004 90 8.7
13 Almost Famous 2000 90 8.3
14 Gosford Park 2001 90 6.1
15 United 93 2006 90 7.5
16 Lost in Translation 2003 89 6.3
17 House of Flying Daggers 2004 89 7.7
18 Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan 2006 89 6.9
19 Finding Nemo 2003 89 8.5
20 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 89 8.6
21 Letters from Iwo Jima 2006 89 8.1
22 Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The 2002 88 8.9
23 Capote 2005 88 7.9
24 Chicken Run 2000 88 7.1
25 Up 2009 88 9.0


26 Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit 2005 87 8.2
27 Brokeback Mountain 2005 87 8.2
28 Slumdog Millionaire 2008 86 7.9
29 Million Dollar Baby 2004 86 7.8
30 In the Bedroom 2001 86 7.4
31 Traffic 2000 86 8.0
32 Departed, The 2006 86 7.7
33 Ponyo 2009 86 7.6
34 Bourne Ultimatum, The 2007 85 7.7
35 Pianist, The 2002 85 8.6
36 Knocked Up 2007 85 6.4
37 About Schmidt 2002 85 5.4
38 Atonement 2007 85 7.2
39 Children of Men 2006 84 7.6
40 Milk 2008 84 7.4
41 Mystic River 2003 84 5.4
42 Shrek 2001 84 8.7
43 Volver 2006 84 8.8
44 Dave Chappelle’s Block Party 2006 84 7.3
45 Hero 2004 84 7.0
46 Adaptation 2002 83 7.4
47 Avatar 2009 83 n/a
48 Fantastic Mr. Fox 2009 83 8.2
49 Star Trek 2009 83 7.9
50 Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride 2005 83 7.0




51 Up in the Air 2009 83 7.9
52 Spider-Man 2 2004 83 7.7
53 Drag Me to Hell 2009 83 6.1
54 U2 3D 2008 83 7.8
55 Kill Bill: Volume 2 2004 83 7.3
56 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2007 83 7.4
57 Constant Gardener, The 2005 82 6.9
58 School of Rock 2003 82 9.3
59 Pride & Prejudice 2005 82 8.9
60 Chicago 2002 82 7.9
61 Michael Clayton 2007 82 7.0
62 Dark Knight, The 2008 82 8.8

63 Eastern Promises 2007 82 7.2
64 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004 81 6.6
65 Mighty Wind, A 2003 81 7.5
66 History of Violence, A 2005 81 6.8
67 Juno 2007 81 8.5
68 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 2003 81 5.6

69 Hot Fuzz 2007 81 8.5
70 Wrestler, The 2008 81 8.2
71 Hours, The 2002 81 8.5
72 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005 81 7.8
73 Hairspray [2007] 2007 81 7.7
74 King Kong [2005] 2005 81 7.0
75 Casino Royale 2006 81 7.7
76 District 9 2009 81 7.9
77 Simpsons Movie, The 2007 80 7.2
78 Coraline 2009 80 7.8
79 Good Night, and Good Luck 2005 80 7.4
80 Little Miss Sunshine 2006 80 7.4
81 Minority Report 2002 80 7.5
82 Frost/Nixon 2008 80 7.5
83 March of the Penguins 2005 79 8.2
84 Hotel Rwanda 2004 79 8.5
85 High Fidelity 2000 79 8.5
86 Flags of Our Fathers 2006 79 7.0
87 Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire 2009 79 8.1
88 Iron Monkey 2001 79 8.2
89 Iron Man 2008 79 8.3
90 Monsters, Inc. 2001 78 8.7
91 28 Weeks Later… 2007 78 7.0
92 Hellboy II: The Golden Army 2008 78 7.2
93 Punch-Drunk Love 2002 78 6.0
94 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2009 78 6.6
95 Insomnia 2002 78 6.6
96 Zodiac 2007 78 7.7
97 Kung Fu Hustle 2005 78 8.9
98 Aviator, The 2004 77 6.8
99 Happy Feet 2006 77 5.8
100 8 Mile 2002 77 8.3




THE WORST MOVIES OF THE DECADE, 2000-09
Title Year Metascore Users
1 Singing Forest, The 2003 1 3.1

2 Chaos 2005 3 2.5
3 Strippers 2000 5 5.1

4 Vulgar 2002 5 4.1
5 National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers 2004 6 2.7
6 Hottie and the Nottie, The 2008 7 2.1
7 Screwed 2000 7 7.2
8 Miss March 2009 7 3.9
9 Transylmania 2009 8 2.7
10 State Property 2002 9 5.6
11 Dirty Love 2005 9 3.0
12 Meet the Spartans 2008 9 2.7
13 Alone in the Dark 2005 9 1.7
14 Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 2004 9 2.3

15 Battlefield Earth 2000 9 2.6
16 Whipped 2000 10 5.8
17 Pinocchio [2002] 2002 11 2.3
18 Date Movie 2006 11 3.1
19 3 Strikes 2000 11 4.8
20 King’s Ransom 2005 11 1.2
21 Master of Disguise, The 2002 12 4.0

22 Adventures of Pluto Nash, The 2002 12 4.9

23 Slackers 2002 12 6.0
24 Strange Wilderness 2008 12 4.7
25 New Best Friend 2002 13 7.2
26 Down To You 2000 13 7.7
27 Beautiful Life, A 2009 13 3.3
28 Freddy Got Fingered 2001 13 6.4
29 Fascination 2005 13 5.1
30 Daddy Day Camp 2007 13 1.4
31 In Crowd, The 2000 14 2.5
32 Dungeons & Dragons 2000 14 5.3
33 Glitter 2001 14 5.7
34 From Justin to Kelly 2003 14 4.0

35 Sculptress, The 2000 14 4.5
36 Kung Pow!: Enter the Fist 2002 14 8.9
37 Rollerball 2002 14 2.5
38 Dischord 2003 14 n/a
39 What Love Is 2007 14 8.7
40 House of the Dead 2003 15 1.6
41 College 2008 15 2.5
42 Disaster Movie 2008 15 1.4
43 Yu-Gi-Oh! 2004 15 5.2
44 Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 2000 15 3.3
45 Darkness 2004 15 2.9
46 In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale 2008 15 8.1
47 Tomcats 2001 15 6.2
48 Cookout, The 2004 15 5.6
49 Kangaroo Jack 2003 16 4.5
50 Deuces Wild 2001 16 7.4




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Greatest Films 2

PAGE 1 – PAGE 2 – PAGE 3 – PAGE 4 – PAGE 5 – PAGE 6

The Moving Arts Film Journal is an online publication dedicated to the moving art of film. They aim to preserve the rich history and secure a prosperous future for film as a relevant artistic medium.

The Observer is a British newspaper published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its sister papers the Guardian and the Guardian Weekly, whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993, it takes a social liberal or social democratic line on most issues. First published in 1791, it is the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper.

Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged.

Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers cinema, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features.

The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures was founded in 1909 in New York City, 14 years after the birth of cinema, to protest New York City Mayor George B. McClellan Jr.’s revocation of moving-picture exhibition licenses on Christmas Eve 1908. Its stated purpose was to endorse films of merit and champion the new “art of the people”, which was transforming America’s cultural life.

Ranker (ranker.com) is a leading digital media company for opinion-based, crowdsourced rankings on just about everything.

  • Ranker.com’s Best Movies of All-Time
  • The Best Animated Films Ever
  • The Best Animated Movies of 2017
  • The Absolute Funniest Movies Of All Time
  • The Best Superhero Movies Ever Made
  • The Best Psychological Thrillers of All Time

The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City.
The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW), headquartered in Los Angeles.

Arts & Faith, is an online discussion group comprised of film critics and other contributors.

 

Senses of Cinema is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, Senses of Cinema publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career overviews of the works of key directors, and coverage of many international festivals.

Radio Times is a British weekly television and radio programme listings magazine. It was the world’s first broadcast listings magazine when it was founded in 1923 by John Reith, the then general manager of the BBC. It was published entirely in-house by BBC Magazines from 1937muntil 2011 when the BBC Magazines division was merged into Immediate Media Company.




The Guardian is a British daily newspaper currently in tabloid format. It was known from 1821 until 1959 as the Manchester Guardian. Along with its sister papers The Observer and the Guardian Weekly, The Guardian is part of the Guardian Media Group, owned by the Scott Trust.

The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional association of online film journalists, historians and scholars who publish their work on the World Wide Web. The organisation was founded in January 1997 by Harvey Karten, an early online critic who discovered that membership in the New York Film Critics Circle was open only to journalists working for newspapers and magazines.

The Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG) is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture film and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States.

The London Film Critics’ Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics’ Circle is known internationally. Film critics first became eligible for membership of the Circle in 1926. The Film section now has more than 120 members drawn from publications and the broadcasting media throughout the United Kingdom.

TIME is an American weekly news magazine and news website published in New York City. It was founded in 1923 and originally run by Henry Luce.

Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Ebert compiled “best of the year” movie lists beginning in 1967 until 2012, thereby helping provide an overview of his critical preferences.

The Holy See also referred to as the See of Rome, is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, the episcopal see of the Pope, and an independent sovereign entity.  It serves as the central point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere and the focal point of communion due to its position as the pre-eminent episcopal see of the universal church. Today, it is responsible for the governance of all Catholics, organised in their Particular Churches, Patriarchates and religious institutes.

Rate Your Music is an online collaborative metadata database of musical and non-musical releases and films which can be catalogued, rated and reviewed by users.

  • rateyourmusic.com/films/chart 1000 All-time films

TV Guide Magazine (the August 8-14, 1998 issue) offered their picks for the perfect flicks to catch on television or to watch on one’s VCR (or DVD player). From hundreds of the magazine’s four-star titles, they chose the movies that played particularly well on the small screen and held up to repeated viewings.

Blockbuster LLC, formerly Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., and also known as Blockbuster Video or simply Blockbuster, was an American-based provider of home movie and video game rental services through video rental shops, DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on demand, and cinema theatre.




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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) 5/5

REVIEWS ON THIS SITE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

British-Irish writer director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) first conceived the idea for what became the darkly comic drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri while travelling through the south east corner of the United States, nearly twenty years ago, and seeing billboards about an unsolved crime. McDonagh stated in an interview with Christina Radish of Collider.com, “the rage that put a bunch of billboards like that up was palpable and stayed with me.” He never knew the story behind the boards but they inspired the film’s fictional scenario. “Once I decided, in my head, that it was a mother, everything fell into place.”

McDonagh wrote the part of the grieving mother, Mildred Hayes, with the academy award winning Frances McDormand in mind and although he had to convince her that the character be a mother rather than grandmother (McDormand is now 60), she went on to deliver arguably the most compelling performance of her career (or at least worthy of comparison with her role in Fargo).

Buy (watch online) or with HBO (free trial followed by subscription
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Screenplay
Original Soundtrack
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13.5×20 Inch Movie Promo Poster

The film begins with the foul mouthed Mildred renting three long abandoned billboards to call attention to the rape and murder of her teenage daughter Angela seven months previously and the seemingly lackadaisical efforts of local law enforcement to solve the case. She cares little that the billboards upset the townspeople, including popular Sheriff Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), whose name appears on the third board, and officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell), a dim-witted racist. With most in the town aware that Willoughby has terminal pancreatic cancer, Mildred and her depressed son Robbie (Lucas Hedges) are harassed and threatened, but she stands firm, much to her son’s annoyance.

CAST

  • Frances McDormand as Mildred
  • Woody Harrelson as Willoughby
  • Sam Rockwell as Dixon
  • Caleb Landry Jones as Red Welby
  • Kerry Condon as Pamela
  • Darrell Britt-Gibson as Jerome
  • Abbie Cornish as Anne
  • Lucas Hedges as Robbie
  • Željko Ivanek as Desk Sergeant
  • John Hawkes as Charlie
  • Peter Dinklage as James
  • Samara Weaving as Penelope
  • Clarke Peters as Abercrombie

Like McDormand, Sam Rockwell also had his part written especially for him. Rockwell, who has mentioned he spent time with Missouri police officers in preparation for his role, plays probably the most controversial character in the piece. Dixon is the one who goes through the biggest transformation and McDonagh has been asked about such a bigoted character being portrayed sympathetically. There’s no doubting that however bad the behaviour of the hapless officer becomes, it will be almost impossible for some viewers to dislike the engaging Rockwell and not long for Dixon to redeem himself. In fact, it becomes one of the main elements that drives the unpredictable narrative and has gone on to bring about a Media backlash against the film (more about that later).

Along with Rockwell, Woody Harrelson has also been nominated for a best supporting Oscar for his role. Harrelson’s Police Chief Willoughby is a family man with two young daughters and is actually sympathetic to Mildred’s situation despite her obnoxious and dangerous behaviour (such as assaulting her dentist with his drill) and initially appearing indifferent to the chief’s terminal cancer.

However good Rockwell and Harrison are, this is still McDormand’s film and she could well be on her way to bagging another Oscar for her unforgettable performance. Thank goodness her acclaimed film maker husband Joel Coen convinced her to take the part regardless of McDonagh’s decision for the character. McDormand told the New York Times Magazine she took inspiration for Mildred from John Wayne, which in turn eventually inspired Sam Rockwell to take inspiration for Dixon from Wayne’s co-star in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, played by Lee Marvin, noting that he wanted to make his character “the exact opposite” of Mildred. (he was also apparently channelling Barney Rubble during his portrayal!)

There’s also significant parts for Peter Drinklage (Game of Thrones), whose character has a thing for Mildred, Caleb Landry Jones as Red, who rents her the billboards (and is a target of Dixon’s hatred), the excellent John Hawkes as Mildred’s abusive ex-husband (who’s now in a relationship with a 19 year old) and Clarke Peters (The Wire).

Some in the media have objected to what they see as a powerful story of a grieving mother being undermined by the attempted redemption of a white racist character. McDonagh has admitted to playing with the audiences allegiances, turning our sympathies from a woman who shows hate due to the lack of justice for her daughter to a man who hates due to ignorance and upbringing. Everyone views art in their own subjective fashion and plenty will reach the end seeing little that’s redeeming and may instead focus on how a woman deals with grief and anger when a crime is unsolved while also examining where hatred and bigotry come from and the violence they can fuel.

While McDonagh was snubbed for Best Director and the Dixon backlash shows no sign of abating, there is a nomination for the Best Picture Oscar and whatever the outcome the film will stand as his most notable production so far. While, it has all the hallmarks of his prior filmography, violence (often brutal), profanity, dark humour, witty and biting dialogue and clever plot twists, it’s a strong female lead character (previously missing from McDonagh’s cinema work) who makes the biggest impression. It’s also important to praise the work of the director, for he has crafted a surprisingly upbeat film from a bleak premise and despite all the fighting, rage and swearing it’s the quiet contemplative and cinematic moments that really make the drama hit home.



The emotive score is by Carter Burwell, who also worked with Martin McDonagh on In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths. The well used soundtrack also features songs by Joan Baez, Monsters of Folk, Townes Van Zandt, and the Four Tops.

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Den of Thieves (2018) 0.5/5


REVIEWS ON THIS SITE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

As a male in his 30’s who normally enjoys action films I’d expect to take some level of enjoyment from Gerard Butler’s latest offering. However, sitting through director Christian Gudegast’s misguided and derivative macho heist thriller was one of the most underwhelming experiences I’ve had in a cinema for several years. It was hardly surprising to see an elderly gent in the row in front asleep through most of the turgid 2 hours and 20 minutes.

The film, that’s not without ambition and has plenty of nods to past heist movies, opens with a robbery that goes terribly wrong. The thieves attempt to break into an armoured truck outside a coffee shop but end up killing all the guards and engaging in a full on shootout with Police officers. With one of the robbers dead and plenty of law enforcers also, the gang make off with the empty truck. Now being cop killers they are under the microscope of LA’s Major Crimes Unit led by snarling Sheriff Nick “Big Nick” O’Brien (Butler, who’s also a producer), the sort of generic troubled cop we’ve seen so many times before. His life is falling apart as his wife’s leaving him (and taking the two children) and he has a drink and drug problem. He comes across as obnoxious, sleazy and menacing (particularly to any future partner of his wife) but as the star of the film he is, of course, the one cop who really cares! (Think Bruce Willis in the Die Hard films but without the wit and likeability).

Unrated Version (Buy, watch online)
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The group of ridiculously beefed up and mostly former servicemen thieves, are led by ex-marine Ray Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber, once brilliant in The Wire) who’s already led his crew to plenty of robberies and appears to have occasional moments of conscience when it comes to people being unnecessarily killed. His main lieutenant is none other than everyone’s favourite drug dealer turned rapper Curtis James Jackson III or more famously known by his nickname “50 Cent.” (pictured below) Like Big Nick he is a loving father, which is evident when he scares his daughter’s prom date witless!

If it hadn’t already become clear that the film’s makers were big admirer’s of one particular Michael Mann film, then there were no doubts remaining when Big Nick and Merrimen come face to face in some laughably illogical and contrived scenes, which fail to come close to the well scripted and memorable exchanges between De Niro’s thief and Al Pacino’s cop in Heat.

CAST

  • Gerard Butler as Nick “Big Nick” O’Brien
  • O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Donnie
  • 50 Cent as Levi Enson
  • Pablo Schreiber as Ray Merrimen
  • Evan Jones as Bosco
  • Cooper Andrews as Mack
  • Maurice Compte as Benny ‘Borracho’ Megalob
  • Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau as Tony Z Zapata
  • Dawn Olivieri as Debbie O’Brien
  • Lewis Tan as Secret Service Lobby Guard #1
  • Mo McRae as Gus Henderson
  • Brian Van Holt as Murph
  • Max Holloway as Bas
  • Jay Dobyns as Wolfgang
  • Alix Lapri as Maloa
  • Matthew Cornwell as Joseph

The finale may again remind some of Mann’s film and its well crafted shootout scenes but it feels almost insulting to be comparing the sluggish and implausible Den of Thieves to the memorable crime drama from 1995. The film’s momentum has long gone by the time of the final twist. I decided to steer away from 0/5 out of sympathy for Butler (who has brief moments of strong acting) and for Schreiber and his once promising career. sjb