A found footage take on the story of the Essex boys set during pat tates release from prison shortly before his murder, anybody expecting an ultra violence fest like the rise of the footsoldier or bonded by blood films will be disappointed as this is more a character piece with some strong performances and a realistic tone, this film isn't going to be for everybody but it's an interesting little indie film that definitely deserves a watch, good job to all involved. Of all the Essex boys movies out there this one definitely stands out from the rest, it's a gimmick that works surprisingly well for the story, if your well researched in this case there are some interesting things going on here.
Reviews
150 Reviews
End of a Gun
(2016)
Fun seagal movie, if your a fan it's good stuff
28 November 2022
I was pleasantly surprised with this one, growing up steven seagal was a hero of mine, I watched his films so many times I can quote them word for word, unfortunately after 2001 his career went downhill rapidly and he started churning out mostly poorly made and boring straight to dvd films, with the odd exception of course (into the sun, urban justice, whipped, driven to kill), but they were few and far between, after a good man I just checked out completely, well I put this on the other day and I've gotta say this was a lot of fun, moved at a brisk pace, had some good action set pieces and seagal was having fun with his role, and I liked the humour, it's no masterpiece though, and I wouldn't even watch it if your not a fan of Steven seagal, but if your a fan of the big guy, there is much to enjoy here.
Best since the first one, brilliant film
3 September 2021
I've been anticipating this movie for a while now, I'm a huge fan of the franchise and even more so the actual story of the Essex boys, I was glad when they announced it was going to be the tony tucker story as that hasn't really been told on screen apart from bits and pieces, I've gotta be honest this was brilliant and easily the best since the first one, don't get me wrong I love the previous 3 too but this one is a different beast, it's clear from the get go this is aiming for bigger things, it looks fantastic, slickly made and has a brilliant soundtrack, while it is still violent and everyone reprises there roles from the previous 2 films, the over the top attitude of the previous 2 is gone, this is much more in line with the first film, but in many ways has an even bleaker tone, there is no glamour here, there is nothing to admire, just a hellish decent into the world of drugs, junkies, low life's and the world they inhabit, it's got the best cast of all the films and the returning suspects are as good as ever but I must stress terry stone is incredible here, this is is the best acting of his career and he brings a side of tucker you have never seen before, Craig fairbrass is brilliant too but truth be told he isn't in this much, vinnie Jones was brilliant as Bernard o Mahoney too, where as the last two films was mostly fiction this one is a little more based on reality but as with most true crime movies it still adds a lot of fictional elements, but has a more realistic tone and truly shows the sinister murky life these guys were living, I loved this movie so much and I cannot wait to get hold of the blu ray.
Kung Fu Yoga
(2017)
Enjoyable Jackie chan flick, reminds me of the old days
5 March 2020
After a string of serious roles it's nice to watch Jackie in an old school action comedy similar to ones I used to watch growing up, it's true it isn't perfect and it's cheesy in parts, but that's always been the appeal of Jackie to me, fun martial arts comedies with great fights and breathtaking stunts, and story an afterthought just to string along the set pieces, and I love it always have Jackie chan is my hero, now sure the stunts have slowed down and he can't exactly do what he was doing in the 90's but he's still making enjoyable films and I love him for that, I see a lot of negative reviews for this movie and I'm confused, this delivered exactly what I expected it too, a nice fun little action romp, think armour of god lite, the movie is actually a sort of sequel to 2015's the myth as I'm sure Jackie is playing the same role, I still think the myth is better but this is great fun too, I recommend to Jackie chan fans.
The best since the original
8 November 2019
Let me just get this out the way first, this is not a true story do not approach it as such, at this point pat Tate in this series is essentially the equivalent of Dominic torreto in the fast and the furious franchise, and the franchise in general shares some similarities in that the original movie started out as crime
drama, and as each movie goes on it just gets bigger and over the top, who knows one day pat Tate might save Downing Street from terrorists, but seriously I had a great time with this movie and I loved the direction they went with it, the lighter tone, the injection of more comedy, the double act of terry stone and Roland manookian is genuinely hilarious, and Craig fairbrass is as brutal as ever as Essex hard nut pat tate, even though most of the movie is fiction they do throw in a nice recreation of a Nigel benn fight that boxing fans will enjoy, at this point stop complaining that it isn't accurate to true events and just go with it, as this is a great entertaining and hilarious British crime thriller, it's actually the best since the first one, I'm loving the direction of the series and I cannot wait for the next one. Wait till after the credits for a nice hint at the next one.
Rise of the Footsoldier 3
(2017)
worst of the trilogy, complete fiction
29 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
rise of the footsoldier is my favourite movie of all time, and the definitive movie based on the Essex boys/range rover murders it was well made, had a great cast, brutally violent, and it stuck to the facts, in 2015 there was a sequel called rise of the footsoldier part 2 and it followed Carlton leach and the aftermath of the range rover murders, it was a great follow up, and was a good place to end it, some people have been claiming that this movie is better than the second one, it isn't, its much more violent and action packed, but as its a work of fiction that's to be expected. now I've read every single book and watched every single documentary and movie based on the Essex boys and nothing that happens in this movie is true, not one thing, well i suppose the odd clips they use from the first one are but nothing else, so this is supposed to be a prequel focusing on the rise of pat Tate one of the murdered Essex boys a role Craig fairbrass played amazingly in rise of the footsoldier, and truth be told plays him amazing here again, terry stone and Roland manookian also reprise there roles as tony tucker and Craig rolfe and again they are fantastic, but there is no denying that this is a poorly written movie, that glorifies three murdered criminals, something that the original never did, but to make a fictional movie based on a dead gangster and show him doing things he never did in real life leaves a bad taste in my mouth, pat Tate was a nasty piece of work alright but he didn't murder 3 people in jail, he never murdered anybody, and going by the books written by people that knew him would never of had the bottle too, its an enjoyable enough movie if you know what your getting, but if anybody is expecting a true story they are going to be disappointed, but it tells you as soon as the movie starts its a work of fiction, i suppose the only way you can make any more Essex boys movies is to make it up, but your turning bad people into cult figures in the process, is that a good idea in this day and age.
Essex Boys: Law of Survival
(2015)
the worst of the Essex boys movies
29 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
The rettendon range rover murders, that brutal gangland slaying that has spawned six movies so far 'Essex boys' 'rise of the footsoldier' 'bonded by blood' 'the fall of the Essex boys 'Essex boys retribution' and now this 'Essex boys law of survival'. Now like the previous movie 'Essex boys retribution', this movie is set after the triple murder and is about the rise to power of the people who have taken over from them, after a pretty decent recreation of the infamous range rover murders in the beginning, we are then introduced to our main characters and it's from there things go downhill fast, now apart from Chris bell who plays the lead Danny and the crooked copper, the acting is atrocious all round. The lead actor Chris bell is actually good and deserves better than this, the revenge storyline could also have served up a decent little British thriller, but instead they decided that they wanted to make it an Essex boys movie, so every now and again there will be some awkward references to the rettendon murders, that are only in it to remind you this is an Essex boys film. Why Carlton leach agreed to introduce this movie is beyond me, and the scene is one of the most cringe inducing of the whole movie, but it isn't the last, we have the worst American accents iv'e ever heard in a movie, a cheesy subplot about a Canadian undercover agent, and trust me i ain't making this up. I forgot to mention the movie looks like it was filmed on an iphone, it's not professional looking at all. i must stress though that the main actor Chris bell comes out of this movie OK, he put in a good performance, he's very likable, and he's sure to go on to good things. i personally think this movie would of been much better without all the Essex boys references and stuff and should of just been a low budget revenge thriller, because all of the forced rettendon stuff comes across as forced. my final words on this is, don't expect an Essex boys film like the others because that's not what your gonna get, this is a poor movie, poor Chris bell, he deserves better than this.
Wither
(2012)
very much like evil dead, but without any of the fun
20 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
i am a huge fan of the evil dead series, so when i read all the reviews for this movie, i just had to get it, a lot of people said it was even better than the evil dead remake, now i just have to say i disagree with that big time, the evil dead remake was much better than this, but then again the evil dead remake also had a big budget so i won't hold that against it. now i do agree to a large extent that this movie was like the evil dead, it was a legitimate love letter, with so many references and homages i can't even begin to name them. the setting, the possessions, the gore, the feel, the music, the sound design, but they also forgot the main thing that makes all the evil dead films classics 'the fun', yeah evil dead is gory, yes evil dead is sadistic, but its also funny, with a very likable lead, there was not one likable character in this, everybody blended in with everybody else. look i know it seems like I'm giving this movie a bad review but I'm really not, there was so much here i appreciated as an evil dead fan, and the gore was top notch, the movie seemed to get a bit repetitive near the end and didn't know when to stop, and me and my wife was losing interest fast. another thing the movie should of done as well was explain the wither a bit more, because being English we don't know much about Swedish urban legends. anyway I'm going to end it here, but I'm not saying this was a bad movie, because it wasn't, its a million miles above some of the trash sitting on our tesco shelves, the movie is merely generic, and i think thats the problem, when it could of been so much more, oh well, i still think it was a good job, and evil dead fans will find something to enjoy here, just don't expect it to be as good as most people are saying this is, because better than the evil dead remake it's not
The Rise of the Krays
(2015)
one of the best British gangster movies in years, and the best krays film so far
4 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
it's always been surprising to me that there was only one movie based on the infamous kray twins, and while peter medak's 1990 biopic was for it's time a solid movie, when you read and watch things about the krays you realise just how much they left out, and it didn't really portray the twins as they was at all, never the less that movie remains much loved and has a deserved cult classic status, but i always wanted another film about the krays, one that showed the twins how i always read they were, brutal, uncompromising, charming, dangerous all rolled into one pair of naughty twins, and while the likes of the Essex boys have movie after movie made about them, we had to wait twenty five years for another krays film, and then boom, we get two at the same time, now this movie coming out at the same time as the big budget tom hardy biopic 'legend' is both a gift and a curse for the rise of the krays, a gift in that 'legend' has made the krays relevant again, and a curse in that this movie will be over shadowed by its big budget counterpart, now as for the better movie i can't judge yet as I've only seen this one, legend is out in a few days, so ill judge then. the sad part of the fact is that this movie was in the works before 'legend' in fact i knew about this movie in early 2013. never mind all that though because the movie i have just watched is brilliant enough to stand on it's own two feet. the first part in an epic two part crime saga, tells the story of the kray twins from youths to men, as they take control and rule the London underworld, and the twins are finally shown on screen to be the brutal men they truly were, and trust me this movie is brutal, the violence here is shocking, and makes the old krays film look like a kids film. the movie is narrated by Reggie kray, and he holds the movie together great. another brilliant thing the movie gets right is seeing Ronnie krays mental illness, Ronnie kray is played here with such menace and authority you cannot take your eyes of him. both Reggie and Ronnie are brilliantly played here, and i cannot wait for the second part of this epic, one of the best British gangster films in years, and much better than the old krays film.
The Real Essex Boys
(2012)
read the books instead, even the movies offer more than this documentary
4 September 2015
Warning: Spoilers
the infamous rettendon range rover murders of 1995 have spawned at least 8 movies, 6-7 documentaries and 7 books, i myself have read and seen everything to do on the subject, and i must admit this is the worst out of the lot of them, the amount of wrong information in this is embarrassing, one example they say pat Tate met tony tucker in prison, when its widely known that tucker had never been to prison. the reconstructions are also poor, they use a newer range rover, the people playing the Essex boys look nothing like the real people, and important people to the story like Bernard o mahoney, Carlton leach etc arnt even interviewed, because if they was they would of had a better knowledge of the story they was trying to tell. a poor documentary of the Essex boys murders.
Essex Boys Retribution
(2013)
a solid British gangland flick, with links to true events
5 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
the rettendon range rover murders has become a franchise, four films,7 books, countless websites, more movies in the pipeline, is that a bad thing, judge for yourself. this movie though takes place 18 years after the infamous range rover murders, and is about a group of lads who have essentialy became the new essex boys, only smarter, and more ruthless. there is a pretty good story here, and people who know the essex boys/range rover murders story well will find a lot of good twists and turns and references to the true events, and one character from the true story appears here, so there is a lot of fun to be had here if you are a fan of the story. the movie is actually a direct sequel to 'the fall of the essex boys', witch was a true account of the essex boys reighn of terror, and while this movie isn't as good as that, its a solid sequel all around and i recommend it to people who like the story, and enjoyed the previous essex boys films.
Texas Chainsaw
(2013)
what a dissopiontment, the worst chainsaw movie since 'the next generation'
27 April 2013
Warning: Spoilers
when i first read about this movie i was looking forward to it, i liked the fact that it was a direct sequel to the original, even though every sequel has claimed to be. and in the end this was worse than them bar 'the next generation, even though i find that movie more entertaining. i didn't hate this movie, it was just so average, the kills were there, as was leatherface, but it was all too average, and what they try and turn leatherface into is as ridicules as part 4 trying to turn him into a travsvestite. i did not like this movie at all, they guy who played leatherface wasn't bad, but the script was bad, the direction boring, and everything was just cash in. the new line chainsaw movies are much better than this movie. one of the worst of the series
Trailer Park of Terror
(2008)
i really wanted to like this movie...but
23 March 2013
Warning: Spoilers
as i was browsing through my local DVD shop the other day i stumbled on this movie, now i love horror movies, and horror comedies and this looked right up my street, redneck zombies, cool, came with a comic book nice, was looking forward to some sweet gore, and loads of laughs, and got neither, nor did i get my redneck zombies i was promised. the movie was poor in every way, some OK special effects nothing to write home about. the lead actress was OK, but it could of been much better, and it thought it was clever but it wasen't. now look i love me a bit of horror cheese ya know 'evil dead 2' 'braindead' and 're animater'. but where as they were genuinely funny and meant to be, i was surprised at how serious the thing tried to be, dashes of humour here and there, but it was trying to be to dark and fails. there was one scene that was pretty cool, when a dude gets boiled/fried but other than that this did not impress me one bit, its so far from the cult classic its supposed to be stay away, its just trash
The Amityville Horror
(2005)
a solid retelling of a famous story, yes it isn't true, who cares
15 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
the original amityville horror is easily one of the best haunted house movies, apparently based on true events that have turned out to be false, never the less its a story that makes a good movie and the original is that, the second installment amityville 2 the possession was a good but a bit bizarre sequel, the third installment amityville 3d is a well made, creepy at times but ultimately boring movie, the rest of the series i didn't bother with as they abandoned the house and backstory, until last years 'the amityville haunting, and the less said about that the better. i hadn't seen this movie since it came out, because im not a huge fan of remakes, and it looked identical to the original i give it a swerve, but the other day i clocked it on DVD for the price of 2 quid and i thought yeah ill give it a go, and im glad that i did, its easily the best in the series since the second movie, and ryan reynolds is great in his role. i don't think it betters the original, but its a great retelling and the scares are sharper and more frequent, i recommend to the right crowd
B.T.K.
(2008 Video)
a good horror movie based on a shocking true story
5 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
the b.t.k killer was a serial killer who got away with his murders for many years until he made the mistake of starting them again leading to his capture, dennis rader was his name and his crimes appalling, watch the documentary 'i survived b.t.k' and tell me it doesn't upset you. wisely though the director of b.t.k has chose to tell the story but make the murders all fictioniled, as to not upset any of the real families, best thing really, and the movie still tells the story anyway, its brutal, tense and suspenseful, and kane hodder is perfectly cast as rader, its a low budget movie, but very well made. the movie is accurate on most things, apart from the murders obviosly, in reality the b.t.k also killed kids, he luckily doesn't in this, although one tense scene, at least hints to it, i recommend this movie to horror fans as it delivers the goods and has true life foundations
one of the best serial killer biopics made, the movie the others want to be
5 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
henry portrait of a serial killer is a brilliant movie based on the exploits of henry lee lucas, a serial killer from Texas who confessed to killing hundreds of people in the 80's, this movie is based on his confessions, even though most turned out to be lies, all though he did murder at least 11 people. michael rooker is great as henry and gives a truly great horror performance. of all the serial killer biopics this is still probably the most gruesome and disturbing, with only the secret life of jeffrey dahmer and ted bundy coming close, to some of the depravity in this movie, it isn't for everyone as its very gruesome and sick, but it remains a brilliant horror movie, and a classic of modern cinema, i highly recommend
Nightstalker
(2002)
one of the worst of the true serial killer boom of the early noughties
5 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
nightstalker is based on the true story of richard ramirez, a serial killer who was terrorising l.a in the 80's. the real case is fascinating, this movie is not, despite a decent cast, and true life foundations, nightstalker never realises what it wants to be, on one hand its pretty accurate with some of the murders, and the guy playing ramirez is pretty good, but the movie is filled with this hyper editing whenever the nightstalker is in his car, and we see a demon alter ego and its as pathetic as it sounds, too flashy for a low budget movie, and while it aims to be scary and unerving it fails, some scenes of the murders and aftermath are good and atmospheric, and its a shame because it could of been a good movie of the story, but the director just hasent got a clue, so we are left with a film of the two halves and neither of them any good. there is another movie based on the nightstalker buts its supposed to be worse than this so i think ill give it a swerve, shame this story deserves a good movie
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
(2002)
a great eddie murphy movie, delivered everything i expetected it would
4 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
pluto nash is one of them movies, that was a box office flop, so people like to jump on the bandwagon and say its rubbish, when it is far from it, this is a great eddie murphy movie, and is funny, with a great cast, and a sexy looking rosario dawson, thats a pretty sweet hour and a half to me. most people that badmouthed the movie, didn't even watch it, its just cool to say it isn't good, well let me tell you know, if your a fan of eddie murphy, and why wouldn't you be, then you will enjoy this movie very much, no it isn't one of the best movies of alltime, it isn't even of eddie murphy's best but it is a great comedy, that delivers some good laughs, watch it you'll be surprised
The Fall of the Essex Boys
(2013)
a great thriller based on true events
2 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
based on the true story of the essex boys and the rettendon range rover murders, the fourth movie to tell the story after 2000's essex boys, 2007's rise of the footsoldier, and 2010's bonded by blood, and to be honest after rise of the footsoldier, this is probably the best, and is completely different to the other movies on the subject, while a few things have been fabricated its pretty accurate to true events, and the cast i liked very much, especially jay brown as essex kingpin tony tucker a man you really don't want to mess with, same goes for peter berret as pat tate, they both put there own spin on the characters, and pull them off with ease, same goes for tony denham as jack whomes, and Simon Phillip's as Craig Rolfe, all of them have the aura of menace, the movie is very well made, and if anybody is familiar with the other movies about it should guess its very violent, it remains a brutal story, and the idea to have it from Darren Nichol's point of view is a good idea, i liked the other movies, but this is different so it stands out more, go see it brilliant stuff
well made, and some effective moments, but the mask is atrocious
26 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
i am not a big fan of halloween 4, yet it is classed as one of the better entries in the series, and i can see why, it is very well made, and there are some genuine effective moments, not to mention a solid cast for a slasher movie, but the movie ruins the biggest thing about it, the look of michael myers, the mask is comical, and his body looks ridiculess, he looks like a clown and is hard to take serious, so a lot of the threat and danger is ruined by a clown looking myers. the story is actually OK, and Donald pleaseance is brilliant as ever. its a real shame about the mask and look of michael in this movie because, this could of been a great movie, but with a villain that looks so comical in this, its hard to take serious
Alien Autopsy
(2006)
i thought i would hate this movie, but it was actually very good
26 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
i am not an ant and dec fan, i find them annoying on TV, and as much as im interested in the story, they did put me of watching it for a few years, well i picked it up for a quid yesterday, and what a bargain, i needn't of worried, this was a funny and highly enjoyable movie, and and and dec are actually good in it, they are much better in film than they are on TV. the story was well told in a nice light hearted way, and anybody who knows about the roswell hoax should enjoy this very much, its got a great supporting cast, and feels much bigger than it actually is. this country rarely gets comedy right, but here it has very well, likable leads, good jokes, and not a mockney gangster in sight, well done ant and dec, you have made a good comedy, fair play, i was very surprised
the most underrated halloween movie
26 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
for some reason quite a few halloween fans dislike this installment of the series, but me i think its one of the best, i think its much better than part 4, so is the mask, i love the mask in this one its creepy, and michael is scary again in this, and very mean, the laundry chute scene is still very tense even to this day. the actor that played michael myers in this is great, the guy in part 4 played him like a clown, i cannot take myers seriously in part 4, but here he's scary again, and i love how you can always seen him in the background its eerie, there are some geniunly unerving scenes in this, and i think its a great movie, and regardless of what most people say i feel its the only other halloween movie that captures the atmosphere and vibe of the first one, sure most people will disagree, but most people's problem with this movie are small little things, as it stands this is an above average slasher with some great creeps and scares, i highly recommend
leatherface fans will hate this, they turn him into a transvestite
10 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
i am a huge fan of the first two chainsaw movies, i also loved 'the beginning' and the remake. part 3 to me is just boring dull, and tries to hard without delivering anything of worth, it turned leatherface into a generic slasher figure, but that does not even compare to what kim henkel has done to him in this movie, here he is a screaming transvestite, who loves wearing womens clothes and putting make up on, and although its true he chases people with a chainsaw, this is not the same leatherface. i know there are people out there who will say, but he wore a pretty women mask in the original, yes he did for one scene, but he never donned a dress and makeup, its stupid. the movie itself is a bad one, its rubbish and horribly made, not as well made as part three, but much more enjoyable, there are some cool little references to the original and homages, but it doesn't make a good movie, the script is terrible, the acting the same, if i give the movie one thing, it keeps its nastiness, as well as poor attempts at humour, but there is some sick stuff here, witch funnily enough doesn't involve chainsaws. the movie ruins leatherface, and will really anger fans of the other movies, after this the only way back was a remake, some people hate on tobe hooper's second movie, but i love it was a great sequel something different, kim henkel thought he could go back and make the true sequel,and ended up making the worse, terrible stuff, the five stars are strictly for enjoyment factor
Metro
(1997)
a great eddie murphy movie, a throwback to 48 hrs and Beverly hills cop
9 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
i am a fan of eddie murphy when he is in the right vehicle's like 'coming to America' 'the nutty professor' and 'Beverly hills cop' but sometimes he makes some very bad movies like 'pluto nash' 'boomerang' and 'meet dave'. now metro is more like his older movies, raw, r rated action comedies, and its great, eddie murphy is very funny in this, and at times hes even quite serious, but the movie never loses its comedy, and at its core thats what this is, if i had to compare it to one eddie murphy film, it would have to be Beverly hills cop, the same sort of action and humour. the cast are grear and the action big and loud, its a great movie and i recommend to fans of eddie murphy and action films.
Dillinger and Capone
(1995 Video)
a good fast paced gangster movie, great acting, and good direction, good stuff
3 January 2013
Warning: Spoilers
i picked this movie up on DVD the other day for two pounds, i haden't ever heard of it before so i wasn't sure but i looked at the cast, and thought it couldn't be that bad, and was right, it was actually a good gangster movie, based on some well known theories in gangland folklore dealing with john dillinger and AL Capone, it delivers everything you would expect from a gangster movie, its not one of the best far from it, but it was good, and i did enjoy it. the acting was good all around, and it never felt low budget, fans of gangster movie's would do well watching it if its ever on, as they should enjoy it. its not worth rushing out and buying but definitely a good watch
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