Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis

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Gary Lewis - Mid-season New York premiere of 'Outlander' at Ziegfeld Theater - Red Carpet Arrivals at Ziegfeld Theater - New York City, New York, United States - Wednesday 1st April 2015

Gary Lewis

Catch Me Daddy Review


Good

Gorgeous photography and an elusive storytelling style combine to make this dark dramatic thriller both gripping and rather frustrating. Without some understanding of the nature of honour killing in Britain, it will be difficult to make much sense out of the plot. But the atmospheric filmmaking helps make up for this, and it also covers over an uneven central performance.

The story opens in an isolated trailer park on the edge of a Yorkshire town, where young Laila (Sameena Jabeen Ahmed) is in hiding with her Scottish boyfriend Aaron (Connor McCarron). But as she quietly heads to work, there are several men on her trail. Laila's brother Zaheer (Ali Ahmad) is just back from Pakistan and is tracking her down with three friends, while her father (Wasim Zakir) has hired Tony (Gary Lewis) and his friend Barry (Barry Nunney) to find her. Clearly, her family wants her back, and Laila knows they're not planning to welcome her with open arms. So she and Aaron make a run for it.

Shot and edited in an observational style, directors Daniel and Matthew Wolfe don't make it very easy for the audience, never quite explaining what's happening and letting the actors speak in mumbled thick dialect. This makes it tricky to engage with any of the characters, especially the inexpressive Ahmed, who is better in the quiet scenes than she is when required to display emotion. She does capture a strong sense of desperation, as Laila is literally fighting for her life. It's clear that each character has his or her own story within the bigger narrative, but working these out sometimes feels like a chore, even with terrific actors on board like Lewis, Nichola Burley (as Laila's boss) and Kate Dickie (as Aaron's mum).

Continue reading: Catch Me Daddy Review

Not Another Happy Ending Review


Weak

This may look like a rom-com, with its obvious plotting and over-cute characters, but it's eerily lacking any actual romance or comedy. And there isn't much else to grab onto either, even though the likeable cast do what they can with a superficial script. Sadly, the director never manages to pull it all together.

Set in Glasgow, the story centres on Jane (Gillan), an aspiring author who is tired of rejection letters from publishers about her first novel, a down-beat story about father-daughter gloom. Then she gets an offer from a tiny local publishing house run by sexy Frenchman Tom (Weber) and his goofy assistant Roddy (De Caestecker). And the book is a surprise hit, winning awards and propelling her into rising-star glamour, complete with a flashy new screenwriter boyfriend (Cusick). But as she writes her second book, she gets writer's block due the thought of finishing her contract with Tom. She couldn't possibly be in love with him, could she? Meanwhile, in need of the manuscript, Tom and Roddy try to spark her writing by making her life as miserable as possible.

The film has a choppy structure that makes it impossible for anyone to have a meaningful moment. Every plot point is conveyed with another musical montage featuring colourful Glasgow landmarks and local indie music, all of which is nice to look at even though it leaves us unable to care. And while screenwriter Solomons at least tries to reinvent the standard rom-com structure, he still can't disguise the obvious fact that Jane and Tom are meant for each other from the start. And we also never doubt Jane's awkward attempts to reconcile with her dad (Lewis).

Continue reading: Not Another Happy Ending Review

Filth Review


Essential

As another full-on Irvine Welsh adaptation Trainspotting did in 1996, this bracingly original movie puts a new filmmaker on the map. Not only is this a loud blast of both style and substance, but it refuses to water down its subject matter, taking us through a shockingly profane story in a way that's both visually inventive and emotionally resonant.

This is the story of Bruce (McAvoy), an Edinburgh detective who's determined to beat his colleagues to a promotion. He's also a relentless womaniser, sexist, racist and drug addict. And he'll do anything to get ahead, hiding the sordid details of his private life from his boss (Sessions) while undermining the other cops at any chance while pretending to be their friends. In quick succession, he gets young Ray (Bell) addicted to cocaine, flirts continually with Amanda (Poots), has a fling with the kinky wife (Dickie) of fellow officer Gus (Lewis), torments Peter (Elliott) about his sexuality, and takes Bladesey (Marsan) on a sex-tourism holiday while making obscene calls to his needy wife (Henderson). All of this happens while Bruce leads the investigation into a grisly murder.

McAvoy dives so far into this role that we barely recognise him in there. Bruce is so amoral that we are taken aback by each degrading moment. And yet McAvoy somehow manages to hold our sympathy due to the film's blackly hilarious tone and a startling undercurrent of real emotion. Even though he's a monster, we see his boyish fragility, especially in surreal sequences involving his therapist (Broadbent), which merge with his fantasies, hallucinations and nightmares. 

Continue reading: Filth Review

Filth - Red Band Trailer


This trailer is only suitable for persons aged 18 or over.

Bruce Robertson is a vile, devious and emotionally disturbed individual who also happens to be a Detective Sergeant. Off duty, he lives a life of debauchery; snorting line after line of cocaine and indulging in sordid sexual encounters with numerous women while trying to control his unpredictable bipolar personality. On duty, he does everything within his power to trick, deceive and ruin the lives of his colleagues with whom he competes to achieve a promotion to detective inspector. He does nothing to hide his radical views on race and women as he attempts to solve a grisly murder that seems to have more to it than he initially thought. With the web of lies he weaves throughout his life, will he be able to sort out truths from the untruths in order to maintain his sanity as his deteriorating mental health threatens to cripple him? And will he ever be reunited with the wife he is so desperate to resolve things with?

Adapted from the novel by Irvine Welsh, 'Filth' has been directed and written by Jon S. Baird ('Cass') and sees an intense star-studded cast convert to screen an compelling story of insanity, romance and deceit. This shocking 18-rated crime drama is set to hit UK cinemas in September 2013.

When The Lights Went Out Review


Very Good
Based on an outrageous true story, this is essentially Britain's own Amityville Horror, as a family haplessly moves into a house occupied by a noisy, terrifying ghost. The filmmakers create a strong freak-out atmosphere, jolting us out of our seats several times along the way, but some plot points ring false and some scenes feel a bit silly.

It's 1974 when Jenny and Len (Ashfield and Waddington) move into a new home.

They're delighted with the increase in space and the lovely Yorkshire setting, but their 17-year-old daughter Sally (Connor) is annoyed that her life has been disrupted. And the rolling blackouts don't help either, especially since the darkness seems to reveal something malevolent lurking in the shadows.

Continue reading: When The Lights Went Out Review

Gary Lewis Slates His Father Over His Brother's Death


Jerry Lewis Gary Lewis

Gary Lewis, the pop star son of comedian Jerry Lewis, has blamed his father for the death of his younger brother. The 1960s Gary Lewis and The Playboys frontman has suggested that his comedian father all but abandoned his son Joseph when he discovered his growing drug addiction, and it was this abandonment that caused the young man to die.

Related: Jerry Lewis Is Still Not A Fan Of Female Comedians

In October 2009, Joseph Lewis suffered a sudden seizure and died in Utah, however Gary claims that his brother's health would not have declined to such a drastic extend if he had still had the support of his father. Lewis spoke to 'The Globe' to explain how his father's neglect caused his brother to die, saying: "Joe had problems his entire life and I blame our father."

Continue reading: Gary Lewis Slates His Father Over His Brother's Death

Billy Elliot Review


Excellent
"Just because I like ballet, it doesn't mean I'm a poof," says 11-year-old British mamma's boy Billy Elliot (Jamie Bell). And that just about sums up the story of this oddball child prodigy. After all, when a lad from a northern British mining town forsakes his granddad's boxing gloves for a pair of satiny ballet slippers, it's more than the neighbors and townsfolk can comprehend and, therefore, inherently good cinematic drama.

Beyond the fact that the whole coal-miner's-kid-has-talent-and-big-dreams genre has been horrifically overdone from the earliest days of English-language narrative, Billy Elliot (aka Dancer) is actually a treat to watch. Maybe it's just the funny accents, but the dialog comes off fresh and surprising, even when it's just Billy's dad (played by Gary Lewis) saying some stock like, "No son of mine is going to be dancing ballet." In fact, Lewis conveys an intense fury through his role as the apparently ignorant father, while maintaining a sense of depth and dimension that is, at times, endearing.

Continue reading: Billy Elliot Review

Yes Review


Weak
I usually give Sally Potter a lot of slack; I've enjoyedall three of her feature films so far ("Orlando," "The TangoLesson" and "TheMan Who Cried"), even if I've been alonein doing so. She's an intelligent and sensitive filmmaker who usually establishesbreathing room for her deeply felt characters.

However her latest film, "Yes," is a failed experiment.Joan Allen plays an Irish-born woman stuck in a loveless, childless marriageto a philandering husband (Sam Neill). She meets a Lebanese cook (SimonAbkarian) who was once a surgeon in Beirut, and begins a love affair. Writtenentirely in verse, "Yes" requires the actors to suffer throughlong passages of blathering talk, and the scenes routinely dry out longbefore they end.

Potter attempts to add layers to the film by hinting atpolitical paranoia and showing scenes through surveillance cameras, butthe verse angle nullifies these attempts. The superb Allen is capable ofextremes: from icy control to dropping her emotional guard, yet she cannotmake this film's rhythms work.

Shirley Henderson, playing a maid who observes the actionand breaks the fourth wall by speaking directly to the camera, shows justhow the film might have played. With her silky, slithering delivery, sheplays with the words like a snake might toy with a mouse.

Gary Lewis

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Gary Lewis Movies

Catch Me Daddy Movie Review

Catch Me Daddy Movie Review

Gorgeous photography and an elusive storytelling style combine to make this dark dramatic thriller both...

Not Another Happy Ending Movie Review

Not Another Happy Ending Movie Review

This may look like a rom-com, with its obvious plotting and over-cute characters, but it's...

Filth Movie Review

Filth Movie Review

As another full-on Irvine Welsh adaptation Trainspotting did in 1996, this bracingly original movie puts...

Advertisement
Filth Trailer

Filth Trailer

This trailer is only suitable for persons aged 18 or over.Bruce Robertson is a vile,...

When the Lights Went Out Movie Review

When the Lights Went Out Movie Review

Based on an outrageous true story, this is essentially Britain's own Amityville Horror, as a...

Billy Elliot Movie Review

Billy Elliot Movie Review

"Just because I like ballet, it doesn't mean I'm a poof," says 11-year-old British mamma's...

Yes Movie Review

Yes Movie Review

I usually give Sally Potter a lot of slack; I've enjoyedall three of her feature...

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