Dead Man's Cards: what the critics have to say...
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Strawbs
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My apologies. As you'd not mentioned your friend before or her wanting to see the film with you I made a misinformed conclusion. She must have a keen eye for movies and if she's pursuaded you then forgive me if I thought it was the reviews.LovelyLaura said:DMC really isn't my usual sort of film, hence why I wasn't keen on going to see it on its release (preferring to rent it out when released on DVD), but the reviews have no bearing on why I'm now wanting to go and see it at the cinema. It turns out that my friend from childhood wants to see it and we are planning a night out soon to catch up, so we thought we'd go together.....she's twisted my arm!Unfortunately, it doesn't look like it's coming anywhere near us though
It's not on near me so I'll not be seeing it either. However, if truth be told, I'd probably not go mainly for financial reasons. I'm not flushed with cash and can't really afford to go to the cinema as much as I'd like (I've only been twice this year, Casino Royale and Big Nothing). There's many a good film I've had to pass up and DMC is no acception. I may have pushed myself if Chris, or anyone I was a particular fan of, had a lead role - so the situation may be quite different with Bar Stewards - but their isn't quite enough of a hook to pull me to the cinema and part with £6 on this occasion. Which is neither here or there as it's not at any of my 3 local cinemas anyway.
Strawbs
Joanna
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Ooh, for those of you who can get the news programme Midlands Today (BBC1), you might find a switch over to it now worthwhile. There's an item coming up on Lea Michael Walton and his, to quote, 'acting debut'.....and that was in DMC, of course!
Lol, in promoing the item, they've had him doing bench presses in the background of the shot!
Ah, and he's the guy who I had that long chat to before I saw DMC last weekend! Lovely guy!
xx Joanna xx
Lol, in promoing the item, they've had him doing bench presses in the background of the shot!
Ah, and he's the guy who I had that long chat to before I saw DMC last weekend! Lovely guy!
xx Joanna xx
Joanna
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Just watched the item on Lea. In what appeared to be the gym where he works as a bodybuilder, Lea talked briefly of how he got the part in DMC, and what that part is, adding how as he plays Romeo's 'oppo', his friends jokingly call him a 'hippo'! And when he said how Romeo and his character come in to beat up the two main characters, we got a lil overlay of Chris's scene at the point when Lea said the one character is played by 'Paul Barber...Denzel from Only Fools and Horses'!
He said how Birmingham and the Black Country are historic and 'that it is important that people get out and make films about this area'....cue Suzie Norton from Film Birmingham doing a lil bit of promo on its behalf!
And to start the item, its presenter, Ashley Blake, called DMC the 'biggest gangster blockbuster since Lock Stock'.
xx Joanna xx
He said how Birmingham and the Black Country are historic and 'that it is important that people get out and make films about this area'....cue Suzie Norton from Film Birmingham doing a lil bit of promo on its behalf!
And to start the item, its presenter, Ashley Blake, called DMC the 'biggest gangster blockbuster since Lock Stock'.
xx Joanna xx
Joanna
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Fran has asked me to post this on her behalf, so.....
Lea Michael Walton interview/DMC review (BBC Black Country)
xx Joanna xx
Lea Michael Walton interview/DMC review (BBC Black Country)
xx Joanna xx
Joanna
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Play now have a list of extras up for the DMC DVD (no idea on a Blu-ray edition, btw, Mike!!).....
* Full length audio commentary with cast and crew
* Full House - UK Premiere Feature
* Ace in the Pack - The origins of Dead Man's Cards feature
* Deleted Scenes
Now for the predictable ........
Was Chris part of those 'cast and crew' contributing to the commentary?....Did Chris attend the UK premiere of DMC?....Is he a DVD 'ace in the pack'?....Did he record anything else for DMC that got cut? Chris..... ?
Presume this is a full list of extras, and, if so, it's a shame that we don't get any out-takes. Some nice-sounding extras, though ...and hopefully with Paul Barber as one of those providing commentary on the film.
Play also now have up a cover image for the DVD and a corrected release date of 23 April.
xx Joanna xx
* Full length audio commentary with cast and crew
* Full House - UK Premiere Feature
* Ace in the Pack - The origins of Dead Man's Cards feature
* Deleted Scenes
Now for the predictable
........Was Chris part of those 'cast and crew' contributing to the commentary?....Did Chris attend the UK premiere of DMC?....Is he a DVD 'ace in the pack'?....Did he record anything else for DMC that got cut? Chris..... ?
Presume this is a full list of extras, and, if so, it's a shame that we don't get any out-takes. Some nice-sounding extras, though
...and hopefully with Paul Barber as one of those providing commentary on the film.Play also now have up a cover image for the DVD and a corrected release date of 23 April.
xx Joanna xx
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good reviews joanna. you sold DMC to me! sounds like i better watch it on an empty stomach, squeemish!! will post a comment when ive braevd it out.
p.s to chris: of course they will recognise you! you even get to blag it into clubs now!! ha ha. that was a good night out.
p.s to chris: of course they will recognise you! you even get to blag it into clubs now!! ha ha. that was a good night out.
Joanna
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And on selling DMC , the official DMC site now has up a section on the DVD. It gives a fuller and more detailed list of the DVD's extras than Play does.....
* Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0 Stereo
* Full length audio commentary with Director, James Marquand, Paul
Barber & James McMartin
* Missing Cards (Deleted Scenes)
* Straight Talkin’ from the Table (Interview Feature)
* Full House (UK Premiere feature)
* Original Theatrical Trailer
Shame there's no Chris in the commentary, but it's great they've got the director and the leads to do it. I also don't feel the commentary would be the same without Paul Barber.
And not sure if this 'interview feature' has the title that this site says, or whether Play's is now the more accurate!
There's also a link on the DMC site to the Stray Dogs Films' merchandise site....where you can buy a DMC tee shirt!
Play have reduced the price of the DVD. It's now £9.99! They've also added a flash player to the 'Special features' bit....though nothing appears on the screen for me, with it constantly on 0% loading. Does it work for anyone else? If so, could someone please tell me what it plays?
xx Joanna xx
, the official DMC site now has up a section on the DVD. It gives a fuller and more detailed list of the DVD's extras than Play does.....* Dolby Digital 5.1 & 2.0 Stereo
* Full length audio commentary with Director, James Marquand, Paul
Barber & James McMartin
* Missing Cards (Deleted Scenes)
* Straight Talkin’ from the Table (Interview Feature)
* Full House (UK Premiere feature)
* Original Theatrical Trailer
Shame there's no Chris in the commentary, but it's great they've got the director and the leads to do it. I also don't feel the commentary would be the same without Paul Barber.
And not sure if this 'interview feature' has the title that this site says, or whether Play's is now the more accurate!
There's also a link on the DMC site to the Stray Dogs Films' merchandise site....where you can buy a DMC tee shirt!
Play have reduced the price of the DVD. It's now £9.99! They've also added a flash player to the 'Special features' bit....though nothing appears on the screen for me, with it constantly on 0% loading. Does it work for anyone else? If so, could someone please tell me what it plays?
xx Joanna xx
Joanna
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The flash player on Play's DMC DVD page is now working....It plays the ad for the DVD's 23 April release. It runs like a mini DMC trailer. No Chris in it, btw!
xx Joanna xx
xx Joanna xx
Joanna
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Got my DMC DVD now...
Though no Chris in the extras, trailer apart, there's a nice set of them on this DVD. Particularly liked the "Straight Talkin' from the table" interview feature. Found that very insightful. However, a shame Chris wasn't amongst the cast members talking about the film. Not surprising, though, as he wasn't one of the main cast.
Then we come to the commentary...and the commentary over Chris's performance. And what's said about him? Well, some very complimentary things, I must say! From DMC'S director/co-writer, James Marquand.....
"There was originally a big, kind of, sort of, teddy bear on steroids was supposed to play the part, but he'd got terrified and never turned up. And we managed, we were really fortunate to get this great actor, Chris Finch, who came in at the last minute to do it, and he really caught it right, you know, the kind of this, sort of, the arrogance, cockiness of this guy, who thinks that, er, you know, thinks he's Jackie Chan or something! *Chris does his 'scream'* Welcome to reality! *Paul Barber laughs* Did that taste good, Paul?!"
Btw, for those looking for Chris's scene in the 'chapter selection', it's number 4 in the list...'A New Approach'!
And on the commentary, what the back of the DVD box doesn't say is that DMC'S Director of Photography/co-producer, Matt Whyte, is also one of the commentators. Thought that worth a mention!
xx Joanna xx
Though no Chris in the extras, trailer apart, there's a nice set of them on this DVD. Particularly liked the "Straight Talkin' from the table" interview feature. Found that very insightful. However, a shame Chris wasn't amongst the cast members talking about the film. Not surprising, though, as he wasn't one of the main cast.
Then we come to the commentary...and the commentary over Chris's performance. And what's said about him? Well, some very complimentary things, I must say! From DMC'S director/co-writer, James Marquand.....
"There was originally a big, kind of, sort of, teddy bear on steroids was supposed to play the part, but he'd got terrified and never turned up.
And we managed, we were really fortunate to get this great actor, Chris Finch, who came in at the last minute to do it, and he really caught it right, you know, the kind of this, sort of, the arrogance, cockiness of this guy, who thinks that, er, you know, thinks he's Jackie Chan or something! *Chris does his 'scream'* Welcome to reality! *Paul Barber laughs* Did that taste good, Paul?!"Btw, for those looking for Chris's scene in the 'chapter selection', it's number 4 in the list...'A New Approach'!
And on the commentary, what the back of the DVD box doesn't say is that DMC'S Director of Photography/co-producer, Matt Whyte, is also one of the commentators. Thought that worth a mention!
xx Joanna xx
Fran
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Thanks for the reminder that the dvd's out now Joanna! What with training for a new (terrifying ) job at work and on top of that, Jack having to have an operation yesterday, it had slipped my mind! (Shame on me!). I'll have to wait until the week-end to get it now. Just checked on Smiths site and at least it's listed, although they're still waiting for a picture for the icon. (I'm not ordering it over the net considering what happened the last time I used my card in cyber space!) I might be listening to the film more than watching it, (apart from one scene of course) , but look forward to hearing James sing Chris's praises!
What with training for a new (terrifying ) job at work and on top of that, Jack having to have an operation yesterday, it had slipped my mind! (Shame on me!). I'll have to wait until the week-end to get it now. Just checked on Smiths site and at least it's listed, although they're still waiting for a picture for the icon. (I'm not ordering it over the net considering what happened the last time I used my card in cyber space!) I might be listening to the film more than watching it, (apart from one scene of course) , but look forward to hearing James sing Chris's praises! 
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Fran, play.com is pretty reliable and secure. I've been using them for years. I've even purchased two televisions from them. Never had a problem.Fran said:I'll have to wait until the week-end to get it now. Just checked on Smiths site and at least it's listed, although they're still waiting for a picture for the icon. (I'm not ordering it over the net considering what happened the last time I used my card in cyber space!)
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I saw Dead Mans Cards on Friday night. Had a bit of a movie marathon. Watched This is England at the Bolton UCI cinema, then when I got home watched Dead Mans Cards. Two completely different types of film, but both dealing with England's thuggish underclass.
To be honest I didn't find DMC sickeningly violent, but I went to a rough school and some parts of my home town are pretty rough, so perhaps that's why. I've seen that stuff in real life, and that can be stomach churning. Watching it on the telly is much easier to swallow!
Dead Mans Cards is a worthwhile watch though. It's not the sort of film we normally get made in the UK, it's privately financed, and it's made up North. It's also well made and I really enjoyed it. There was one shot at the end which I didn't completely understand and was a little esoteric in comparison to the rest of the film, but I'm still thinking about it so I suppose that was the desired effect.
To be honest I didn't find DMC sickeningly violent, but I went to a rough school and some parts of my home town are pretty rough, so perhaps that's why. I've seen that stuff in real life, and that can be stomach churning. Watching it on the telly is much easier to swallow!
Dead Mans Cards is a worthwhile watch though. It's not the sort of film we normally get made in the UK, it's privately financed, and it's made up North. It's also well made and I really enjoyed it. There was one shot at the end which I didn't completely understand and was a little esoteric in comparison to the rest of the film, but I'm still thinking about it so I suppose that was the desired effect.
Joanna
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Is the shot you mean the one that's the last scene in which we see Samantha Janus's character, Kris? It's not at the very end so not sure we're thinking of the same bit! Anyway, even though I really enjoyed the film too, that one scene never worked for me within its context. It just doesn't seem to gel with the rest of the film. Suppose it was included to show the 'connection' there still was between her and Tom, and that if things had been different then either that 'moment' for Tom (trying not to spoil it here for those still to watch it!!) may never have happened or it would of been her by his side and not Mary, but the way it was done still seems a bit odd to me!
And yeah, it was very violent, but I felt it fitted into the film very well.
On This Is England....Found out the other day my local cinema isn't showing it, so not sure when I'm going to be able to see it now! *sobs* What did you make of it, Mike?
xx Joanna xx
And yeah, it was very violent, but I felt it fitted into the film very well.
On This Is England....Found out the other day my local cinema isn't showing it, so not sure when I'm going to be able to see it now! *sobs* What did you make of it, Mike?
xx Joanna xx
