Joanna
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 1,476
- Points
- 40
Well, I've noticed today that there are a few Dead Man's Cards reviews about in the various film mags newly out. So, for those interested 
.......
Empire (review by Kim Newman, p56)
THIS LOW-BUDGET LIVERPOOL thug movie has a tang of grimy authenticity missing fron all those London gangster films made by public schoolboys and rates as the best bouncer movie since the classic Road House. Wash-out boxer Tom (James McMartin) takes a job alongside ex-army hardman Paul (Paul Barber) on the door of a Liverpudlian drinking hole. Paul resists the overtures of organised crime, but Tom isn't so sure about turning away drugs money. Meanwhile, simmering feuds get out of hand, with ultra-violence clearly on the menu. McMartin isn't quite up to the surprisingly complicated central role, but Barber, familiar from The Full Monty, deserves the Mitchum-level iconic status the film gives him. [Kim Newman gives the film 3 out of 5 stars]
Film review (review by James Mottram, p104)
The story
A group of Liverpudlian bouncers must band together to fight back against local gangsters
A DOWNBEAT THRILLER that owes as much of a debt to the Western as anything else, Dead Man's Cards makes for an impressive first feature from James Marquand. The son of the late director Richard (best known for helming Return of the Jedi), Marquand has teamed up with actor/co-writer James McMartin to conjure up a film that manages to breathe new life into the creaky crime drama. Set in Liverpool - though any shots of the city's landmarks are kept well and truly hidden - it's the perfect example of how to write a script on a low-budget, with its sparse use of locations, dialogue-driven story and careful characterization.
McMartin plays Tom Watts, a former middleweight boxer now working as a sparring partner in a seedy gym. Offered a job working as a bouncer at a dive called Billy's Bar - owned by Tom Well's Wild West-obsessed old timer - Watts takes on the gig, one that's hardly liable to help his ailing marriage to Kris ([samantha] Janus). Taken under the wing of fellow doorman Paul ([Paul] Barber), a hard-as-nails ex-British army soldier, he begins to learn all the right moves. "If you wanna do someone in, take 'em out the back - no cameras," Paul tells him. But when local gangster Chongi ([Mark] Russell) starts causing trouble on their doorstep, the boys are forced to take arms.
Rather like a Scouse Peckinpah movie, Dead Man's Cards is by no means perfect. Janus's part as the wife at the end of her tether is underwritten, perhaps because Watts winds up being seduced by the barmaid Mary ([Lisa] Parry), and former kick-boxing champion Russell needs a little more coaching as an actor before he steps in front of the camera again.
Still, the partnership between the low-key McMartin and the terrific Barber is what drives the film; returning to the turf of The Long Good Friday, where he started his career, Barber is particularly good as a man defined by his loyalty to Queen and country. And with Marquand doing much to ferment a moody feel to proceedings, it all makes Dead Man's Cards a very likeable experience.
Verdict
This well-written 'Scouse Western' makes an impressive debut for first-time director Marquands. [James Mottram gives DMC 4 out of 5 stars]
HOTDOG (review by Ali Gray, p59)
A late contender for the worst film of 2006, this insultingly awful Brit flick is beyond bad on every level. The plot - concerning doormen and rival gangs on the streets of Liverpool - is so paper-thin it might blow away, were it not for the leaden acting of a woeful bunch of knuckleheads, the most recognisable of whom is Denzel from Only Fools And Horses. The script reads like the scrawlings of a 16-year-old Guy Ritchie fan, a bastardised collection of tough-guy cliches and gun-toting macho horseplay. So terrible, being punched in the face repeatedly would actually be preferable. [Ali Gray gives the film a 'My Little Pony (Avoid)' 1 star out of 5. There is also a half-page DMC ad on p64]
TOTAL FILM (review by Jamie Russell, p39)
A chillingly apt title for a movie that's likely to be remembered as actor Tom Bell's last screen role. The Prime Suspect star plays Billy, an ageing Teddy Boy who runs a deadbeat club in Liverpool. On the door is washed-up boxer turned bouncer Tom (James McMartin) and ex-squaddie Paul (Paul Barber), in deep with local gangsters after bitch-slapping a mouthy dealer.
A knuckleduster of a thriller, its modern day Western trappings (High Noon meets Brookside) are less compelling than its vicious violence as bar brawls give way to no-holds-barred street fighting. It knows its nocturnal world well, blow jobs in grotty bathrooms and hard-men prone to ear-biting giving it real edge. Okay, so the brooding atmosphere doesn't quite disguise the script's flaws, but be forgiving and you'll find the grittiest British thriller since The Firm. [Jamie Russell gives DMC 4 out of 5 stars. There is also a half-page DMC ad on p151]
what's on (Midlands edition, review by James Cameron-Wilson, p11)
In the twilight world of Liverpool, former boxing champ Tom Watts (McMartin) is forced to take a job as a bouncer to make ends meet. There, he learns the ropes from 'Chalky Mandela' (Barber), a gentle giant who promises to make him "bullet-proof"...
The Good: The stark photography of Liverpool and the strong central performance of Paul Barber (of Full Monty fame).
The Bad: The story is a bit of a non-starter.
The Verdict: If former bouncer Vin Diesel were English, this is the film he would've made. Yet even as Dead Man's Cards - co-scripted by its leading man, James McMartin - exudes a gritty authenticity, it fails to pull the viewer in. Neither credible enough as a character study nor exciting enough as a shoot-'em up thriller, the film floats like a butterfly when it should sting like a bee. [James Cameron-Wilson gives DMC 2 out of 5 stars]
So it seems there's a Midlands screening of this after all, then...perhaps!
An online review from someone who saw DMC at the Edinburgh Film Festival.....
Eye for Film (review by Chris Docker)
Thought that nightclubs were run by nice charming businessmen who wouldn't hurt a fly? Although Dead Man's Cards is one of the grittiest crime thrillers in British cinema since the gold standard of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, it should be enough to at least make you wonder if nightclubs aren't really controlled by the long arm of nasty criminal types, whether in knuckle dusters or smart suits.
I started watching this movie not expecting to like it, and there being more f-words in the first few minutes than my mother could have endured without fainting, felt my expectations were going to be fully realised, but it wasn't long before I had to admit I'd got it wrong. Dead Man's Cards breathes life into a genre that too often sags under the weight of its own excesses, and comes up with a hand of aces.
Ex-boxer Tom gets a job as a bouncer at a dive, much his wife's disgust, and is soon initiated into the refined way of doing things. "If you wanna do someone in, take 'em out the back - no cameras," advises fellow doorman Paul. This being an age of political correctness, they undergo one of the legally required courses in non-violent restraint, which provides more opportunities for grim humour as Paul shows the instructor how to get out of his judo holds. Club manager Billy (Tom Bell) dresses as a cowboy, lives in fantasy land, and likes to think he's in charge until there's some argument about the going rate for security, at which point he hastily backtracks. Tom's wife wants to "do something like a normal couple" and whisks hubby off to communion, but he's still recovering from the night before and has to rush outside the church to vomit. He and Paul try to maintain their decency by brute force in the face of pressure from bigger club owners, but there's a limit to everything, including how many conflicting loyalties you can juggle especially with drug-fuelled hangovers and a slutty gun-toting barmaid determined to take advantage.
Many British gangster movies since Lock, Stock... (with the notable exception of Sexy Beast) foundered on too much comedy, complex and unrealistic plots, unconvincing characterisation or simply lack of talent. Dead Man's Cards cleverly succeeds where others have failed. Its only fault is that it may be too violent for some viewers, but if the subject matter offends, you've been warned! There's no overriding message that I could discern, no lingering Oscar-worthy close-ups where we are invited to admire some unspoken subtext, just thumpingly honest entertainment that doesn't pull its punches. Director James Marquand has scored a hit with first feature film, and we can only hope that, rather than be tempted to make Dead Man's Cards II, he goes on to make more equally original and incisive work.
I'll keep a look out for more!
So what does everybody make of that little lot, then?
xx Joanna xx
.......Empire (review by Kim Newman, p56)
THIS LOW-BUDGET LIVERPOOL thug movie has a tang of grimy authenticity missing fron all those London gangster films made by public schoolboys and rates as the best bouncer movie since the classic Road House. Wash-out boxer Tom (James McMartin) takes a job alongside ex-army hardman Paul (Paul Barber) on the door of a Liverpudlian drinking hole. Paul resists the overtures of organised crime, but Tom isn't so sure about turning away drugs money. Meanwhile, simmering feuds get out of hand, with ultra-violence clearly on the menu. McMartin isn't quite up to the surprisingly complicated central role, but Barber, familiar from The Full Monty, deserves the Mitchum-level iconic status the film gives him. [Kim Newman gives the film 3 out of 5 stars]
Film review (review by James Mottram, p104)
The story
A group of Liverpudlian bouncers must band together to fight back against local gangsters
A DOWNBEAT THRILLER that owes as much of a debt to the Western as anything else, Dead Man's Cards makes for an impressive first feature from James Marquand. The son of the late director Richard (best known for helming Return of the Jedi), Marquand has teamed up with actor/co-writer James McMartin to conjure up a film that manages to breathe new life into the creaky crime drama. Set in Liverpool - though any shots of the city's landmarks are kept well and truly hidden - it's the perfect example of how to write a script on a low-budget, with its sparse use of locations, dialogue-driven story and careful characterization.
McMartin plays Tom Watts, a former middleweight boxer now working as a sparring partner in a seedy gym. Offered a job working as a bouncer at a dive called Billy's Bar - owned by Tom Well's Wild West-obsessed old timer - Watts takes on the gig, one that's hardly liable to help his ailing marriage to Kris ([samantha] Janus). Taken under the wing of fellow doorman Paul ([Paul] Barber), a hard-as-nails ex-British army soldier, he begins to learn all the right moves. "If you wanna do someone in, take 'em out the back - no cameras," Paul tells him. But when local gangster Chongi ([Mark] Russell) starts causing trouble on their doorstep, the boys are forced to take arms.
Rather like a Scouse Peckinpah movie, Dead Man's Cards is by no means perfect. Janus's part as the wife at the end of her tether is underwritten, perhaps because Watts winds up being seduced by the barmaid Mary ([Lisa] Parry), and former kick-boxing champion Russell needs a little more coaching as an actor before he steps in front of the camera again.
Still, the partnership between the low-key McMartin and the terrific Barber is what drives the film; returning to the turf of The Long Good Friday, where he started his career, Barber is particularly good as a man defined by his loyalty to Queen and country. And with Marquand doing much to ferment a moody feel to proceedings, it all makes Dead Man's Cards a very likeable experience.
Verdict
This well-written 'Scouse Western' makes an impressive debut for first-time director Marquands. [James Mottram gives DMC 4 out of 5 stars]
HOTDOG (review by Ali Gray, p59)
A late contender for the worst film of 2006, this insultingly awful Brit flick is beyond bad on every level. The plot - concerning doormen and rival gangs on the streets of Liverpool - is so paper-thin it might blow away, were it not for the leaden acting of a woeful bunch of knuckleheads, the most recognisable of whom is Denzel from Only Fools And Horses. The script reads like the scrawlings of a 16-year-old Guy Ritchie fan, a bastardised collection of tough-guy cliches and gun-toting macho horseplay. So terrible, being punched in the face repeatedly would actually be preferable.
[Ali Gray gives the film a 'My Little Pony (Avoid)' 1 star out of 5. There is also a half-page DMC ad on p64]TOTAL FILM (review by Jamie Russell, p39)
A chillingly apt title for a movie that's likely to be remembered as actor Tom Bell's last screen role. The Prime Suspect star plays Billy, an ageing Teddy Boy who runs a deadbeat club in Liverpool. On the door is washed-up boxer turned bouncer Tom (James McMartin) and ex-squaddie Paul (Paul Barber), in deep with local gangsters after bitch-slapping a mouthy dealer.
A knuckleduster of a thriller, its modern day Western trappings (High Noon meets Brookside) are less compelling than its vicious violence as bar brawls give way to no-holds-barred street fighting. It knows its nocturnal world well, blow jobs in grotty bathrooms and hard-men prone to ear-biting giving it real edge. Okay, so the brooding atmosphere doesn't quite disguise the script's flaws, but be forgiving and you'll find the grittiest British thriller since The Firm. [Jamie Russell gives DMC 4 out of 5 stars. There is also a half-page DMC ad on p151]
what's on (Midlands edition, review by James Cameron-Wilson, p11)
In the twilight world of Liverpool, former boxing champ Tom Watts (McMartin) is forced to take a job as a bouncer to make ends meet. There, he learns the ropes from 'Chalky Mandela' (Barber), a gentle giant who promises to make him "bullet-proof"...
The Good: The stark photography of Liverpool and the strong central performance of Paul Barber (of Full Monty fame).
The Bad: The story is a bit of a non-starter.
The Verdict: If former bouncer Vin Diesel were English, this is the film he would've made. Yet even as Dead Man's Cards - co-scripted by its leading man, James McMartin - exudes a gritty authenticity, it fails to pull the viewer in. Neither credible enough as a character study nor exciting enough as a shoot-'em up thriller, the film floats like a butterfly when it should sting like a bee. [James Cameron-Wilson gives DMC 2 out of 5 stars]
So it seems there's a Midlands screening of this after all, then...perhaps!
An online review from someone who saw DMC at the Edinburgh Film Festival.....
Eye for Film (review by Chris Docker)
Thought that nightclubs were run by nice charming businessmen who wouldn't hurt a fly? Although Dead Man's Cards is one of the grittiest crime thrillers in British cinema since the gold standard of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, it should be enough to at least make you wonder if nightclubs aren't really controlled by the long arm of nasty criminal types, whether in knuckle dusters or smart suits.
I started watching this movie not expecting to like it, and there being more f-words in the first few minutes than my mother could have endured without fainting, felt my expectations were going to be fully realised, but it wasn't long before I had to admit I'd got it wrong. Dead Man's Cards breathes life into a genre that too often sags under the weight of its own excesses, and comes up with a hand of aces.
Ex-boxer Tom gets a job as a bouncer at a dive, much his wife's disgust, and is soon initiated into the refined way of doing things. "If you wanna do someone in, take 'em out the back - no cameras," advises fellow doorman Paul. This being an age of political correctness, they undergo one of the legally required courses in non-violent restraint, which provides more opportunities for grim humour as Paul shows the instructor how to get out of his judo holds. Club manager Billy (Tom Bell) dresses as a cowboy, lives in fantasy land, and likes to think he's in charge until there's some argument about the going rate for security, at which point he hastily backtracks. Tom's wife wants to "do something like a normal couple" and whisks hubby off to communion, but he's still recovering from the night before and has to rush outside the church to vomit. He and Paul try to maintain their decency by brute force in the face of pressure from bigger club owners, but there's a limit to everything, including how many conflicting loyalties you can juggle especially with drug-fuelled hangovers and a slutty gun-toting barmaid determined to take advantage.
Many British gangster movies since Lock, Stock... (with the notable exception of Sexy Beast) foundered on too much comedy, complex and unrealistic plots, unconvincing characterisation or simply lack of talent. Dead Man's Cards cleverly succeeds where others have failed. Its only fault is that it may be too violent for some viewers, but if the subject matter offends, you've been warned! There's no overriding message that I could discern, no lingering Oscar-worthy close-ups where we are invited to admire some unspoken subtext, just thumpingly honest entertainment that doesn't pull its punches. Director James Marquand has scored a hit with first feature film, and we can only hope that, rather than be tempted to make Dead Man's Cards II, he goes on to make more equally original and incisive work.
I'll keep a look out for more!
So what does everybody make of that little lot, then?
xx Joanna xx
