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| Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] |
 Currently viewing: Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] Compare prices for Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] Affiliate Program |
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| Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] |
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Currently viewing: Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] Compare prices for Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] Affiliate Program |
| Eastern Promises [Blu-ray] |
Average Rating:
 Rating: - Brutal and engrossing, and you'll learn how to use snippers to clip off a corpse's frozen fingersIs it possible to take seriously a movie where the violent highlight is a vicious fight in a public bath? The fight requires, of course, that at least one of the male fighters be nude. In this case, it's the lead actor and there are no flopping bits that we don't see. Another requirement would be that knives must be involved so that we can get plenty of blood, along with wince-inducing moments when blades slice into back and stomach muscles. And for a coup de grace, what could be more ick worthy than a blade driven into an eyeball, with the crunch of the socket bone being shattered? The bathhouse fight in Eastern Promises may be exploitive, but it's one of the most exciting, stunningly choreographed brawls I've seen on a screen. More to the point, it tells us something about the kind of man Nikolai is. He's the man who survives, and he's a lot tougher, smarter, more resourceful and more violent than we may have thought...and that's saying something, since we've already watched him "process" a corpse for anonymous disposal. It involved removing the teeth and fingers using pliers and a snipper. Viggo Mortensen plays Nikolai, the driver, as he calls himself, for the head of a powerful and vicious gang of Russian mafia based in London. Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), the old man who owns the Trans-Siberian Restaurant, rules his criminal empire with guile and force. He is an aging man with white hair clipped short. He can be a friendly sort at times. He makes a wonderful pot of ... Read More Rating:  - Ridiculously implausible scriptApart from Viggo Mortensen, this movie is a waste of time. If they had acted it just a bit more over the top, it would have been a fine dark comedy. As it is, it's just dull and unrealistic. The violence is graphic and lurid, but doesn't add much to theme or plot. I felt it was gratuitous. If you want to see a much better movie about Russian mob life, try either "Brat" (Brother), "Brat II", or "Friend of the Deceased" (Ukrainian film). These three films have a lot more to say about life in the criminal trades, and just being human, than "Eastern Promises". Most of the plot line is just totally unrealistic. Rating: - Great mob story set in LondonBrutal yet artful, subtle yet gripping, "Eastern Promises" packs dynamite in the story, acting, and directing departments. Director David Cronenberg and his new favorite lead actor Viggo Mortensen (they previously teamed up to make "A History of Violence") return to tell a gripping story of the Russian mob in London, and how fate brings the mob into contact with an ordinary family who suddenly finds itself with the power to bring the mob hierarchy down. Mr. Cronenberg doesn't shy away from the brutality of mob violence, but he doesn't linger on it, either. Still, the movie isn't for squeamish viewers. Two short but satisfying special features round out the DVD: a seven-or-eight minute piece that features the director and actors talking about the film, and a seven-or-eight minute piece about the history and role of the elaborate criminal tattoos featured in the film. Combined, you get a good fifteen minutes or so of satisfying behind-the-scenes information. For most films, that's actually enough for me when it comes to special features. My widescreen DVD featured crisp, clear picture and sound. In you enjoy films in the organized crime genre, you'll probably like "Eastern Promises" a lot. It has all the elements one expects to see in this type of film, but also throws you a few curves, too. Rating:  - A perfect gangster movieIt's such a simple, nearly cliched, mob story. But it's told here with a frankness and brutality that is something to behold. Not an uplifting tale, but a gritty tale that seems, as much as these things can to a random middle class American, realistic. The tattoos are remarkable as is the look at a very different (Russian) mafia. Rating: - Every Picture Tells A Story...Horror legend David Cronenberg (Rabid, Scanners, The Brood, Videodrome, etc.) teams up once more w/ A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE star Viggo Mortensen (The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, A Perfect Murder) to create the dark, underworld masterpiece, EASTERN PROMISES. Mortensen plays Nikolai, a russian mobster w/ a lifetime's worth of lethal experience to go along w/ his body full of prison tattoos. Nikolai is a seemingly ice-cold killer without conscience. Or is he? Midwife, Anna (Naomi Watts from The Ring 1 and 2, King Kong) is plunged into the russian-mafia world after a young mother dies, leaving behind a newborn daughter and a mysterious diary. PROMISES is packed w/ tension, horrific revelations, and a cast of iron-clad characters, including Vincent Cassel as the drunken, very dangerous Kirill, and Armin Mueller-Stahl as the quietly menacing Semyon. Even the minor characters are well-written. Don't miss this one!... Browse for similar items by category: |
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