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Download, Watch online London Boulevard Movie.
| Genres: | CrimeRoma |
| Starring: | Velibor Topic, Colin Farrell, Anna Friel, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone, Matt King, Stephen Graham |
| Director(s): | William Monahan |
| Available Quality: | DivX, Hi Def, iPod, Hi Def, Hi Def |
| Country: | USA, UK |
| Year: | 2010 |
| IMDB Rating: | 6.3 |
London Boulevard is the story of a man newly released from prison who falls in love with a reclusive young movie star and finds himself in a duel with a vicious gangster.
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London Boulevard (iPod) | Resolution: 480x256 px | Total Size: 252 Mb |
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London Boulevard (Hi Def) | Resolution: 852x464 px | Total Size: 566 Mb |
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London Boulevard (Hi Def) | Resolution: 1920x1040 px | Total Size: 7827 Mb |
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London Boulevard (Hi Def) | Resolution: 1280x696 px | Total Size: 4472 Mb |
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London Boulevard (DivX) | Resolution: 576x304 px | Total Size: 700 Mb |
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Movie Photos: We have taken some photos of "London Boulevard". They represent actual movie quality.
Visitor Reviews: (20)
priyantha-bandara 10 May 2012
Classic crime movie with a novel turn
Mitchel (Collin Farrell) is just released from prison. And he don'thave any intention of going back in though his good old life has quitea few creative methods of living to put him back there. Not exactly agangster but hot tempered and known around the block, Mitchel looks fora fresh start. He gets to work for a solitary actress Charlotte (KeiraKnightley) who is broken after controversy and disturbed to brim withpaparazzi. In the mean time find's him selves caught up between a ganglord and his so called friend who wants to recruit him for their dirtywork. Unexpectedly falling for the actress and making the biggest ganglord in town his grave enemy, Mitchel starts to struggle to balance hislife and get out of everything clean. "London Boulevard" is an entertaining movie. It has drama, crime andquite a bit of action in it as well. And it's quite straight and brutalwhen it comes to shooting and killing people. Amidst all that the moviefirmly builds up the Mitchel character which is portrayed well byFarrell (By now I'm quite disappointed of him not appearing inHollywood movies anymore). He got a sister who is mischievous whom hetries to take care of the way he can, but hard to tolerate with. He gotfriends whom are junkies or crooks he really cannot trust. All he wantsis to live clean but that's the only thing he fails to achieve. Theother characters are pretty much strong as well. Charlotte the actressseems to have a lot going around her and now looking for earlyretirement after disliking many what had happened. The gang lord Granlikes to show his might around the block and a tough guy in a cleansuit. The movie has a good phase. It hardly drags or hardly over accelerates.The script is good which I had a little difficult time to catch up dueto British pronunciation and sub titles came for my rescue. However comparing with those good gang movies which came out in Brittonlike Layer Cake or Green Street Hooligans, London Boulevard is prettyimmature. It has a good plot but not a very creative one or a memorableone. You may enjoy this movie no doubt. But if you felt that it endedtoo soon welcome to my boat. More of my reviews at flickshout.blogspot.com
simona gianotti 10 May 2012
Totally unstructured, unfounded and with no substance
This is a movie bordering on the unwatchable. I'm displeased to saythat, since Keira Knightley is one of my favourite actresses, and wasin a way disappointed to see her acting in such an embarrassing movie.It is really lacking in everything: the plot, if any exists, does notarouse any interest or involvement, consisting only of an unstructuredsequence of pseudo-events, the screenplay is pathetic and boring, thecharacters are just odd prototypes, interpreted by a cool cast onpaper, but which in the end leaves much to be desired. Colin Farrell asthe good, redeemed macho sounds too artificial, only physicallycapturing when shot dressed in a suit, Keira Knightley does her best tomake the story at least watchable till the end, probably just becausewe want to see how their chemistry will turn out. The picture wasclassified as a thriller, but there is no thrilling scene,I would justclassify it as a kind of farce of romance-drama-gangster, with a littleof all these genres, but a bad little, together with some disturbingviolence, lacking any convincing element. The only interesting point isa good depiction of a gloomy, dark London, which is of course notenough to make a movie worth seeing. So my advice is: Don't see it!
kimi_layercake 07 May 2012
"Unconventionally Stylish & Romantic"
"London Boulevard" is the story of a man newly released from prison whofalls in love with a reclusive young movie star and finds himself in aduel with a vicious gangster. Torn between these two, he decides thetake the matter in his own hands.Cast-wise, Unconventional and Beautiful. Colin Farrell plays a verysimilar role to "In Bruges", a recently released criminal who decidesto mend his ways but forced into bad company by gangster, Ray Winstonewho plays the character with perfection to scare. Colin Farrell looksvery conventional for the role and seems to play the role of reclusivehero more often with aplomb consistency. Kiera Knightley plays the roleof recently retired young Brit actress like she is just portrayingherself. The moments of Farrell and Knightley together on screen feelsvery romantic and ever lasting. Rest goes on well with their job withspecial mention of David Thewlis and Ben Chaplin."London Boulevard" strength lies in its Casting and Direction. TheStoryline might not be much to boost about with predictability creepingin time to time, but Direction is top notch. The scenes between RayWinstone And Colin Farrell and most importantly, Farrell and Knightleyis handled with perfection. The scenes between Farrell and Knightleyhave rare romance moments, but every moment together feels so genuinelyromantic and beautiful that the climax do bore gloominess. Overall, "London Boulevard" is a solid debut work of the Director,kudos to him. It's not big on entertainment, but watching this moviemakes us feel for each of the characters involved, like everything isso lifelike and melancholy yet exquisite. Watch it for anunconventional pleasure ride which will enrapture its viewers.My Verdict : 8/10
DICK STEEL 07 May 2012
A Nutshell Review: London Boulevard
If a beautiful world renowned actress asks in point blank fashion thevery first time you meet her, whether you will be able to protect her,the only answer that's valid, is a Yes, even though you have absolutelyno idea why that was asked and how you're going to fulfill thatpromise. That's what transpired when Keira Knightley's characterCharlotte meets Colin Farrell's Mitchel initially, setting the stageand sowing the seed for a thick romantic angle in London Boulevard.Based upon the novel by Ken Bruen and adapted for the screen by WilliamMonahan, who got his fair share of fame from adapting the Hong Kongcrime thriller Infernal Affairs into Martin Scorsese's The Departed,London Boulevard had a lot of good things on its side to guaranteesuccess but its potential got lucked out through some astonishinglyperplexing pace and development, with aspects of it feeling rushed yetstagnating at the same time. Monahan's debut directorial feature film,it goes to show his inexperience in helming what would be a Britgangster movie, riddled with clichéd moments and characters that madeit a mediocre effort at best.Colin Farrell's Mitchel is a man just released from prison, and as faras stories go there are a dime a dozen of tales where the anti-herodecides to turn over a new leaf after a jail term, but finding himselfinevitably sucked back into the life of violence, with the adage ofliving and dying by the sword being that constant reminder. He getsoffered two paths at his crossroads in life, one to become a protectorand handyman to a reclusive actress who is constant paparazzi fodder,and the second is to enter the fold of a vicious gangster Gant (RayWinstone) who sees Mitchel as a promising lad to have to do battle onhis side. Trouble comes from Gant being rejected outright for that of amore normal livelihood, and revenge at being jilted (yes, it does seemthat way) is of the order as Mitchel tries to become that romantic heroin Charlotte's life.That basically sums up the plot, filled with enough violent momentsranging from smashing a man's face on a glass to cold blooded murder,and even suggestion of violence through shots such as a clump of hairbloodily stick on a hammer. Gangsters spew expletives, and that waspeppered throughout everyone's dialogue. But these elements do not makean exceptional gangster film. For starters, perhaps the English was tooheavily accented that I can barely make out what each of the charactersare saying, with plenty of mumbling being no help at all. While Colin Farrell had enough of screen time to show off his actingchops, exuding his suave charisma as the gangster determined to stay onthe right side of the law, little can be said of the same for KeiraKnightley, whose Charlotte is as thin as cardboard and doesn't make fora believable character, who had chosen to confine herself and live as arecluse just because of a reason mentioned in passing, and the loads ofcreepy, insult spewing paparazzi who invade her comfort zone when shesteps out of the house. The romance between Knightley and Farrell alsofelt too rushed and forced as you stay a step ahead and predicted theoutcome. And when the lead characters do not share chemistry, it's halfthe battle lost.Probably the key saving grace to the film is the excellent cast ofsupporting actors who brought a little bit extra to the table despitetheir limited screen time, and it's certainly their star studdedpresence that helped. Anna Friel plays the scatty sister of Mitchel'swho truth be told is a needless character, and David Thewlis'perpetually high business manager of Charlotte's bring much neededlight-heartedness to what is a film that takes itself too seriously.Ben Chaplin as the bumbling hoodlum also brought on some laughs throughhis character's unfortunate ineptness, and I was looking forward tomore scenes with the character that was not to be.First films come with limitations no matter what the filmmaker'spedigree is, and London Boulevard is a classic case example of justthat, and wasted potential. Great soundtrack though that helped tocarry this film through from start to finish.
25 April 2012
entertaining and macho
I've read many bad reviews about this movie and despite that I decidedto give it a shot, and I'm so glad I have. I don't understand whatpeople expect from movies like this other then entertainment and (ifpossible) some intelligence. This movie has it both, plus a greatsoundtrack. It kept me entertained from the first minute and made mefeel like I'm right there at the scene. Acting is just brilliant:Collin Farell is excellent in being macho man but most credit I wouldgive to Ben Chaplin,who just can't be more convincing as scared andsnitchy "accessory gangster", and although I'm not big fan of missKnightley in this movie I didn't feel weired watching her acting- as Iusually do.All in all please check this movie out
24 April 2012
The Book Was Better
This movie had a great cast and great potential but just missed its mark and, missed the more interesting flavor and storyline of Ken Bruen's book. It (the movie) is English film noir and an interesting looking gangster flick BUT the screenplay took too many twists and WTF turns in the plot from the original book and left me shaking my head, wondering why whoever okayed the script thought it would work. It was good to see Colin Ferrel offering up yet another convincing role. It's just a shame he didn't have a better vehicle to roll with it. Do yourself a favor. Pick up Bruen's book, London Boulevard or anyone of his other novels and have a good read and you'll see what I mean. Ken Bruen's a writer of note while the adaptation of his book just didn't do him justice.
johnnyboyz 24 April 2012
Not exactly streets ahead of some of Britain's better gangster films, but a pleasant trip down a familiar lane none-the-less.
London Boulevard uses the age old premise of a former criminal letloose from of prison for the first time in years and spins a wileylittle tale about this person getting involved in, and up to his neckin, all manner of criminal shenanigans of which he feared the veeringback toward. Blurring lines between what it is a harder, meaner Britishgangster film of old and what might be conceived as a lighter, morecomically imbued piece reminiscent of far recent-a gangster episodes,American born William Monahan, here debuting behind the camera whilstworking off of his own script, weaves an enjoyable crime drama from asource material that knows its place; realises its inspirations andconstructs a nourishing character driven tale predominantly operatingwithin the realms of archetype.Colin Farrell plays the lead, a young Englishman named Mitchell freshfrom the confines of a jail cell now out and about as summer comes toan end looking for some kind of work amidst the mingling with some oldfriends; former criminal cohorts and loose family members. As acharacter, we sense Mitchell is reformed; his rueful expressions as helies in his cell give way to the foiling of a robbery once outside twoyouths were about to execute on an unsuspecting young woman withdrawingcash from a bank machine; as, on another occasion, he donates whatevercash he did have to a homeless man he goes back rather far with. Hischange in conscience runs hand in hand with definitive changes on theoutside; an old contact, now more broadly linked to crime and criminalsyndicates, named Billy (Chaplin) informs Mitchell that Britain is nowsmoke free. A later, smaller but pleasingly intricate moment seesMitchell standing on a public street and looking on in a confusedfashion at a Muslim woman walking on the other side - her observing ofMuslim law, walking dressed in full respective gear-plus veil,additionally going a way in establishing Mitchell's newfound sense ofalienation from the world he left when compared to the one he nowoccupies.As things unravel, our lead becomes more involved in the life of aBritsh actress named Charlotte (Knightley), a softly spoken and rathershy woman now living through the ill-gotten consequences of thestardom, celebrification and the glamour which imbues her profession.She spends most of her days indoors whilst limply wrapped up in acardigan; young, confused and coming across as somewhat vulnerable, sheis in stark opposition to Mitchell's heavier build and more aggressivedemeanour. Charlotte's hiring of Mitchell through an often spaced outformer actor friend named Jordan (Thewlis) to guard her; reassure herand chip in with some manual labour is the latest edition to a shroudedlife born out of a career on the continent in the niche film market.Indeed, it is Jordan whom rather dryly points out, in the processciting Noé's 2003 film Irreversible, that had it not been for MonicaBellucci, Charlotte may very well be "the most raped actress in thehistory of European art cinema", thus establishing a distinct on-offscreen set of characteristics that paints portraits of her charisma andsheer bravery but introversion off it. Additionally, Mitchell'sobserving of some billboards housing Charlotte looking glamorous as henears her guarded compound sees several of them change colour from redto blue, hinting at such a duality and mixture of identities, while hisarrival at her dwelling to a song on the soundtrack blaring out thelyrics "I'm your man....." wholly reiterates his cause for being there.Complications arise when Ray Winstone's Robert Gant enters proceedings,a Rolls-Royce owning; chauffeur driven heavy weight London gangsterwith a short fuse; a clan of tough heavies and a penchant forregressing back to a disturbed childhood every time he violentlyeliminates somebody. With Winstone's trademark East-End accent and themanipulation of the man's star power, Gant is good value as a walking,talking stereotype; Bob Hoskins' The Long Good Friday character HaroldShand by way of a Spitting Image puppet. When he comes to confrontMitchell in a halfway-house, the man tries to infiltrate Mitchell'slife; the suggestion of planting cell phones onto his person andsuggesting other such ideas so that he may worm his way into Mitchell'slife as his lackeys loom out of sight behind him in this, an enclosedterrace house, working well.The crux of the film is made up of the bond between Charlotte andMitchell, ties that they share via an alienation or a disenchantment atthe world; the Britain or universe as they know it which has seeminglydisappeared and rendering the pair of them ailing, flailing peopleturning their noses up at what they did because it has brought barelyanything more than grief and confusion. Their ties eventually come tosee them feel rather fond for each other; the inescapable sensation ofthe world around them persistently there to eat one up again calling tomind a number of past films and here, working well in its drawing oninspiration from rather than straight up lampooning. Monahan weavesthis love story with a revenge sub-plot that opens up early on with allof this as well as Gant's persistent, looming presence really ratherwell; the majority of the characters, right down to a corrupt policeofficer character whose facial features has him look like he's justraided a joke shop and pasted an array of faux-disguises onto his face,integrating with one another and flitting in and out of each andeverybody's lives in an ambitious manner which is reigned in and keptgrounded; resulting in a competently executed film.
JoeH526 23 April 2012
Could not get this movie
What exactly is the sweep of this? Everybody on earth is vile and evil?There were so few characters in this who had any sense ofright-and-wrong. There are bad people but in this there were fewothers. Maybe the actress and the homeless guy but I think he'd been inprison. Most of the other characters were awash in complete moralbankruptcy. What place on earth has nothing but bad people? A goodscript wrestles with what is real it is too easy to make everybodytotally bad. We don't really know why most of these were so badlyflawed. This movie reminded my of "The Bad Lieutenant" which also mademe feel sick to my stomach afterward.
23 April 2012
modern noir brit style
This review is from: London Boulevard (DVD) read some poor reviews but I'm quite pleased to disagree. Monahan changed Bruen's story and in so doing gave us two great characters played superbly by Farrell and Ray Winstone. Best performances for each in some time. The relationship between these two is the centerpiece. The music tracks were criticized but I found them to be an excellaent fit and backdrop.
bartireid 22 April 2012
Boulevard or Bust
London Boulevard is a big screen adaptation of Ken Bruen's 2001fictional crime novel of the same name and a directorial debut forWilliam Monahan of Departed (2006) fame, for which he contributed thescreen play in Martin Scorcese's seminal Oscar triumph. Monahan managesto assemble a pretty interesting cast for the job matching big nameattractions notably Colin Farrell for the lead of Mitchell an ex-contrying to place his life on the straight and narrow who findscomplications aplenty but centrally in the shape of Keira Knightleyplaying Charlotte, a reclusive actress in need of Mitchell's muscle inorder to fend off pesky paparazzi, perform some odd jobs around herabode whilst also seeking comfort in his softer side when making use ofMitchell as a confidante.The strength of the piece is in the supporting cast who mainlytranspire as conduits for Mitchells struggle with the temptations of apotential return to his old ways. Leading the second tier is RayWinstone as crime lord Gant who genuinely creates an atmosphere ofdread when on screen as he attempts to lure Farrell back to thedark-side. David Thewlis is equally adept as he plays Jordan a druginduced failed thespian who is Charlotte's business manager. There arealso roles for Ben Chaplin as a blundering hood whilst Stephen Grahamand Eddie Marsan are shamefully under used in their minor roles.As you might be thinking there is a lot a going on here and that's sortof where Monahan gets into trouble, the narrative is littered withplot-holes and semi developed ideas and characters such as Anna Frielwho pops in and out the story as a Mitchell's troubled sister, this islargely a product of the derivative nature of the project. Monahanseems to be tipping his hat at the types of movie he himself hasindulged, for example there is clear a sense of early Guy Ritchie instyle of the visuals, soundtrack and occasional attempts at humour. Themood and tone owes more to Scorcese traits such as an angry gratuitousracism and overly proud glorification of the gangster life style. It'sa rarity when a film could be said to be too short, but one way LondonBoulevard could have been improved is an extra 45 minutes or so to payattention to its many details.The major task London Boulevard will have is proving it has anysubstance, it will be interesting to see if William Monahan will beencouraged to take this debut any further and perfect or enhance hisdirectorial style with future work, if so this could be remembered morefondly as part of a bigger picture. If not it will fall through thecracks of irrelevance rather quickly.
pastabake-1 18 April 2012
So much promise
Starts well, great soundtrack and packed full of quality actors. Whatmore could you want? Sadly it's just too obvious and the ending is sucha complete let down that you'll wish you hadn't bothered. Perhaps thewriter and director don't watch films or even read books because ifthey did they would have realised that the chain of events that createsthe films narrative has been done so many times before that it's becomestale and fails to provide satisfaction. Another reviewer mentionedLayer Cake which basically has the same ending. i.e. marginal characterkills main protagonist. Layer Cake can be forgiven in that there neverwas a substantial reason to kill or incapacitate the character. Herehowever, there was not only a reason but a clear opportunity to do so... I'm guessing that they thought we'd think what a nice guy at heartMitchel is. Sure killing a 16 year old murderer might have twinged hisconscience but considering what he'd done to get the boys name theleast he would have done is kneecap him. Of course doing so would haveruined the films contrived and pointless ending.
mattquigley1978 17 April 2012
Expected better
I went into this film expecting a cool,tense,exciting Brit thriller.The trailer looked decent and the acting talent on show made me want togive it a go. Overall though it failed to deliver on the promisinglooking opening credits. It lacked any real tension or suspense, thestory felt underdeveloped with too many subplots and a lot of it justfails to convince. Many parts of the film are just not believableenough.The acting is fairly strong and there are a couple of elegant visualtouches;(Farrell in the car for example).In my opinion,the soundtrackis the best thing about the film. Serge Pizzorno from Kasabian had ahand in the music on this one and he has done a good job with a60's/70's spaghetti western/French art-house vibe if you can imaginesuch a thing!Finally its worth noting that I asked my girlfriend to contribute herthoughts after seeing the film and she gave me a one wordreply..........."sh*te"
Lou O 15 April 2012
Can we talk about 'London Boulevard'? My Revised Review
In what hopefully proves to be a happy coincidence, now that 'Drive'has established a good benchmark for more left-field entries in thecrime thriller genre, and I suspect has positively affected thecritical environment for the reception of the same, 'London Boulevard'is soon getting US distribution. I anticipate the stateside reviews.Last year, towards the end of November, it opened in the UK and Irelandto baffled shrugs and critical dismissal. This, only one week after'The American'  now widely agreed to be an above par effort in theMelville tradition  had been released to a near identical reaction.I saw neither film during its cinematic run, but rented 'LondonBoulevard' as soon as it was out, and it was actually to write a reviewof it that I signed up to IMDb, an 8/10 review to which the headlineran, "Underrated, but now on DVD appreciation for this film sure togrow." I've seen the film twice more since then, and can say thatwhile, as to others, it wouldn't appear to have made much inroads, MYappreciation for the film has certainly grown further still. It's not aperfect film by any means, and part of the reason it benefits frommultiple viewings is that there is something of an information dump atthe end, one detail of which stands out as either insignificant or notwell enough integrated into what has come before. Fifteen (twenty at apush) of the film's ninety three minutes also plod to some extent onceit tips the thirty minute mark, which is not to say this stretch isboring or that nothing happens  not at all  this is simply theportion of the film with the least style and the most concern for plotadvancement.That plot, briefly, is a spin on 'Sunset Boulevard', only here aneurotic younger actress, besieged by paparazzi, hires a newly releasedprisoner for a caretaking job in her West London pile; love blossoms,while the hood's mad sister and erstwhile gang associates figureheavily in events.Much as the list, disseminated throughout various sources, of 'Drive'sconceptual forebears is a long one  Hill, Melville, Kenneth Anger,Brothers Grimm etc.  so is that of 'London Boulevard's referents. Itslook aspires to that of British Technicolor films of the sixties andseventies: "(I)n London there was just something about the light andthere's something about the way London went onto film in those days,whether it was Technicolor or Technicolor plus the flatness of thelight. It's mysterious and Elysian in a way that Antonioni got at in'Blow-Up'." The Yardbids play over the opening titles.It mixes art world and gangland subcultures in a manner reflective ofRoeg's 'Performance'. Ray Winstone plays another in a long line ofcockney gangsters. Thewlis's character harks back to 'Withnail'.There's also maybe a touch of Osbourne in the central relationship; ofPinter in the dialogue; while some of the script's other gestures areas much Shakespearean and even medieval as they are gangster filmclichés. For example, what might ordinarily be called 'turf' is insteadrepeatedly referred to as someone's 'manor'. This vibe is accentuatedby the sound of a lyre on the score and, not least, by the film's bigfinal number, "Green Fairy," which kicks in just around the time evilis confronted on the fens. The pretend-blind old man who lives in theunderpass, meanwhile, evokes BOTH 'ye olde times', AND that Antonionianotherworldliness.The Shakespearean is evident not just in the generous number of playerswho come to a sticky end  or the crazy sis  but, more fundamentally,there is a real sense of King Lear's Edmund's  "Wherefore should Istand in the plague of custom? (...Optional: Now, gods, stand up forbastards!)"  in Monahan's approach to characterization. As in 'TheDeparted's "I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want myenvironment to be a product of me." In 'London Boulevard', then, comesa protagonist, Mitchell, who, though he's within this determinist,tragic gangster template, nonetheless acts wilfully and withself-determination: Danny: "I don't need to tell ya, there's no freelunches." Mitchell: "There are other things I can do, and maybe I wantto F-ing do them." And, "See what you have to understand is that if Iwas a gangster, Rob, you'd be the first to F-ing die. I wouldn't workfor you. I'd kill you and take everything you've got  IF I were agangster. That's why you don't want me to be a gangster."This  alongside utterances more abstracted and ontological in nature,the likes of the Lennonesque (supposedly he's the uncle of onecharacter), "There are times when a gangster is something to be," andThewlis's rakish dissipate taking up a large pistol and intoning, "I amwhat I am"  is indicative of what, at first, because it doesn't muchsquare with genre expectations, can be perplexing to an audience, butalso of what is ultimately so interesting about the film.But that kind of density, being purely verbal, might go for nothing ifthe film as a whole failed to present it in a suitable style. But itexcels on that score too, with the final fifteen minutes the obviousstandout section, an atmospheric tour de force.Cinematographer Chris Menges achieves Monahan's desired neutrallycoloured, flat, tactile Technicolor look in the film's daytime scenes,while its night shots, which often contain the ambient twinkle of thecity's lights, out of the depth of field, benefit from a June shootwith the beautiful deep indigo of their sky. With Keira Knightly's headstaring from concession stands and looming hugely from billboards, oneof which itself twinkles memorably, the effect, sometimes, is that ofan aquarium. Appropriate for a crime movie seeking to plumb deeperchannels.
14 April 2012
I am on a losing streak with movies...
...am I the only person on the planet that thinks a movie should have a plot?...and a little coherence wouldn't hurt either...this goofy movie starts with Farrell getting out of prison...an addict friend of his gets him a job as bodyguard for a paparazzi shy celebrity...he falls in love with her but then s___ happens, don't you know...woven into this is a homeless person who apparently is a friend of his but who is killed by a street punk...Farrell wants revenge and gets involved with a gangster played by Winstone...unfortunately, Winstone doesn't want the punk killed because he is supposedly a footballer on whom he has some sort of bet...in the process, Winstone kills off Farrell's friend, his sister and a few other people...although this all may sound potentially interesting, it isn't...everything is thrown together in such an implausible, incoherent manner as to render it ridiculous...fifteen minutes into the movie and I couldn't hardly bear to look at the screen any further, the scenes were so ludicrous...the end of the movie is supposed to be a shock I suppose...but for me, it was merely a relief...
intelearts 06 April 2012
My 387th Review: Smart film spoiled by blatant buffoonery
Boulevard is a mishmash of plots, characterization, and mostly works.When it works it's very good indeed. But, and it's a massive but, whenit loses it's way it's nearly dirigible. There juxtaposition of the twoworlds: gangster London vs. Holland Park (think Upper West Side) ishandled well, but the 70s Get Carter / 90s Guy Richie feel is at oddswith the romantic plot and the palette of genres and styles is too much- you end up feeling that it's a bit overwhelming.Everyone does what they're supposed to do effectively, all the Londongeezers are just that, and Kneightley is actually way better here thanI can remember - a big big improvement on The Duchess. I could very happily take away Ray Winstone's role and you'd have acomplete film (and another entire film) that would work just as well.His role overbalances this film into the cartoonish and what could havebeen a really nicely done film turns into something bordering on thebuffoonish.It's a good attempt at doing something new with the British class moviebut you never get to feel truly involved, in addition, the film isweakened by an ending that should move us and just leaves us empty.Liked the themes and the chemistry between the leads a lot and theyshould have gone with that. Worth watching but the last quarter lets itdone a lot.
05 April 2012
Awful Movie with Great Cast
I have little to add to the one and two star rated reviews. The film sucks. It apparently rips off Nicholas Roeg's incredibly great film Performance (as in Performance, London Blvd has a rolls royce, a house in a dumpy area of London, a hero who's been in prison, a failed artists, etc). But London Blvd is entirely banal. You can see the ending coming an hour away. William Monahan wrote the screenplay and directed. It's quite an atrocious film.
31 March 2012
Muddled dialogue, clicheed plot
I could only make out about half the dialogue in this stylish thriller. Most of the Cockney accents are all but impossible to decipher. I kept turning up the sound. hoping to make out what they were saying. In the end, it didn't matter that much because the plot is fairly standard for a gangster flick, and things turn out pretty much as expected, with the usual Godfather-esque litany of brutal murders of all the enemies as the grand finale to the pent up violence we endure to reach that point. Colin Farrell is pretty as the recently released convict who gets a bodyguard job for a star of some sort who can't go out of the house without papparazi trailing. I was mystified by her handyman who seems to be a nut job and who happily assists in a couple of unrelated hits. The conclusion may annoy you a bit, but it keeps you guessing a little.
clive_slatter 30 March 2012
Underrated and confused
There is hardly a bad performance in this film providing you ignoreKeira Knightley. The premise is good, an ex convict (Farrell) trying togo straight but running foul of a local gangster (Winston). He takes ajob bodyguarding an actress but falls for her. Right, basics sorted.Where this film falls short is in the number of sub plots it tries tokeep going. The other problem I have with the film is the setting. Thefeel for it is all very 70's with the fashions and cars and settings.The score also lends itself to the period and yet there are constantmodern references such as smoking laws and mobile phones.I actually quite enjoyed it but is quite quite a mash of ideas andconcepts.
25 March 2012
In Need of a Better Ending
The actors played their characters well. Notable character performance by Ben Chaplin. Olivia Lovibond was a nice eye-candy at the beginning of the movie.Colin plays the lead character whom struggles to get his life together again after serving prison time. The movie seemed to emphasize more on the dark-side of human nature and not enough on redemption and change for the better good.On a side note, I did hope for a severe punishment for the duo-gangster-teenagers but was totally dissappointed at the end of the movie.Colin's character (Mitchel) should have continued-on but the creators of this movie are too engross in the era of 'the Departed', 'Gangs of New York'. The movie would have been better in the hands of Guy Ritchie.
tieman64 24 March 2012
Interesting and low key, until someone opens the cliché floodgate
From the writer of "The Departed" comes "London Boulevard". The filmstars Colin Farrell as Mitchell, an ex convict who vows to stay out oftrouble. In an attempt to put his violent past behind him, Mitchelltakes on the job of assisting a famous movie star, played by KieraKnightingly. Knightingly is housebound, hounded by the paparazzi andstruggling to overcome depression, but Mitchell is helping her largelyas a means of sublimating his inability to help his own sister, who'sslowly degenerating into an alcoholic wreck.Of course the past eventually catches up with Mitchell  thanks to aidiotic, bumbling old friend  and he's sucked inexorably back into alife of crime. The film wastes an opportunity to delve into the life ofa reformed con, scarred actress and their subsequent romance, andinstead serves up a reheated version of "Carlito's Way" (amongst otherthings), its second half wholly derivative.Surprinsingly, in a film filled with big name British actors andloud-mouthed gangsters, it is actor David Thewlis, who plays aperpetually high, washed up actor, who steals the show. His scenerychewing - and interesting, theatrical take on his character - is a joyto watch.7.9/10  Good pulp until the clichés hit. See Farrell's "In Bruges".Worth one viewing.