Brawl In Cell Block 99

Autecher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XnCP5ggpbI
I just watched this. I thought it was amazing. Any fans of early John Carpenter movies should love this. It is very very violent and fantastic. The director S. Craig Zahler made a movie 2 years ago called Bone Tomahawk which was also fantastic. I highly recommend both

cliggg

cliggg wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XnCP5ggpbI
I just watched this. I thought it was amazing. Any fans of early John Carpenter movies should love this. It is very very violent and fantastic. The director S. Craig Zahler made a movie 2 years ago called Bone Tomahawk which was also fantastic. I highly recommend both

this is worth a watch. Vince Vaughan used to great effect. good movie except for some of the premise being based on a bizarre and not convincingly explained decision early in the movie.

Arghus

Is this getting a release over here. Playing nowhere that I can see.

Autecher

Arghus wrote: »

Is this getting a release over here. Playing nowhere that I can see.

It's only on in the Lighthouse cinema today at 2:10. Maybe next week it will get a full release.

Autecher

glasso wrote: »

this is worth a watch. Vince Vaughan used to great effect. good movie except for some of the premise being based on a bizarre and not convincingly explained decision early in the movie.

How dare you!!! This movie is amazing!! Haha If you're referring to

him going back during the shootout then that was because he didn't want the cops to get hurt or killed

Oafley Jones

Arghus wrote: »

Is this getting a release over here. Playing nowhere that I can see.

It’s on iTunes for rental. Interesting move as Jungle is also up for rent, it’ll be interesting to see how this model plays out. There’s a premium price of 6.99 attached.

TerrorFirmer

Strange movie. I get what it's going for - it's a sort of homage to the classic 70 and 80's exploitation flicks but for me it was just a bit uneven - the first half plays out like a relatively conventional crime thriller right down to the dialogue, then the second half is a sort of 70's exploitation fantasy video nasty - again, right down to the script, sets, etc!

Not a bad film overall and I'm OK with the concept I just think it could have executed slightly better. Vince Vaghn is actually brilliant - Jennifer Carpenter too - but I wish it was just a little more settled in what it wants to be. People also saying it's incredibly violent, to the point that the violence nearly seems to define it - I didn't find it that violent in that all the violence is just so outlandishy ridiculous ala the films it pays homage to.

I mean for example that very end scene with

the intentionally blatant mannequin getting shot in the head

was just such a brilliant nod to the genre!

Overall I'd give it a 7/10. I did like it, just felt it needed a bit of a smoother flow in between acts A and B.

cliggg

cliggg wrote: »

How dare you!!! This movie is amazing!! Haha If you're referring to

him going back during the shootout then that was because he didn't want the cops to get hurt or killed

yeah but it was sort of quickly glossed over and I didn't buy it. neither did my friends.

especially when you consider how engaged with the pregnancy with his wife. instinct would be to protect that situation by not going to jail and just doing a runner.

still a good movie.

the unpredictable nature of events was the strong suit for me.

s8n

watched it last night. First half quite gritty and well acted. Second half a mess.

Missed opportunity

Basq

Real good fun this.. silly but fun!

I couldn't be the only one to think of this a few minutes into the film:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xsqXo8pW2c

Vince Vaughn was great too.

Autecher

Haha! I never even thought of it but now I'll always think of it anytime I rewatch the movie

Looper007

Loved every minute of this, reminds me of those 70's action film that took their time and when the action does come it's worth every minute. And boy does the action come, if you didn't see the directors pervious film Bone Tomahawk with Kurt Russell then you don't know what you are in for. It's Brutal and nasty,

Loved the Kicking of the head of the films villain at the end and the Asian guy getting his face ripped off been two of the most original kills I've seen

. Plenty of Arms and Legs been broken.

Vince Vaughn gives a career best performance, he looks the part for sure and amazing no one tapped into him been a action star. Don Johnson is great in a rather smaller part. Looking forward to Director's S. Craig Zahler next film Called Dragged Across Concrete, With Vaughn, Johnson and Mel Gibson about two policemen, one an old-timer (Gibson), the other his volatile younger partner (Vaughn), who find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics become the media's cause du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows.

If they are as great as Bone Tomahawk and Brawl In Cell Block 99, count me in.

Arghus

Watched this yesterday evening: one of the most satisfyingly enjoyable movie watching experiences I've had in a long time.

As a few posters have previously pointed out it is very much a film of two halves. The first half is probably superior; I could have followed that film for two hours: I liked how it seemed aware of it's own genre limitations, but it had it's own kind of dry toughness that gave it a hard edged realism. The second half, in comparison, goes into cartoon territory, but I was kind of okay with that: it's a slow burn to get there, and it's still enjoyable to see all that revenge and ultra-violence being dished out and it is anchored in the story of the journey of the main character that you can follow like a through line - no matter how crazy it all eventually becomes. And it's outlandishness is always delivered with panache and a confidence of a filmmaker that knows what he is doing.

Vince Vaughan is exceptional in this movie. My God how many years was he utterly wasted in dross? The man has got charisma - dark charisma. I completely believed that he was a man who could mangle anyone he came up against, but you could sense the moral core of the character too - under the dry wit, snapped bones, and one-liners about rape. He needs to make more movies like this; I would watch them. What's this?...Looks like he has another one on the way, "Dragged Across Concrete". With the same Director and Mel Gibson. Janey Mac. Sign me up!

So thumbs up for sure, maybe some won't like the turn in the second half, but I went along with it and it is still fundamentally a cohesive story. Bleak laughs and bone crunching violence delivered with verve and Vaughan is fantastic.

pumpkin4life

I saw this when it was out and I really liked it. I'm a big fan of John Carpenter, video nasty horror/thriller type movies, so I probably enjoyed this more than a lot of other people would, but even so. It's essentially a watchable enough movie made very good by Vince Vaughan being a top actor in it. Has its flaws, but I'd still give it a whack all the same.

El Duda

Brawl in Cell Block 99 - 3.5/10

A truly bizarre film that struggles to establish and tone and continues on a downhill slope right through to the very end. This is one of the most sloppily paced films I have ever seen. It takes well over an hour to get to what is essentially a very simple premise. There is absolutely no reason for the film to be the length it is.

The early scenes, which attempt to establish the characters, are some of the most clumsily directed, poorly written scenes imaginable. Vince Vaughan is horribly miscast and seems to have no idea what character he is trying to portray. Is he meant to be an unhinged weirdo or is he meant to be a good man thrust into awful situations?

It seems they were trying to pay homage to 70's/80's exploitation cinema but they had no idea what was the best way to do so. The end result is just odd. It feels like two or three films stitched together. I still have no idea whether the outbursts of violence were meant to be shocking of comedic. The choreography for some of VV's fight scenes is utterly laughable. Add a few wacky sound effects and they could've been outtakes from The Three Stooges remake. That said, I did enjoy some of the intentionally ropey practical effects.

It's nice that they tried to make something different here, they aimed for a kind of Miami Vice meets Grand Theft Auto vibe. Its just a shame the execution is so dismal. With its terrible casting and ugly cinematography, I'm astonished to see this got so many good reviews.

The Equalizer tried to do something similar and did it much more effectively, and I say that as someone who did not really enjoy that film.

artvanderlay

Just watched this last night. Loved it! As previously stated here, it is a movie of two halves: first half is slow, but so engaging, and second half is a bit cartoonish in comparison, but still entertaining. Very good action sequences, even if they are quite gory. I loved the whole look of the movie, great cinematography. I could have done without Don Johnson smoking his little cigars as the warden of the second jail (he's one of those actors that has jumped the shark; I just can't take him seriously anymore, especially after his appearance as Kenny Power's dad in Eastbound and Down), but apart from that the actors were all good, and I was very impressed by Vince Vaughn, who really hasn't done anything of note since Swingers (in my opinion).

Frank O. Pinion

artvanderlay wrote: »

I could have done without Don Johnson smoking his little cigars as the warden of the second jail (he's one of those actors that has jumped the shark; I just can't take him seriously anymore

Wtf. An actor can't "jump the shark", you're using that term incorrectly.

p to the e

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

Wtf. An actor can't "jump the shark", you're using that term incorrectly.

Henry Winkler disagrees

Frank O. Pinion

p to the e wrote: »

Henry Winkler disagrees

That's a joke (a pretty good one), poking fun at the term itself. Not the same as people constantly using the term incorrectly in real life. Like using it for movies. A movie can't "jump the shark", a movie can only "nuke the fridge".

artvanderlay

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

Wtf. An actor can't "jump the shark", you're using that term incorrectly.

I know how I'm using that term. I like to use it for everything! :pac:

Autecher

artvanderlay wrote: »

I know how I'm using that term. I like to use it for everything! :pac:

Art you have jumped the shark with this phrase!

siblers

Watched it last night, it's good but as others have said, it's very inconsistent. His decision to

Help the police

didn't really make any sense, would have preffered had it stuck with the prison thriller/drama instead of going into full OTT grind house mood.

Also, some of the fight choreography was quite badly done. Was a bit like a video game where the enemy A.I is rubbish

Tony EH

It had me right up until the end.

Elvisjuice

Tony EH wrote: »

It had me right up until the end.

bleedin nasty , if you liked that , you will like this too rough as a bears arse , bloke from peaky blinders is in it very good but bleak and grim but good

A Prayer Before Dawn


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4080956/

bassy

seen it months ago,not a bad movie.

Tony EH

Elvisjuice wrote: »

bleedin nasty , if you liked that , you will like this too rough as a bears arse , bloke from peaky blinders is in it very good but bleak and grim but good

A Prayer Before Dawn


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4080956/

Nasty is fine. Stupid is where I draw the line. And this film goes into stupid land unfortunately.

Vaughan literally kicks a guys head off at the end.

It's kind of like the recent 'Mandy', where

Nic Cage squashes a guys head...with his bare hands.

'A Prayer Before Dawn' is on the "to do" list, like a million other films. Time is my enemy.