Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

GUENOT PHILIPPE I agree to some of the other reviews, this B picture from South Africa is a great time waster, very entertaining, pleasant to watch. I am surprised that this feature mostly played by black actors was made by a white director. But why not, after all?There are here some sub characters very effective to appreciate and, most of all, there are not love story scheme for sissies; except maybe the tiny one for some supporting characters, between the gang leader's daughter and her lover. That's all. This movie starts like an authentic noir flick, with borderline cops, heats on the edge...Very promising atmosphere indeed. And the action sequences, for instance the armored truck heist, are bloody at the most. Speaking of this, I think that the slow motion armored car guards murders - in the Sam Pekinpah's style - were some kind of useless. Purely gratuitous,but that's my own opinion. And also speaking of the armored truck guards, I loved the short scene where the two of them appear in the movie, after nearly more than a hour, and start to speak of themselves. I first thought they would have an important part afterwards...But I was wrong. SPOILERS BELOW, BEWARE... Those two ordinary supporting characters die only a couple of minutes after being presented to the audience, those characters for whom this same audience may start feeling some empathy. Unfortunately, the whole film was wiped out by a happy ending very not appropriate for this kind of scheme.I won't even speak of the sequence when you have the feeling to watch a RESERVOIR DOGS rip off.

Lesego-Madisa The Set UpAfter their superior screws them over a deserving reward (R200 000) after their celebrated bust, Chili gets his motivation to join a crime gang on a once off tip because the government doesn't appreciate hardworking policemen, and be on the other side of law.For balance purposes the movie has Gugu who's is black female dating Stakes, a Cape Flat native. This is a cool and interesting side story. It also has Warren, who's a boere guy in race sensitive country.The Greedy Cheese GobblersHumor kicks in when Chili joins the team a while after they have started the briefing. Commenting that he didn't know that they were starting on a 'white man's time.' Of course referring to Warren and his race tendency. The chemistry between the gobblers flowed through their slangy (which had Afrikaans) conversation. Everyone knew who they were and what they were doing.Gugu and his prison-tattooed, coloured lover betray the gang after the score is completed. As soon as they get back to the joint they start an eye conversation as they head out to count the money. When Shoes noticed that the two lovers where more connected than everyone else, he feared that they might be onto something and he was right.The RatSkroef played his part beautifully when he wanted to prove that there was indeed a rat amongst them. All his ideas where quickly calculated with ease. When Chili and his partner planned to get Skroef into custody because he was a threat, it worked against them but worked perfectly for the thug.When he presents his proof to the team leader, Mambane, we all wanted to see who the proof was. Skroef was so smart and dedicated that after Mambane found the suspect's phone he suggested that they call the numbers on his log. This is classic tension build up because all the mobile gadgets are in one place so there's no running away from the truth.Chili didn't give up his identity because they would be both killed should he try and save his partner. So he took a risk and we saw the story unfold.When he is put in the dungeon, Chili arms Shoes with a sharp object - the one that will later save him from a grenade that is thrown in by Skroef to eliminate him.The HeistThe use of AK's makes the thriller feel well polished because it's the ultimate war gun. The stunts are so cheap and possible which makes them surprisingly interesting. The turn of events is overwhelming. It's a combination of surprise and fear and the action is aesthetically pleasing and satisfying.Production DesignThe props used in this film were literally easy and cheap because the actors only used what they had. Which was little than most common thrillers. No fancy sets or pretty set designers. The closet. The dungeon. The sharp object. The roadmap and the miniatures. Also the distortion used in the building was correct because of its unrefined stylization.The director took advantage on the deserted building because it seems as if the actors get to decide for themselves where to go or hide if they flee, giving us the tour of the building with a justified reason. The film score thumps with your heart rate as is eases us into the scene. Even the heist itself is not complicated. No inflated or amplified stunts were required or even necessary because the story backed on drama instead of action. No senseless killings either.The subtitles move around the screen and are not traditional. They are even shortened and straight to the point almost like spoken word.The DialogueSkroef is impolite and foul-mouthed. He is the most noted. The dialogue has a funky taste to it. It's clear that using the indigenous languages made this film what it is because that's where the humour came from. The dialogue is cheesy and it reeked authenticity and hard to get over.

kosmasp The obvious comparisons to Reservoir Dogs are there. And it's not the worst "remake" (re-imagening or whatever you want to call it, because it's not just exactly the same) I have seen. The action is pretty neat and it does take into account where it is shot. We do have our "regular" B-movie characters all over this movie, but they are doing a good job for a low budget thriller.The story has some twists and turns, I didn't try to think too much about where it would be going (I can imagine seeing most of them a mile ahead). Not surprising then, but a nice pace and good stunt/action sequences. Morality aside, this works finely

OJT Once again I've seen a South African film quite different from films from the Western hemisphere. An gritty but entertaining story about to cops, which are also best friends. Lawful good cops, but not earning enough to pay all the bills. Their good, but corruption at the local police station makes it even worse. Then there comes a chance on getting it on a heist. Just this once. Not really a good idea.In the beginning the film is raw, using ultra near close up, moving camera, even running camera and sudden focus changes. Quite extreme and artful. But this soon gets more normal. Still there a heavy use of color filters all across the film, yellow and blue. Very talented use of effects and very suitable as well.The roughness suits this movie which deals with criminal scumbags planning to do a heist. Not one of the is safe and trustworthy. The film is inspired by Hollywood action movies, but is told very differently still. But it does show the graphics in the violence as we'd see in an American movie.I enjoyed the film very much, and so did the crowd at Films from the South Festival in Oslo. Recommended if you like something different.