#benicio del toro (film actor)

[tygerland]

Benicio del Toro in Che (2008).

[michaelcerasource]

Michael Cera is set to star in the lead role of Wes Anderson’s upcoming project. Production begins in the UK this Spring.

[nerds-yearbook]

Timothy Dalton's last James Bond film Licence to Kill was released on July 14, 1989. It wasn't meant to be his last film, but due to legal issues, another Bond film wasn't able to go into production until 1995 and by that time Dalton was ready to move on. For the most part, the movie took on a more series tone for the character and story keeping more to the Bond of the books as was the case of Dalton's previous film The Living Daylights. It was the first Bond film not to be titled after one of the Ian Fleming Bond books, but the story pulled from many elements from Live and Let Die and The Hildebrand Rarity. David Hedison became the first actor to play the role Felix Lieter (Live and Let Die - 1973/Licence to Kill - 1995) more than once and the only actor play the role against two different Bonds (Roger Moore and Dalton). Besides being Dalton's last film as Bond, it was also the last Bond film with Robert Brown as M and Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny, and the last Bond film worked on by writer Richard Maibaum, director John Glen, and title designer Maurice Binder. The film also featured Robert Davi (Franz Sanchez), Carey Lowell (Pam Bovier), Talisa Soto (Lupe Lamore), Anthony Zerbe (Milton Krest), Frank McRae (Sharkey), Everett McGill (Killifer), Wayne Newton (Professor Joe Butcher), Benicio Del Toro (Dario), Anthony Starke (Truman-Lodge), Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Priscilla Barnes (Della Churchill), Don Stroud (Heller), Grand L Bush (Hawkins), and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Kwang). While not the most finacially successful Bond film at the time, like On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the movie has grown in fan appreciation over time. ("Licence to Kill", Bond Film, Event)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

The line-up scene in "The Usual Suspects" (1995) was scripted as a serious scene, but after a full day of filming takes where the actors couldn't keep a straight face, director Bryan Singer decided to use the funniest takes. A making-of documentary shows Singer becoming furious at the actors for the constant cracking-up. In an interview (on the Special Edition DVD), Kevin Pollak states that the hilarity came about when Benicio Del Toro "farted, like 12 takes in a row." Del Toro himself said "somebody" farted, but no one knew who.

Del Toro's character Fenster was named after the German word for "window," and originally conceived as the oldest man of the group, a more seasoned veteran. Del Toro was originally asked to audition for the role of McManus, but he asked to audition for the role of Fenster, telling Singer that he had an "idea" for the part. The unintelligible way that Fenster spoke was Del Toro's idea, and Singer decided to go with it. In one scene, Hockney says, in response to Fenster, "What did he just say?" That was Kevin Pollak the actor speaking, not his character; he actually did not understand what Fenster said. The cop's ( Christopher McQuarrie ) reaction to Fenster in the line-up ("In English please") was unscripted and unrehearsed, as was Fenster's rather strong reaction.

SOMETHING SPOILERY THIS WAY COMES: In the commentary track for the DVD, it is mentioned that Del Toro chose to make Fenster's dialogue unintelligible because Fenster's only real purpose was to die as an example to the other characters, "so it doesn't matter what he says." Pollak jokingly laments that Del Toro is such a skilled actor that he took what was meant to be nothing but a throw-away character and "stole every scene he was in!"

"I see 'The Usual Suspects' as the time where I was, quote unquote, discovered. It took me six, seven years to get to that place. And it was not easy. You're fighting with people who doubt you and your choice of career. There are a lot of doubts - and you have to stay focused with what you want. I never put a time limit on me being successful or not. I just cared about the work as an actor. But it wasn't easy because there were a lot of ups and downs. I don't know if you know much about baseball, but baseball is the game of failure. You deal with failure - strike, strike, strike - all the time. Acting is like that. You have to have a very thick skin in a way - your hair is too dark, you're too ugly for the part, your audition wasn't good."

(Red Break)

[komodocomics]

Hey why whi who is josh hutchensin i sont fucking know

Joshua Ryan Hutcherson was born on October 12, 1992 in Union, Kentucky to Michelle Fightmaster, who worked for Delta Air Lines, and Chris Hutcherson, an EPA analyst. He has one younger brother, Connor Hutcherson. From the age of four, Josh knew that he wanted to be an actor. In order to pursue his goal, Josh and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine-years-old.In 2002, Josh landed his first acting role in the TV film, House Blend (2002), with Amy Yasbeck, Dan Cortese and Sean Faris. The same year, Josh was cast in the pilot, Becoming Glen (2002), but Fox did not order it to series (though, several years later, it was reconfigured as the short-lived series, The Winner (2007), starring Rob Corddry, and co-written/produced by Seth MacFarlane). Toward the end of 2002, Josh appeared on an episode of ER (1994).Josh made his big-screen debut, in 2003, with a bit part in the Oscar-nominated American Splendor (2003). His career began its measured ascent in 2005 with a supporting slot as one of Will Ferrell's kids in Kicking & Screaming (2005), a co-starring role in the indie hit Little Manhattan (2005), and another co-starring role in Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), which was originally conceived as a sequel to Jumanji (1995). Despite underperforming at the box office, "Zathura" helped earned for Josh his first Young Artist Award for "Leading Young Actor".2006 saw bigger returns for Josh's burgeoning film career with a role as one of Robin Williams' sons in the modest hit, RV (2006). The following year, he landed his first breakthrough role in Bridge to Terabithia (2007), the kid-approved adaptation of Katherine Paterson's novel that co-starred AnnaSophia Robb, whose career was also taking off at this time.Josh starred as Brendan Fraser's nephew in another family-film hit, Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), and he had a smaller role in the Crash-like drama, Fragments (2008), though by now his face and name were being used in movie-marketing materials. Though it wasn't a hit, Josh's character in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) served as a major plot device early in the story.In 2010, Josh co-starred in the critically-acclaimed film, The Kids Are All Right (2010), alongside Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Mia Wasikowska. The film received several awards and four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Josh's performance as the youngest child in a family, led by two mothers, earned him acclaim from audiences and the industry, alike. Josh followed up with an expanded role in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), which saw Dwayne Johnson take over as the main character from Brendan Fraser. Between the star power and the allure of 3D, the sequel was a worldwide hit and a third installment is in development.With the announcement that he would portray the beloved "Peeta Mellark" in The Hunger Games (2012), the film adaptation of the best-selling novel written by Suzanne Collins, Josh became an instant celebrity. In the wake of the movie's massive worldwide success, Detention (2011), a horror/comedy that Josh made before "The Hunger Games", was released. Josh was also an executive producer on that feature.Before Josh reprises his role as "Peeta" in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), we will see him in the long-delayed remake of Red Dawn (2012); the omnibus 7 Days in Havana (2011) (aka "7 Days in Havana") (Josh's segment was directed by Benicio Del Toro); The Forger (2012) opposite Lauren Bacall, Alfred Molina, and Hayden Panettiere; and the animated Epic (2013) from Ice Age (2002) co-director (and voice of "Scrat"), Chris Wedge.

BornOctober 12, 1992

[writers-requiem]

Okay, so this is for me personally since I still cannot get that day out of my head. For context, Saturday, April 6th, I went to the Gem State Comic Con and met Spencer Wilding, the stunt actor for Benicio Del Toro in "The Wolfman (2010)" I even took a picture and got a signed photo by him. Since then I've been having dreams of werewolf Lawrence that don't seem to show any signs of going away so I thought I'd share one of them with you all. Also as a bit of added context, since it's a dream, it doesn't follow the canon of the film, so expect that.

A Night of Thrills, Drinks & Cuddles With The Wolfman

(The Wolfman x Author)

Genere: Kissing, Fluff, Small Thriller, Comfort

Pairing: The Wolfman (2010 version) x Author (me)

Rating: E 10+ for Everyone 10 and up

Warnings: Slight thriller

I was in the middle of the forest, sitting on a ravine by a rushing waterfall, just enjoying the moment. A calm from the chaos of everything going on in the world. I had a sketchbook out and a pencil in hand, just doodling away. The sound of rushing water and rustling leaves helped me to center myself so I could remain focused on the task I was doing. Overall, not a bad time really. I looked to see that it was a full moon tonight. I didn't think anything of it and thought I 'd be safe. After all, werewolves or horrible creatures of the night don't truly exist do they?

But then I heard a twig snap. It sounded rather far away and so I assumed that it was probably a bear or wolf. Dangerous creatures yes, but usually only if they feel threatened. So I just went back to my sketches and listened to the wind blowing in the trees and the sound of wolves howling to the moon herself. Then I heard footsteps and they were, closing in, on my position. I brushed it off as an animal, curious about a human being in their territory. But out of a mix of my own curiosity and paranoia, I turned around to see who or what was behind me. To my surprise I saw the silhouette of a man in the distance, in this foggy night forest. I assumed someone was trying to play some kind of prank on me and I had caught them before they could make their move. So I just waved to them, acknowledging that they were indeed there and went back to drawing again.

That's when I heard a wolfish growl coming from, behind me. I turned to see the man closing in. I gave him a nervous laugh and told him "The prank's over. You can stop now." But he continued his approach. I immediately packed up all my stuff, put it in my bag, and the first chance I got I bolted. Running as fast as I could, weaving out of the way of obstacles in my path as I attempted to find a police station or a ranger outpost to seek help. A crazed man was chasing me, for what reason I did not know. But what I did know was that he somehow was able to catch up with me in a matter of seconds. Unless this man was built like Usan Bolt, nobody is that fast. I decided to make sure he wasn't actually following me by taking a series of right turns through intervals of about two to three trees. And he was still on my tail. That's when he paused for some reason. I knew I could use that moment of pause to gain at least a few extra feet of distance from him so I ran faster than my body would've been able to handle.

My legs were on fire, my body was sore and I was sweating up a storm. This was more adrenaline than I was used to in my life and I thought it was over, but then I heard the man again. Sounded like he was running. He was still on my ass. So even though it hurt me, I kept running to stay away from him. I was out of breath, my heart was pounding in my ears, my legs were ready to break down completely, but I still. Kept. Running. I had no choice but to run. If I didn't, who knows what could happen? But after forever of running, I was back at the ravine where this whole misadventure started.

The man closed in on me, his form dwarfing my own as he loomed over me. My legs had given out completely and I was about to fall onto the ground and possibly get knocked out, ready to be possibly eaten by him, but he caught me and set me down gently. "Don't worry." He said in a gruff yet soothing voice. "I gotcha, I gotcha." He carefully lifted me up and held me over his shoulder like I was a piece of livestock. He then walked over to a cottage and let us right in. He carefully sat me in a rather comfy red velvet couch. "I'll be right back." He said. "I'll make you a drink. Hot chocolate? Or tea?" I replied with "Hot chocolate, please." In a slightly meek voice. He nodded and left for the kitchen, but he stopped and looked back at me. "Whipped cream on top?" I just nodded and he went into the kitchen. I just laid back and relaxed a bit. It was still kinda crazy to think about it though, and I still didn't have a clear enough head to get a good look at him. Once he comes back that is.

Shortly after about a minute or two, he walked back into the front room and handed me a mug of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream in one hand while holding a cup of tea in the other. He walked up and sat next to me on the couch as we stared into the flames of the fireplace. He then wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in closer. We took a sip of our drinks and snuggled into each other. His fur being surprisingly warm and cooling at the same time. I was kinda drowsy, so I leaned in a little closer and he seemed to get the message. He took the mug from my hand and set it and his own drink down on the coffee table, he then gently laid me down on the couch and laid on top of me, cradling me in his arms. He proceeded to plant a kiss on top of my head and nuzzle me to sleep. But not before I gave him a kiss on the cheek in return. And together, we slept the night away, just enjoying each other's company and warmth.

[caiusmarciuscoriolanus]

My friends call me a film bro all the time. Because all I talk about are movies. But I’m not one in the Tarantino or Scorsese kind of way. I’m the kind that’s going to go on an hour long info dump rant about how under appreciated the Sicario movies are (specifically the first one) and how they were genuinely the first movies I’ve ever watched where I looked at the actor and didn’t see the actor playing a character. It didn’t feel like Benicio del Toro playing a hitman. He WAS the sicario. The dialogue. The acting choices. The plot. It all had me fully believing that the man that I was looking at was dangerous and knew exactly what he was doing. He put me on edge and at the same time remained alluring. Which brings me to Kate. A lot of people who have seen sicario like to shit on Kate as a character. She’s annoying. She’s too good. She’s too pure. She’s trying to get in the way. She’s being baby about the whole thing. BUT THATS THE FUCKING POINT. Her whole character is supposed to represent us (the audience). We’re suppose to watch everything go down through her eyes. We’re supposed to be moved and disgusted and full of adrenaline along with her. We’re supposed to feel conflicted.That’s good writing. AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE USE OF COLOR AND METAPHOR. Like I said I could talk for hours. The point I’m trying to make is that I’m tired of having some dude come up to me and trying to desperately explain why I’m not as smart as he is for not being able to see the full appeal of every Tarantino film known to man, when there are other really great films and directors out there that deserve more attention then they received.

[brookstonalmanac]

Birthdays 2.19

Beer Birthdays

Gottlieb Sigismund Kirchhof (1764)

Henry Allsopp (1811)

Phil Rogers (1933)

Grant Johnston (1954)

Chris Black (1963)

Brian “Spike” Buckowski (1967)

Five Favorite Birthdays

Nicholas Copernicus; astronomer (1473)

Stan Kenton; bandleader, jazz musician (1912)

Lee Marvin; actor (1924)

William Messner-Loebs; comic book writer (1949)

Smokey Robinson; pop singer (1940)

Famous Birthdays

Eddie Arcaro; jockey (1916)

Justine Bateman; actor (1966)

Luigi Boccherini; composer (1743)

Jeff Daniels; actor (1955)

Benicio del Toro; actor (1967)

"Mama" Cass Elliot; singer (1943)

Falco; pop singer (1957)

John Frankenheimer; film director (1930)

David Garrick; English actor, playwright (1717)

David Gross; physicist (1941)

Cedric Hardwicke; actor (1893)

William Henderson; Green Bay Packers FB (1971)

Tim Hunt; biochemist (1943)

Carson McCullers; writer (1917)

Merle Oberon; actor (1917)

Seal; singer, songwriter (1963)

Karen Silkwood; activist (1946)

Amy Tan; writer (1952)

Ray Winstone; actor (1957)

[tygerbug]

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - James Gunn and company stick the landing with a brilliant conclusion to Marvel's only coherent stand-alone trilogy of films. It genuinely feels strange that these are Marvel movies, since from the start they've largely felt like their own thing. Sure, to get caught up on this one you'll have to watch two Avengers movies, a Thor movie and a holiday special, and maybe even the silly animated "What If?" But otherwise, this series is mostly untouched by what's happened to The Avengers, and feels like it could have been a standalone series, like the FOX X-Men films, and the Sony Spider-Man films.

The cameo roles in this series are clearly done as a favor to James Gunn rather than to Marvel. Linda Cardellini has a voice role here, despite already having a role in Marvel films elsewhere, as do Judy Greer and Tara Strong (replacing the absent Miley Cyrus). And it's not hard to imagine some earlier Marvel film having some other role for the sort of actors Gunn casts in small roles, like Nathan Fillion, Ving Rhames, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Serafinowicz, Maria Bakalova, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro, Lee Pace, Alexis Denisof, Kevin Bacon, Seth Green, Sylvester Stallone, Don Johnson, and so on. He has a tendency to cast older star actors like Kurt Russell who could have populated a hypothetical 90s MCU, or even David Hasselhoff who actually did.

The Guardians films, outside of their Avengers crossovers, feel like a universe unto themselves. The tone is darker, and more violent, with a focus on comedy. At exactly one point in the film, Chris Pratt's Peter Quill, AKA Starlord, says fuck. At other points in the film, actors say "screw" when they clearly mean "fuck." Lloyd Kaufman turns up in these things. Most of the film is about torturing a raccoon, and it's full of strange creatures and body horror that sometimes seems antithetical to selling Happy Meal toys. The villain, Chukwudi Iwuji, as The High Evolutionary, is nastier than MCU villains tend to be, and there's no attempt to humanize him. Which is, to be clear, great. We like a real villain.

The visual style of the film is also distinctive. No muddy greys and browns here. There's bright colors and high contrast, and lots of interesting design. It is certainly in the running for the best-looking Marvel movie, and avoids the samey visual look of some other Marvel productions.

The cast, as ever, is stacked with actors who could have carried a film like this on their own. It's easy to take this cast for granted, but these are all stars, and the movie knows it. Zoe Saldana, who has almost casually starred in a large percentage of the most succesful movies ever made. Bradley Cooper, as the voice of Rocket, a CGI character who might be the real star here. Pom Klementieff and Dave Bautista, delightful as Mantis and Drax. Karen Gillan as Nebula, bringing a steely terminator's edge to a role far away from what she did in Doctor Who. Vin Diesel as Groot, even. Elizabeth Debicki returning as Ayesha.

Oh, and Chris Pratt as Peter Quill AKA Starlord. When we meet him here, he's been drinking away his sorrows over the loss of Gamora. Pratt is a controversial figure these days, due to his apparent right-wing beliefs, and at first there seems to be something wrong with Peter int his film. His trademark charm is entirely absent, at first, and he's not as funny a character in this as he's been previously. But that charm comes back, as Pratt tries to remind Gamora and the audience why we liked Peter Quill in the first place. He's not as big an asshole as he's been at times, and is almost likeable as he finds a certain peace in himself by the film's end.

Will Poulter turns up as Adam Warlock, a cosmic Marvel hero introduced as a secondary villain here, and manages to do something amusing with the character. As with the Nova Corps in the first film, this is a pretty significant Marvel character that James Gunn is using, apparently for his own purposes rather than due to any connection to the MCU. As with the Howard the Duck cameos, it feels like Gunn is doing his own thing. At one point Starlord appeared in the MCU Avengers animated shows without the personality that Chris Pratt gave him, and it felt very strange. Starlord is a very different character here than he was as a Space Cop in the comics, as are Yondu, Mantis, Groot, and so on.

Indeed these movies have very little to do with the Guardians of the Galaxy comics as they initially launched. The films are instead based, loosely, on the Guardians team that launched in the comics in 2008. That team included Adam Warlock and Phylla-Vell, a version of Captain Marvel who technically appears here as a child. But James Gunn has successfully put his own spin on these characters. Rocket Raccoon would probably have been the most recognizable character for old-timers, along with Adam Warlock, but he was never really a headliner until now. Nor was Groot, who was once an old Jack Kirby monster in the comics, and might as well be a different character now entirely.

Mantis, powerful as a C-tier Avenger in the comics, is a less powerful but more memorable character in these. She and Dave Bautista's Drax are socially awkward in different ways, and always doing something funny or interesting. This film also finds the dignity in these characters and sees a certain tragedy in the way they underestimate one another, suggesting that even though they're a memorable onscreen team, they need to move apart in order to grow as people. These films really care about these characters in a way which isn't cliched, telegraphed or predictable.

There's a sense of history here, that the journey these characters have gone on has meant something, over the course of three films, at least four other Marvel appearances and a holiday special. A photo of Stan Lee turns up, as does the actual Michael Rooker. It does have one thing in common with the Avengers films - an assurance that this is still the Guardians of the Galaxy even with a different lineup of characters, and that some of these characters will return.

It won't be the same, though, will it? It's hard to imagine another blockbuster film letting actors like Pom Klementieff be as memorably eccentric as they are here. This trilogy genuinely feels different and special. It had its own cast of characters, some of whom we saw very little of. (Sylvester Stallone makes only brief appearances, but a long history is implied every time.) It left me wanting more, but I'm glad that we got three solid movies with this cast, and that James Gunn - who was briefly fired due to some trolls on Twitter - got to return and do it right.

[lizardsfromspace]

The urban legend that Marisa Tomei didn't "really" win her Oscar for My Cousin Vinny is bad for lots of reasons. I mean it was made up entirely by Rex Reed, who you may remember from saying The Shape of Water was directed by Benicio del Toro and claiming Get Out is about black men being turned into robots, so that's reason #1 right there

But also if you look at the category, it...actually makes sense that she won

Only one film up for Best Picture (Howards End) was nominated here & typically the legend is that Vanessa Redgrave "really" won, but she already won before in this category and her film won Best Actress. Oscar voters don't commonly select the same film for two acting categories and are stingy about giving someone a second award. This leaves us with another costume drama, a Woody Allen film, a film with no other nominations, and...

A extremely memorable, widely praised, comedic performance that was already one of the most famous of the year, and has remained famous thirty years later. More famous than any of these other performances. Heck, just the fact that a comedy performance was nominated made her likely to win, since that showed a lot of support outside the Prestige Cage of Oscar votedom

This was the year Al Pacino's "whoops, sorry for snubbing you for your good movies, here's your Oscar for a worse one" Oscar was won, over Denzel Washington for Malcolm X, and they focus on...this?

Like of all the forgotten roles to get Oscars, this is the one to get hit with rumors? All out of people livid that a comedy won an award? On the word of someone who uses his reviews to bash actresses for their weight and who scorns disabled actors playing disabled characters as "not really acting"? Okay.

[revenantent]

Juan Carlos Arvelo (@juancarlosarvelo) is an on camera and voice actor, photographer, musician & award winning podcast creator born and raised on the island of Puerto Rico. Best known for his work alongside Benicio del Toro in Steven Soderbergh's CHÉ: PART ONE, he has also guest starred in the FX television series SNOWFALL and was one of the additional voices in the Oscar award winning animated film SPIDERMAN: INTO THE SPIDERVERSE. Juan Carlos holds a BA in Classical Music Composition with a minor in Fine Arts & in Dramatic Arts and has received the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award by the UNESCO YOUTH COMMISSION (2010) and the Distinguished Young Actor's award from the Cinefiesta Film Festival in Puerto Rico (2012). He is based in Los Angeles. . . #revenantactor #juancarlosarvelo (at Beverly Hills, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoaVOffviA9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[tygerland]

Sicario (2015)

[michaelcerasource]

Michael Cera is set to star in Wes Anderson’s newest upcoming project alongside Benicio Del Toro. The script, written alongside Roman Coppola is complete.

[academyawardwinnersii]

Benicio del Toro, 2000 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film, "Traffic."

[jp-hunsecker]

Escobar: Paradise Lost

Escobar Paradise Lost #MovieReview #BeniciodelToro is a better Pablo Escobar than #JavierBardem, the same way Escobar: Paradise Lost is a better film about the drug lord than Loving Pablo — but the latter only marginally.

Benicio del Toro is a better Pablo Escobar than Javier Bardem, the same way Escobar: Paradise Lost is a better film about the drug lord than Loving Pablo — but the latter only marginally. Unlike Bardem, del Toro speaks Spanish throughout, except when addressing Nick Brady (Josh Hutcherson), which makes sense because Nick is Canadian. Moreover, most of the actors in Paradise Lost are Latino or…

[steade1011]

Snatch (2000) Film Review

If you are wanting absurdity, gangsters and ludicrous miss haps, filled with cockney-rhyming-slang sarcasm and undistinguishable Irish accents, then this is the film for you! After Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Guy Richies' first film which inspired the events in Snatch (2000) splashed across our screens, it was inevitable for me to watch this as Lock Stock was hilarious and a delight to watch. By already asking around if my friends and family knew the film, it was always followed by heads being thrown back with signs of “Suchhhhh a classic- you have to watch it!” Therefore I had to give it a watch. 

Snatch is set in London's criminal underworld, where the film consists of two overlapping plots: one is a quest for a valuable stolen diamond ending up in some unlikely places, whereas the other is when a small-time boxing promoter (Jason Statham) finds himself unwillingly wrapped around the pinkie of a ruthless gangster (Alan Ford), bending to his every command including inflicting sadistic violence. Albeit graphic and savage, the film is also witty and high-tempo, as the audience you are unable to tear your eyes away from the screen. As this film is directed by distinguished director Guy Richie, Snatch has a star-studded cast, (even though lots of them at the time weren’t at the height of their fame.) Irish traveler ‘One Punch Mickey’ O’neil is played by Brad Pitt, Russian arms dealer ‘The Blade’ is Rade Serbedzija, professional thief and gambling addict Franky ‘Four Fingers’ is Benicio del Toro, bounty hunter ‘Bullet-Tooth Tony’ is Vinnie Jones, ‘Turkish’ as Jason Statham and ‘Tommy’ as Stephen Graham. The filming is categorised by a kinetic direction and editing style, full of ironic twists and turns. Guy Richie also deliberately likes using many of the same actors in most of his films, such as Vinnie Jones, Jason Statthan, Jason Fleming and Alan Ford. 

The first parts of filming Snatch began in October of 1999, mainly in London (for many of the gangster shots) and Buckinghamshire (to film the Irish traveler's scenes.) The film was also relatively successful in both critical response as well as financial gross: Richie made the film from a budget of $10 million, where it grossed £12,137,698 in the UK, $30.3 million in the United States and Canada, (possibly from the innocuous fascination Americans have with the British and their slang,) giving a total of $83.6 million worldwide. I feel the main success of the film overall was it gained a cult following. This may have been down to the priceless one-line zingers from Guy Richies' extraordinary scriptwriting abilities, e.g. ‘You want the caravan? You’ll get the dog’ and ‘That’s Tommy. He tells people he was named after a gun. But I know he was really named after a famous 19th-century ballet dancer.’ (Kinda have to watch it to understand...) I also feel the soundtrack played a huge part in the movie's accomplishments. Songs such as ‘Diamond’ by Klint and ‘Cross The Tracks’ by Maceo and The Macks feature in the film, gaining so much traction that they eventually released not one, but two CD’S in 2001 called ‘Snatch: Stealin’ Stones and Breakin’ Bones.’ 

My two personal favourite scenes from the film are when Micky punches a fighter out cold in a bare-knuckle fight to when he hits the ground and suddenly is filmed in slow motion with ‘Golden Brown’ by The Stranglers echoing. The other is when Micky’s caravan is set alight with someone incredibly dear to him still inside, where once again it cuts to Micky being held back by his friends in slow motion while ‘Teardrop’ by Massive Attack plays. When I saw these two scenes for the first time, they genuinely gave me goosebumps because it was so stylishly done yet still nail-biting and intense, they just portrayed how exceptional Guy Richie is as a writer and director. Moreover, the camera effects in this film are fantastic; Richie uses a plethora of polished effects such as slow-mo, stills, black and white as well as colour, all highly effective in disorientating and thrilling the audience. Eventhough most filmmakers may use these techniques, Richie has a unique and fearlessly individual way of doing these things.  

Overall, Snatch is unquestionably a cult classic. It pulls back the veil into the criminal underworld of London in an almost incongruous light we usually see London in. Filmed intelligently and purposefully, it is very hard not to enjoy this film, so kick back, relax, and thank God you aren’t in Turkish’s shoes…