FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Layer Cake [DVD] [2004]

Layer Cake [DVD] [2004]
enlarge	Director: Matthew Vaughn Actors: Daniel Craig, Michael Gambon, Kenneth Cranham, Jamie Foreman, Sienna Miller Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£12.99~~ Buy Used: £0.01 as of 25/11/2009 20:00 GMT details You Save: £12.98 (100%) New (31) Used (43) Collectible (1) from £0.01 Seller: samkind2 Rating: 5 reviews Sales Rank: 39469 Format: PAL Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 101 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5035822690677 ASIN: B000NRRWC4 Theatrical Release Date: 2004 Release Date: February 8, 2007 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review As its title suggests, iLayer Cake/i is a crime thriller that cuts into several levels of its treacherous criminal underworld. The title is actually one character's definition of the drug-trade hierarchy, but it's also an apt metaphor for the separate layers of deception, death, and betrayal experienced by the film's unnamed protagonist, a cocaine traffic middle-man played with smooth appeal by Daniel Craig (whom you probably don't need reminding is the latest James Bond). Listed in the credits only as "XXXX," the character is trapped into doing a favor for his volatile boss, only to have tables turned by his boss's boss (Michael Gambon) in a twisting plot involving a stolen shipment of Ecstasy, a missing girl, duplicitous dealers, murderous Serbian gangsters, and a variety of lowlifes with their own deadly agendas. As adapted by J.J. Connolly (from his own novel) and directed by Matthew Vaughan (who earned his genre chops as producer of Guy Ritchie's iLock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels/i and iSnatch/i), iLayer Cake/i improves upon those earlier British gangland hits with assured pacing, intelligent plotting, and an admirable emphasis on plot-moving dialogue over routine action. Sure, it's violent (that's to be expected) and not always involving, but it's smarter than most thrillers, and Vaughan's directorial debut has a confident style that's flashy without being flamboyant. This could be the start of an impressive career. i--Jeff Shannon/i

Customer Reviews: welcome to the layer cake son!!!! August 4, 2007 Ms. H. M. Oconnor (anonymous) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful i would just like to say this film is amazing i wasent expecting much but it is really good. i have all the best films in this genre on dvd like the godfather and scarface and this maybe isnt as good but it certenly comes close to them. br /great acting , great story, great film!!! br / br /10/10 Know Your Suppliers, Customers And Never Get Too Greedy May 6, 2007 prisrob (New EnglandUSA) 6 out of 7 found this review helpful "Layer Cake is a complex movie colourful characters on every level of `the cake'. This metaphor rather simplistically refers to hierarchical rungs of the criminal pecking order, each receiving less shit than the one below. A sort of human meadow-cake, perhaps. Apart from the rarefied upper layers being desirably freer from manure, apparently the higher one goes, the more cool one must act; the cooler one acts, the higher one goes. Losing it by thumping the lights out of a traitor is not as cool as the presentation of a traitor's severed head in a freezer box to a business partner in order to restore the hierarchy. Hysteria is abruptly silenced by bullets." Avril Carruthers br / br /Layer Cake is a fast and exciting British thriller. Daniel Craig plays a London cocaine dealer by night and businessman by day who is never named, and who is forced to put his underworld survival tactics to the test. He thinks he's got the perfect scheme. He believes he can make the illegal drug trade work for him and not the other way around. As the movie opens, he has reached the point where he's made enough to retire, say goodbye and start a new life. But he soon finds out that he is being played, and he must learn the game. Craig's credo involves knowing your suppliers, knowing your customers, paying your bills and never getting too greedy br / br /XXX, as Daniel Craig is known, is summoned to a luncheon by his immediate superior, Jimmy Price, played by Kenneth Cranham. Jimmy wants him to fix an ecstasy deal that went bad, and also find the missing daughter of his boss, Eddie Temple, played by Michael Gambon. XXX wants none of this, it muddies up his life too much. But he finds out he has no choice. His low life buddies are always into trouble, and XXX cannot depend upon anyone but himself. XXX's dilemma is that he has the resources to enjoy himself, but works for people who speak a different language. He is really in the wrong line of work. The lowlives have had success in their business of crime, and dutifully spend their money on cars, cigars, women, champagne and memberships in private clubs, none of which finally seem to be worth the trouble. There is violence and a great deal of action. Daniel Craig has a smooth manner and a keen intelligence and this is a movie to like. There is something missing, however, some big scene that brings it all together, but all in all it is enjoyable. br / br /This is a movie that takes the cake. Recommended. prisrob 5-6-07. br / br /Casino Royale (Two-Disc Widescreen Edition) Good film, great ending September 2, 2007 Brian Levine 6 out of 8 found this review helpful Nice study in how a nice boy turns bad. Daniel Craig is much better in this sort of film than he is as Bond. He really nails the character and is extremely convincing. I love the way violence is dealt with in this: it's simply business, not anything worth getting worked up about. And it's like the little diagrams you looked at in school about the evolutionary chain: small animals get eaten by bigger ones. br / br /The same's true when you're dealing drugs and don't stick to all the rules... Future James Bond October 6, 2007 M. A. Ramos (Florida USA) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful Based upon JJ Connelly's London crime novel, this movie is actually quite good. It lets us inside the world of the British drug world. Daniel Craig, who will play James Bond in the next movie, plays the main character, whose name is never divulged. He shares his words of wisdom and golden plan on how to succeed in the drug business and get out of it alive. br / br /We watch as the movie takes us on a twisting ride where just when you think you figured out what is going on, it changes. The score was just right, you did not notice yet it enhanced the movie, just as a score should. This movie will have to be watched a couple times to catch everything, but the first time will be the best. Even the ending takes you by surprise. Watch it, you will like it. br / "How to properly bake a cake. First, shoot the baker" June 27, 2007 Jenny J.J.I. (That Lives in Northern Nevada) 5 out of 6 found this review helpful "Layer Cake" was slightly entertaining but fell flat for me. I still have to give credit to film director Matthew Vaughn for his first feature film. He made a name for himself producing the crime-comedy classics "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch". Vaughn abandons the cheeky and comedic nature of those two films and attempts to make a serious crime film. The results are decidedly uneven, as the movie is a stylish but hollow outing. br / br /In here we have XXX (Daniel Craig) who is a man who wants to get out of the game when he reaches the height of his success. He finds forces that he can not control pulling him towards the life is trying to leave. He solves his problem and feels like he has won when suddenly there is one last surprise. Matthew Vaughn guides the film in a cool, professional manner but it lacks the needed energy. This film lacks the vitality, humor and whiz-bang camera work of the aforementioned Guy Ritchie crime flicks. It also lacks the character development and drama to work convincingly as a straight-faced crime thriller. The problem is that XXXX as presented here simply isn't an interesting protagonist. Make him likable or make him detestable, but don't make him bland and anonymous. The side characters, with the notable exception of the commanding Eddie Temple played by Michael Gambon, are similarly underdeveloped. br / br /All this is particularly disappointing given that J.J. Connolly himself adapted his novel for the screen. I read this novel a while back and thought it was a great piece of pulp writing. Not only is the nameless narrator a distinct and dynamic character, he is surrounded by other well-defined characters, and the story includes heavy doses of humor and great intrigue and plot twists. Director Matthew Vaughn stated that many of the funny scenes from Connolly's screenplay were omitted in an apparent attempt to distance himself from "Lock Stock" and "Snatch". Additionally, some of the best characters from the book like Morty and Gene are underdeveloped stock characters in the movie, although both George Harris and Colm Meaney do as good a job as could be expected with what they're given. One issue I have is that if Vaughn was so dead set on making this a serious movie there was plenty of material to draw from in order to do a better job of developing and fleshing out the characters. br / br /"Layer Cake" clocks in at about an hour and forty minutes and easily could have been a half hour longer, which would have provided ample time to build drama and make the characters more interesting. Certainly watch able but by no means remarkable so one slice of cake is more then enough for me. br /

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