Sexy Beast

Pros: Kingsley as the living, talking Spawn of Satan.
Cons: Predictable plot, not for everyone, and some very graphic, very nasty violence.

I had heard about Ben Kingsley performance in this, and after hearing one reviewer describe him as the Anti-Gandhi in this, I knew I had to see it. It's a talky, dangerous film, where morality has the thinnest of skins, and like a train wreck, you know ...

Pros: the 2-3 of the 91 minutes involving the Spanish boy
Cons: Plot, characterization, script--that the movie exists

This summer's widely-acclaimed fancily-edited British gangster film (Sexy Beast) is far inferior to last summer's (Croupier), and its East London dialect is at times unintelligible to this American's ears.

In it, a plump, body-hairless,...

Pros: Ben Kingsley and cast, beautiful cinematography
Cons: Predictable, with obvious symbolism

"Sexy Beast" has a great look that's wrapped up in a standard crime caper. It pretends to have surprises, but it really doesn't. "Sexy Beast" is the tale of a retired thief named Gal (Ray Winstone) who has found a life of ease with his wife in a Spanish...

Pros: A Stylish, Cool Debut from Jonathan Glazer led by Ben Kingsley's Shocking Performance
Cons: The Extremely Obscene Language will Scare Everyone.

One of the most versatile and respected British actors of the past 30 years, Sir Ben Kingsley has always amazed audiences with his diverse roles ranging from a gangster, war criminal, Holocaust survivor, U.S. vice president, and most recently, an Iranian ...

Pros: Kingsley's gangster role yes, yes,yes, yes, yes, Winstone, McShane, editing
Cons: They are all cons aren't they? Language, violence

**Note: The movie was not aired anywhere until January 2001, so if this movie is dated by the time of its release, it is really 2001.


This appears to be one of those movies that inspired my friend Stephen_ Murray to say once of another...

Pros: flashes of directorial brilliance; suspense; strong cast, not limited to Ben Kingsley
Cons: Sometimes it's not as clever as all involved seem to think. But that's rare.

Orson Welles once said that the sets, props and costumes that belonged to RKO were the greatest set of toys anyone could ask for. If British director Jonathan Glazer ever gets his hands on the toys Hollywood has, it will be his audience that...

Pros: It's got pace, pizzaz and polish - and excellent characterizations.
Cons: Grim, brutal, tawdry - with pervasive profanity and hard-to-decipher East London accents.

Given the extravagant hype at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival surrounding this stylish British thriller, there's less to it than meets the eye. Director Jonathan Glazer, best known for his work in commercials...

Pros: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Amanda Redman, Juliane White, Ian McShane, Avaro Monje. Great character studies.
Cons: Slang, accents, sometimes hard to understand; Kingsley a bit over the top in parts.

The British have a curious affection for gangsters, different from our interest in the Godfathers of Crime. They like the little guy, the "soldier," who gets away with it, like Ronnie Biggs of The Great Train Robbery fame.

On a cold, damp...

Pros: Ben Kingsley reinvents himself as a maniacal gangster.
Cons: The accents are hard to work through at times.

With a funny title and the one-time Mahatma Ghandi now playing the Ma-hitman Grande, "Sexy Beast" is fast becoming the hip gangster flick of the year. Slick and stylish, it takes the proverbial "one last job" story and puts a completely different spin...

Pros: Kingsley's performance.
Cons: At times, almost, lethargic, almost, at times, dull.

If your image of Ben Kingsley is based largely on roles like the title character he played in Ghandi, you'll get a bit of a shock from Sexy Beast, the surreal crime thriller debut from British director Jonathan Glazer. By the way, if you...

Pros: Kingsley's Anti-Gandhi statement is a must-see...
Cons: May be too intense for some audiences...

A recent tabloid article mentioned that Ben Kingsley had stopped going out for beers because of rowdies greeting him with, "Hey, Gandhi, how's it going!" Maybe Sexy Beast was Kingsley's ultimate anti-Gandhi statement, and he definitely makes his...

Pros: Strong characters. Interesting camera work. Kingsley.
Cons: Often confusing. Even after the movie has ended.

I hate to say that for all the huge praise thrown about by critics reviewing this film, I was a little disappointed by "Sexy Beast". It was good, very good in some ways, but something about it just didn't work for me.

Ray Winstone plays Gary...

Pros: Ben Kingsley, Jonathan Glazer's brutal supervision, Amanda Redman, terrifying tension
Cons: Dense, impenetrable East London slang, short film duration (90 minutes)

Gee, and we thought the man who played Ghandi was really a nice guy.

Ben Kingsley, better known for his portrayals of gentle, benevolent men like the great Hindu spiritual leader in Ghandi, accountant Itzhak Stern in Schindler's List, and...

Pros: NONE! THIS MOVIE SUCKS!
Cons: Ben Kingsley is the WORST screen villain of all time. He is LAME!

Before I get to slagging off Ben Kingsley's "scary" gangster character, I'll cover the rest for you...

Gangster film. Retired bank robber called out for one last job. "Scary" Ben Kingsley is there to make bank robber commit to the "one last...

Pros: Kingsley and Winstone lead a cast of great character actors.
Cons: First time director Glazer is too literal at times.

Gal (Ray Winstone) and DeeDee (Amanda Redman) are living a quiet, tranquil life of retirement in Spain. Gal is perfectly content to lay out and bake in the sun all day. Gal is a retired thief and is not happy to hear that an old acquaintance, Don Logan...