nathan-clarke
I was an extra in this film and have been waiting for ages for it to come out, I have just ordered it off Amazon. In some of the scenes I was standing right beside David O'Hara as he was talking to his crew and the camera. It was a great experience and I got my photograph taking with so many characters from the film. If you live in Northern Ireland go to www.extrasni.com you might get a spot in Game Of Thrones, Dracula or any of the other great shows filmed here.The whole experience was great, I was looking for the film Whole Lotta Sole which was the original title, until I came across its new title Stand Off...so I'm hoping I will see myself.... cant wait...The trailer looks great !
london777
I tend to mark more grudgingly than the IMDb average. Personally I would rate this film no higher than a 6, but it is as good as many 7s on IMDb so I was moved to write my first ever review here and give it 7.It is a black comedy, but more comic than black. The tone lies somewhere between "Lock Stock" and the old Ealing comedies.Lots of different characters and comic themes are introduced but not made the most of. I guess the problem was lack of time rather than lack of budget, a large slice of which presumably went on Brendan Fraser's salary. I suppose the sad reality is that every movie needs at least one name well known to US audiences to get funded but he is certainly not needed in this film. ****SPOILER***In fact the whole back-story of his US mafia links was an unwanted intrusion. ****END OF SPOILER***Terry George has a solid reputation as a writer (two Oscar nominations) and as a Director (he won an Oscar for best short "The Shore" and directed "Hotel Rwanda"). His talent is obvious here, but it all seems to need a rework and final polish. Some themes needed to be either further developed or excised (Fraser's new girlfriend, Meaney's son, the SAS, etc). As things stand, they are just distractions.Those who struggle with the Irish accents might appreciate subtitles, as the score sometimes intrudes, blurring the dialogue. The latter alternates between dryly humorous and banal, as if George had let someone else complete the screenplay.Well worth a watch, but narrowly misses being a much better film.
gonzofaratro
Most reviewers gave a high score to this film and with a good reason, this is a good comedy, but the score displayed is around 4, that is simply put, ridiculous.If you enjoyed good British comedies like walking ned divine, holly water and saving grace you will surely enjoy this one and Brendan fits very well in it as the American in ireland caught in the middle of good mess.Don't miss it because one person had a low opinion of this film, there are those who will find the eiffel tower, the grand canyon, the beatles and mozart to be horrible and worthless.
Snaggletooth .
Im no great fan of movies from my home country. Usually grim or trying to be funny when they're not. But this little movie has charm and wit a plenty although some laughs may be lost on you if you're not from Northern Ireland. There are many scenes of Belfast and the little street where the antique shop is situated was filmed in Downpatrick. There were a few laugh out loud scenes for me, where one of the gypsy children gets his head stuck in a window and Brendan Fraser uses soap to get him out and he doesn't know what it is. Or the scene where fish get shot in St Georges Market and they put flags on them to mark the bullet holes including a crab which has a hole in it. There are many nods also to the current peace here which was done in a light hearted way. All in all i truly enjoyed this movie and it was nice to see a film made about NI which didn't portray Belfast as grim and humourless. It certainly seems now that Northern Ireland has become big business for the movie industry as we enjoy regular film crews coming to our (mostly) untapped locations. Long may it continue.
AD
