Big Nothing

As a huge fan of the likes of Tarrantino, Fincher, and the Coen brothers, I'm betting that the skewed nature of the comedy is not going to be for everyone, but if you like your movies heavy on the WTF quotient, this one's for you.

I saw it at the Cardiff Film Festival last week, and the audience couldn't get enough of it. Really a fun "laughing your arse off" kind of a time. The twists, surprises, and laughs build and build to an ending which I won't give away but was not at all what I expected. Pegg and Schwimmer are a crack comedy duo, but the addition of Eve to the antics ups the ante nicely. It loses a star for taking a bit longer to get going than I would have liked, but I'm not quite sure how I would have cracked that particular nut.

All in all, this film's got more energy sparking off it than anything that's come down the pipe in quite a while. Will be seeing it again this weekend with my mates. GO BIG NOTHING!

A wonderful black comedy in the style of Shallow Grave. It started out as a very disturbing and violent movie, but became a real comedy of errors and every man for himself.

David Schimmer plays an eccentric "factoid" full ex-teacher who is at the end of his tether and will do almost anything to look after his little girl.

Simon Pegg plays a slick con-man who just can't quite get it right.... despite numerous attempts.

Alice Eve is wonderful as the small town teen beauty queen gone bad, who is willing to say and do anything.

Altogether an entertaining yet very black comedy. Well worth a look.

Big Nothing is about Charlie (David Schwimmer) who settles for a job as a tech assistant. He meets Gus Dickinson (Simon Pegg) and together with waitress Josie (Alice Eve) they plan to blackmail the local Reverend. Their plan goes awry, setting off a chain-reaction of unfortunate events that makes it the longest night of their lives.

I would not call this film one of the best ever made but I definitely think it is worth a much higher rating on IMDb. Higher than a 6.8 at least. It is a dark comedy and has been made very well for it's genre. But I admit I don't know too much about dark dramas/comedies as I don't watch too many.

I thought the movie is very engaging but starts out a little slow. But as the movie progresses the tension builds up and the story gets a lot more interesting. Especially in the 2nd half.

I definitely think this is one of David Schwimmer's best roles yet. I have seen many of his movies and am an avid "Friends" fan and Big Nothing is one of his projects which really shows off his acting skills. His character Charlie did have a few Ross-Geller-from-Friends reminders in him but overall was great and much different from the sweet, lovable character he usually plays. I am glad he acted as Charlie and I'm sure he will break out of the softie mould he is stuck in soon. Simon Pegg made a very thrilling Gus. He was basically perfect and I thought he was the strongest performance in the whole film. I hate to admit it but Alice Eve was a very good Josie. She had a kind of slutty but sexy appeal and her voice was perfect for her character. She did not seem out of place at all. Her performance spruced up in the last 45 minutes or so though, that was when her real acting began.

I didn't find a single "dull" moment in this whole movie and I definitely think it is worth a watch. Especially if you don't watch dark and serious looking, thriller type films. This would be a very good place to start.

I just watched Big Trouble with absolutely no expectations, how could i, it had a very limited release in my area and almost no publicity alongside some terrible press reviews, i don't think it even has US release date yet and made no dent at the UK box office.

Along came the DVD and because Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer are in it i was compelled to give it a chance and to my surprise the critics judge to harshly again, this film is 82mins of pure fun, great chemistry between the two leads, an easy going quirky script and some nice dark touches with some great plot twist.

The film escapes its low budget by not looking like it was filmed in the isle of Man and North wales, believe me i looked for the cracks, they didn't show.

Watching the DVD extras its clear these guys had a great time making the movie and I'm pleased to see Pegg/Schwimmer have teamed up again for Run Fatboy Run, lets hope they work as well together again.

If you like a light hearted black comedy then you could do a lot worse than watch this little gem, ignore the reviews and take a look for yourself and if your in the US why not get hold of a copy on import, you won't be disappointed.

p.s Kudos goes to the lollipop.

I have been reading through reviews of this movie after I watched it and I have to say I completely disagree with a lot of the overly harsh comments.

Simply put this is a fantastic 'fun' movie. The dark humour is perfectly balanced and fits snugly in the story without stepping over the line that may insult or even alienate some viewers. Indeed the film will appeal to a variety of people, casting it's target audience nets far and wide.

Kudos to the DoP, the cinematography in this film is fantastic and solid throughout. There was never a dull shot I thought was out of place, it suited and told the story well. Not far behind is the lighting which is also incredible. So many shots stick in my mind, and I'm sure I may even borrow a few of the lighting arrangements on my own productions.

Acting is also good, something which has also been picked at. Pegg pulls off a surprisingly good American accent as does his female counterpart. It was also nice to see Schwimmer on the big screen again, the role shows a small detour from his usual characters. I found the characters were believable in their relationship to one another, something which is very difficult to establish in the time it accomplished.

I suggest people give this movie a chance. Make your own minds on what you think rather than rolling with what the critics say. The film isn't a masterpiece by any means, just bloody good fun.