The Last Minute

to compare this to any guy ritchie film is foolish and plain out bad reviewing. many would simply class it in the same school because it is british, it features "hip" newcomers, and the direction is very flashy and effects rich.....well except for the british part this describes most every film coming out now. the last minute is as far from guy ritchie as one can get. try connecting the dots to david lynch while passing through alex de la iglesia territory and you'll be on the right track. from the insane tap dancing crooner psycho sledge hammer wielding gangster to british literary classics over to the monsters people keep hidden from the world....or should we say gifts? this is a film of many varied and twisting turns which serves up its fair share of bite and bile. one forever feels that around the next corner will be the demon awaiting to devour the souls of the main characters, but lemarchand's box is not quite so literal as it is in a film like hellraiser. the demons that give pleasure and devour your being are much more real and familiar in this world. it is true that the plot balances on the old carpe diem type thing, but unlike every hollywood dungheap to tread this ground in the last 20 years, this film manages to do it with some grace, some originality, and with a large dash of realism amongst the severe surrealism. overall, a very impressive film with intelligence, originalty and style. a fabulous cast tops it off supremely and left me riveted for the entire length of the film and a strong desire to show it to everyone i know.

outside of seeing this as auto-biographical for Norrington I can see it deals with his traumatic experiences with Blade. Then it got worse. On LXG. OK, Last Minute is not The Divine Comedy and it's flawed, but wow, what a trip !!! and sure it's personal, though i got turned off a bit by the whole techno approach.. One of the best scenes in a film I've seen in the last years is Jason Issacs doing his "I got you under my skin". It's an update of Malcolm Mc Doewll doing his "Singin' in the Rain" in Clockwork Orange. Or it's not. Then later Norrington pushes further repeating it with "when a man loves a woman". Anyway, as Gene Kelly was shocked, Frank must be spinning in his grave. Or he might get the sick fun. And I am not sure Dickens would have liked the Oliver Twist bit... As for this being put in the same category with Trainspotting, Clockwork Orange and Fight Club, I can't see why people are bother, try to describe a film using normal words. Coke, acid, Ecstasy gone bad or just anger and frustration puked out ?

all fueled out and hyper-pumped out, ah, and poetry finally... ///// as for latest rumors that Norrington quit making movies, hey Steve, don't get mad, get even ! ah, and one more thing-just don't get confused about Udo Kier's performance, it's a great cameo but just a cameo, same with Stephen Dorff.

It's late, it's extremely humid, every breath is like a drink of city soaked in smog water. I pop the DVD into my player and was transported to a late feast of clever visual effects, smart script lines, and a wicked soundtrack. So wicked that I immediately started to hunt the internet for it.

I was impressed by the very fine acting of Max Beesley, very convincing character transformations throughout the film. Not since discovering Christian Bale did I feel like wanting to see more films from someone.

Even though this movie centered around London's Underground, I felt like this could've been any city...reminding me of it's inhabitants running about half-asleep, forgetting (ignorance is bliss) about existence and valuing life.

The movie made me feel guilty for feeling guilty about wanting to indulge and live a little in life.

I recommend this movie anyone who likes movies that give you that feeling of "there's a message here for me".

The Last Minute is one of those truly rare motion pictures that deserves far wider recognition than it will ever get. How unfortunate. I'd never heard of the thing until recently stumbling across quite by accident. A virtual eye popping, roller coaster of a flick, it starts with a bang and never lets its hooks out of you. Visually, The Last Minute is as impressive a looking picture as I've ever seen.

The DVD extras are (mostly) exceptional adding to the whole experience as few extras features ever do. As darkly hilarious as it is, this "Minute" also packs quite an emotional punch. Kudo's to Mr. Norrington.

One caveat: Director Norrington wisely employs a terrific device by which we never know what our protagonist does to earn then lose his fame (director and star are on record as being at odds as to what Billy actually does). Were only that same thing had been employed on one scene. When Billy is told he doesn't want to know what's behind a certain, we shouldn't find that out either. Personally, I laughed (in horror, but laughed) at this scene but I know others who were put off of the movie altogether because of these few seconds.

Every other aspect of the truly most bizarre club "Prosthetic" is genius (as, actually is the moment in question, just too off-putting for most people). It is in this long scene at "Prosthetic" where perhaps the films most brilliant moment occurs – which is, of course, Percy "Sledge" breaking into the Sinatra classic "I've got you under my skin" while wreaking a gleeful malevolent stream of violence that is about as close to movie magic as we've ever seen.

Norrington has a cast that, quite simply, could not have been improved upon with Max Beesley giving a stand out performance as Billy – to watch the youthful energy of his clubby dance moves and the enthusiasm with which he embraces his burgeoning fame slip into confused despair, hopelessness and attempt at self redemption. Beesley has us routing for him even at his worst, for I think most of us can identify with Max's plight.

As the aforementioned Percy "Sledge" – Jason Isaacs is nothing short of terrifying, executing his violence with a Fred Astaire like grace and precision which is utterly disarming.

The Oliver Twist twist of the underground urchins with their modern day, more violent, Fagin (who doles out drug treats to the kiddies) is chillingly beautiful.

I also found the extended mad scene similar resonating strongly with Shakespeare's Lear – Max's meltdown/unhinging being so closely tied with what is happening in nature. Brilliant.

If "Minute" had been released theatrically stateside, I can't imagine it wouldn't do huge box office. There are audiences literally screaming for this type of originality. Hopefully, it's not too late to try. The seconds are ticking . . .

A really weird, unknown and rare film that attacks you out of no where and strikes you to the bottom of the unpredictable downer pit.

Long story short, it is about a guy who is the new and hip guy, until he isnt and falls down to obscurity, including becoming a Junky. As you might already have written a couple of times about this film, there isnt much to read about it out there, it seems to be a semi autobiographical piece of work about its director Stephen Norrington (Blade, Death Machine, League of....), which even though i hope he didnt became an addict, who left directing & directing right after "League of... ", due to having again being traumatised and shattered by the studio system (you can look it up for yourself what went down). The film could and should be seen as a metaphorical dream turned nightmare turned re-awakening. Its themes of Fame, celebrety cult, creativity, ego centrecism, exploitation and much more couldn't be more relevant today, in the age of social media reality tv and talent shows where most of the western and eastern world seems to seek fame and attention like heroin addicts to an absurd extreme. We live in an age of people becoming famous for the sake of it without having any talents whatsoever and others for having video channels with millions of followers without doing anything more than reacting to other videos infront of the camera, people watching other people play video games and so on. The film indirectly predicts that obsession for attention and shows its aftermath that will come someday to whomever seeks that attention for whatever. What surprised me about this film was its sheer nihilistic madness and chaotic nature that until the very end doesnt quite seem to match up, by the end you'll understand and as only a few movies do this flick gets better the more you watch it.

Be warned this film ain't for the faint heart and especially is not for the traditional moviegoer, at times it reminded me of the spontaneous chaotic nature of Godard' s Breathless (make no mistake it is not near as good as Breathless). This film surely deserves more attention and a cult following, not many people have seen or do even know about that film, so i say spread the word for this bizzare and unique experiment called film