You Move You Die

I wasn't expecting much from this film given the low ratings and was really just sitting back killing some time. However I was pleasantly surprised to find this movie very quickly became entertaining and humorous. Although it started a little slow, the pace picked right up and pulled me along with it. Rob and Mike worked well together and bought a real 'mates' feel to the movie. It isn't often I laugh out loud but the guys antics and banter had me chuckling all the way through. The twists and turns and situation comedies had me laughing out loud and I have come away with four new faces to look out for in up and coming movies. Thank you for an entertaining hour and a half and would love to see more from this crew. :)

For a movie I had never heard of, this movie was a very enjoyable surprise rental at the video store. There are hints of Pulp Fiction humour, a touch of low budget El Mariachi, nods to Lock, Stock or Snatch, and a real crappy Toyota station wagon. Considering the violence of the film, there is no real gore or blooded to be seen. Think of it as a crime caper comedy that doesn't take itself seriously.

Some film students/critics may not love it, but ordinary people with open minds that enjoy a laugh with their crime caper will likely find it worth the time. It is reasonably polished for the reported $50K budget, throws in a twist or two, brings the laughs, and doesn't try to overwhelm you with it's "art".

I bought a DVD copy and recommend it often. I am looking forward to what they do with the sequel when they have a few more dollars to play with.

Alas, Francis Ford Coppola was wrong. The digital camera revolution has not resulted in an explosion of talent gracing our screens. All it has delivered is the never ending glut of amateur material, posturing as cinema, that clog the shelves of video stores worldwide. YOU MOVE YOU DIE is a continuation of this never ending cycle of sub-mediocre, ego- driven and wholly wretched home-movies.

Suffering through YOU MOVE YOU DIE is like watching a gang of young schoolboys, inspired by a movie they just saw, playing Goodies and Baddies as they chase each other around the drab back streets of their boring small town. They play-fight and play-act, and do all things their parents would frown upon (like swearing and smoking). The jolly romp is all made up on the spur of the moment and after an hour or so, they're so darn tuckered out from all the tussling and screaming and pointlessness of it all, so they simply...stop.

Now imagine a group of age-retarded adult men in their thirties, doing the above. Yet sadder still, is their friend with a video-camera who's followed them around as they playact like little kids- bored during the summer holidays. Then afterwards, they all wearily (but satisfied and with much backslapping) go back home to endlessly watch themselves replayed on telly, over fizzy drinks and chips as they collectively fantasize about hanging out with Tarantino.

That pretty much sums up wrist-slitting banality that is YOU MOVE YOU DIE.

Pretty good movie overall in the sense that the story keeps moving and there's no soppy love scenes to slow things down. Acting was alright too and most of the actors / actresses were convincing. Ketzal's outbursts and coined phrases added that little bit of humour and if you just watched it at face value, you'd never have guessed the ending. Looks like this is a Quentin Tarantino or Guy Ritchie in the making. Just too bad he didn't come up with anything like this after. I've watched it a few times and will definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a 'light' movie or simply to find out what a knob jockey is.

It's not a bad job. The characters are convincing, even if some of the action isn't. If you can accept stylized, unconvincing violence (no blood anywhere), which I don't mind, the story has some new twists. The first two thirds seem a bit aimless, like Mean Streets down under, just a tale of four thugs who seem to have an appointment to keep in the afternoon, and manage to keep it, in spite of the befuddled police they have to deal with in New Zealand. It's funny; it could have been funnier, but for something I never heard of before a street vendor offered it to me, it ain't bad. The acting is generally acceptable; the camera-work is utilitarian. Technically, it succeeds in some ways, e.g., the steadicam work, but fails in others, e.g., under- and over-exposure, or their digital equivalents. The dialogue is in Kiwi, i.e., "english", but it would benefit from subtitles, also in English, as in The Harder They Come. It's worth noting that the vaunted technical achievement (long, uncut shots) was barely noticeable-which means that it did what it was supposed to do without drawing attention to itself.