The Hot Potato

This film reminds me very much of The Italian Job as a traditional British comedy caper. The actors are very well cast and play their various characters extremely convincingly. Not the usual role for Ray Winstone but nevertheless a winning performance as Kenny. Jack Huston played a very convincing but not very worldly Danny and David Harewood was brilliant as the FBi agent who seemed to be able to appear through walls.Great twist to the end of the film

The European locations were very colourful and gave a greater depth to the movie. I particularly liked the old cars used and the car chase was wicked. All in all a great film for the family, no bad language no excessive violence, just a real good feel factor film. Buy it rent it enjoy!

An interesting idea played straight in 'City in Fear' (1959) and with tongue in cheek in 'Kiss Me Deadly' (1955), but here with a score that occasionally parodies John Barry's for 'The Ipcress File' (from which it also borrows the black CIA spook with a hat and a pipe) to make sure we know it's being played for laughs; of which there are very few, alas. The very last shot, however (borrowed from 'Kiss Me Deadly'), is worth sitting through the end credits for.

The premise for this so-called 60's style Brit caper sounded intriguing...except that only Ray Winstone has any sort of character or charisma.

Where the likes of Terry Thomas and Peter Sellers had oodles of fizz and bang and entertained us, when the script was a dud, this is just a dud all round. The other characters - and their actors I've already forgotten, ten minutes after it's finished. They might as well been office furniture for all their presence and acting.

The script is obvious and rather boring as we now know all about Plutonium - it has no excitement value whatsoever. The movie seemed to have the budget of a TV pilot 'special' - it's so obviously struggling that it's rather embarrassing. The direction, too, is particularly feeble, without any panache or style whatsoever.

I've been generous with my 3/10. It's not going to be too awful for those that might buy the DVD if they have a good idea of what sort of movie they're getting but for most Hot Potato is a waste of time and effort. And, yes, I do enjoy and own many of the old genuine 60's films on DVD - Too Many Crooks, for example - brilliant! Buy that instead!

Period piece. Brits ken and dan find a hunk of uranium and triy to sell it for cash. Although this sounds so similar to a u.s. Film from 1950, maybe 1960. The opening credits state: based on a true story by kenneth sneath. Stars ray winstone, jack huston. With all the wacky underworld characters they meet, and their own greed, it's something of a farce. And now that word is out, the thugs are out to knock em off and just take the uranium without paying. We're off to roma. With the germans and the american. It's an international heist! It's okay. No big surprises. Written and directed by tim lewiston.

Gorgeously-shot geezer-fest with a lovely colour palette and a soft heart. It tells a simple, quite satisfying story and stars some top British actors - Winstone, Meaney etc. The film is enjoyable and warm- hearted, despite being a bit predictable in its plot. The violence is cartoonish and often funny, and the level of threat is minimal. Self-parodying at times, the film also recalls the Carry On films and sixties classics like Alfie and The Ipcress File (especially in the music - though The Ipcess File is much darker, obviously). The set design is always beautiful, with lots of period detail. There are some nice European locations too. Charming.