Starred Up

[RAZORBACK]

With preview screenings just around the corner thought I'd get the discussion thread up & running:



Not the biggest fan of Jack O'Connell (mainly because he plays irritating little you know whats in most of his movies) so it's strange that I'm quite looking forward to seeing this (maybe that's down to a decent supporting cast & interesting trailer ).

Anyway, here's hoping Jack's character gets his just desserts in a few days time ...

[Beate]

Well, I knew what to expect, it's a prison film after all, but all the violence and bad language is still hard to stomach - plus the indifference and/or hostility of the prison staff. The whole film is an exercise in futility - nothing will ever change, won't it? (As proven by the noisy idiots to our right who ate loudly, drank loudly and talked loudly. I felt very violent towards them.)

5/10

[Yinster]

Saw this in Braehead where there was security but they did absolutely nothing. So not sure what brief they had, if any. OH, Debs1 and OH, McG, teddybear1, Karenlg123, ScooterMcc and friend were all there. Which made up about 1/4 of the audience so not sure why there weren't any SUN tickets cos there were plenty of seats. Just hardly any punters.

So glad this is the shortest of the three films this week. Actually wasn't sure how this would end as there was no real plot to it. Didn't really care about any of the characters in this. Also still don't quite understand the term "Starred Up" even though I think they briefly tried to explain it in the film. I am positive that there be others out there who will rave about this film. Alas I am not one of them. 2/10

[Beate]

We had security too. They told us to switch our phones off but did very little else.

[raj101]

If you are wondering what became of Skin's 'Cook', heres a real possible future for him. A brutal but unresolved story, and a harrowing introduction to High Security prison life. Some brief moments of depth, especially when Cook shared the screen with the voluntary worker Orlando Bloom lookalike (I don't think it was him??) that he uncannily started swapping characteristics with.

Whilst the movie seemed to be missing any real resolution (probably deliberately) there was plenty in the movie that felt unnecessarily graphic. Ended up scratching my head at how a kid who struggles to do 10 pushups can manhandle prison's hardest nutjobs. 'Cook' didn't have the physique for it, though his acting was good.

(YES I know hes not Cook from Skins but that's the only name I can associate with that guys face now)

[McG]

Well, I knew what to expect, it's a prison film after all, but all the violence and bad language is still hard to stomach - plus the indifference and/or hostility of the prison staff. The whole film is an exercise in futility - nothing will ever change, won't it?

As Beate says, I expected a prison film and therefore knew there would be violence, etc but the story was very thin and everyone seemed "bad" whether they were prisoners or officers.
[spoiler]I must admit I likened their parting nuzzle as the father was being moved away as being like Bambi and his mother![/spoiler]
Glad film was free. It was more like an extended TV programme. Story going nowhere. Overall a sad reflection on life in jail!
Marks 4/10

[stone_monkey]

Saw this film last night. For what it was portaying I thought it was well acted. Knowing some prison officers and hearing the stories it sounded and looked pretty realistic.

[valda]

I've made up my mind that this is not for me, I didn't think it would be

[spoiler]Starred up as far as I know means that he was moved up from Borstal, kids prison to an adult one[/spoiler]

[Ms Thrifty]

Me too. I'm very grateful to the kind fairy who booked for me, but it sounds way too scary. Frustrating that there have been so few previews anywhere near me this year, only for one to come up for a film that is not at all my sort of thing! Still hoping for something more palatable, such as "Labor Day".

[sam2090]

I'm slightly surprised by some of the responses so far, I can only imagine some viewers weren't sure what to expect when going in.

I really enjoyed the film but I am one for gritty, foul mouthed, violent films (each to their own).

Tension was very well built in many scenes with Jack O'Connell's character being an extremely unpredictable individual. As for Jack O'Connell's performance I felt it was solid but can't help but think he is at risk of being typecasted in this kind of role, but he does it brilliantly!