Jackpot (2014)

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

JACKPOT is a Scandi-comedy, which is to say that it's dark and gruesome and quite funny. Winning the office lottery syndicate ought to be a good thing but for our hero it becomes something of a worry. You see, he runs a firm making Christmas trees...which employs only ex-cons trying to rehabilitate. With his three co-winners all being violent ex- offenders, it isn't long before they begin to realise that the fewer of them there are, the more money they'll each receive. Cue lots of black comedy as the incompetent four try to kill (or survive) each other. But what to do with all the corpses...? Then the cops get involved. If you enjoy black comedy with a happy ending (really...sort of) then you'll enjoy this.

(12%) A Scandinavian movie that is far too clearly influenced by other people's works to even stand a slight chance to make any kind of impact in itself. There's clear borrowings from Shaun of the dead, The usual suspects, with a hint of Tarantino's more comedic elements, only overall not as good as anything it takes its many influences from. The plot along with the lead characters are without question mean-spirited to the core, and nothing is quite funny enough to get past the fact. It's also lazily written and I found it difficult to really care about anything and particularly anyone, and as such I'd advise to give this a miss.

Based on a story by renowned crime writer Jo Nesbø, Jackpot stars Kyrre Hellum as Oscar, who awakes clutching a shotgun on the floor of a strip joint strewn with dead bodies and swarming with police officers. Taken for questioning by hard-nosed cop Solør (Henrik Mestad), Oscar recounts the unlikely events leading up to this point, starting with him winning a share of a 1.7m krone prize in a betting pool. But is Oscar telling the truth or spinning a wild yarn?This was a blind buy from Poundland, and while I wouldn't exactly say that I hit the jackpot with my gamble, I don't regret spending my hard-earned cash on the DVD (all £1 of it!). Director Magnus Martens handles the darkly humorous tale of crime, treachery and murder with confidence, his cast put in solid performances, and there is plenty of grisly violence to keep fans of gritty crime capers satisfied for the duration. Where the film falls down slightly is in its narrative, which, despite plenty of twists and turns, isn't quite as clever or as deranged as it is clearly intended to be—certainly not on a par with the absurdist work of The Coen Brothers, as the DVD cover states.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

The movie has a simple premise and you have to buy into that. If you do, you will enjoy a nice little thriller, that is quite explicit in some regards (concerning the violence). The original author became very popular (outside his own country that is) with "Headhunters" (intl. title) and this is another one of his stories done for the big screen. It works though it's not as good as the other one.Not all twists and turns seem to make sense overall, but you won't mind if just watch it to be entertained. The structure of the movie is build with flashbacks and will be something you have to be able to endure. But the smallest joke that come within the situation help lighten the mood too.