G.B.H. (2013)

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Not the rating here on IMDb at this moment. Though it's higher than the 3 points/stars that another reviewer mentioned I was surprised this being under 5 at the time of writing. But I guess people might get fed up with movies about hooligans (though to reduce this to just that would be unfair to the movie).Maybe it's the time-line and the jumping around events that got people annoyed, it's tough to say. Though I have to admit the "german" title for the movie is pretty "simple" - London Pitbulls - I don't think it makes any difference in the rating here. The main actor might not always be up to the task (a bit over the top, not enough charisma to pull certain things off), but the story itself is still worth watching

This movie is kind of an enigma, if you read the review that is tagged by IMDb you'd think it was the next Academy award winner for best picture? But it only garners a 4.1 from members and it's dropping fast?Then I remember hearing that Yahoo did a study, and even in it's own reviews 80% were fake, one way or the other... This movie is no Diff.The real reviews are easy to pick out, as they are the ones SPOT ON, to quote that tagged review... The acting here is somewhat less than stellar as is the directing, the budget is smaller than most movies, but I would still say was a wasted expense~they'll be no profits still~except for those already made... ;-)Believable, No!Good acting or direction, NOAlxMac (me) gives this a 2.1 you may even give it less. Put it this way, if it was a EarthQuake on the CA coast, after being reported many people would say, "I never felt a thing"... Pun? For sure, you might feel something, but I doubt it will be anything but the feeling to find a commode chair ASAP and grab the for railings...

G.B.H wasn't entirely irredeemable, Nick Nevern did have a great brooding intensity that he brought to his lead character, and Kellie Shirley(whose acting has grown since her stint on EastEnders) is affecting. For me though, that's it for the saving graces. The rest of the acting is poor, Steven Berkoff for example doesn't seem to have a clue as to what to do and how to play his role. Though in all fairness they weren't helped at all by sketchily written characters that were largely sidelined throughout the film, the juiciest side character was Con O'Neill's but that is not saying very much. The dialogue resorts to a lot of clichéd banter, while the way G.B.H is shot looks cobbled together(like some of it was done in one stretch with a gap and then in another stretch after). And I do have to agree about the wildly inaccurate portrayal of the police force, it is not only inaccurate but completely unbelievable too. There was a good story in G.B.H somewhere, no matter how many times we've seen its plot points on other films and television shows, the structure was just so clumsy and disorganised with no tension that that potential didn't ever come out. It was also very difficult to be drawn in by, it was purposefully grim and bleak which is not a problem in any way, it was just dealt with in such a tedious and heavy-handed way that the tone was more wearying(and increasingly so) and overly-aggressive in alternative to tense and properly involving. Overall, apart from the leads I found it by difficult to be drawn in by G.B.H. 2/10 Bethany Cox

Don't let the bad rating deter you from seeing this film. I didn't have high expectations for this film but it turned out to be very good. It is a VERY depressing and disturbing film and really made my blood boil (especially the rape scene.) It reveals the grisly and nasty depravity that exists on the streets of London (mainly in the 'pleb'ian class.) I really hope that circumstances aren't as bad as depicted because it makes Jane and Finch look like Mr. Rogers neighbourhood. I remember the stories my teachers told us when they taught in England. They told horror stories of kids who were unfathomably violent and grotesque. England and Canada have very different cultures in some ways. I don't believe all of England is like this, probably big cities and whatnot. The level of depravity demonstrated in this film is very disturbing. Craftful way of arranging the sequences. Excellent acting. Overall, it makes you think about a lot of things, which is a very good thing.