geezer cinema: lock, stock, and two smoking barrels (guy ritchie, 1998)

This is the first film I have watched in "My Letterboxd Season Challenge 2021-22", "A 33 week long challenge where the goal each week is to watch a previously unseen feature length film from a specified category." This is the 7th annual challenge, and my third time participating (my first year can be found at "My Letterboxd Season Challenge 2019-20", and last year's at "My Letterboxd Season Challenge 2020-21"). Week 1 is called "Lucky Seven Week":

Looking to score some luck with our first week! Since it's our lucky seventh Season, let's roll the dice on some gambling films and hope not to go bust by the end!

This week's challenge is to watch a previously unseen film about gambling. Here's a list to help you get started.

The start of a new Letterboxd Season Challenge. My previous challenges have led to a mixed bunch of films, some very good (most notably The Shape of Water and French Cancan in 19-20), some not so good (The Beast of Yucca Flats from that same challenge). But I love the opportunity to check out new-to-me movies that someone else has decided might be fun. And so, to gambling films and Guy Ritchie.

I've only seen a few of Ritchie's movies, and outside of the first Sherlock Holmes, I'm unimpressed. His movies are hectic, complicated just to be complicated, and showy to no purpose. Tarantino does it all better. Lock Stock, Ritchie's first feature, fits this description, but it did have some positives. Jason Statham got his first role, as did legendary Welsh "hard man" soccer player Vinnie Jones ... he does well here. Sting pops up in a couple of scenes. The soundtrack is fun. There are hardly any women in the cast, which speaks to what matters to Ritchie. You might scratch your head at times trying to figure out what is going on, or which character is which, or what the hell the actors with their thick accents are saying. But you probably won't be bored.

Among the other "gambling movie" choices people selected for the challenge were Casino Royale, The Cooler, and The Killing of a Chinese Bookie.

[Letterboxd list of Geezer Cinema movies]

Comments

[Tomás]

I'm trying it this year. Here's my list. Can't wait for the weeks when we watch the same thing!

[Steven Rubio]

Great! Looking forward to reading your reviews. I think we only have two movies in common for the challenge, although I change my list occasionally as the year goes on. If I had one piece of advice, it would be to not take things too seriously. Sometimes you'll get behind, other times you might decide it's not fun. It's supposed to be fun, so don't let it be a burden and you'll watch some good movies and get pleasure from the process.

I'm a little ahead right now, having watched 5 of my 33 movies, because I'll be in Spain in October and am trying to watch those before I leave.

And I'm glad you liked California Split! It's a favorite of mine, one that I would have happily chosen if I hadn't already seen it.