[.ca] Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
Cockney boys Tom, Soap, Eddie, and Bacon are in a bind; they owe seedy criminal and porn king "Hatchet" Harry a sizable amount of cash after Eddie loses half a million in a rigged game of poker. Hot on their tails is a thug named Big Chris who intends to send them all to the hospital if they don't come up with the cash in the allotted time. Add into the mix an incompetent set of ganja cultivators, two dimwitted robbers, a "madman" with an afro, and a ruthless band of drug dealers and you have an astonishing movie called Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Before the boys can blink, they are caught up in a labyrinth of double-crosses that lead to a multitude of dead bodies, copious amounts of drugs, and two antique rifles. Written and directed by talented newcomer Guy Ritchie, this is one of those movies that was destined to become an instant cult classic à la Reservoir Dogs. Although some comparisons were drawn between Ritchie and Quentin Tarantino, it would be unfair to discount the brilliant wit of the story and the innovative camerawork that the director brings to his debut feature. Not since The Krays has there been such an accurate depiction of the East End and its more colorful characters. Indicative of the social stratosphere in London, Ritchie's movie is a hilarious and at times touching account of friendships and loyalty. The director and his mates (who make up most of the cast) clearly are enjoying themselves here. This comes across in some shining performances, in particular from ex-footballer Vinnie Jones (Big Chris) and an over-the-top Vas Blackwood (as Rory Breaker), who very nearly steals the show. Full of quirky vernacular and clever tension-packed action sequences, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a triumph--a perfect blend of intelligence, humor, and suspense. --Jeremy Storey

Chronique amazon.fr:
Ceux qui croyaient le polar "made in England" relégué au rang du souvenir, avec des chefs-d'oeuvre comme La Loi du milieu, The Long Good Friday ou Mona Lisa, eurent une belle surprise en 1998 avec ce premier long métrage signé Guy Ritchie, transfuge du vidéo-clip. Si le film respecte la tradition du genre, avec une approche détaillée des rites du milieu londonien, il se démarque rapidement de ses honorables pairs pour devenir une comédie haletante, nous montrant une bande de potes joueurs aux prises avec des malfrats finalement des plus pittoresques. Extrêmement rafraîchissante, survoltée, goguenarde, cette course à cent à l'heure permet à une nouvelle génération de comédiens anglais (Flemyng, Fletcher, Moran et d'autres) de faire ses preuves, mais aussi à quelques figures célèbres de sortir des sentiers battus (Sting en père de famille, accessoirement patron de bar). Outre la révélation d'un réalisateur prometteur, qui a depuis confirmé avec Snatch, Arnaques, crimes et botanique nous fait également découvrir les talents cachés d'un acteur inattendu, Vinnie Jones, ex-footballeur professionnel - l'un des plus brutaux qui soient - devenu entraîneur, ici tout à fait à son aise en homme de main déterminé à la gâchette facile. --Jean-Pascal Grosso

British pulp fiction:
Lock Stock and Two Smoking barrels is a fantastic british crime drama that has more the disposition of a black comedy than anything else. in the Tradition of quinton tarintino films, this movie is stylish and compelling. With a character driven story and a long convoluted plot. The story follows a group of small time thieves who get way into deep in a game of cards. This sets of an INSANE chain reaction of events, all centered somehow around 2 antique shotguns worth a half million pounds - of course no one knows how much they're worth!! This is one of the most ironic movies of it's type you'll find. The way all the shiesty characters are brought together in the film is brilliant and entertaining. You've got crosses and double crosses and triple crosses, and in the climax you have the stage set for a major disaster as everyone is killing everyone else, with thanks to great confusion and mistaken identity. The actual plot twists turns are far too complex to go over in this review just suffiuce it to say that you'll be watching the movie laughing to yourself at the unbelievable turns of fate that unfold on the screen. The wild web of relationships between the characters is simply hilarious. There are chracters working for people they dont even know they are working for who end up killing their own boss unkowingly in the confusion. The camera style is excellent and the english flair is a nice component to the overall feel of the movie in comparison to typical american crime culture flicks. This is a must see for fans of resevoir dogs, pulp fiction, jackie brown, playing god, good fellas, or any similar movie. this is just one of those movies you'll have to sit down and watch in order to see what all the full is about. Very well written and well directed, Lock stock and two smoking barrels is an enjoyable experience all around.

"I HATE TRAFFIC WARDENS":
I hate traffic wardens, but I love this movie! LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS is graced with many hilarious and multi-dimensional characters and is lucky enough to have actors that accurately bring them to life. This film from Guy Ritchie, much like the film that would follow it, SNATCH, is about many different characters with different motives tied into one twisted, comic, and even more complicated stroyline. This film can be quite funny if you understand it, but beware of getting lost. Most every line in this film has some significance to the plot, and if that weren't enough, you have to understand it with the thick accents. So, pay close attention to what the characters are trying to say and you will most likely enjoy yourself. If you do do your best at paying attention to every line, and you end up not enjoying the film, then you probably missed something, or you didn't miss anything and your cold and have no sense of humor. Guy Ritchie directs with his own unique style and uses many interesting techniques to tell this energetic and fast-paced action comedy. If you enjoy this film, then you will definitely enjoy SNATCH, Ritchie's follow-up (not a sequel). But back to LOCK STOCK, if you like comedy, action, suspense, more comedy, and energy to wrap it all up, along with a great soundtrack, then I strongly recommend LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS. Enjoy the cockneyrhyming slang. '

a great movie:
this movie is very funny it is kind of like a funny British Pulp Fiction but the story goes in order. You have to love the tough British guy that all of these kind of movies have.

Wild, Violent and Funny:
Hopefully, Guy Ritchie will stop making movies with his wife and go back to what he is a master of: the British small-time crook flick. While not quite as clever as "Snatch," this movie is aprecurrsor of everything that made "Snatch" great: widely disparate small time crooks who somehow all become entangled with one another. Some of the same actors, notably the great Jeremy Statham, who appear in "Snatch" are present here, to great effect. The plot: four buddies suddenly find themselves owing a local gambler known as Hatchet Harry $500,000.00. To pay him back, they concoct a plot to rip off some crooks who plan to rip off the local pot growers. Basically, everyone is trying to rip everyone else off. Playing into this are two antique shotguns, which Hatchet Harry covets (they would be the two smoking barrels of the title) and the buddies come into possession of, totally oblivious to the fact that Harry wants the guns. What develops is a throwback to the old screwball comedies of the thirties and forties (albeit a very violent throwback), where surprises await as different scenes are viewed from different points of view. If you loved "Snatch," you will, at a minimum, like "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Watch for Sting is a small but important role as the father of one of buddies in trouble.

Gorgeous filmmaking, great pacing, fun story:
This story was great. It had action, comedy, plot, style, and was just interesting. Essentially it's the story of luck, good and bad, spread out through a number of interesting characters. The storytelling is done in a non-linear way which makes it so things unfold to you kind of as they're unfolding for the characters. The story is basically a heist story with about 100 twists mixed in, as well as some cockney-slang and great characterization. This was a great intro film for Guy Ritchie and is on par with his more well-known "Snatch," if not a better movie. If you liked Snatch, you'll definitely like this movie.