|
In the Loop |  | Director: Armando Iannucci
Actors: James Gandolfini, Peter Capaldi, Anna Chlumsky, James Doherty, Mimi Kennedy
Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $13.49
as of 9/6/2010 13:23 CDT details
You Save: $6.49 (32%)
New (40) from $6.93
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  44 reviews
Sales Rank: 5305
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.3
MPN: 030306971391
UPC: 030306971391
EAN: 0030306971391
ASIN: B002T4GXUG
Release Date: January 12, 2010
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
| | |
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Political satire finds the British Minister for International Development landing in the media spotlight after casually remarking that war in the Midd
|
| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
 A sweary classic! August 18, 2010
Byron (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
This movie is based on the brilliant BBC political comedy "The Thick of It" with most of the main actors from the show appearing as differently named and titled characters who act in exactly the same way as their TV counterparts. The centerpiece of the film and the show is the profane and manipulative Malcolm Tucker (played ferociously by Peter Capaldi) the Prime Minister's Communications Director/policy enforcer. He rains down tsunamis of graphic and picturesque verbal abuse on anyone who strays from the Government line and can turn almost any situation to his advantage. If you are sensitive to profanity and foul language this is not the movie for you. If you find imaginative insults hilarious then you're in the right place. This film and "The Thick of It" have a consulting writer whose only job is to add more creative swearing to each script.
The story follows a befuddled government minister (the pitch-perfect Tom Hollander) who inadvertently becomes a spokesman for both the pro-war and anti-war factions in a fictional potential conflict that mirrors (but isn't) the Iraq War. Unlike the TV series we get to see an American contingent which includes James Gandolfini as an anti-war Pentagon general, Mimi Kennedy as a State Dept official and David Rasche in a great performance as a cheerily Machiavellian and puritanical State Dept neo-con. The locations range from London, Washington and New York to a small garden in Northamptonshire. Steve Coogan, who will be familiar (by sight at least) to many American viewers, plays the outraged occupant of this garden.
If you like The Office (UK), The Larry Sanders Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm or other semi-improvised shows, you'll enjoy this. On repeated viewings you might find yourself rewinding particularly hilarious lines several times.
If you're not familiar with non-standard British accents you may need to pop on the subtitles every once in awhile. There are a couple of regional English accents and much of the funniest dialogue is delivered by Malcolm Tucker and his underling Jamie, both of whom have pronounced Scottish accents.
 War is funny... August 9, 2010
Andrew Ellington (I'm kind of everywhere)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
To say that I understand everything that went on in this film would be a total lie. I am not a political person (not in the least) and so I couldn't quite follow everything. To say that this isn't one of the better satires out there would also be a lie. I mean, you don't have to be technically politically savvy to understand just what this film stands for and to gather the message it is trying to relay. In fact, what makes this film all the more funny is that, despite its razor-sharp wit and humor, it comes off extremely honest.
The film basically revolves around a group of people whose political futures are placed on the line when one man makes a poor move and states on public television that a war on the cuffs is `unforeseeable'. This seemingly small move stirs endless panic as parties from both sides of the political fence (those for and against the war from both the UK and the US) try and spin his words and actions in their favor. Caught in the middle is Simon Foster, the unlucky man who made the regrettable statement.
With so many serious dramas being created in the light of the Iraq war, it is nice to see some humor tossed its way. Shot in the familiar `improvised' mode that shows like `The Office' are shot in, `In the Loop' is certainly a unique cinematic experience. It has flaws, but they are minor really. In fact, nearly every flaw I can conjure up winds up being yet another reason why I really like this film. It seems so over the top, yet those aspects of the film really drive it forward for me. The script is seriously brilliant, delivering sharply crafted lines, one right after the other. The ending of the film is oddly anti-climactic, but that is such a godsend here, for it adds to the scarily real quality to this film. It just seems so, honest...even when it is blatantly embellished.
Another major plus here is the acting.
The performances are so sharp, so precise that they fit this mold beautifully. It reminds me of `Juno' a tad in the way that the performances complemented the script. `Juno' had a script that was very unrealistic in texture (especially the dialog) and yet it worked remarkably well thanks to the commitment from the actors (that film has certainly grown on me over the past two years). `In the Loop' is the same in that, without a committed cast, this would have fallen to pieces. It just wouldn't have worked. The script is too insanely preposterous (dialog wise) that is wouldn't have worked without dedicated performances that sold you on every word.
Peter Capaldi is a genius with 4-letter words, and while I found his character development to be slightly repressed (as are most characters here, which seem to represent stereotypes within themselves) he nailed everything that was asked of him. Everyone here is just fantastic, culminating together to create one of the best ensembles of the decade. I really want to give special attention to Tom Hollander though. His character (that of Simon Foster) was certainly the most demanding because he is the center of the films entire plot and he thus has to create the most complex character. He is really the only character with a major arc, beings that he seems to be the only character not defined by a cliché (not to say that this is a cliché ridden film, for it is a satire that revolves around exploiting clichés). Using this to his advantage he crafted a character that was just as sharp tongued, but in a more repressed way, and he showed his characters insecurities, fears, bouts of strength and boundless confusion perfectly. Add to Hollander the likes of James Gandolfini (who is just golden here), Chris Addison, Zach Woods (hilarity; the future Malcolm Tucker) and Mimi Kennedy (the list goes on and on, but who has time to name them all) and you have comedic supremacy.
In the end, I really liked this movie a lot. It does have its flaws, and at times the narrative does seem to do it a disservice (it feels like a TV show, really) but overall there is no reason anyone should miss this movie; well, unless you are easily offended by verbal vulgarity. I give it high marks, a B+ if you will, but that's a very, very strong B+.
Excellent Movie!!!!! August 4, 2010
Donna Rice-Bassett (Milton, MA USA)
This movie is EXCELLENT! It is a dark comedy (heavy on the comedy) about how the proverbial sausage was made that led us into the war in Iraq from the British point of view. By taking the position that 'this is so bad, if you don't laugh you'll cry'(coupled with wonderful actors and a great script), this movie effectively allows us to explore the fine line between baby sitting and diplomacy and how personal ambition all too often gets translated into disastrous public policy. My husband and I watched this movie when it aired on TV and loved it, but knew we were missing some of the dialogue due to the accents (one of the main characters is Scottish). We enjoyed the movie so much that we ordered the movie shortly thereafter so we could turn on the subtitles. And boy was it worth it!
In the Loop, political satire masterpiece July 25, 2010
Richard P. Duncan (Fremont, CA)
I've, seen this film three times, twice rented it and finally bought it. This is more than a satire of the WMD reasoning for invading Iraq. It's a humorous look at how modern governments work. It should be added to the list of great political satires among classics like "Dr. Strangelove" and "Wag the Dog".
 Very disappointing July 10, 2010
David Ljunggren (Ottawa, Ontario Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This film was a serious disappointment. In The Loop is a film-length development of the cult British TV series The Thick Of It, which features the daily travails of a hapless government minister and his aides as they spend a large amount of their time battling Malcolm Tucker, the profane and half-insane chief spokesman for the Prime Minister. The episodes are not always funny and can be tough to watch, but they're only half an hour long. This is the first big problem with In the Loop -- while you can survive a half hour dose of The Thick of It, the effect of an hour and 45 minutes is numbing. By the end of the film you're immune to the word play and streams of outrageous language and temper eruptions. You just want the film to end.
The other major flaw to the movie starts the second the cast leaves the centre of the British government in London and moves to Washington. The makers of the film clearly have no idea how the U.S. system or officials or politician really work and so we have a bunch of characters with American accents, supposedly high up in the U.S. executive branch, acting exactly the same way the British ones do, firing off the same volleys of profanity.
Lost in all this is the story of how some American officials are pressing for a war in an unnamed Middle Eastern country and the chaos that ensures when a clumsy and not very intelligent British minister and his press aide stumble into the action. The idea has potential but you won't find much to satisfy you in this mess of a movie.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 25
|
|
|
CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.
 
| |
