Too much of everything

Absolutely Fantastic

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Paul Callow (Mackenzie Crook) is a London subway train driver. After running one person after another, his co-workers tell him about a little known rule. If he kills one more person in the same month, he will get a buyout of 10 years salary and an early retirement. After the required time off, he has only one day to hit that last person. He starts looking for a willing participant. He pulls Tommy Cassidy (Colm Meaney) away from jumping off a bridge and pays him £1500 to do it in front of his train. Tommy's motto is "a deal's a deal" and he wants to swim with sharks. With the limited time, he decides to visit his estranged wife Rosemary (Imelda Staunton) and daughter Frances (Gemma Arterton) with Paul in tow.The general concept is problematic. It's not a naturally funny idea and this is not done with enough comedy to overcome it. It tries to be a black comedy while keeping Paul a good guy. It doesn't work. This could have worked with a sleazy underhanded Paul who gets his comeuppance in the end. With Paul as a good guy, I don't like the way this ends but the movie's problem is well entrenched by then. Meaney and Staunton are a good dramatic pairing but they're not that funny. Arterton comes in like a freight train but it's only a secondary character in the second half. The level of difficulty with this comedy is high and it doesn't make it.

I loved Three and Out. Everything about it was so good. The performances were great especially from the lead actors: Mackenzie Crook, Imelda Staunton and Colm Meaney. Three and Out is very much a dark comedy and it is hilarious in places, but also tragic in others. The ending is absolutely heart-breaking. (SPOILER ALERT) I was praying that Tommy Cassidy would have changed his mind, yet after everything that has happened, he still wants Paul Callow to kill him, which he does. I also loved the setting of the film. As a Londoner myself, I know full well why Paul Callow wants to leave London. Everyone in London is horrible and the noise is unbearable.Read my full review for more: http://goo.gl/mM9IxQ

Although the producers have classed it as a comedy, I don't really find it can fit under just one genre. It wasn't a comedy of the sort like "American pie", "School of Rock" or "The Simpsons film" (just to name some really famous ones) in which you get regular jokes, set characters to make you laugh e.g. homer or jack black in that case, where you expect to say or do stupid/funny things, it was more of a literal 'film', perhaps like "Bridget Jone's diary", only whereas the same comedy style mentioned above, featuring some elements of comedy and its few moments, but not an actual pure comedy like the 3 examples I gave earlier.I would actually call it more one of those films like "there will be blood" or "thirteen" that really just make you think or reflect, films that would be good to watch if you are interested in sociology. I must admit I find it hugely ironic that out of the many many films I've seen in my time that this, a classed "comedy" that is the only film other than "ghost" (I was very very young) that has ever managed to actually make me cry. The ending left me feeling very upset, as were literally almost the rest of the audience as they walked out the screen, you grow an attachment to the characters.I was sceptical about seeing the film at first as the issue of the proposed comedy was suicide, but I think the directors didn't handle it controversially or distastefully overall. I also enjoyed how the film made me think about how everyone literally has such a past and a story to tell.Overall I think the film was worth seeing, and would recommend it if you want something abit stronger or harder then the average film. Prehaps the producers were also unsure of how to really class this film into a genre.

Three and Out (2008) As the overpaid and Naïve London Underground employee's picket this film before they've seen it – complaining that it insults their occupation – I felt it would be fitting to go see this film to see what the fuss was all about. Paul Callow (Mackenzie Crook) has a bad couple of weeks as a London Underground Tube Driver – (Spoiler – but not really giving anything away here) – Paul hits and kills two Passengers while driving his Underground Train. Paul then hears from his matey colleagues that there is a Three and Out Rule in place – if he kills three people with his train within a month he will be retired and paid 10 years salary – so judging by what the average tube driver earns this probably equates to over £500,000+ ($1m+). Hence, Paul sets about to find a third victim – of course this is where the film really begins and the journey for Paul moves from off the track to the streets of Liverpool and the scenery of Cumbria, on this journey Paul may end up finding more than just another victim but potentially finding himself. Now I always like to give British Films a chance and on first impressions this one isn't too bad for a light comedy – however everything about it strikes you while you watch it as "Average". The jokes will make you smirk and maybe laugh occasionally but it's not side-splitting and it's certainly not original. From the word go – the film is predictable and nothing that special. Imelda Staunton and Colm Meaney are the strongest performers in this flick. The St Trinian who only left RADA last year (Gemma Artertan) is the eye candy in this film – but her performance is almost comparable to the cameo of the awful and dire Kerry Katona. However the biggest gripe comes half way into the movie when the Director thinks it would be a good idea to experiment with Angles. Now camera angles rarely bother me – but in this film while Mackenzie and Colm are shouting near a bunch of cows the director really should have re shot – shaky almost out of focus and badly directed – however thankfully the rest of the movie isn't shot in this way. An enjoyable film if you're not expecting anything, but it's certainly not going to make waves over seas as this is no Full Monty or Four Weddings. It certainly doesn't merit the attention of the overpaid Underground Unions; it simply doesn't insult the occupation of driving Underground Train so they really shouldn't bother picketing as this film will be forgotten very quickly.