Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Leofwine_draca SHINER is one of those movies which seems to have been rushed into production in the wake of the success of the Guy Ritchie hits LOCK, STOCK, AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS and SNATCH. It stars Michael Caine as a down-on-his-luck boxing promoter desperate for one last win, a man who finds himself on a wrong side of a number of enemies he's ended up crossing during the course of the movie.For a British film, the cast is second to none. Caine gives a faultless and sympathetic performance in the leading role, despite the deficits of his character. Kenneth Cranham shows up in a rather shrill role, and there's a meaty party for a youthful, pre-fame Andy Serkis. Martin Landau is the barely-glimpsed American import, Matthew Marsden (RAMBO) plays Caine's son, and the reliable Danny Webb (ALIEN 3) is on hand as a slimy lawyer.The narrative is fast-paced, certainly, but also loaded with many, many plot holes. It's one of those films that makes sense on the surface but which makes no sense if you actually stop to think about it. Characters do things just to service the plot and none of it is even remotely realistic. It's a pity, because with better writing and direction, this could and should have been up there with the best this genre has to offer; as it stands, it's a bit of a mess.

merklekranz Not much of a boxing movie, so if your interest is in the sport you are sure to be disappointed. Character development is spotty, especially with Michael Caine's children. Caine's two henchmen come across well, and Michael Caine gives an impressive and believable performance. Martin Landau is mostly wasted in the background. What is intriguing is Caine's rapidly escalating paranoia regarding his ill advised decision to risk everything on his son's big fight. When things derail, Caine blames everyone but himself for the disaster. Unpleasant consequences follow for anyone he suspects of sabotaging his dream. Eventually the wheels come off and we learn if Caine's suspicions were imagined or correct. - MERK

johnnyboyz 'Shiner' is another addition to the growing number of gangster films released over the past half a dozen years or so but unlike better known crime films, it doesn't take a multi-strand, multiple characters, neo-realistic approach to itself. Instead, it relies on revenge as its main plot drive and, in my opinion, manages to pull it off in some style.Although the film is rather flawed in numerous places throughout, it stays clear of horrible stereotypes and clichéd dialogue whilst maintaining a healthy atmosphere, throughout. The film is spilt into two distinguishable halves. The first half consists of the build up around a boxing match, allowing the film to let off some amusing scenes mixed in with some snappy dialogue and impressive acting. The emphasis on the fact our heroes have everything to loose is also mixed in, adding to the tension. The feeling of doubt and nervousness is also built up in an impressive way with certain things in the film lingering in the background, tempting the viewer to ask themselves if it was anything significant. These things include the lingering man with the baseball cap and the inaudible dialogue between the American boxing opponents with other people. All these things are seen from 'Shiner' Simpon's (Caine) point of view, forcing us to relate to him the most; another effective method.The second half of the film consists solely of a revenge/detective strand. Without giving anything away, Simpson must track down a killer on a personal vendetta. How the film goes from build up around a boxing match to out and out revenge film is actually rather impressive and seemingly seamless. The familiarity of the two supporting characters in Stoney (Harper) and Mel (Serkis; who is both 'Gollum' and 'King Kong') make everything feel like it really is the world vs. one man and his crew. Throughout this second half, it's difficult to take your eyes away from the screen as any minute detail may actually turn out to be the turning point in the quest. Everything from tiny suspicions to intense scenes where you think Simpson has found his man and is about to do something terrible to them in an act of revenge; some of which include pinning a defenceless lawyer against the wall and pointing a gun at a pregnant woman's belly.Even if the character of Mel is a little over the top at times and does veer a little too close to the stereotype line in terms of actions and dialogue and the fact the second half of the film does rely heavily on cause and effect in finding out clues as to where to go next, Shiner relies on unpredictability, a nice twist and good acting to see it through, despite the disappointing ending and leaving some questions left unanswered. Overall, it's a healthy addition to the British crime genre and makes for fun viewing.

barberoux `Shiner' was OK. It was a very uneven movie and suffered from an uninspired script. Michael Caine was good in his role and did the best he could with a weak script. The story was simple enough but was stretched out too thin. The ending with the surprise villain was too deus ex machinaish for me. Frank Harper was good as Stoney and Martin Landau played his part well. Some of the accents were a bit hard to understand but that added to the appeal for me, more of an atmosphere thing. An OK movie if you like Cockney gangster flics. It was violent and had lots of cursing but that's typical for these movies. "The Long Good Friday" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" are two better representations of the genre.