Layer Cake

Layer Cake is your typical crime movie, but there are some interesting shots, characters, and events here and there, so it's worth watching if that's your thing.

Off to a slow start this year with only one movie a month so far. I don't know if I've ever actually known anyone who liked Layer Cake, but it's a name you hear thrown around, so I figured I should see it. I didn't know anything about it, but I do like Daniel Craig. His eyes are crazy blue. I wound up turning the subtitles on about a third of the way through, which I probably should've done to begin with, because it helped a lot.

I pretty much had no idea what the guy with the sucker was saying, although I got the general gist of the scene. Layer Cake was a lot like RocknRolla. Or I guess RocknRolla was a lot like Layer Cake, since the latter came out four years earlier. Partners with a boss that turns out to be an informant and whatnot. The camerawork was definitely different from Guy Ritchie's, though. Matthew Vaughn did pull off some really pleasant compositions here and there, like when Morty and Daniel left the diner, going opposite directions.

The scene where Duke died for the first time intercut with the other scene was really weird and confusing. I liked the juxtaposition of Morty banging on the door and Craig getting slammed into the ice, though. I was surprised when Daniel killed Jimmy. The movie kind of took a turn then. Dragan was a cool character.

I didn't think Daniel really needed to die at the end. I guess it made it more interesting, but I didn't like it. (Editor's note: there's a sequel and he doesn't die.)