Shopping (1996)

That was an excellent one.

Perfect cast and a good story

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Billy and Jo get their kicks from their special type of window shopping. These professional criminals are not in it for the money, but for the fun of it. When Billy gets released from prison, his rival Tommy has taken over the street. A fight for power commences as Billy starts his own gang and hits a shop the day before Tommy had planned to. Tommy makes a move on Billy's girlfriend Jo, who wants Billy to change his lifestyle and move away, instead of fighting Tommy, a fight which will hurt them both. He agrees, but he wants to hit the shopping mall on a final hit. That has never been done before, so it will make him a hero among the others.....It's Andersons first movie, Laws first big screen lead, and to be fair it's really good, even though it's full of flaws and awful dialogue.It can be viewed in two,different ways. On one hand its a very dated 90s urban drama. On the other hand, you can see it as a futuristic urban punk style movie, thanks to the soundtrack and the opening.Pryce gives the film a little gravitas, but he looks mightily bored, and Pertwee hams it up as the main villain. Law is good, as is Frost, but it's clear she wasn't employed for her acting skills.Round the film off with cameos from Bean and Jason Issacs (hello), shopping is one of those rare hard to find Movies that has garnered a cult following.Which means that most hate the film, but the view whole me it, can't explain why.

This movie is really lacking a point. What kind of story were they trying to tell? Was there even a purpose or message to this all?Paul W.S. Anderson always has sort of been the king of mediocre movies. I have yet to see a Paul W.S. Anderson movie that is above the level of average. Not that his movies are horrible either, some of them are quite enjoyable but they just fail to make an impact in any way.All that this story is about are a bunch of rebellious teens being lazy and act as if the police are the biggest scum and villains on the Earth, while they are the ones breaking about ever law and causing mayhem, by stealing and wrecking stuff. It could had been a good or at least interesting story if it tried to make a statement about anything but the movie never does. At least I didn't get anything out of the story at all.It also doesn't exactly make any of the characters likable or compelling ones to watch and follow throughout this movie, despite that they are being played by some big name actors. Not that they were being big at the time yet. The movie features a still very young Jude Law and Sadie Frost and a supporting cast that among other consist out of Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce and Jason Isaacs. Most of the characters however also make a pretty redundant impression. It tries to be a simple movie with a simple story but yet in throws in all these many pointless characters.It's not the worst movie you'll ever see but it's such a pointless and redundant movie to watch that there is no reason why you really should ever watch it in the first place.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Shopping is a gritty and gripping film about the youth of Britain going awry. The film combines Paul W. S. Anderson's impeccable taste for audio-visuals with some of the best writing and actor-performances seen throughout his career.In comparison to Anderson's more Americanized works, the thing that sets Shopping apart in a nice way is the Urban-British feel of the film. As well everyone from Jude Law to Sean Pertwee perform brilliantly and authentically in this fun and well paced if pessimistic picture. The film avoids cliché by sticking to what's important to the story. The period references undoubtedly age the film but it seems that the film enjoys almost a kind of vintage quality because of it.Shopping is a film that one ought to see even if one displays no apparent interest in action-films. This is something authentic and refreshing.

Having read all the other reviews on this site, I notice that most people either completely hate the film or completely love it. I take the middle ground. I greatly enjoyed the visual elements, both with regard to the good-looking leads and the stylish camera work. I enjoy a film where I can pick out performers from other films and this one offered a few. I recognized Jason Isaacs (Captain Hook in the recent "Peter Pan" film), for one. That being said I was disappointed that Sean Bean's part was so small. However, I was glad Marianne Faithful's role was only a small cameo. It is painful to me to see her looking so haggard. I also enjoyed the pulsating soundtrack and believe that, with an inferior effort, the film would be even less appealing.As others have pointed out, there's not much of a plot, but, beyond that, it was difficult to sympathize with the characters -- other than the police! The law officers in this film were not portrayed as sadistic or even unlikable. Frustrated, yes. The "protagonists" had no redeeming characteristics other than youth, good looks and energy. The film seems to present the viewpoint that the police deserved the treatment they received from the thugs. To me, the film produces a nihilistic, 'who gives a damn' about anything attitude. It made me think about anarchy: after "the system" is demolished, with what will it be replaced?I'm probably waxing too philosophical about a movie that never even aspired to such musings. The producers probably just wanted to give a youthful audience the smash 'em up, 'wham bam thank you ma'am' form of entertainment many seem to want. (Witness "The Fast and the Furious" and Vin Diesel's "XXX" among others.) I like a bit of action, too, but I prefer to care about someone or something along the line.Nevertheless, I maintain that I have seen worse films. I confess to an admiration of British films and actors that causes me to overlook aspects of a movie that I don't like in order to focus on what I consider to be redeeming features. For example, I found Sean Pertwee's character in this film interesting, even if the character is what we Americans like to call a "scumbag". The bottom line, to me, is that the positives -- including the soundtrack, visual elements, and interesting cast -- outweigh the negatives. I bought the film at what you British call a jumble sale for $2.00 (American money), so I'm not out a lot of loot in any case. I will keep the film alongside "Love, Honour and Obey", another second-hand bargain I found along the way. It too, has redeeming features.