Review of Stickmen (2001) by Adele B — 04 Aug 2006

I never thought I'd find myself admitting I enjoyed a film about pool; let alone one from New Zealand, but I most certainly did in this case.

Okay so this is not exactly an amazing movie plot wise, or extremely original; but thats why it suceeds. I felt myself relating to all the lads, who are just regular mates who enjoy a night at the pub and a good game of pool. In that sense it reminded me of British men, and I very much liked that; especially as it was set in New Zealand, I thought "this is like a classic brit movie with brit lads, only its different and original due to that fact its actually set in New Zealand!".

The team of lads we follow who play pool are all great fun, they are all funny in their own way and each have very different personalities. Even the side characters are likeable, from the opposing pool teams, to the prostitute friend.

This has been compared to the british movie 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels', and I can kind of see why. So if you like those laddy type movies, usually from the UK starring people like Vinnie Jones; then you just might enjoy this movie.

This is the first New Zealand movie I have seen, and I really enjoyed it, lets hope it continues that way with the next movie I see from NZ.