Animal Kingdom - Movie Review

[@ThePhillyspade]

great movie, I like jay being stoic, but its not his dialogue you had to pay attention to it was his physical reactions. facial expressions following his uncle the seen where he cries in the bathroom etc. and I like the fact there wasn't huge shoot outs it Australia and mid level criminals. this movie was excellent

[@wallymarx1]

Animal kingdom is my favorite crime movie of all time, and I'm not saying that because I'm Australian. Yes gun laws in Australia are strict but it's the fact that this is a more realistic and practical story of crims vs cops, a gun doesn't come out every 2 minutes like some Hollywood garbage. Great music by partos to, excentuated the tension, especially in the Craig Cody scene

[@andreww2319]

Agree. This movie is a masterpiece.

[@TimmyStaunton]

Interesting point they brought up about how American audiences might be a bit put off by the lack of action. As an Aussie who grew up around guns but not to the same extent as an American my age may have, I thought the amount of violence and gun use was perfect. This movie is a slow burner for sure, but I think it has to be. It is one of the most intense movies I have seen. if you haven't already go see it.

[@purplehaze47]

i think the reason why these guys didn't react to the film much was the huuuuuge culture gap and not much else.

[@faxedhead2908]

I know this film is now 8 yrs old but it bothered me listening to this review how they didn't make the difference in the fact that Craig, Pope (Andrew) and Darren are brothers and J (Joshua) is their nephew. They kept referring to J as one of the brothers. Love this film so much. They were all amazing in it but Ben Mendehlson and Jackie Weaver were the standouts. Ben has always been amazing and anyone who has followed his career spanning almost 30 years already knew that before seeing AK.

[@angelsackson]

12 now…. DAYUMN….

[@sneedle252]

It's slow, but Melbourne is a slow city. I think it's exactly the right pace if you've been to Melbourne.

[@georgeharrod7805]

5:47 the characters, J and Pope, weren't brothers.

[@Corporate_Zombie]

I can't believe Ben's rating. IMHO Animal Kingdom is a great movie. Definitely in my Top 50 and I've seen quite a lot movies. It's very intense, feels very real to me, the story is great, the characters are very intriguing, and the execution is perfect with excellent directing and convincing performances (Pope was very scary!). And the pace was exactly the way it should be. PS. Christy is great!

[@Austin-dm1in]

I didn’t know that small time crooks had alliances with multiple police officers (one of whom was willing to threaten a CI he was transporting)

[@loufrost824]

This is based on the Pettingill Clan, they were prolific criminals and not so much small time. Mainly armed robbery and preying on other criminals. They killed 2 random coppers over the death of their mate. The mum Kath really was the worst of the lot. She`s still down in Melbourne scaring the shit out of everyone lol

[@2edsajdmsa]

You guys should review Chopper. Another Aussie film, crime film, an Aussie staple.

[@squidbate3404]

i have a few questions. when jay was talking to the boys lawyers they were telling him to admit that he thinks they kill his girlfriend. how did that get pope and deran acquitted? also in the police escort, one of the swat members pointed a gun at jay and pulled the trigger and jay didn’t even react. why did the cop do that and why didn’t jay react? did it really happen or was it some metaphorical thing?

[@michaelschultz3230]

I think the legal approach was to pin the girls death as a self imposed drug overdose (why Pope just dumped her somewhere randomly after drugging her). And I think the SWAT officer knew full well his family was responsible for the death of 2 innocent Victorian policemen. That was his way of letting off steam

[@loufrost824]

The Swat guy pulling a gun on a kid is standard Aussie shithousery. The kid not reacting speaks of his hardened mind and soul, he was OK with it. Saying Pope killed his girl created a vengeance motive. It destroyed his testimony.

[@smokeybirdman]

It's the dramatic ambience of Melbourne underworld that attracts Australian viewers more so. It is very realistic and demonstrate the cold reality of our convict past that survives in law enforcement of Victorian police, interestingly the state with the least interaction with penal colony

[@paco7669]

6.5??? You're crazy, great film

[@raindrops21_9]

Typical US reviewers require bells and whistles and don't understand that the intense emotional power comes from J's *lack* of emotional response to the insane situation he suddenly finds himself in. J doesn't 'tell' us what to think - he demands that we step into his shoes and 'feel' what he's going through - not an easy ask for those who are used to being spoon-fed by Hollywood. He's a poker player - never letting on what he's thinking, which is actually quite clever of him and key to his survival. This film re-made in the US (and yes I know a series was made...) would have some smart-arse kid emoting wildly, giving presidential-style speeches and saving the day in some ridiculous and unrealistic heroic manner, and no doubt waving an American flag as he stands over the villain's body at the end.

[@arconeagain]

Interestingly, in that era, Victoria Police were given new training. I think based on the LAPD. Next thing, cops just started shooting people. This coincided with the head of the armed rob squad taking irrational measures against known criminals after a crime spree. Which ultimately led to the Walsh Street massacre, you take one ours we'll take two of yours type mentality. Well that's what was speculated anyway. Victorian cops had to be retrained the old way in the end because they were shooting and killing too many citizens. They were too trigger happy and over aggressive.

[@Vonbomb]

I LOVED this movie. I'm so glad it got a good review. I was going to have to cut a bitch if it got a bad review....Australian movies are always frustratingly slow paced, so compared to some others the pace of this was mid range to high.....believe it or not. I thought it was such a brave and well written screen play. So unpredictable!!! It made me smile on the inside.

[@MarieTherese821]

Ben needs to learn how to say a whole sentence without a huge pause in the middle.

[@BloodStoney]

I guess the reviewers have to realise that Australian cinema tends to lean towards kitsch, and arthouse, rather than traditional hollywood style movies. This has a lot to do with the funding arrangements set up by the government run funding houses. I really enjoyed animal kingdom for the depth and grime of everyday life, the grit didn't feel painted on like in some H'wood movies.

[@MichaelScarn23]

this movie was fucking bad ass

[@fronkcorlyle1111]

Jay’s stoicism completely pays off in scenes such as when he quickly breaks down in his girlfriend’s toilet and especially with the ending scene

[@leonthesleepy]

6.5? WTF? its lower than GREENBERG?

[@mikegordon8955]

I just watched this a decade later. Really enjoyed it

[@Nielsen700]

You don't get respected for giving low scores Ben.

[@hoof31]

It's amazing how Australia has very little films compared to the U.S. But when we make a film we make sure it's a damn good film because Australia doesn't have the luxury to make bad films or crap films like the U.S. Because the U.S. Has a big population of people compared to Australia small population. It doesn't matter how bad a film the U.S. can make they will always have enough people to go see it to make some money.

[@Barkev100]

Shut the fuck up

[@paulio1530]

sean hughes u make no sense lol

[@moviedude22]

No please KEEP THE INDEPTH REVIEW! you three are in your element on the one. I loved the discourse and insight SO FRIGGIN MUCH - This is where I come for real intellectual insightful movie analysis.

[@Monty_Jackson]

baseball vs test cricket

[@voteZDLR]

I have only seen the movie once. I plan on seeing it again. I think for a crime movie, you get more actual "crime" taking place in the film's intro sequence, which are really only still shots of actual robberies taking place. A movie like this could always use a great opening sequence of the principle cast members doing something. This is something the show got right. Now, it's unfair to really compare a show and a movie because they're both designed to do things differently. The benefit of the show is you get to see them go on SEVERAL jobs, starting with a job in the very first episode, and these jobs are all planned out in the episodes that precede them. TV shows just get more time to do things than movies can, that also benefits it. I did enjoy the movie but I too thought it was kind of slow.

[@loufrost824]

The reality of Aussie crime isn`t a shootout every other day. As prolific as this Clan was they probably did about 10 armed robs between them. The movie is more realistic about being a day to day crim.

[@Yikkon14]

I was looking forward to this film so much, but when i finally saw it, I was shocked that it didn't really impress as much as it should have. By all means it is a great movie compared to most Australian movies. But on a world scale, I think it was lacking something, 7 out of ten for me. I think at times it just seemed a bit boring, if it were on tv i'd say it was a good movie still, but having anticipated it on being an 'extremely' great movie and paying money to see it, I wasn't too impressed.

[@jeremybeckett6]

You guys know it's based on a real family, and real events yeah?

[@bodybalanceU2]

this film is based on the real life Melbourne gangster family from the 1980s with their leader being the matriach of the family Kath Pentingill and her despicable murderous sons - they weren't small time crooks - for a time they owned the richmond and sth yarra drug scene

[@Steveskiez]

Considering that Australia doesn't have flexible gun laws, I find it sort of condescending that you call them "small-time crooks." The Australian underground and crime culture is very similar to that of the Irish Mob in Boston as it is isn't all about mansions and maserati's. It's a very real depiction of crime not being glorified but actually seeming genuine and not overblown like the whole Hollywood industry.

[@donalonzo63]

Spot on! Here we have a movie where you have to think to understand the dynamics of the direction.

[@ZombieZifiction]

6.5/10 is a B-? Woah bro nice math skillz

[@Zennofobic]

I'm so glad I only look at reviews of movies that I've already seen and absolutely LOVED which is why I'm here. B- my ass this movie is brilliant, I'll admit the actor who played Jay is wanting but the story and the performances were top notch. Solid A for me.

[@QueenLioness84]

@audadvnc I actually like Cenk being in the mix. He adds comedy to it all. As long as Matt, Ben, or Christy are there to wrastl'em in lol when he strays to far, I don't mind him at all.

[@jackmonroe5531]

B- is 65 points?! Who knew? I always thought it was 80!!!

[@boodgy1818]

Ben Mankiewicz poor review... a 6.5 what a shallow and frankly disappointing rating.... Animal Kingdom received overwhelming critical acclaim, with the performances of Weaver and Mendelsohn being singled out. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 96% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 156 reviews with an average rating of 8/10. The website's critical consensus states: "With confident pacing, a smart script, and a top-notch cast, Animal Kingdom.... On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".I guess they probably don't have a clue though Ben do they? Oh incidently your cameo appearances on those top grossing brilliant films The Bling Ring and White House Down were " unforgettable "

[@aagilly]

excellent excellent film

[@maccart67]

Animal Kingdom is brilliant. A solid Aussie film.

[@SpottedTiger89]

Ben: "Uuuuuuhhhhhhhhh...."

[@ThatScrubKid]

@Steveskiez It's nothing like the irish mob of hells kitchen and winter hill gang etc. Australian crime consists of suburban clans embroiled in small "urban warfare", we have nothing on a big scale that rivals the Mafia or even the Irish, we have the bikers, that's about as close as we get.

[@QueenLioness84]

@moviedude22 Amen! I second that. IF I want brainless, shallow opinions, I'll just read some of the video comments.

[@BloodStoney]

Another fantastic Australian movie more along traditional lines of cops and robbers is 2002's The Hard Word, starring Guy Pearce, and Joel Edgerton, which is about 3 brothers who rob the bookmakers at a race track, and the shenanigans that follow.

[@muck47]

@ThatScrubKid i think that might be a result of the massive population difference between the two countries. if Australia had 300 million plus people i honestly think there would be a comparitive crime rate. i think the real point is that nasty people are simply that, and these types can be born anywhere. Anyway its not a competition! personally i think there things going on in southwest sydney that are bad enough, lets hope it doesnt get any worse!

[@QueenLioness84]

The title, for me, is misleading. Originally, I thought this was going to be another cheesy, kid movie about pubiscent teens in the wild trying to save the animals. Boy, was I wrong. lol With that said, great review. Certainly peaked my interest in the film. Seems worth the money.

[@greekmonstervt91]

@DauntlessScourge second

[@spinnersmetal]

Needs more Cenk. I dont need the in depth review, i need to know if it was awesome or shwang wang wang

[@soupjam]

6.5 = D 7.6 = C

[@ThatScrubKid]

@CommunistAngel Chopper is good too, but how can we be as good as Hollywood, we have barely any funding???

[@WithoutRemorse12]

Michael Roberts Doing more with less. Hollywood makes tons of crap to sell to consumers. They don't care about the movie qaulity or it legacy.

[@cuntslappy11]

@lorribabes1 AMEN!

[@Himhippo]

2nd

[@chasington89]

5th