Perry Kate
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Diagonaldi
Very well executed
Megamind
To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
Payno
I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
schf
Poor Andy serkis going from working with professional actors with script writers and everything to this mess. An unfunny comedy that does nothing but bore and annoy in equal measure. He goes around robbing graves and being an entrepreneur eventually decides to cut out the middle man and start making bodies of his own. Shame they forgot to put any humour in this wasteful mess of a movie. I've always liked the weird stories of Victorian grave robbers less now after seeing this abomination of course. I would recommend any thing else that Andy Serkis has done over this movie even king kong. So in short don't waste you time with this
HelenMary
The amazing Simon Pegg in this historical comedy based on the real life murderers Burke and Hare. Very funny all the way through, witty and with a star-studded cast of the English screen. Have wanted to see this since it was in the cinema and I can't believe it's taken me this long - well worth the wait! Some cringeworthy gross bits, but an all round a romp of a good film. So many laughs. Some at the expense of the accents.Reminiscent of Plunket and Macleane with dark bawdy humour and little colour, period pieces with lots of physical humour and style in keeping with how the times would have been, not too showy and "hollywood." Pegg and Serkis were brilliant together and Jessica Hynes is always a comedy genius. British film at it's best.
ajs-10
When I first heard they were making a film about the notorious grave robbers and murderers, Burke and Hare, I was quite interested. When I latterly heard it was to be a comedy, I was not only quite taken aback, but also quite annoyed! If you know their story you'll know they were quite brutal and evil men who quite deserved their ultimate fate. To trivialise it seems quite wrong to me; however, I decided to face my demons and give it a viewing. Now, I always try to watch a film with an open mind and look for the good ahead of the (usually quite obvious) bad. With this in mind, I put aside my preconceptions and hit play on my Sky+ box. I'll give you my thoughts after this brief summary (bet you knew I was gonna do that).In the early nineteenth century Edinburgh was the place to be to learn about human anatomy. Two colleges competed for students and, consequently, dead bodies for them to study. Dr Robert Knox ran the Barclay School of Surgery and Dr Monro ran the Royal College of Surgeons. Munro was also a politician and used his position to ensure his school had a good supply of bodies from public executions and the like. This left Knox needing a supplier and this came in the form of two Irish immigrants, William Burke and William Hare. They stumbled into the business when one of Hare's lodgers dies and they discover that Dr Knox would pay them good money for the corpse. They begin with grave robbing but find that a bit too much like hard work. Cutting out the middle man (as it were) they progress to murdering their victims. After a while the missing people are, well, missed and the local Militia begin to investigate
Is this the end for Burke and Hare? Well, if you know the story then you'll know the answer, but I'm not going to say here or the Spoiler Police militia will have me strung up by dawn.Quite a well made film that doesn't tax the grey cells too much, but I wouldn't expect anything less from John Landis. As far as the acting goes, everyone was good without any stand-out performances. Simon Pegg as William Burke and Andy Serkis as William Hare both did a decent job. Tom Wilkinson was quite proficient as Doctor Robert Knox, as was Tim Curry as Doctor Monro. Honourable mentions go to; Jessica Hynes as Lucky, Ronnie Corbett as Captain Tam McLintoch and Isla Fisher as Ginny Hawkins. Also there are nice cameo's from Christopher Lee as Old Joseph, Paul Whitehouse as gentleman Drunk, Michael Winner as Gentleman Passenger, Stephen Merchant as Hollyrood Footman and Jenny Agutter as Lucy.The film begins with the statement; "This is a true story, apart from the parts that are not". Unfortunately, the filmmakers have kept up with the tradition of making the vast majority of the story up from "the parts that are not". This is not the only problem for me, I found that in trying to make the main protagonists likable they totally trivialised the positively evil acts they were committing, which, I'm sure many will agree, isn't right. There's a sub-plot about Burke using his money to finance a theatrical production that is used for some justification of his part in the crimes they were committing, but it didn't really work (for me at least). It's not all bad though, I did like some of the less obvious humour on show, the nod to Greyfriars Bobby was quite a welcome distraction but over all I'm afraid I didn't find it charming, funny, or ever "Outrageously Funny" as I've seen on a poster or two. Over all, yes, there are a few laughs on the way, but it soon falls flat on its arse and doesn't really get up again
Not recommended.My Score: 3.7/10.IMDb Score: 6.1/10 (based on 4,467 votes at the time of going to press).Rotten Tomatoes Score: 36/100 (based on 45 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Andrew Pelechaty
If it wasn't for the presence of Simon Pegg, it would be fair to say 'Burke and Hare' would have fallen under the slew of heavily-hyped 3D blockbusters. Fortunately that isn't the case, as 'Burke and Hare' is one of the funniest movies of the year.The plot concerns William Burke (Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis, Gollum from the 'Lord of the Rings' movies) -two struggling businessmen looking for their next big idea in 1828 Edinburgh. With Scotland famed for their medical schools, they soon find their niche: selling dead bodies to doctors. With already-dead bodies in short supply, they're forced to take matters into their own hands, helped by Hare's wife Lucky (Jessica Hynes). Their scheme is pushed along by Burke's desire to finance the first all-woman production of 'Macbeth', mainly to win the attention of Jenny (Isla Fisher). Hot on their trail is Captain Tam McLintoch (Ronnie Corbett).'Burke and Hare' is a rare comedy in that it sustains the laughs - even to its bittersweet ending - without resorting to cheap gimmicks or gross-out humour (though there are a few scenes with the dead bodies being dissected, so the squeamish should be on guard). There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as well. The film is boosted by a strong cast, which includes Bill Bailey (almost unrecognisable clean shaven), Christopher Lee, Tim Curry and Steven Merchant. My only criticism is that some of the dialogue is difficult to pick up due to the at times hard to understand Scottish accents.