Vinnie Jones Movies
First earning renown in Great Britain as a star footballer, Vinnie Jones smoothly parlayed his physically formidable "hard man" sports rep into a second career as a charismatic movie tough guy.Raised on the estate where his father worked as a gamekeeper, Jones began his professional sports career with the Wimbledon FC soccer team in 1986. Becoming famous for his aggressive athleticism, Jones played for several other teams before returning to Wimbledon in 1994. A multimedia celebrity in Britain as well as a sports star, Jones also hosted TV and radio talk shows, published a book, and wrote a weekly column for the Sun during his years as an athlete.
Jones found his next calling when tyro writer/director Guy Ritchie cast him as paternal enforcer Big Chris in the flashy London gangster romp Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1999). A major hit in England, and an art house success in the U.S., Lock, Stock earned Jones several British prizes for his wryly humorous, attention-getting performance. Jones officially retired from soccer in 1999, and turned his attention full time to playing colorfully named movie thugs. After a featured role as "The Sphinx" in the bombastic Hollywood car heist blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Jones rejoined Ritchie's lad-movie universe as Bullet Tooth Tony in the charmingly titled diamond caper Snatch (2001). Having proven that he could hold his own among such Hollywood stars as Gone in 60 Seconds' Nicolas Cage and Snatch's Brad Pitt, Jones was subsequently cast opposite John Travolta in Gone in 60 Seconds director Dominic Sena's Swordfish (2001). It was only a matter of time before Jones moved up to headliner status in film, and with the release of Mean Machine in 2001 it seemed as if his moment in the celluloid spotlight had finally come. A remake of the of the 1974 Burt Reynolds prison football classic The Longest Yard (released as Mean Machine outside of the U.S.), Mean Machine substituted English "football" (read: soccer) for its American namesake and found Jones comfortably filling the cleats of Reynolds as a prison inmate muscled into entering a tense inmates vs. guards match. Joined by fellow Ritchie veterans Vas Blackwood, Jason Flemyng, and Jason Statham and featuring a bone-crunching finale, Mean Machine may not have found Jones' acting abilities breaking any new ground in the eyes of some critics, though his comfortable performance and likable screen presence still showed promise for numerous testosterone soaked cinematic endeavors in the years to come. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
First-time filmmaker Edouard Nammour directs the family-oriented fantasy adventure Tooth. Child actress Yasmin Paige plays Tooth, a rebel among a team of hardworking tooth fairies in Fairytopia. Bored of her job collecting teeth and leaving coins, she intentionally deposits loads of money at the home of young Tolly (Maisie Preston) and Tom (Rory Copus). The kids keep the money a secret from their mom (Sally Phillips) and dad (Tim Dutton). Meanwhile in Fairyland, Tooth discovers that her mistake could mean a lack of funding for the upcoming Christmas. In order to save the holidays, she joins Tom and Tolly on a journey in search of the magical yet retired Mrs. Claus (Phyllida Law). However, they are chased along the way by the evil money-grubbing Plug (Harry Enfield). British actors Stephen Fry, Richard E. Grant, and Vinnie Jones appear in cameo roles. Tooth premiered in the U.K. in February of 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
In this crime-seasoned road movie, Luca (Antonio Cupo) is an Italian expatriate who is living in the United States. His high-spirited sister, Martina (Bianca Guaccero), comes to Las Vegas to visit America for the first time; wanting to see California, Luca hits the highway, and Martina impulsively demands they pick up a pair of hitchhikers, Sean (Vinnie Jones) and Jamie (Brad Renfro). However, it turns out Sean and Jamie are on the run from the law for murder and armed robbery, and Luca and Martina find themselves in a very dangerous position. Things become even more complicated when Luca gets mixed up with Cherie (Caprice), a beautiful woman trying to get away from her violent and unstable boyfriend, Ray (Conrad Coates). Casper Van Dien also stars. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
George Armitage directs this big-screen adaptation of Elmore Leonard's The Big Bounce. Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson) is an occasional thief who tends to a judge (Morgan Freeman). A woman involved with Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinese), a real estate developer of questionable ethics, seduces Jack. Ritchie and the judge are old enemies, complicating Jack's moral dilemma when the girls asks Jack to help her double-cross Ritchie. The book was adapted once before with Ryan O'Neal in the Owen Wilson role. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Owen Wilson, Morgan Freeman, (more)
A pair of elderly career criminals may have ended their old lives before they can start a new one in this streetwise drama. Tommy (Donnie Montemarano) and Mic (Vinnie Argiro) are a pair of aging wiseguys who used to work on the fringes of the New York mob. Now in their mid-sixties, Tommy has just been sprung from prison after spending seven years behind bars, and Mick has offered to put him up at his place -- a room in a seedy Los Angeles flophouse called the Golden Eagle, which is overrun by junkies, streetwalkers, and bums with no where else to go. While Tommy's been in stir, Mick has been living the straight life; he's gotten a legitimate job, quit drinking, stopped doing business with prostitutes, and has saved up enough money that he and his best friend can head to Las Vegas and start new lives with real jobs there. However, Tommy isn't so sure he wants to live quite so clean, especially on his fight night out of the joint. Tommy meets another resident of the Golden Eagle, Amber (Natasha Lyonne), an attractive young woman who happens to be a hooker. Not having been with a woman for seven years, Tommy is eager to retain Amber's services, but Amber is working for Rodan (Vinnie Jones), a brutal and short-tempered pimp. Tommy's treatment of Amber manages to anger Rodan, and now Mick and Tommy have to get away from the pimp if they have any hope of getting to Las Vegas (and out of Los Angeles) alive. A low-budget labor of love for director Adam Rifkin, A Night at the Golden Eagle's supporting cast includes James Caan, Ann Magnuson, Sam Moore (of the popular singing group Sam and Dave), Fayard Nicholas (of the legendary dance team the Nicholas Brothers), and Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vinny Argiro, Donnie Montemarano, (more)
Director Dominic Sena follows up his stylish action film Gone in 60 Seconds (2000) with this high-tech thriller. John Travolta stars as Gabriel Shear, a charismatic spy who plots to steal a multi-billion-dollar fortune in illegal government funds. In order to make his scheme work, however, Gabriel needs some help from a computer hacker, which is where Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) comes in. Stanley has been paroled from prison after serving a lengthy sentence for penetrating the FBI's cyber-surveillance operations. Issued a restraining order that keeps him away from computers and living penniless in a trailer park, Stanley wants only to be reunited with his daughter Holly, who's in the custody of his ex-wife, now remarried to a pornographer. Gabriel and his partner Ginger (Halle Berry) offer Stanley the chance to get his child back in exchange for his help, but the hacker soon realizes he's a pawn in a larger operation than the high-tech bank heist he thought he was perpetrating. In the meantime, a dedicated federal agent (Don Cheadle), the same man who once arrested Stanley, is trying to expose Gabriel's operation. Swordfish also stars Sam Shepard and Zach Grenier. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, (more)
The classic Burt Reynolds football-behind-bars flick The Longest Yard crosses the pond and gets an appropriate British accent in the process in this rough-and-tumble mixture of sports and action-comedy. Danny Mehan (Vinnie Jones) was one of the biggest stars in British football (what Americans call soccer), until he was caught rigging a game during a championship tournament. In the wake of this scandal, Danny's career takes a nosedive and his life spins out of control, until he finally ends up in prison for three years on an assault and battery conviction. Danny discovers there are a number of football fans behind bars who still hate him for fixing the game, but Danny has one powerful fan in this prison. The warden (David Hemmings) is a devoted football supporter with a taste for gambling; he's been trying to assemble a semi-pro team comprised of the prison's guards, but Danny is just smart enough to know this would seal his fate with his fellow prisoners. Instead, he offers to put together a team of inmates, who can play practice games against the guards. A new inmate, Sykes (John Forgeham), gets wind of Danny's idea and arranges an exhibition match between Danny's new team and the guards, though Sykes' motivation is more than just good fun. A powerful bookie, Sykes lost a fortune on the game Danny threw, and expects betting to be heavy for this game. If Danny and his men win, Sykes could make back the fortune he lost, but if the guards come out ahead, Danny's goose is cooked. Can Danny turn a gang of losers, misfits, and violent psychopaths -- including muscle-bound lunatic Monk (Jason Statham), creepy but loyal Billy the Limpit (Danny Dyer), tough guy Massive (Vas Blackwood), pyromaniac Nitro (Robbie Gee), and enthusiastic but out-of-shape Raj (Omid Djalili) -- into a proper team with a fighting chance of winning? Mean Machine was produced by Matthew Vaughn, who was also behind Guy Ritchie's tough-but-stylish crime comedies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Star Vinnie Jones, by the way, enjoyed a career as a professional footballer in Great Britain before turning to acting. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham, (more)
In this action thriller, a master car thief has his skills pushed to the limit. Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) can steal practically any car that crosses his path. While he has done well in his life of crime, he knows that there's a short future in theft, and he wants to get out of the business. But his retirement plans are interrupted when his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in trouble with a dangerous crime boss. To get his brother out of harm's way, Randall agrees to a profitable but risky scheme to steal 50 luxury cars in one night, with the help of several other car thieves, including Sara "Sway" Wayland (Angelina Jolie). A rival group of thieves is trying to pull the same stunt at the same time, and detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are trying to shut down both operations. Also starring Robert Duvall as Otto Halliwell, and Scott Caan as Tumbler, Gone in Sixty Seconds is a remake of the 1974 low-budget action hit of the same name, best remembered for a 40-minute chase scene in which 90 cars were destroyed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, (more)
Guy Ritchie's sophomore follow-up to his 1998 sleeper hit Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch revisits the previous film's territory of London's crime-ridden underbelly, and does so with the same brand of humor and stylish direction that made Ritchie's first effort a surprise success. With a labyrinthine plot that is ostensibly oriented around a missing diamond, Snatch introduces viewers to three groups of characters intent on retrieving the elusive stone, which has been stolen from an Antwerp jeweler. In the first group are friends and business partners Turkish (Jason Statham, who also supplies the film's voice-over narration) and Tommy (Stephen Graham), who join up with Mickey (Brad Pitt), an Irish gypsy and boxer. Turkish and Tommy make arrangements with Mickey to take a fall in a match engineered by lunatic gang leader Brick Top (Alan Ford). In another corner resides equally loony Russian gangster Boris the Blade (Rade Sherbedgia), who has asked Jewish gangster Franky Four Fingers (Benicio Del Toro) to place a bet on the match for him. Boris is also scheming to have Sol (Lennie James), the owner of a pawn shop, rob the place with a couple of dim associates. Meanwhile, Avi (Dennis Farina), freshly arrived in London from New York, hires Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) to find Franky when he goes missing; it seems that it was none other than Franky who was supposed to be transporting the purloined diamond to New York. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, (more)
- 1998
- R
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British writer Guy Ritchie made his feature directorial debut with this crime-caper comedy-drama set in London's East End and heavy on the Cockney dialogue (with one scene in subtitled Cockney rhyming slang). A big-bucks scheme goes awry: Cardsharp Eddy (Nick Moran) and pals Bacon (Jason Statham), Tom (Jason Flemyng), and Soap (Dexter Fletcher) scuffle to pile up enough money to put Eddy at the card table opposite gangland porn lord Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty). Unfortunately, the whole plan backfires, leaving Eddy owing Harry a huge sum, payable within the week. In truth, Harry hopes to acquire the bar run by his rival, J.D. (Sting), who is Eddy's father. To raise the cash, Eddy sets out to steal from a marijuana business run by Winston (Steven Mackintosh), but the inevitable gunplay doesn't make for an easy heist. World premiere at the 1998 Edinburgh Film Festival (Focus on British Cinema). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, (more)
