Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Robert J. Maxwell A diverting black comedy about two small businessmen, Burke and Hare, who begin a commercial enterprise by supplying teaching hospitals with fresh cadavers, at first from natural deaths, then "resurrected" from graveyards, and then REALLY fresh cadavers.The scenes of dissection are a little disgusting, true, but there's only one on-screen murder and it's play for a squeamish kind of comedy. The acting is fine, with Wilkinson superb as the willfully blind and hypocritical Doctor Knox, remarking that Edinburgh has always been a dangerous place to live and how much more dangerous it's become since Burke and Hare have begun supplying him with specimens.Simon Pegg is Burke, who begins as a shabby Irish immigrant whose new profession allows him to buy spiffy clothes and sponsor a young actress's production of MacBeth. Andy Serkis, with his pop eyes and mile-wide grin does a splendid Hare, boffing his greedy wife while she dreams of founding a different business -- "a coffin supply house; no, that's too down-market; a funeral PARLOR." That expression "down-market" is surely an anachronism and there must be plenty of others, and even more improbabilities. I'm just too lazy to look them up. But I doubt that this happens: Dressed in their new finery, Burke and Hare seek entrance to a private club full of food, wine, and women, but are denied entrance by the burly doorman. They get past by claiming with a smile that Hare is the famous poet William Wordsworth. The huge guard is all apologies. Later that night, the real Wordsworth shows up. The guard insists the real Wordsworth is already inside. The indignant Wordsworth introduces his companion, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, played as a twit, and the guard looms threateningly over them and growls, "And I'm Bobby Burns, now move your arse!" I described that little incident in some detail because it's a good example of the kind of humor you can expect from the film. Not that all the gags are "literary." Burke and Hare choose a tall, thin, well-dressed drunk as their first murder victim. They interrupt his singing "The Bonny Banks o' Loch Lomond" by pushing him down a seemingly endless flight of stone stairs. Down rolls the body, noisily banging and bouncing from wall to wall, finally to lie still at the bottom. The murderers hurry down to examine the body but before they reach him, he struggled to his feet, puts his hat back on, retrieves his cane, and strolls off into the night, singing again. Yes, it's Charlie Chaplin all over.I can't pass up one or two other exchanges. In a saloon, Burke describes the woman he loves and claims "she's not a whore, she's an actress!" Hare squints at him across the table and, genuinely puzzled, asks, "What's the difference?"And then there's this. At a prestigious medical convention, one doctor is overcome with envy at another's renown and remarks, "Without meaning to give offense, Doctor Lister, your breath smells TERRIBLE." (The joke is in Lister, Listerine, antisepsis, etc.)You'll laugh out loud once or twice but mostly you'll be amused by the roguish character of the two principals and the shameless pettiness of the others. If you like "The Wrong Box," you ought to like that. Handsome production values, by the way.

lost-in-limbo In recent times John Landis has somewhat been in the wilderness in delivering feature length films (as he has been sticking to TV shows or documentaries with his last film coming out in 1998), but the British produced "Burke and Wills" was a welcoming return to the comedy sub- genre. So another attempt at this infamous story of Edinburgh's most infamous murderers? Where Landis takes a horrific legendary tale of corpse snatching, mass murdering and scientific medicine to make a genuinely humorous and fruitful black comedy led by the animated performances of Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Isla Fisher and Tom Wilkinson as Dr Robert Knox. Edinburgh, 1825. Burke and Hare are two cohorts looking to make a quid, where they discover they're on a gold mine when they come about a dead body which one doctor Knox would pay very well for his work. To come across more the two arrange a series of deadly accidents, but while easy at first with the money coming in they begin to realise it's a lot harder to set in motion and soon a downward spiral begins. It's conventional in its laughs and very much has Landis signature touches throughout. From references to cameos and then the visual slap-stick gags. Period setting, costumes and set-designs are richly detailed. The at death's door story is sharp and characterised by it's punchy script, but it can languish in some wearing sub-plots that simply go round in circles and you feel it could gone a little more further in its approach of the material. Nonetheless it perfectly captures the inner struggle of right and wrong of one of its protagonist, the ironic chain of events that would follow and it's a fun enterprise with the perfectly nailed buddy combination between Pegg and Serkis. Watching these two together scheming were the best moments of the film. While their actions are appalling, you can't help but find them appealing. Also co-starring is Tim Curry, Jessica Hynes (who's enthusiasm stands-out), Michael Smiley, Ronnie Corbett and Bill Bailey contributing to the narration as the hangmen. Then you got the likes of Christopher Lee, Paul Whitehouse, Ray Harryhausen and Jenny Agutter in bit parts."This is thirsty work"

Argemaluco Director John Landis is mostly famous for having made some excellent comedies (Trading Places, Spies Like Us and Coming to America), but he's also revered in the horror cinema for having made the extraordinary An American Werewolf in London. 12 years after being absent in cinema, Landis decided to come back with the film Burke and Hare, which combines horror and comedy. And even though I found the combination of genres too unstable, the film kept me moderately entertained despite its mediocrity.The funny elements from Burke and Hare generally work because of the solid performances from Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis, but I wish the film defined its character better. In other words, the comedy is constantly clogging the drama, and the drama feels completely out of place in the context of the black humor employed by this movie. It's like watching two very different movies at the price of one, but combined in such a forced and inconsistent way that the final result is not very satisfactory.However, as I said on the first paragraph, Burke and Hare managed to keep me moderately entertained, and I think it deserves a slight recommendation because of that. However, there are very superior horror comedies (such as Shaun of the Dead and Tucker & Dale vs. Evil), which are better balanced and are funnier.

Paul Magne Haakonsen For a comedy set in the 19th century, then "Burke and Hare" did work out quite well. Especially because the whole atmosphere throughout the movie was really awesome. There was so much attention to detail in the sets and the decorations, so you genuinely believed that you were actually right there in the 19th century Edinburgh.The story told in the movie is quite interesting, and you get yourself into it right away. So that worked out quite well. And you are anxious to see what happens next to the two 'entreprenours' and what mishaps lurk around the corner. The whole light-hearted take on the grave robbing business was a much welcomed blow of fresh air. It was grim without being too serious, so thumbs up for that.As for the cast in the movie, just one thing to say really; wow! There were so many really good actors/actresses in the movie. I was surprised to see Tim Curry (playing doctor Monro) in the movie, and despite having a small role he did it with style. Well there is no doubt that the two leading men, Simon Pegg (playing William Burke) and Andy Serkis (playing William Hare) were the driving force of the movie, and those two worked really well together. There was an odd, dark chemistry between those two on the screen.After having seen the movie, I was left with a thought that it would be cool if these two characters also made it on to an ongoing TV show, because it did seem like it had enough value to actually pull off a TV series as well. Burke and Hare are two characters that really are funny and unique.