Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
jstreet-31280
I watched this movie one late night by just browsing through Netflix, & it keep me glued... I had to stop the movie to watch it with my wife as she was in the kitchen at the time, when she came in the livingroom I started the movie over..& we watched it together... we both enjoy it.... I'm not sure if too many ppl know about this movie. But it's a hidden gem... this movie won't waste your time Guaranteed by the best movie couch critic on the planet lol... "Streetz the movie couch critic"
musabaloyi
I loved the movie. - The characters do not necessarily have the good life one would have expected, - but such is life and I'm glad the writers did not shy away from this fact. - Some loose ends as we do not know who had kidnapped Skiets at the beginning of the movie, - and we do not know what happened to TK's boss after he was attacked by Muggz. - There was no development for Gumede to all of a sudden start shooting the gun, - seeing that he did not physically act when TK spit in his face. - There was also no attempt by the lead characters to live a life without crime as is normal. I feel the story is incomplete and could do with a sequel.
Lesego-Madisa
We have seen a boom in the South African film industry and the standards have been really set high. Our local filmmakers are getting mean this time around.We went to see this movie on opening weekend at East Gate and was disappointed with the turnout. There were like less than 10 of us in the theater.We all know that the filmmakers did not stumble across their own talent because the quality of our music videos gave it away a long time ago. South African slums are getting toured these days and producers are no longer ashamed to bring back the dirt and grime like they did with Yizo Yizo.The shots in this film were remarkable and seemed so easy to achieve, like when TK is being spun by Skiets in the trolley. That was dazzling to watch.The gun fight between Gumede and Mugza was a satisfying thriller. Not to mention the showdown with TK vs Gumede in the pool. Slo-mo did wonders for this scene.Skiets is a seductive and dangerous woman to be around. And she has numerous steamy hot sex scenes to boast about.Mugza is a true thug in the movie and does not play around. Especially when you mess with him. Or when he thinks you do. He smacks the kid who volunteers to wash his beloved BMW with a bucket like he was a doll.Hard To Get is a dual protagonist flick about TK and Skiets and their 'coming of age' out of the slums for a better future when they head to the City of Gold, Johannesburg - which has a secret underworld.The production was on point and also the soundtrack was excellent for the chosen genre.The subtitler did a horrible job because the subtitles were exaggerated. Maybe for white people.Must see for South Africans. Hard to Get has switched the notch up too quick.
thabang Phetla
2014 continues to be a great year for SA cinema as we see more and more SA films, with decent budgets, hitting our screens. The latest addition to the roaster of 2014 SA films that includes Four Corners and iNumber, just to mention a few is Hard to get. Is it a worthy entry? Lets dig inHard to get is Zee Ntuli's first feature film. Ntuli got a lot of positive attention for his superb short film Bomlambo; a drama about a kid who is sent back to our world from the world of the spirits and put a a strain on a coupe relationship. That short film was very restrained and handled the supernatural elements with grace. Hard to get is on the other side of the tipping scale loud, brash and very show-weeNtuli is going for Bonnie and Clyde nihilistic youth experience; laced with sex, violence and booze. The film looks beautiful. Ntuli needs to be accorded for giving it a cool look, the warm pallete works for it. The slo –mo action scenes will convert a lot of action die hards and the South African pop music will endear the film to the youngins. The fact it has Pallance Dladla ( Tempy Pushas, Isibaya,Intersexion fame) as it's lead ,already scores with a legion of fans who love pretty boys with a body on screen.Yet this film belongs to the new comer Thishiwe Ziqubu as Skiets ; our femme fatal/Mshoza of the piece . Who kicks the plot into first gear. Ziqubu is able to emote tough, sexy, vulnerable and do subtext so well. She sizzles. Whilst Dladla ,although does a good job at his part the material(ie script) is not asking a lot from him. I got a sense that Zee Ntuli sees Dladla as his Taylor Lautner of Twilight Saga . Any chance to have the man stride around half naked, showing off his well sculpted body is taken, the ladies are surely going to appreciate his efforts.So the actors look good, the picture looks really good, the humour is on point and the dialogue is on point and you can never go wrong with Israel Makoe as a villain but unfortunately the story lets down this film. The story implodes once it hits Jo'burg and a second antagonist is introduced, which takes a way from forward momentum in the story or even pathos. It almost feels like Ntuli and his writing partner where not sure if they want to tell a Bonnie and Clyde crime story set in SA, a Bonnie and Clyde love story , or a Jim comes to joburg story, or a True Romance ala Tarantino with all sorts of under word figures. It becomes messy and at times very clichéd.That's not the only problematic thing about Hard to Get, the other issue is it's contribution to gender portrayal in SA. Skiets is a strong assertive ,street smart woman who suffers all sorts of abuses from men in the film and there's little to no retribution for that. In a country with such high rates of femicide, domestic abuse and general disrespect for women, during womens month nogal, you'd think the film would be more circumspect about such stuff . I not saying don't portray the verbal and physical abuse we dish in SA but ,it's never addressed in anyhow in the film and its naturalized as if it's okay.Yet for me the mortal sin is how the Character of Skiets is almost spoiled by very clichéd move by the writers that goes contrary to how she has been set up as a person. If Hard To Get had come out before iNumber Number,I would have said it is a somewhat positive step in production for SA films and not so good story telling but iNumber Number showed that we can do excellent production and story telling. The story really lets down this movie that could have been greater than what it is, if some details and story choices were scrutinized better. Other than that its loud, pretty to look at,it will make you laugh but has no substance or good momentum in its story,it will probably do well at the box office but I wonder what will it be it's cultural significance.
