Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Disturbing yet enthralling

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Brilliant and touching

One problem with Turkish comedy is that it tends to be very specific to Turkey: if you aren't Turkish (or living in Turkey), you won't understand a sit-com like Türk Malı or Avrupa Yakası, and you'll even miss a lot of the jokes in a SF comedy like G.O.R.A. Organize İşler (confusingly untranslated as "Magic Carpet Ride" after one of the songs in the soundtrack) is unusual in that it manages to be very Turkish in feel, but universal in its humour.The film shows us the lives of two families: a middle-class intellectual couple and their daughter on the one side, and the "family" of organized crime on the other. In between is a failed stand-up comedian, "Superman" Samet, whose attempt to hang himself (dressed in his Superman costume) at the beginning of the film is interrupted by our criminal anti-hero Asim, who is escaping a jealous husband. The plot continues in a similarly absurd vein, and critics have complained about the story's disregard for logic, but then this is a comedy; nobody complains that Monty Python and the Holy Grail has an absurd plot. The important thing is that the characters are well drawn, from the irritatingly logical physics professor Nuran to the lovable but unprincipled and incompetent Asim, and the dialogue is hilarious, with a lot of the humour surviving translation. The film also gives a great picture of the contrasts of İstanbul (even though the scenes of the "çingene" neighborhood where the gang live seem to be from İzmir).

"Organize Isler" is a decent comedy-drama that is sometimes clever but occasionally loses its charm. The name Yilmaz Erdogan always guaranties a good film as his writing talents and the exemplary BKM troupe work smoothly in every project. Erdogan always creates clever plots that the audience could discover another layer with every screening, which, is my opinion, a characteristic only the best movies have. However, 'Organize Isler' has less layers, or at least less interesting layers compared to his earlier works.Casting seems to be a problem Erdogan has to deal with with every project. Since BKM troupe's long roster of talented actors generally outnumbers the necessary characters in a movie, the danger of 'over-casting' or 'mis-casting' looms large. One can see the effects of this issue in "Organize Isler" (for example the appearance of Iclal Aydin is totally unnecessary in my opinion, without any real contribution to the story told).The movie is good, clever and entertaining. All actors are good, dependable, experienced and they work with each other well. Cem Yilmaz, who commands more and more respect as an actor with every movie he is in, enhances the value of the movie tremendously, and it seems his special relationship with Erdogan adds to their productivity. The production values are high, with wonderful aerial shots of Istanbul - which, like a constrictor python, seems more beautiful than it really is if you look from far above.Another personal criticism of mine, which has little to do with the artistic side of the production, is the way the movie puts a human face on the gangsters who ruthlessly rob, kill and terrorize the streets of Istanbul. Although the film watches like a light-hearted anti-hero flick, I find it hard to feel for the "poor, good hearted" robbers with BMWs who would drag an old lady to death if she wont let her purse go.

Bravo to Erdogan, excellent movie. Directing is excellent with emphasis on cinema. There are some holes in the plot, but the witty comedy makes up for them. Casting is quite good but has important minuses.At the beginning, right before Erdogan (Asim) starts banging on Cevik's (Samet) door to let him in, notice the minaret and the church bell tower. The camera angle is peculiar: The excitement of the pursuit is captured but also the monuments of two religions in mutual symbiosis. Also beneath the monuments, two people find salvation in the next scene. Coincidence? Serendipidious symbolism? Hard to tell, nevertheless, the capturing camera use is prevalent throughout the film: Yilmaz in front of the "plasma," gang going to Yilmaz's hideout, last overview of Istanbul, beginning from Cukurcuma and ending in Sarayburnu. The director (Erdogan) uses the setting as a powerful theme for the movie.One important achievement of Erdogan is the brave disappearance of moral speeches, a traditional element of Turkish cinema. It had been almost of sin to create a movie without at least one character staring into the space and delivering a moral monologue flavored with left wing ideals, and even Erdogan himself had been using this in his previous works, "Vizontele" series. Gone is that direct embarrassing speech, whatever message is delivered, it is delivered through camera and directing. Notice how the audience observes the rich and poor environments coming right after each other with each scene, sometimes even in the same scene. So much more mature than direct expression.Plot has its problems. How come Nazli (Berfin Erdogan) returns to Asim (Yilmaz Erdogan)? How did they meet in the first place, or how did she meet with the despicable dentist? These questions are neglected. How come Samet accepts Umut's apology? "Sorry I have used your honesty in the most heartless manner and delivered you and your companions to the criminal lord, but I do truly love you?" Huh? Samet's gullibility seems to know no limits!However, comedy is a difficult genre, and the jokes - I must admit I had my laugh of the year. Better than "Hirsiz Var," better than the "Vizontele" series and comparable to internationally-acclaimed comedy movies. (I keep comparing it to "Analyze This" and "Whole Nine Yards") "Philology?" "1 hour golf?" "Safe within safe?" "I don't feel cold, I am high?" "Bye-bye hepiniz?" We are left with little time to catch our breath. Jokes keep following each other, just when you think you heard the punchline, the next line take it to a new level. Plus, we have another set of jokes going on in the background. I'll watch again just for these.Casting and Acting: Cevik for Samet? Excellent. Erdogan for Asim? Couldn't be better. Yilmaz for Muslum? What an unexpected surprise! Gone is the loony comedian, enter the mafia boss, putting hundred-million-dollar mafia movie actors to shame. I had underestimated Yilmaz until now. How much of this is correct casting, and how much is superior acting? I believe it is strong combination of both. Another surprise is Silvio: Who is he? Did I watch the actor or the character? I want to know! The final surprise for me is the rising star Namal. Comparing to her previous performance in "Anlat Istanbul," which was much shorter, she acted out a totally different role with natural ease. I will not be surprised if we see her in some lead roles in the near future.Always a pleasure to watch, Akbag fits into her role almost like hand in glove. With Erkekli, they create the ever-squabbling couple. We have the pleasure of seeing a large spectrum of mimics from Akbag. However, I can't help but ask myself "Why Physics? Why not philology or some other verbal study that she knows so much better?" The class scene in the beginning is terrible: It is difficult to imagine that scene being written by the same person who wrote the rest. Sun is the largest mass in the *galaxy*?!?! What a factual mistake by a professor of Physics! And ball on stretched sheet is the way to explain gravity to college students? That is kindergarten-level physics. What a failure for such a movie.And just where does the casting fall short? Berfin Erdogan. Although a small role, it is crucial. She is not too bad, but not the caliber of Yilmaz and Akbag. She is insufficient for the role.

a flying cam is not enough to make a movie. The movie is funny. The story isn't that much great but characters are. On each book, movie and play Erdogan reflects his megalomania. There are some technical problems on images(when flying-cam moves very fast the image blurred)The sound was good.Soundtracks are cool. Colors are so good. Erdogan will make better movies I believe. But he should remember that there is no obligation to use flying cam on each scene. He can write the story and direct the movie, but let the other people play. I found some critics about the movie poster,people say it has same style with the "fight club" poster.Next Erdogan movie will be much better.