Reviews

Two explosives specialists who work together are involved in a scam down in Belize. They travel there to make the deal, but do not realize they are being followed by a British Secret Intelligence Agent (John Savage). The agent comes upon the dealers and soon bullets fly, causing the explosives expert Helen (Kara Glover) and the Intelligence Agent Jeff (Savage) to flee for their lives. While Helen and Jeff hide in the bush, they soon fall for one another and eventually hatch out a plan to wipe out the explosives dealers all together. In obliterating the dealers, they also detonate the explosives and later Helen realizes she will be a wanted woman back in the states. With Jeff's help, she obtains a new identity and he says that he will take care of her no matter what happens.

Aside from the beautiful scenery of the tropics, this was a totally boring movie. The plot dragged on as I fast forwarded through much of the dreadful dialogue. Maybe had there been a better explanation of the characters and a more exciting plot it would have been a more interesting movie, but I doubt it.

Robert (Savage) comes home from a long trip to find things quite different between his brother Edward (McMillan) and sister-in-law Joanna (Saxon). Edward admits to Robert that he's taken a mistress named Deborah (Baer), but he hasn't totally abandoned his wife either and proves this by bringing Deborah to the house when Joanna is home. At first, both ladies are cordial to one another and actually appear friendly. Later, the two start a cat fight and push each other into the pool - all while Edward and Robert are watching from the window. Eventually, both Joanna and Deborah fall for Robert's boyish charm and humor and he develops relationships with both of them - behind Edward's back. In time, Edward tells Robert he is in a jam and asks if he would go and pick up a package for him in Canada since he can't do it himself. Robert obliges, but unwillingly. As an extra incentive, Edward sends Deborah along for the ride to make the job more "appealing". After Robert gets the package, he opens it and realizes he's now involved in something he never wanted part of. But, this was all part of Edward's plan in the first place and now he has left his little brother to take the fall for him in the surprising ending.

This movie is entertaining, but not really a zinger. The only performance I enjoyed was John Savage's as he was clearly the star of this picture. Matter of fact, of the four lead actors, he is the only one who went on to achieve major fame in the industry. Now I understand why Savage received accolades for his singing and composing of the songs in this picture -- they are really great. I knew he was a singer from his Broadway days and his role in the movie "Hair", but I had to rewind this video at least twice because the final two songs were sung so well that I couldn't believe it was him. If you are a John Savage fan, try to rent this one - at least to hear his great musical compositions.

A boy named Jimmy West (Phillippe), who longs for a better life, learns some harsh realities about his existence. After years of dealing with an abusive and sexually disturbed "father" (Savage) and being protector to his "mother" (Kinski) and younger brothers, he is given a chance by his wealthy girlfriend to get away. The only problem is, guilt, love and fear for his family makes him stay. Upon realizing Jimmy is growing up and has been snooping around where he shouldn't, his father decides its time to reveal some startling news to him. The shocking news makes Jimmy more desperate than ever to tear himself and his family away from his father before something worse happens. At the same time, a woman named Doris (Knight) appears in town, and she reveals to the police why she is searching for the West family. The police lend their help, but she ultimately takes matters into her own hands when she shows up at the West's trailer. The ending is not at all what one would expect and many questions are left unanswered, leaving the viewer wishing for more explanation.

I was sorry to see that this movie was not highly publicized because I thought the acting was intense by all. Having forgotten that I first saw Phillippe (along with John Savage) in "White Squall", this was really the first time I saw him in a leading role and, might I say, what a performer he is. As for Savage and Kinski, one of the reasons I watched this movie was to see them together again as I had enjoyed them so much in "Maria's Lovers". It was nice to see the chemistry still there. Admittedly, some of the sex scenes are a bit harsh and you need to see this movie more than once to really understand it, but don't let that stop you from seeing it at all.

I am not a big fan of "critter flicks" as I find them to be stupidly acted and the insects unrealistic. Surprisingly, this movie kept me interested. I think one of the reasons was because of the great cast of male leads (Thomas Calabro - playing another doctor; John Savage - playing the embittered island electricman; and Dean Stockwell - playing the honest Sheriff). Even though it was your typical plot about a rare bug breeding in a corpse which washes up on a distant shore, the remainder of the story wasn't as predictable as usual. It's also humorous at times when watching city boy Dr. Cahill (Calabro) adjust to laid back island living while trying to gain acceptance from the townspeople who don't like him. Finally, I thought the bug scenes were realistic and I liked the different ways the bugs were used in various scare scenes. Admittedly, I only watched this movie once, but I would watch it again.

A story about a probation officer named Tim (Savage) who's overly-worried about the lives of the kids he's counseling. One night, Tim spots Kevin, one of his notoriously bad kids, carousing with the beautiful Nicki (Pollan). Soon enough, Nicki winds up in trouble with the law, giving Tim cause to plead her case and become her probation officer. Tim realizes she needs help and senses there's more to her than meets the eye, but she's more interested in having a good time and delves deeper into trouble. Tim's obsessive worrying and following Nicki around starts to consume his life and this effects his job, his relationship with his girlfriend and his counseling of Kevin who's angry at Tim for caring so much about Nicki. Later, Tim is called by Nicki to come to the scene of a botched burglary attempt and help Kevin surrender to the police. In her time of need, Nicki turns to Tim for comfort, but he finds that she does not welcome his advances and she cannot explain why. In the end, this is all explained when Nicki, with Tim's help, finally reveals a long kept secret which was the cause of her anger and rebelliousness.

Overall, good performances by John Savage and Tracy Pollan.

I happened upon this movie at the video store and had to rent it because it'd been years since I first saw this movie in the early 80's. This was the movie that introduced me to my now all time favorite actor, John Savage. I truly loved him in this movie as Roary, a man who attempts suicide and ends up a cripple. His handicap leads him to meet some amazing people he might never have had if he wasn't. Through them, he learns about true friendship, love and acceptance for who you are. The ending also tugs at you when Roary explains why he tried to kill himself. A person could really relate to his reasoning why and you can feel the emptiness he must have felt. If you are a John Savage fan and haven't seen this one yet, I highly suggest it, if you can still find it in the video stores.

After learning a favorite book of mine will be made into a movie, I always hope the film version will follow closely to the written word. This was not so, though, with Message In A Bottle and I was sorely disappointed. I enjoyed watching both Kevin Costner and Robin Wright Penn as they had good chemistry, but I felt not enough time was based on the development of their relationship. Also, in the book, there is more bonding going on between Theresa, Costner's character and Theresa's son as they all have a visit in NC which is not explored in the movie. Also, the addition of new characters to "stretch" the plot was totally unneeded as they were not present in the book. Had they enhanced the Father's character more and had Costner's character read more of his dead wife's letters, we would see the true heartache these two men are going through - the grief of a husband who lost a wife and the grief of a father who's wishing his son would get on with life. If you've never read the book, please do and it will give you more insight into understanding the movie.

Story about an innocent boy, Terry, forced by friends to participate in a gang-rape. His pants were down, but he couldn't perform, especially after seeing that the girl seemed to be enjoying the whole thing, leaving a lasting impression in his mind. Making matters worse, he was sent to prison as the girl named him to be a participant, which was untrue. After his release, it was back to Momma's boarding house where he spent his time lounging around the pool, doing odds and ends for the neighbors and keeping Momma company. He was everything to his Momma and she was jealous of other women's advances, especially the new boarder, Laurie, who seemed to fancy Terry. In fact, Terry was desired by most of the lonely ladies around who deemed him misunderstood. But, it seemed that Terry developed an interest in death and gore. He also had a different idea about sex. He wanted to be tough and he wanted it to be rough - just like he envisioned it to be with the young girl who was raped by his friends. One by one, the local ladies were dying and even Momma had to help dispose of one of the bodies! Before long, Terry could not stop what he started and in the end, he got what he deserved.

John Savage was totally adorable in this movie and I think he carried off his character well. Also, look for Cindy Williams as Laurie. The only downside to this movie is that Terry's fascination with death and gore are not thoroughly explained. If we are to believe that one almost-rape makes a person obsessed with rough sex and killing - there seems to be more to it than we are shown. Still, I think it's one of Savage's better earlier performances.

Two seasoned cops encounter some dangerous thieves while pulling them over for a traffic violation. They are taken aback when charged by the thugs and asked to hand over their guns. Not knowing what to do, the cops comply and it takes a turn for the worse. One cop dies and the other cop (Hettinger) runs away to hide. A while after the incident, Hettinger is chided by his fellow officers for not following correct protocol. He is further emasculated when asked to discuss what happened in front of a group of rookies and a supervisor announces to them that what Hettinger did was wrong and not to follow his example. This drums up in him tremendous feelings of guilt and low self-being. Later, the two thieves are caught and brought to trial and Hettinger is called to testify in court about the night in question. Due to appeals, the court case is dragged out for years and Hettinger is called back to court again and again to relive that horrible event.

Excellent performances were given by Savage and Woods. At times, the movie has some slow areas, but overall is a riveting drama that strikes a nerve.

"The Thin Red Line" is mostly about the reflections of the young men as to why they are there. Red Line had many outstanding actors in it, but this movie was too long and drawn out and became quite confusing at times. Just when you thought a character bit the dust or went AWOL, a little while later they'd simply appear again. Many of the scenery shots were beautiful, and I presume their significance was to show that even in paradise, war and death could occur. If you want gore and reality, rent "Private Ryan". But, if you want beauty and reflection, rent this movie and you'll immediately see the difference.

I didn't start watching this show until late last year when Seven of Nine was introduced because The Borg was always my favorite topic. She has really spiced up the show, but I've noticed that lately they've been focusing mostly on Janeway, Seven and The Doctor as they seem to be the most featured characters. The rest are just hanging around and I wish they would delve more into Paris and Torres' marriage or possibly develop a relationship with Chakotay and somebody to make things more interesting. Basically, they need another female character for Kim, Neelix and Tuvok to fight over (even though Vulcans don't have emotions). All in all, I hope the next season is better and some new characters are introduced.

I was embarrassed for John Savage as this movie was one of his worst choices. His performance was quite over the top and I assume he was doing a friend a favor or this was his chance to experiment. Whatever the reason, I still watched it twice since his character was somewhat sexy, somewhat strange and very loose. Also, he is looking better than ever proven by his shirtless physique during the majority of the movie. As for the other characters, they just filled up space and really had no impact on me. Some parts of the movie made no sense and the club scenes were totally wacked out. If you are a Savage fan, watch it for his weird performance, but be prepared for an idiotic movie overall.

A riveting movie about a man's quest for justice when his prize stallions are mistreated by a greedy man and he has to take the law into his own hands when he does not get retribution. This was one of John Cusack's best performances as he plays a strong, believable leader, unlike anything Cusack has portrayed before. His character starts out as an honest, hardworking horse trader, but along the fight for the proper treatment of his animals, he becomes embittered. Fantastic performances were given by the remainder of the cast, especially John Goodman, whose part was, unfortunately, too short. I am not a fan of Western's, but this movie was definitely worth watching.

John Savage fans will be delightfully surprised by his performance in this movie as it is unlike anything he has ever done. His character, Michael Bergman, is a wealthy Australian with a penchant for the finer things in life and does whatever it takes to get what he wants, including the married secretary, Michelle, at his client's office. To insure his future with this woman, he woos her away from her unstable husband and "takes care of him". After he's got her where he wants her, he starts to ignore her and it's back to work making money and pursuing other women. She later opens her eyes to all his wrong doings, but then it's too late as she realizes he's using her like he uses everyone else to fulfill his needs. She's just another item in his collection and she gets her revenge in the climax which is really shocking. I think this one of Savage's best movies.