Reviews

Was this supposed to be a James Bond Movie or what? One of the worst attempts at movie making in history. Even Woody Allen's Casino Blowall or whatever the hell he made in 1966 didn't blow as bad as this. This waste of celluloid was depressing to watch. I will never watch another James bond as long as I live. Please for the love of humanity. In the name of all that which does not suck, burn every copy of this thing. Even The Man from Uncle was better than this. And I'm not talking about the move. I would rather watch a Gilligan's Island marathon than this. At least Gilligan's Island wasn't depressing.

Simple, believable plot. Well written. Dialogue just one cut below the master, Elmore Leonard. I can't even begin to describe the acting. Everyone on board this thing was at least a notch above solid. If this movie had not been directed and acted as it were, it could have had that "Don Johnson Movie" feel to it. But it was, so it didn't.

I thought this was going to show inner workings of the diamond trade. I got some adolescent male fantasy directed by a Michael Mann wannabe. The director makes this actually annoying and at times hard to watch. The whole Lady Rah thing is just stupid. They have petite women holing shotguns that would knock them on their posteriors should they discharge them.

First of all, Paul Newman (as one would expect) and the female lead, MS. Mastrantonio, were well above par. Helen Shaver is very good. All the supporting players were great. It's the male lead that brings this thing down. Cruise acts like a complete buffoon. That stupid grin and ridiculous hair start to wear after about 10 minutes. His antics with the pool cue would not be tolerated anywhere that I've played pool. The story falls apart about 3/4 of the way through. Watch "The Hustler" instead.

Great acting all around. Especially the interaction between Rourke and Wolff. Rourk at sometimes is channeling Charles Bronson, but this is better writing than Bronson got most of the time. Story could have been slightly cornball if not for the acting and production values.

Someone once said that finishing a good book was like losing a good friend. Upon watching the last episode of Longmire, I felt that I had lost two good friends: Walt and Henry. That is in no way meant to diminish the acting of any of the other players. The acting here was stellar across the board! Ms. Sackhoff had some scenes that could have come off very syrupy if not done by a complete pro. L. D. Phillips was of course superb. His diction was spot on. Robert Taylor is a cross between Lee Majors and Harrison Ford in the looks department. He was perfect in this role.

This was one of the most well-acted films I've ever seen. And by that, I mean everyone from the top down. Not a false note was struck by anyone. Plot did require some minor suspension of disbelief in places, but I thought the tight directing and acting pulled it off. Enjoyed it.

Only three things prevent this from being another low brow teen romp: the writing, acting and direction. I watched this for the second time at age 60, to see if it was as funny as I remembered from seeing it as a teen. While not a fan of bathroom humor, I find the concept of merging the song "Volare" with flatulence to be funny. Especially when done in the presence of authority figures. Robert Wuhl has a field day as the smartass-in- chief. Gaylord Sartain is hysterical in his role as the buffoon. I think it was Sartain's comedic skill that kept the thing from going over the top. In the sidekick roll Sandy Helberg was excellent by playing low key off of Sartain. Stuart Pankin was perfect as the mommas boy used as a tool by Newbomb to strike at the establishment. Stands the test of time.

Let me start out by saying I love Dennis Farina. Loved the pilot and first 4 episodes. Then they started dumbing it down. I expected a show about crime, not about social injustices. Excellent acting by Farina, Michael Madsen, The Dice Man, pretty much all involved shined. I just am not in the mood to be preached to by my television.

Great under rated crime flick! Everyone on board was great. Fred Ward channels the amazing Warren Oates here, taking what could have been a silly goofball role in a lessor actor's hands. Ward, as Oates, completely sells it. Ward gets great support in this from Charles Napier. Jennifer Jason Leigh nails her part. An LA lady playing a simple bumpkin, a role which also could have gone south with many actresses.

Every performance in this film was strong as an ox. Margot Kidder nailed it! Martin Landau nailed it! Jimmy Caan ditto. Robert Loggia and on and on. It was evident that this was a low budget production,thus only 9 stars. This is how film acting is done boys and girls.

This movie is so good on so many levels. De Niro is Bela Lugosi as Dracula just watching and waiting for his next kill. He can conjure more menace with a glance than many actors with an axe. Liotta underplays his role perfectly as the lightweight non Italian. And Joe Peschi is his usual dependable homicidal maniac that no one else could do . This is anything but just another mafia movie.

This movie is all about the acting. Great thought provoking plot, executed perfectly with flawless performances by all. Gene Hackman "don't act, he just bee's" in the immortal words of Jerry Reed. The special effects are used only to illustrate the story, instead of vice versa.