liamforeman
The main problem I had with this is that the real killer was somewhat obvious from the beginning. Also, it was DEFINITELY obvious by the halfway mark because you know the cast of actors and you're just wondering why the REAL star hasn't had much screen time and when we find out he did by trying to act up a flourish it was like DUH! Other things... I like Ashley Judd, but in this she somehow is elevated to investigator although she has an obvious alcohol problem and looks hung over a lot at work. None of her coworkers or her boss didn't notice? I could deal with her having so many one night stands, but when they turn up murdered, isn't she supposed to be a detective? And if she was concerned she was the killer, WHY would she tell everyone on the force after one lover after another of hers showed up dead?!?! You'd think she'd keep her mouth shut! Also, I mentioned her alcohol problem above, but she seemingly goes into a blackout every time a murder occurs. If you were her don't you think you'd go a little easy on the red wine until the end of the investigation? And, I'm a pretty accomplished drinker, and I know what's enough to buzz me, to get me drunk, and I've only blacked out a couple of times. You think she wouldn't figure out that something was UP with that wine???? Sheesh. So the idea that she was being drugged didn't really occur to me because if I had a few glasses of wine or an entire bottle or two and blacked out I'd still know something was wrong because you know how much does what to your system. So I just assumed that she WAS drinking enough to black out.Andy Garcia has really gotten puffy. I remembered him as being really attractive at one point.In all, it isn't awful, and if you like thrillers and whodunit's it is somewhat watchable. I made it through to the end. Just know that you probably had it figured out just from the cast list from the beginning.
ctharrison70
Not even close to the best movie I've seen, but certainly better than one star level either. I gave it a 5, because it kept me interested enough to keep watching, and added the +1 for the fact that the "whodunnit" efforts were well played, without being totally random in the end. About 15 minutes into the movie, and somewhat compelled by an attractive San Francisco Bay opening, I was convinced that this would be a 7+ for me. The framework and plot are respectable, and the cast is A+, which however, seems to prove that you can't give a quality cast a pathetic dialogue and expect even great actors to make poor scripting sound better. The script is outright campy. Some have described this, and a few other boneheaded aspects, as seeming almost comical or spoofish of similar movies. Seriously! I'm not a picky critic, but these flaws were a bit distracting. In summary, the movie starts off deceptively strong, sags in the middle (about 40 minutes worth), and then picks back up with a relatively solid finish.
Davis P
This film did sport an A list cast including Ashley Judd (Double Jeopardy), Andy Garcia, and Samual L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction). Judd plays inspector Shepherd, who has just recently been promoted to homicide, and Jackson plays the man that raised her, because her parents were killed when she was young. Andy Garcia is her new partner. I was not a big fan of Andy Garcia in this film, I thought he over acted in many scenes, and it looked fake and cheep, also Judd and Garcia didn't have any on screen chemistry at all. I thought Ashley did a good job on screen, I just think Garcia's character would've better played by another actor. Jackson did a great job with his role, I think he was perfectly cast. The dialogue was okay, not great, and the action scenes were constructed pretty well. I liked how Judd's character kept flashing back to the night she has sex with the victims, and wondering if she might be responsible. There were some parts in the middle I felt sorta dragged on a bit. I think the twist ending was pretty clever, it wasn't like completely life altering, but it sufficed. I liked how this film showed some sex between Judd and the victims, but not too much, the sex wasn't too graphic, and only had a single shot of nudity from the back of a male. Also, the violence and gore wasn't graphic either. 4/10 overall.
LeonLouisRicci
This one is a bit muddled and mundane. There isn't much here that is remarkable or even interesting for that matter. The obvious indulgences such as drinking then passing out unawares and waking up with murder at hand, then drinking again and again. Not likely behavior from an intelligent, albeit confused, inspector.There seems to be a lack of persona to the people who populate this anemic, yet somehow withstanding, crime film that is neither totally suspenseful or very intelligent. There is a lack of energy in the unfolding and everyone seems rather bored by it all.The movie has enough superficial surroundings to glide through a mystery and the cast delivers enough professionalism to this pedestrian picture, and it is entertaining enough. But the mediocrity here meanders and one is left with a rather unfeeling resolve and more confusion than conviction.
AD
