huntergerald-34771 I must admit, I don't know how this film has received such a high rating on this site. A good cast? Yes, but a wasted cast. This is basically the Kennedy assassination on Quaaludes. It's a film that simply doesn't hold up well through the years. Stiff direction and substandard cinematography reduce the look to that of a "B" movie. While it's always fun to watch John Huston, he cannot carry this movie alone. Bridges, who has consistently been one of my favorite actors, is wooden here, certainly nowhere near the caliber of his performance in "Rancho Deluxe", made a few years earlier. In short, it tries to be a comedy, drama and a parody all at the same time, and fails on all fronts. Want to watch good political filmmaking? Opt for 3 Days of the Condor for drama, Dr. Strangelove for satire/parody, and Being There for comedy.

dougdoepke Lamentably uneven film roughly paralleling the Kennedy killing. By the finish, it's hard to tell if the intent is to parody an assassination conspiracy or to offer up food for thought. Of course, the two can be combined, but if so, the results here are sloppy, more head-scratching than suggestive. Much time is spent with Nick (Bridges) chasing shadows, that amount to conspiracies behind conspiracies. Okay, shadows can make for fascinating progression, not knowing who's involved and who isn't. This sense of dislocation was probably best conveyed in 1974's chilling The Parallax View. But here, such suggestive moments are undercut by exaggerations, such as the incredible shooting of the three men in the car, or the ragged development of who Yvette actually is. To me, the only explanation for the frequent piling on of events is that someone was reaching for an element of parody, despite the seemingly dead serious parts.Now I can well understand why the production here wanted to raise questions about the Lone Assassin official theory. It certainly hasn't withstood the test of time, as even a few key frames of the Zapruder film show. Moreover, 1978's House Committee on Assassinations found upon reviewing the evidence that Kennedy "was probably assassinated as the result of a conspiracy". But then the whole matter was dropped without follow-up. Ironically, I can also understand why officials don't want to pursue the matter. After all, who knows where it might lead or what crises an honest investigation might produce.Anyway, Bridges turns in a riveting and energetic turn as the beleaguered president's brother. If spoof was the movie's intent, Bridges should have been informed since he plays it absolutely straight throughout. Also, veteran director and actor Huston towers as the shady and mysterious patriarch of the clan. Note too, how many veteran Hollywood names settle for brief appearances in an independent production, even super-star Elizabeth Taylor. Perhaps they too were unhappy with the Warren Commission Report and wanted to help boost critics who were gathering steam at that time. Of course, the movie debunkings would culminate in 1991's JFK.Though this 90-minutes has its moments, entertaining and suggestive, it's too uneven and inconsistent to really register as either parody or expose.

Scott LeBrun A rather unique conspiracy thriller / dark comedy, "Winter Kills" is based on a novel by Richard Condon of "The Manchurian Candidate" fame. It may not be nearly as well known, but it merits a look. Jeff Bridges stars as Nick Kegan, the younger half brother of an assassinated U.S. President. 19 years after the killing, Nick comes across a man who makes a dying confession that he was one of the gunmen. Nick then becomes determined to solve this old mystery, soldiering on even as his extremely rich and influential businessman father (John Huston) tries to manipulate the course of events. As Nick pursues leads, he realizes that the people he encounters cannot be taken at face value, and that not all of these leads are going to be particularly helpful.A sincere and likable performance by Bridges helps to anchor the tale, and there's a nonstop parade of famous faces in supporting roles and cameos: Anthony Perkins, Eli Wallach, Sterling Hayden, Dorothy Malone, Tomas Milian, Ralph Meeker, Toshiro Mifune, Richard Boone, and an uncredited Elizabeth Taylor. But despite all of these heavy hitters gracing the film with their presence, it's Huston that commands a great deal of attention. He does seem to be quite enjoying himself playing this overbearing and grandiose character. The beautiful Belinda Bauer is appealing as the love of Nicks' life.William Richert scripted, and directs the film as a commentary on the nature of politics, the real-life assassination of JFK, and the power wielded by the affluent 1% represented by Hustons' Pa Kegan. It's a rather intricate mystery, and the best part of it is that you can't be sure where it's going, and aren't two steps ahead of Nick the whole time. One particularly silly scene has an unlikely character attempting to dispose of Nick, only for the sequence to include a rather hilarious, gratuitous dose of T & A.Absorbing entertainment, with real-life production stories that are stranger than anything in the film.Seven out of 10.

MaratSade Winter Kills is a wild, breakneck ride, impossible not to enjoy if you can muster up a two hour attention. Dullards who like to browse or half-watch will be quickly mystified and thus bored, but this film rewards those who make the investment. An excellent, creepy movie--funny and insightful, particularly relevant in these strange and disturbing days. John Huston gives a great over-the-top performance that seems more like a cartoon version of himself than the Joe Kennedy caricature he is meant to be. Tony Perkins is the embodiment of everyone's paranoid suspicions about who really runs things. Karl Rove must have sat spellbound in the theater as a young homunculus, taking notes as he ate his popcorn. Bizarre cameos and way inside references provide the icing on the cake.