Reviews

I find myself agreeing with some of the other reviews in that this is a decent enough adaptation of the tenth of John Sandford (John Camp's) novels and as such it attempts to try and interlace a lot of storyline into the video that fans of the books will understand. It is about as good a job of the gritty storyline that you'll be able to find on commercial TV. Sandford writes some excellent, gripping and gruesome stories more suited for cable or the big screen ...which is really where I would enjoy seeing more of his fine work. Harmon did fair but like others I found him wanting. Davenport is a big, tough and mean character that the bad guys are truly afraid of for good reason. An ex hockey player well over 6' with a brooding character that women love. Harmon isn't the right choice although I liked his effort. A much better choice would have been Russell Crowe, Ray Liotta or Nick Nolte. The two lead women did a great job pulling off the roles of Carmen and Clara but for the buxom Marcy a far better choice would have been the beautiful and moody Jennifer Connelly. Granted, my cast would have driven the costs of this up a lot ...probably far more than any made for TV effort. Hey guys, don't knock it. Any Sandford book that makes it to the screen is worth watching. Maybe not as good as they could have been but...

This is a film worthy of the great talent used in it. Mann is an outstanding director and this is one of his best. Pacino and Aussie Crowe are both on top of their form as are all the supporting actors and actresses.

The story is well paced and deep and you end up really feeling for the central character who is putting everything on the line for the public benefit ...and probably for some measure of getting even after getting canned by his former employer - the Brown & Williamson tobacco company.

For those weaned on non stop action flicks with explosions, fights and gun play in virtually every scene, this is not the movie for you. For you cerebral types who enjoy a twisted, deep story with multiple layers, this is one to get your teeth into. Another review compared it to "All the Presidents Men" and I couldn't agree more.

I didn't give it a 10 only because it was a dark story about a truly despondent man who loses everything when he chooses to do the right thing. In that regard it depresses many folks. But, hey, this was a true story that portrays the vaunted CBS 60 Minutes in a very bad light as a gutless TV show managed by gutless producers afraid of being sued for telling the truth. If the truth is more than you can handle, look elsewhere.

Got this bomb by accident from Redbox.

I got it instead of "Lincoln" no less.

Decided to watch it anyway and was even more disappointed. It is total junk.

Very bad acting on the part of all including the single lead with any credentials (Borgnine).

The other actors, especially the female were incredibly poor and phony.

Very bad special effects that are totally unbelievable.

Bad sound that increases the discredited special effects.

A real bad screenplay of a real bad story. It is disjointed and jumps around.

Generally real bad production values.

Bad photography.

Yeeechh!!!!

Charlie Smith is a border patrol agent who's life is twisted between trying to satisfy a wife who's demands constantly escalate and who is never satisfied and a job he starts out enjoying but ends up hating. The twists in the story are never ending and the characters are played to the hilt by a great supporting cast led by Harvey Keitel and Warren Oates.

You'll watch this dark story of conflict and enjoy it a lot. Another reviewer calls it Nicholson's best job acting. I like Jack and think he's a great actor and this role does reflect that talent.

The music is haunting and really lends to the story, especially the title song by Freddie Fender.

Having lost a lot of friends and relatives, I don't typically enjoy a movie with death as a major theme but this one is really different. It's an interesting and entertaining story from the start to the finish with believable and enjoyable characters. Demi Moore plays one of her best roles and Whoopi Goldberg steals the show as a seance who didn't realize her own ability. She won an Oscar for this role. Patrick Swayze plays Sam - who discovers that things are not all over at death.

The bad guys in this one are some real nasty and believable villains too.

This is a great movie that the whole family can enjoy. It's a wonderful love story, it has twists and turns, some humor and a good share of pathos. If you have somehow missed this one, add it to your 'must see' list.

I rank this low because, like most older folks I've lived through several painful losses. I didn't like it, wasn't entertained by it and can't understand why anyone would like to be depressed by a movie. Seems like it would take a form of morbid 'danse macabre' curiosity - but then again, to each their own. On the other hand, I have enjoyed several movies with the underlying theme of death at their essence like Ghost.

The idea of leaving behind a video tape to teach a son about life and about yourself has some story quality but doesn't overcome the darkness of the movie.

I have no complaints about the acting or production qualities and normally enjoy movies with these two leads. Keaton plays his character well and Kidman is as always, beautiful and easy to watch.

Burt usually just plays himself and occasionally that's enough to carry a well written movie - like "Sharkey's Machine.

Not so this time. It's a lame story, lame acting, a lame screenplay and in general a waste of time.

Save yourself from this one and watch something else or just go to bed early and get some rest.

On the other hand - if you want to see Burt in something that is actually worse than this bomb, try out "Big City Blues".

That one will really have you gagging.

It doesn't deserve a 1.